Rudyard Lake

THE KNOT INN, RUDYARD LAKE, HORTON

Distance: 7.6 miles.

Difficulty: Easy.

Weather: Cloudy with light showers and later sunshine

Walkers: John Laverick, George Dearsley, Nigel Crank, Jock Rooney and Tips, Syd Marland

B walkers: To be added.

Apologies: Tom Cunliffe (w^*king), Alan Hart (dislike of the rain)

Leader: Laverick. Diarist: Dearsley

Starting point: Public car park near the Knot Inn, Rushton Spencer

Starting time: 9.47am. Finishing time: 1.13pm.

Audere-est-Facere (to dare is to do) is the motto of Tottenham Hotspur. And those Wednesday Wanderers prepared to dare to defy an abysmal weather forecast were rewarded with a very pleasant walk around Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire.

The temperature was mild and after a wet start we saw blue skies and bright sunshine.

Thanks must go to John Laverick, who, in the absence of seasoned leaders like Lawrie Fairman, stepped up to the plate with a plan and some skilful map reading, which ensured a successful day.

The prospects looked bleak at 9.30am as the rain hammered down in the car part behind the Knot Inn and the walk seemed more Frank Spencer than Rushton Spencer.

But it had eased by 9.45am and by 10.05am had virtually stopped.

We left the car park by the rear to pick up the old railway line.

Soon a rather sorry looking Rudyard Lake hove into view. The 200 year old lake gave Rudyard Kipling his name. Kipling’s parents fell in love with Rudyard so much during their courtship that they decided to name their son Rudyard.

Luckily, their love tristes were not held in Sandy Balls in the New Forest or Twatt in the Orkneys.

The lake was developed by executives of the North Staffordshire railway in the early 1900s to give days out for workers.

Rudyard Lake

We passed the sea scouts training site and then came across a miniature railway.

Trains were actually running, too, with no thought about the wrong kind of rain or leaves on the line. Sadly, however, passengers were at a premium. In fact we didn’t see any.

We passed a miniature station called Hunthouse Wood. A train was being tested but on seeing the Wanderers it retreated like some frightened animal into the distance.

We passed another miniature station called the Dam and soon after came to the main HQ of the steam train service called Rudyard.

The railway is 10 and ¼ inch gauge, about half the size of a full narrow gauge railway.

Its trains are named after historical/mythical characters and items like Merlin, Excalibur and King Arthur.

But it’s not cheap. A three mile trip costs £4 about four times what average commuters pay on Northern Rail or Northern Fail as it’s called.

The not-so-fat Controller

‘elf and safety never too far away, even on a miniature railway.

 After taking in a few nostalgic lungfuls of steam and passing the time of day with a railway engineer we took a sharp turn to the right, passed some “no entry” signs for cars.

This took us down a hill to a road where we turned left and climbed an incline to a roundabout.

A sign said Biddulph to the right and we took this road. But after only a few yards we turned left up a path.

We went over a stile and turned right following the line of the field.

Then we turned left following the familiar yellow arrow, heading towards the village of Horton.

At 11.09am the sun came out. And to prove it see my picture below.

Two minutes later Pie Time was declared.

With no Tom Cunliffe to badger us we enjoyed a full 11 minutes of gourmandising.

Sun in Staffs

It was here that Syd Marland mentioned Spite Hall, which we had in fact already passed, although we could not see it for foliage.

It took its name from a family feud, which began when a wealthy man built Rudyard Villa on the side of the lake and constantly boasted about its views.

The owner’s brother then built Rudyard Vale opposite so as to block the prominent views.

No NIMBY's in them days!

We went through a gate and turned left, up to the top of a hill, where we turned right.

We went down a grass path onto a metalled road.

After a check of the map we took the metalled road to the left rather than the grassy public footpath to the right.

This brought us to Dairy House, a listed building. 

Dairy House

This is a farmhouse dating back to 1635. I’m sure, like me, the other Wanderers were agog at its ball finials.

The apex of the three recessed dormer gables, decorated with hearts and shamrocks, is inscribed "IHI & MAR". 

It was owned by The Biddulphs, Roman Catholics, and the inscription is the initials for Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

John Biddulph was among the royalists killed at the battle of Hopton Heath in 1643; his estate was sequestrated and in 1645 Dairy House was assigned to a parliamentarian, Maj. Edward Downes.  In 1673 the house was owned by Thomas Endon of Leek. The later descent is unknown until 1909 when Richard Turnock left Dairy House farm to his brother William, whose family still lived at the house in 1991.

We reached a T junction. A sign pointing right said Rudyard 1 ½ miles and Leek 4. We turned right then left over a stile which was rather hidden and which led to an overgrown path. Some Wanderers preferred to scale the five-bar gate 30 yards further along the road.

Having entered a field we followed its edge on the left, passed a herd of cows, and soon hit a farm track. We took the metalled track and entered a farmyard, turning left between barns.

Here the going got decidedly heavy.

And if you were a fan of cow pats you were in your element.

We negotiated a stile and turned sharp right, picking our way through what looked like a paddy field.

We went down a slope and then took a minute or two to find the bridge that John’s map assured us was there. It was too, only not in the best condition, one end listing at about 30 degrees.

Jock manages the Wonky bridge

Now bright sun bathed the Wanderers in light.

We reached a metalled road at 12.38 and saw a house on the right called Great Hough.

We turned right at the side of this house and followed a river on the left.

We then crossed a field diagonally, negotiated another wooden bridge and turned left. This brought us parallel with the railway track we had taken some hours earlier in the opposite dirction.

But to reach it we had to go to the top of the road and climb gingerly down a steepish and slippery slope at the side of a bridge.

By 1.13pm we were back at the cars and after de-booting we enjoyed a refreshing pint in the Knot Inn where Timothy Taylors and Abbot Ale were both an eye watering £3.40.


Walkers: Geoff, Tony and Terry.Apologies: Wally (W">K), Ken (unbalanced).Our original plan was a walk round Gawsworth, led by Ken. In his absence, we decided a walk round Rudyard would be less muddy. A sensible decision, especially when Geoff opened the boot to discover his boots were not there! We crossed the dam, and learned that the water level in the lake was being kept down to the level last seen in autumn 2011 while engineering work was being carried out.The track was not muddy until we passed the sailing club H.Q., but deteriorated on the climb up to Cliffe Park; this imposing residence has deteriorated a lot, apart from the stonework, and is probably beyond economic restoration. Like the A team, we had enjoyed sunshine for most of the walk. Rather than trying the Knot for a drink, we repaired to the Olde King's Head at Gurnett, where we enjoyed Old Speckled Hen at £3.20 a pint, and Marston's at £3.00.Next week: 394 bus from Rising Sun at about 9.40 to Marple, then walk via Roman Lakes to the A6 and the 199 bus home. (We did Ashford twice in August when the TP bus to Nottingham was running).

It has been suggested that next week’s walk explores Monsal Dale.  The proposal is to park at Ashford-in-the-Water near the sheepwash bridge which is near the church.

We will congregate at the sheepwash bridge at 9.45am.

Happy Wandering!