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village and civil parish in High Peak, Derbyshire, UK
Europe > Britain and Ireland > United Kingdom > England > East Midlands > Derbyshire > Hayfield

Hayfield from the northwest

Hayfield is a village and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire. It is an attractive stone-built village on the River Sett. Hill-walking, fell-running and mountain-biking are probably the most popular activities for visitors.

Understand

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Hayfield lies close to Kinder Scout, a moorland plateau that includes the highest point in Derbyshire (636m).

Hayfield is surrounded by the Peak District National Park and was the site of the Mass Trespass of Kinder Scout in 1932, a key moment in the history of rights of way in the United Kingdom.

Hayfield was the filming location for many of the village scenes in the BBC TV series The Village (other scenes were filmed in or near Edale, Glossop and Chapel-en-le-Frith).

Get in

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By bus

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By train

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Nearest railway stations (accessible by bus or taxi):

  • New Mills Central (3 miles): trains from Manchester Piccadilly (c.30 min) and Sheffield (c.55 min)
  • New Mills Newtown (3 miles): trains from Manchester Piccadilly and Buxton (c.26 min)
  • Glossop (7 miles): trains from Manchester Piccadilly (c.33 min)

By car

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Via M67/A57/A624 or M60/A6/A6015 from Manchester and the west; A57/A624 from the east; A6/A624 from the south. There is a large pay-and-display car park on the site of the former railway station (Station Road), close to the village centre; follow brown tourist signs for Sett Valley Trail. Parking in the village centre is limited. For walks to the east of the village, follow signs to the campsite and park at or near Bowden Bridge Car Park (20 spaces; £3.50 per day as of 2013). Free parking is often available along the roadside near the car park, but there is no parking beyond the car park.

Get around

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Hayfield is a small village and can easily be explored on foot.

Bowden Bridge
  • 1 Kinder Scout. Probably the destination of most visitors to Hayfield, Kinder Scout is a moorland plateau containing Derbyshire's highest point, and highest waterfall. Kinder Scout (Q1741750) on Wikidata Kinder Scout on Wikipedia 
  • 2 Bowden Bridge (1 mile east of village along Kinder Road; fork right at Bowden Bridge car park). An attractive 18th-century packhorse bridge. 
  • Hayfield Village. Within the village, for architecture buffs, are St Matthews Church (Grade II listed; largely 19th-century), a number of rustic weavers' cottages and the 17th-century Fox Hall. 
Kinder Downfall
  • 1 Kinder Scout. Hayfield and Edale are the traditional starting points for ascents of Derbyshire's highest hill (636 m). From Hayfield, the nearest point to the hill with public parking is Bowden Bridge Car Park (20 spaces; £4.50 per day as of 2018) on Kinder Road about a mile east of the village centre. There is a plaque here commemorating the Mass Trespass. The main focus of most hikes is Kinder Downfall (a 30-metre waterfall, impressive in spate but little more than a trickle most of the time). A visit to the Downfall requires a minimum walk of 6 miles (around 3 miles each way) from Bowden Bridge with around 400 m of ascent over sometimes rough ground; reasonable fitness is required, and inexperienced hillwalkers should not attempt the trip during bad weather. The two most common routes to the Kinder plateau, which combine to form a circular route of around 7½ miles from Bowden Bridge, are via Kinder Reservoir and William Clough, or via Tunstead Clough Farm and Kinderlow End. 
  • Long-distance walking routes. Hayfield lies directly on the route of the Pennine Bridleway and within a few miles of the Pennine Way. The Sett Valley Trail is a 2½-mile rail trail, accessible to horse-riders and cyclists as well as walkers, connecting the village to New Mills. 
  • Other walks. Other possible destinations for shorter day walks include Kinder Reservoir, Lantern Pike or Edale Cross/South Head. A linear walk to Edale (via various routes) is possible, returning via train to New Mills Central, and then a bus back to Hayfield. 
  • Short walks. For the less ambitious, easy strolls with mild gradients may be had westwards from the village along the Sett Valley Trail to Bluebell Wood Nature Reserve (best in spring) and beyond, or upstream along the River Sett (Kinder and Valley Roads) towards Bowden Bridge. The Calico Trail is a short walk around the village, visiting sites associated with the local calico-printing industry; leaflets are available from local outlets. 
  • Well dressing. Local wells are decorated with flower petals in artistic designs, in July of each year. The wells are blessed in a Christian ceremony, and a leaflet describing a route visiting each well is produced and sold for charity. 
  • 2 Hayfield Country Show and Sheepdog Trials, Spray House Farm, Little Hayfield. This popular event, including various rural exhibits, demonstrations, stalls and businesses, and involving a fell race as well as the main event of the sheepdog trials, takes place every September. 
  • 3 Hayfield Cricket Club. Hayfield CC play each Saturday afternoon between late April and early September; the picturesque riverside ground is behind the Royal Hotel in the centre of the village. Free. 

As well as the hotels listed below.

Pubs and bars

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Restaurants and tearooms

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Sleep

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Pubs and hotels

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Campsite

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  • 3 Hayfield Campsite, Kinder Road (SK22 2LE; follow Bank St then Kinder Rd for approx. 1 mile east from village (signposted)), ☏ +44 1663 745394. 90 pitches; no caravans. 

Connect

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As of March 2024, Hayfield and its approach roads have 4G from all UK carriers. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

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This city travel guide to Hayfield is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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