The Roaches

Date: 2 July 2011

Area: Staffordshire Moorlands North of Leek

Distance: 10.8 miles 17.4k

Start Location: Tittesworth Resevoir

OS Sheet: Explorer OL24

Grid Ref: SJ 9937 6032

Route

These notes are provided to enable the walk to be plotted on a 1:25,000 map.

Turn right out the car park, along the road to a track on the left, Whitty Lane which leads to Upper Hulme , turn right downhill to the hair pin bend, take track in front to Dains Mill follow around the east and north side of Hen Cloud to Well Farm. Cross the fields to climb up and into the wood land on the south side of the Roaches ridge. Proceed along the ridge to cross the road and through the wall taking the track on the right downhill into the woodland. Keep to the higher track & watch for signs to Luds Church. Walk through the chasm and pick up path westwards, then south, and east to Clough Head, along the road to Buxton Brow, south on track and turn east on path heading south of Roche Grange until reaching the road to Green Lane and Rose Cottage then across the fields to Meerbrook, turn left along the road to the car park.

Journey

This is one of Andys walks as it’s an area he knows quite well. It’s only my second time here since 1968 or 9 when a springtime, Army sailing trip to the area was changed, due to heavy snow, into a skiing trip. We spent 4 nights in a freezing Anzio Camp and the days out on the roads and fields to the east of the A53. I well remember après ski in the Mermaid Inn. Another place I must revisit.

The Roaches sits just north of Leek in Staffordshire, to the west is Congleton in Cheshire, while to the north is Buxton in Derbyshire. These diverse counties all meet together just north of the Roaches on the River Dane at Three Shires Head, but that’s another walk. The Roaches are within the Peak Park, just.

We parked at the Severn Trent visitors centre and car park at Tittesworth Reservoir and paid £4.70 for the privilege, their toilets are quite posh though. Unfortunately water levels are very low so that from where we were, we could only see mud.

This area is hilly with high moorland, long ridge and valleys and plenty of rivers. At the start of the walk the Roaches and its partner, to the east, Hen Cloud have the look of a massive wall with great rocky outcrops and butterisses blocking the way north. As you get closer it softens a bit until walking around the east and north side of Hen Cloud you get to see its gentler side.

Dains Mill a short way along from Upper Hulme is an old water mill that looks as if it is being restored, the photo below shows its overshot water wheel. As you walk up the to the mill and beyond you can see hidden in the undergrowth the remains of the mill ponds and leets that fed and drained it.

From the steepish slope at to the east end of the Roaches I stopped to look back at Hen Cloud and I reckon it looks a bit like Gibraltar. Unfortunately I didn’t think to take photo duh.

The first half mile or so along the side of the ridge in the woodland below the Staffordshire Gritstone is a climber’s mecca. We stopped in the shade to have lunch and watch numerous young men and women swarming up the rock faces.

Moving along the ridge you will eventually come to a small picturesque pool of water known as Doxey Pool. It has a reputation that belies its beauty. Legend has it that a resident mermaid by the name of Jenny Greenteeth entices walkers into the blue waters of Doxey Pool and into a watery grave from which they do not return. (Borrowed from http://www.trekkingbritain.com/)

Certainly as we admired it and the views, several DOE groups plodding by looking as if they would like to stop and have a paddle.

Beyond the Trig Pillar at 505m above sea level the ridge drops to a pass before climbing again. In the pass lurks a lonely Ice Cream man who lures passing travellers to his van where he takes shed loads off money off them. We did enjoy the 99’s though.

Crossing the road and through the wall we dropped down and along the north side of the ridge into another stretch of lovely woodland perched high above Black Brook. Here deep in Back Forest lies another Roaches wonder Luds Church. It is a chasm which twists and turns over some 100m ranging between about 10 and 18m deep, hung with mosses and ferns. It was lovely and cool after the heat on the ridge. Outside we picked and eat some wild Bilberries. For a bit more info on Luds Church see Wikipedia.

Rounding the west end of the ridge we could see the ridge stretched out in front of us and below the farmland we had to cross to get back to the car and more importantly the pub at the Trout Inn in the village of Meerbrook.

Mrs G, Andy and I all felt this had been a first class walk, very hot and tiring, with temperatures some 26 deg C in the sun, but the countryside and the all-round views particularly with the clear blue sky were outstanding. This walk had it all high ridges, woodland walks, barren hill tops, beautiful farm land and everlasting views and a pub at the end.