So whilst the country was stuck in turmoil about the elections and who was going to be our next, and no doubt very much disliked, Prime Minister (as i type it's announced Cameron has taken the position) a group of us did something far more important, we went for a walk!!
So off to Staffordshire to The Roaches we went. This is a place i used to go rock climbing many years ago and is a part of the Peak District National Park en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roaches Due to the inclement weather conditions there wasn't much in the way of climbers there on Saturday. We saw a few, and there a few people bouldering, but the wind and rain in the air must have put most people off. It was not good weather for climbing!
Half a dozen of us, plus two children, met just below the rocks. The walk took us up up through the rocks and onto the ridge. It was very windy, and rather cold with a little rain in the air. But this just helped make it bracing!
The views were good though, and some of the rock formations were interesting.
By the time we reached a small road we needed to cross, we all felt it was time for a light lunch break. A dry stone wall gave reasonable shelter. A warm coffee went down very well indeed :-)
As we moved on we dropped down into some woodland. It was a little odd as it was almost all silver birch, but still very pleasant, and out of the cold wind!
After a short way we dropped down to what is known as Lud's Church. This is a chasm caused by a landslip sometime in distant past. It's said that it was sacred to Pagans as the sun penetrates into the chasm on midsummer's day. It was also used as a place of worship in the early 15th century by followers of the church reformer, John Wycliffe. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lud%27s_Church
I've known of Lud's Church for a long time, but had never visited it before. It's a very impressive place. I can just imagine Pagans seeing it as a special place, and also see how it would be used by Christians during a time of persecution as a place of worship. It has a good atmosphere about it, and quite peaceful.
As we left the "Church" we headed back through more woodland, this time more diverse, until we arrived back at road we'd crossed earlier. At this point it was decided we head back along the road instead of going back up into the wind. But it's a quiet road so not a bad choice.
After a walk it's always good to visit a pub, and just down the road is the well known Rock Inn. Unfortunately people wanted food, but they had stopped serving, so we headed back towards Leek (the nearby town) and stopped at another pub. Again they had stopped serving hot food, odd considering a sign outside said "All Day Carvery, 12-8pm". So off we went until we saw another pub. This time just one person went to see if the "Home Cooked Food" sign meant we would be able to eat..? Of course not! So we ended up in Leek. Not ideal, but at least we found an OK pub with food that was decent enough.
Eventually it was time to go our separate ways. It's always good to meet up with good friends, and to meet in good countryside for an interesting walk makes it even better. It was a lovely day indeed!
For more photos
P.T.
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