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Situated at the natural crossing point of the north/south Goyt Valley and the east/west Vale of Kettleshulme and Blackbrook Valleys, Whaley Bridge has been a central point for transport in the Peak District from early times. The road network in the Whaley Bridge area probably has its origins in Roman times and earlier.

The main road through Whaley Bridge used to be the A6, and it still is in Furness Vale.

There is a good network of buses serving the Whaley Bridge area, including Furness Vale. The Trent Barton 199 links Whaley Bridge to Buxton and Chapel en le Frith in the south, and New Mills, Disley, Stockport and Manchester International Airport in the north. There is a half hourly service during the daytime Monday to Saturday, and an hourly service in the early morning, at evening time and on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Some local services are currently provided by a local bus company. There are services during the daytime, Monday to Saturday, between Whaley Bridge (alternate buses from/to Disley) and Macclesfield. Another service links Glossop, Hayfield and New Mills to Furness Vale, Whaley Bridge and Buxton, via Long Hill. This is also a daytime service, running hourly Monday to Saturday. Another Monday to Saturday, daytime only service links Whaley Bridge with Buxton via Buxworth (for Bugsworth Canal Basin), Chinley (for Chinley Station on the Hope Valley railway line), and Chapel en le Frith.

Two limited stop services stop at Furness Vale. A twice daily service links Manchester and Stockport with Chesterfield, whilst the Trans Peak runs from Manchester and Stockport to Derby and Nottingham, with a 2 hourly service in the daytime 7 days a week.

Whaley Bridge has a long railway history dating back to the early days of railways with the opening of the Cromford and High Peak Railway in the 1830s. This line is long closed but can be followed on foot, on horse-back or on bicycle for much of its route.

The current passenger railway dates from 1857 when the Stockport, Disley and Whaley Bridge Railway opened and when Whaley Bridge was terminus of the line until the extension to Buxton was opened in 1863. The railway today enables visitors to visit the amenities of Whaley Bridge, or, is their first stop to the Goyt Valley and the Peak District. Whaley Bridge station is the original 1857 building. The anniversary of this, in June 2007, was commemorated by the Friends of Whaley Bridge Station with a celebratory Victorian Day for locals and visitors.

Today the line links Whaley Bridge with the spa and university town of Buxton in the south, and Stockport and Manchester in the north. Many trains continue to Salford Crescent and some to Blackpool. Nearly all trains call at Furness Vale station. These direct links to Stockport and Manchester provide links with stations all over the country.

There is an hourly service throughout the week, augmented during the rush hours Monday to Saturday. Monthly Folk Trains are now a part of Whaley Bridge life. A train leaves Manchester Piccadilly, picking up passengers along the route, with a folk group playing and singing until they reach Whaley Bridge. The group then performs for a few hours in one of the public houses, before returning to Manchester. Details of these trains may be found in the leaflet ‘Guided Walks and Folk Trains’.

Details of timetables for buses and trains are available on notice boards and in timetable leaflets and booklets obtainable locally.