Rudyard

Rudyard

Jaunary 17, 2016

CAR PARK AT MINIATURE RAILWAY AT RUDYARD, STAFFORDSHIRE WAY, LADDEREDGE COUNTRY PARK, CALDON CANAL, HOLLY BUSH INN, STONELOWE HALL, DUNWOOD, BRADSHAW, DEVIL'S LANE, RUDYARD

Distance: 10miles

Difficulty: Easy except for MUD

Weather: Cold windyish but mainly sunny

Walkers: Tom Cunliffe,  Laurie Fairman, Chris Owen, Jock Rooney with Tip

Apologies: Alan Hart (wimped out), George Dearsley (still living in Turkey), George Waites (domestic duties),Peter Beal (walking along Yorkshire coast), Alastair Cairns, Mark Gibby (in US), Hughie Harriman (man flu) .

Leader: Fairman Diarist: Fairman

S.O.B. Walkers: Tony Job, Terry Jowett, Ken Sparrow

Starting point: Miniature railway car park at Rudyard

Starting time: 10.02am Finishing time: 3.24pm

Rudyard Lake marks probably the most southerly starting point of all Wednesday Wanderers expeditions,which may have been a reason for the poor turnout. A journey of mixed character with some difficulties. The weather despite the BBC dire forecast turned out to be good for walking, fresh and clear.

The main problem came from the leader who, trying for a way to avoid mud at the start of the walk, tried a new route.

Our starting point was the car park of the miniature steam railway that runs alongside Rudyard Lake. It should more properly be called a reservoir, as it was built in 1797 to supply the Caldon Canal, which we were to walk along later. At 168 acres and over 2.5 miles long, it was probably at the time the largest of its kind in Britain.

It also gave its name to one of our most famous storytellers. Stoke-on-Trent architect and illustrator Lockwood Kipling got engaged to his girlfriend Alice MacDonald there in 1863 and when their son was born in Bombay two years later they named him after the spot. Who has not heard of Reservoir Kipling?

We left the car park to the south and headed along the course of the disused North Staffordshire Railway, which in its 19th century heyday used to bring thousands of trippers to the Lake, earning it the title of the 'Blackpool of the Potteries'.

We reached a concrete bridge (7 minutes)but the path was deep in mud which promised to get worse from the cattle further down the walk so we continued down the railway track for a further period until stopped by the fact that the tunnels were closed(25minutes). Not wanting to retrace our steps we turned right over a bridge and walked for some distance through the suburbs of Leek, eventually reaching the main A53 near the golf course. After a small error caused by a fold in the map we found the footpath to the Ladderedge park.

(40 mins)

It was just before this that Jock declared he had enough and left us to return home.

However despite his misgivings we were now back on track – with dry clean boots at least for a few miles.

We  walked through the bottom fields of the park and came across a bridge that marked the end of the Leek branch of the Caldon Canal and a large stone sign proclaiming 'Welcome to Leek'. We were truly in the Midlands.

The Caldon Canal, which leaves the Trent and Mersey in Etruria, Stoke, was opened in 1779 to carry limestone from Cauldon Low quarries near Froghall to the Potteries. The Leek branch opened 18 years later. It was restored to leisure use in 1974.

We turned right along the well-surfaced towpath, with the canal on our right, and followed this tranquil stretch of canal to a low tunnel, at which pie time was declare for the 3 of us.

We sat on the bollards and enjoyed the flavourful damson gin courtesy of Chris.(90mins)

We finally reached a bridge (104 min), where we turned left down a lane to reach the welcoming Hollybush Inn on the nearby main branch of the Caldon Canal at 12.05 (12.05 min).

We sat inside the attractive pub, once a flour mill, with narrowboats moored alongside.

The barmaid informed me that they opened at11 am and it looked like men’s walking day out judging from the clientel

Wainwright's bitter was on offer at a reasonable £3.40. Notice that Peter records that in Oct 2016 it was £3 a pint

We restarted at 12.55pm and turned right along the canal, under an aqueduct carrying the Leek branch, and reached a flight of three locks and a white former lock-keeper's cottage at the point where the two branches of the canal divide.

We located the well-hidden footpath next to the house and turned right on a footpath (138 min).

We crossed an open railway line and crossed two stiles across marshy gound to join a stony path uphill. We unfortunately missed the stoney footpath put plodded up the hill to the A53soon reaching a footpath fingerpost. We turned left at this point,passing through three fields and up a track to reach Stonelowe Hall, a converted 17th century farmhouse, now a Grade Two listed building with an appalling blue gate

We took a grassy footpath at the side of a pond at the left of the hall and followed a high hedge across a series of fields before going right over a stile to reachy a minor road (215 min).

We turned right and at the crest of the hill (228 min) taking a track on the right signed Summerhill Farm.Here we had a brief pause for lunch of chocolate oranges At a right-hand bend we carried straight on along a footpath (232 min) and continued over stiles through fields to emerge on the drive of a large private house whose front gate brought us out on the road called Devil's Lane (243 min)..

We turned left and at the crest of the hill turned right through a gap in the stone wall (250 min). A pleasant walk through field with stiles too numerous to detail followed with excellent views from the high ground we were now on.

Bosley Cloud and Croker Hill could be seen to the left and front of us and on the skyline to the right the distinctive outline of the Roaches and Hen Cloud.

We followed a diabolic footpath to drop steeply downhill to reach the railway track .It was a minor miracle no-one fell the sticky slidy was awful.

We turned left along the track and shortly afterwards reached the car park (324 min).

Next week your diarist is off to South Africa but Chris if he feels up to it will lead a walk from Ridgegate Reservoir where you will drink remains to be decided

My thanks to Peter Beal for the “research”

Happy wandering!