New Mills’ biggest
The Torrs Riverside Park
Park or garden
4.3 ha (11 acres)1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
6 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of New Mills
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Dave Bevis · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in New Mills · parks, paths & countryside
New Mills has more footpath per square kilometre than 9 in 10 UK towns
86 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 5.1 for every square kilometre. The Peak District National Park begins 0.5 mi from the town’s edge. Parks and playing fields in New Mills add up to 2.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. New Mills grades A for the outdoors: #10 of 59 in Derbyshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
2.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
84%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
86 km
5.1 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
34%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Peak District National Park
Character
What kind of outdoors town is New Mills?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A town of footpaths5.1 km of path per km², more than 93% of UK towns. The typical town has 3.0.Protected countryside34% of the land within 5 km is Peak District National Park.On a National TrailThe E2 connector hiking trail passes through.
New Mills’ strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by protected countryside on the doorstep.
Outdoors grade
New Mills grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is New Mills, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A
Better than 89% of UK towns#10 of 59 in Derbyshire · 8th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space2.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
56out of
100
100
A park within a walk84%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
56out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape34%of the land within 5 km
86out of
100
100
Footpaths5.1 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
94out of
100
100
The sea0%of the area within 5 km · Inland
42out of
100
100
Graded, never part of the overall grade (like History and Civic life). It measures what is mapped: OS Open Greenspace leaves out woodland and open-access land that isn’t a park, and OpenStreetMap’s rural paths are more complete in some places than others.
Towns its size
New Mills is 8th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 8,800 to 9,600 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Outdoors score: the share of UK towns each one beats
Footpath, km per km²
New Mills5.1
Towns its size3.3
Derbyshire towns3.6
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
New Mills2.4
Towns its size2.6
Derbyshire towns2.2
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
New Mills84%
Towns its size85%
Derbyshire towns86%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, New Mills stands out most for path per km²: only 4 of the other 59 have more.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swanage Dorset | A+ | 6.9 | 95% | 4.2 | 47% |
| 2 | Worsbrough South Yorkshire | A | 10.1 | 100% | 6 | 0% |
| 3 | Brynteg Clwyd | A | 8.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 7% |
| 4 | Ilfracombe Devon | A | 2 | 86% | 3 | 28% |
| 5 | Killamarsh Derbyshire | A | 10.6 | 97% | 5.5 | 0% |
| 6 | Bordon Hampshire | A | 8.6 | 54% | 6.7 | 49% |
| 7 | Linthwaite and Slaithwaite West Yorkshire | A | 2.2 | 97% | 4.8 | 12% |
| 8 | New Mills Derbyshire | A | 2.4 | 84% | 5.1 | 34% |
| 9 | Warlingham Surrey | A | 4.2 | 81% | 4.3 | 13% |
| 10 | Greasby Merseyside | A | 5.9 | 74% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 11 | Whiteley Hampshire | A− | 3 | 52% | 4.4 | 2% |
| 12 | Thurmaston Leicestershire | A− | 10.4 | 89% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 13 | Hetton-le-Hole Tyne and Wear | A− | 7.8 | 95% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 14 | Esher Surrey | A− | 6.9 | 86% | 4.8 | 0% |
| 15 | Shelf and Northowram West Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 88% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 16 | Billingshurst West Sussex | A− | 2.9 | 95% | 3.1 | 3% |
| 17 | Thurnscoe South Yorkshire | A− | 9.4 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 18 | Shaftesbury Dorset | A− | 2.8 | 92% | 2.3 | 44% |
| 19 | Aveley Essex | A− | 3.4 | 84% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 20 | Shanklin Isle of Wight | A− | 1.4 | 33% | 4.5 | 29% |
| 21 | Irthlingborough Northamptonshire | A− | 4.7 | 94% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 22 | Winnersh Berkshire | B+ | 9.6 | 80% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 23 | Frodsham Cheshire | B+ | 2.5 | 67% | 4.4 | 0% |
| 24 | Sandiacre Derbyshire | B+ | 2.6 | 94% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 25 | Hayle Cornwall | B+ | 1.4 | 72% | 3.4 | 6% |
| 26 | Banstead Surrey | B+ | 2.4 | 66% | 5.2 | 3% |
| 27 | Ashbourne Derbyshire | B | 1.9 | 92% | 2.7 | 14% |
| 28 | Cockermouth Cumbria | B | 2.6 | 81% | 2.2 | 42% |
| 29 | Pontllanfraith Gwent | B | 3.7 | 93% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Hemsworth West Yorkshire | B | 3.6 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 31 | Gatley Greater Manchester | B | 5.7 | 66% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 32 | Clay Cross Derbyshire | B | 2.6 | 88% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 33 | North Wingfield and Holmewood Derbyshire | B | 2.7 | 84% | 4.1 | 0% |
| 34 | South Kirkby West Yorkshire | B | 3 | 97% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 35 | Marlborough Wiltshire | B | 1.2 | 72% | 3.8 | 100% |
| 36 | Tiptree Essex | B | 2.7 | 90% | 3.2 | 0% |
| 37 | Perton Staffordshire | B | 2.4 | 93% | 3 | 0% |
| 38 | Yaxley Cambridgeshire | B− | 2.6 | 90% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Whitnash Warwickshire | B− | 2 | 95% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 40 | Cullompton Devon | B− | 3.2 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 41 | Knottingley West Yorkshire | B− | 2.7 | 88% | 2.5 | 0% |
| 42 | Hook Hampshire | B− | 2.4 | 80% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 43 | West End and Chobham Surrey | B− | 3.3 | 65% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 44 | Caister-on-Sea Norfolk | C+ | 1.1 | 58% | 2.1 | 21% |
| 45 | Wideopen Tyne and Wear | C+ | 2.1 | 75% | 4.2 | 0% |
| 46 | Okehampton Devon | C+ | 0.9 | 85% | 2.2 | 37% |
| 47 | Brandon County Durham | C+ | 2.2 | 72% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 48 | Barwell Leicestershire | C | 1.7 | 90% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 49 | Milnrow Greater Manchester | C | 2.9 | 58% | 3 | 0% |
| 50 | Kinmel Bay Clwyd | C | 1.8 | 76% | 0.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Totnes Devon | C | 0.4 | 65% | 3.3 | 11% |
| 52 | Ferryhill County Durham | C− | 1.5 | 94% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 53 | Pencoed Mid Glamorgan | C− | 2.8 | 52% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 54 | Sileby Leicestershire | C− | 1 | 80% | 2.6 | 0% |
| 55 | Shifnal Shropshire | D | 1 | 89% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Brandon Suffolk | D | 0.8 | 39% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 57 | Littleport Cambridgeshire | D | 1 | 71% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 58 | Harworth and Bircotes Nottinghamshire | D | 1.9 | 64% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 59 | Pheasey West Midlands | D− | 0.9 | 40% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 60 | Kirkham Lancashire | D− | 1.3 | 66% | 1.3 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is New Mills’ built-up area.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Natural England / NRW
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around New Mills
The biggest is The Torrs Riverside Park, 4.3 ha (11 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
High Lea Park
Park or garden
4.3 ha (11 acres)1.0 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
6 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of New Mills
1 listed
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Bakehurst Recreation Ground
Playing field
1.3 ha (3 acres)0.3 km of path
2 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
Centralin the middle of New Mills
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
8 in 10 New Mills residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (84%)Further (16%)
New Mills84%
Towns its size85%
Derbyshire towns86%
All UK towns83%
About 1,400 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 25 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 368 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
The Peak District National Park is 0.5 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the built-up area; circle size shows each one’s area. National Landscapes were called Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty until 2023.
National ParkNational LandscapeThe 5 km the grade counts
34% of the land within 5 km of New Mills is National Park or National Landscape, more than 85% of UK towns. Peak District National Park covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
15 waymarked walks pass through or near New Mills
86 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in New Mills and the kilometre around it, 5.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
NationalRegionalLocalOther waymarked
Midshires Way8.8 km
Goyt Way8.7 km
GM Ringway Stage 65.5 km
GM Ringway Stage 55.3 km
The Steel Cotton Rail Trail3.7 km
Peak District Boundary Walk Stage 32.3 km
Lantern Pike Circular (Ethel), High Peak2.3 km
Gritstone Trail (Disley - River Dane)2.1 km
Peak Forest Canal towpath - part Marple to Disley1.8 km
Cown Edge Way1.7 km
E2 connector hiking trail1.4 km
A Walk from Disley Train Station to Lyme1.2 km
Lyme South Perimeter Walk1.1 km
Kinder Trespass 751.0 km
North Cheshire Way0.9 km
The E2 connector hiking trail, a national route, passes New Mills. Close to home, the Goyt Way has 9 km of local walk within 2 km of the town. 6 regional routes pass through, including the Midshires Way, GM Ringway Stage 6, GM Ringway Stage 5 and Peak District Boundary Walk Stage 3.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in New Mills: May to September
The town’s 1991–2020 averages (Met Office HadUK-Grid) and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15 °C or more and little rain for the town.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 96 | 90 | 80 | 71 | 72 | 88 | 107 | 99 | 99 | 120 | 116 | 124 |
April is the driest month (71 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 124 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 45 nights a year. The climate in New Mills →
Things to do
4 viewpoints, 25 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK town its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
4Viewpoints3Hills and peaks3.1× towns its size2Nature reserves25Playgroundsabout the same as towns its size
The nearest beaches
New Mills is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Stone Beach19 mi from New Mills’ edge
DirectionsWader Point19 mi from New Mills’ edge
DirectionsCreek Beach South19 mi from New Mills’ edge
DirectionsCreek Beach North19 mi from New Mills’ edge
DirectionsCar Park Beach19 mi from New Mills’ edge
DirectionsGood to know
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Up high. Kiln Knoll, at 298 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of New Mills.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 4
Mellor Cross0.9 mi from town
DirectionsRidge Quarry View Point1.2 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 3
Kiln Knoll298 m (978 ft) · 0.4 mi from town
DirectionsDisley Hill0.9 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 2
Goytside Meadows Local Nature Reserve10 ha · 0.1 mi from town
DirectionsBroadhurstedge Plantation8.0 ha · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 25
Hague Bar Picnic Sitein town
DirectionsArnold Rhodes Playground0.4 mi from town
DirectionsDane Hill Close Playground0.8 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 22 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Furness ValeDisleyHayfieldWhaley BridgeHigh LaneMarple BridgeNew Mills
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mills | A | 2.4 | 84% | 34% |
| Furness Vale 1.3 mi | A− | 2.0 | 78% | 36% |
| Disley 1.5 mi | A− | 1.2 | 100% | 22% |
| Hayfield 2.4 mi | A+ | 2.2 | 100% | 62% |
| Whaley Bridge 2.7 mi | B | 1.6 | 44% | 53% |
| High Lane 2.8 mi | B− | 1.5 | 67% | 12% |
| Marple Bridge 3.1 mi | A | 9.9 | 80% | 13% |
Hayfield, 2.4 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Marple Bridge has at least twice New Mills’ green space per resident.
Questions about the outdoors in New Mills
What is the biggest park in New Mills?
The Torrs Riverside Park, 4.3 ha (11 acres), with 1.6 km of path. High Lea Park (4.3 ha) is second. 3 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is New Mills near a National Park?
Yes. Peak District National Park begins 0.5 mi east of the town’s edge. It covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
What are the best walks near New Mills?
15 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Midshires Way, Goyt Way and GM Ringway Stage 6.
What is the nearest beach to New Mills?
Stone Beach, 19 mi from the edge of the town, then Wader Point (19 mi). New Mills itself is inland.
How many people in New Mills live near a park?
84% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical UK town is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in New Mills?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is New Mills good for walking?
For paths, yes: 5.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 94% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 56% (2.4 ha per 1,000 residents).
How is the Outdoors Grade worked out?
From five measures, each placed among UK towns of 1,000 or more: public green space per resident, the share living near a park, National Park or National Landscape within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of New Mills’ overall grade.
Sources
Where New Mills’ outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: Ordnance Survey OS Open Greenspace (parks and gardens, playing fields, play spaces, and their access points). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik, 16 October 2026.
- Historic parks, listed buildings and monuments: Historic England, National Heritage List for England, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rain and temperature: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the town; daylight calculated from its latitude.
- The sea: ONS Countries (December 2024) boundaries clipped to mean high water. Residents near a park: ONS Census 2021 output areas.
- Grade: TownRatings’ Outdoors Grade, ranked against UK towns only.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.