Journeying through rock-strewn moorlands on crossings from Staffordshire into Derbyshire
3rd October 2024The notion of trekking from Leek to Buxton on foot had long lingered in my mind. Quite how my mind returned to it for the idea to get used more than four years ago is a bit of a mystery to me now. All that I can suggest is that there was a bit of returning home by means of a hike going on that year, and this might have been part of that trend. In June 2021, I embarked on a Leek to Macclesfield hike that shadowed some of the places encountered on this pair of treks; there have been a few of those over the years.
A Long-outstanding Journey
Given that I was ascending and descending a lot during a day trip to the Shropshire Hills near Church Stretton In Shropshire the previous day, one might have thought that an arduous jaunt, spanning over seven hours, would not have been in order. However, that is not how my mind was working in 2020; the need to get out of the house for a while was a strong impulse then.
Once propelled to Leek by my intentions, I then set off on a circuitous route that rounded Tittesworth Reservoir. That passed Brough Park to reach the lane leading to Abbey Green, where I joined with part of the Staffordshire Moorlands Walks. There was a lot of quiet at this time as I traipsed towards North Hillswood and then shadowed the reservoir all the way to Meerbrook, first off-road and then on tarmac with many cars parked, and some people around them.
Passing Meerbrook took me away from any congregations of humanity that there might have been and onward towards Frith Bottom and Middle Hulme. All this kept me away from the reservoir itself, which was likely busy because of the August Bank Holiday weekend, at a time when overseas travel remained heavily restricted.
Following Whitty lane took me to Upper Hulme, where I again encountered more people out and about. By this time, I was on the Churnet Way and nearing Ramshaw Rocks, partly the lure for my strolling. While there had been much sunshine in Stoke-on-Trent, nearly causing me to miss a bus connection, this had declined steadily over the course of the day to leave things largely cloudy by this point. Nevertheless, I stuck with my plan.
The rocks attract their share of climbers too, though The Roaches may be the bigger draw. There certainly were plenty of cars parked along the lane beneath them whenever I stole a look earlier in my hike. The dull weather nullified any photographic point in making anything other than shots of them for record as I was passing. Proximity needed to be enough for me, until I found the kind of sunshine that accompanied walks along The Roaches from which I could see them from a distance.
Beyond Ramshaw Rocks, my surroundings grew quieter again, and I was going to have a lot of this on the rest of the way to Buxton. Leaving the Churnet Way, I continued towards Black Brook Nature Reserve. In places, more rocky outcrops were to accompany me, yet there is another more abiding memory: the land was waterlogged, later affecting my choice of route. Before that, I passed Gib Torr Farm, Adder’s Green and Ann Roach Farm (careful navigation was needed around the last two) to reach Flash Bottom and tarmac.
All the soggy plodding convinced me to stick with the road, not only as far as the village of Flash but also onto Flash Bar Stores, to whose webcam I have linked elsewhere on this portal. Though going by the A53 is not my normal routing, it also was a concession to my wearying limbs. The village itself was a quiet agrarian place, so I was content to pass on my way. Later views of Axe Edge were to give visual occupation.
It is just as well that I noted the landmarks dotting the final approach to Buxton, such is the number of options available to any rambler. Figuring out where one went otherwise would be toil. Quiet lane walking took me to Dove Head before a gravel track got me to Brand Side. Somewhere in the middle of all this, I took some refreshments that I had with me, maybe it was beyond the latter. The ups and downs on tiring legs may have convinced me to do just that before getting as far as Stanley Moor. On the way from there to Grinlow Tower, someone may have asked me how about finding out where to go, and I had to admit there was an app that I was using. These were lightweight times, even if I always had a paper map with me.
With a longer wait for the next train, I opted for bus travel instead. Even after all the distance that had been travelled, I was there in ample time for the next one. The skies may have been grey much of the time, yet this was a satisfying outing. A return would be needed to see more of the countryside in sunshine, and that was to happen. Given the fears of the time, social distancing was a given most of the time, and there was a lot of restorative tranquillity too.
A Sun-Kissed Reprise
The dearth of sunshine on my previous excursion from Leek to Buxton provided ample motivation for a partial encore. Catching a bus from Macclesfield meant that I did not continue into Leek town centre. Doing so would have delayed the start, given the bus takes a roundabout route around the town. Thus, I began at Bridge End and used part of the Churnet Way to get to Abbey Green, the first of numerous hiking route variations.
The morning was sunny, and the forecast was for more of the same for the rest of the day. All of this was already apparent as I rounded Abbey Wood and shadowed Tittesworth Reservoir, reprising where I travelled the previous time around. That reprisal continued as far as Frith Bottom, the next major route variation commenced after that.
Forsaking the paths leading around by Middle Hulme and Upper Hulme, I instead went around by Windygates while heading for the saddle between Hen Cloud and The Roaches. Others were encountered on that saddle, and a line of parked cars extended under The Roaches, as is the case on many weekends, this one being no different. Nevertheless, that was left after me as I continued around by Well Farm, Ferny Knowl and Naychurch to take a shorter route to Ramshaw Rocks.
This time around, my encounter with Ramshaw Rocks was sun blessed. Thus, I could come away with some pleasing photos, as I had hoped. It helped that the area was notably less peopled than on my previous visit, with most ramblers and climbers staying around Hen Cloud and The Roaches instead.
From Ramshaw Rocks, it was a matter of plodding through quiet moorland as far as Black Brook Nature Reserve, negotiating any waterlogged patches that I encountered as I went. This time, I had sunshine to enliven the views; splashing through moorland under grey skies is less alluring. The mention of underfoot conditions may not sell the route, yet it was not all like that, and there was plenty of restorative solitude anyway.
Beyond Black Brook Nature Reserve, my route diverged significantly from that followed by the earlier trek. From Gib Torr Farm, it became a trot along lanes as far as Morridge Top Farm on the A53. From there, the route is less clear at this stage. There is a memory of asking to get through a gate and having it flung open for me that suggests a right of way shadowing farm buildings. Not pushing the gate back because of disease deference left me with a pang of regret, which is why it remains in my mind. The mix of lively cattle, an open gate and a farming upbringing is what drove that emotion. Still, she did call her dogs back from following me, so it might have been the lapse that I then thought it to be.
Stitching it together from the map now, where there are numerous options, it looks likely that I crossed a field from the A53 to Pethills Farm. From there, a lane would have conveyed me to Lower Petthills Farm, beyond which I was again following rights of way. Smallshaw Farm then would have been where the gate incident happened before I continued to Thick Withins. After that, I would find my way onto the Manifold Trail in a way that matches faded memories.
If the Manifold Trail got me the rest of the way to Buxton, that would make describing it a far easier, but I soon left it to cross a road to pick up yet another right of way. This one offered glimpses of Chrome Hill to the east, complementing earlier views of Croker Hill and Shutlingsloe, adding to a day of varied vistas.
By then, I was navigating a thick network of paths and tracks that would carry me into limestone country and drier ground. The sequence of landmarks included Tenterhill and Brand End as I negotiated the ups and downs of complex terrain. Later on that glorious evening, I would pass Thirkelow Rocks on my way back to more familiar ground.
Crossing a lane led me onto the lands of the Heath and Safety Laboratory, where there are access warnings placed at more hazardous locations; these experiments are not human-friendly. My route took me around by Diamond Hill and Countess Cliff, while I noted the foam in a watercourse with a certain dislike. In the near distance, Grinlow Tower lay ahead of me, with a collection of silage-making machinery parked somewhere between the landmark and where I was.
Meanwhile, advancing cloud cover, and the lowering of the sun in the sky, meant that the sunlit show was coming to an end for me. Equally, the vigour of my legs was ebbing. Thus, it took one last heave to get past the hill hosting Grinlow Tower before everything downhill for much of the remaining distance into the centre of Buxton. Since the day had brought ample satisfaction, there could be no sense of deprivation at its ending.
Travel Arrangements
The first hike took place on a Sunday, so the outbound journey involved travelling by train from Macclesfield to Stoke-on-Trent, followed by a walk to Hanley bus station and a journey on bus service 16 to Leek. The last portion was nearly forfeited by a late arrival caused by dallying in Hanley Park, but for a scurry across the busway that did not impress a bus driver (“That was dangerous, that was”, he said before giving me a ticket for the journey). The return from Buxton to Macclesfield was by bus as far as Stockport and by train for the rest of the way.
Details of transport for reprise are somewhat lost to me now, but I have almost no doubt that the return journey from Buxton would have been by train, though going by bus to Stockport remains another possibility for making it a hybrid of bus and rail. An outbound journey on bus service 109 from Macclesfield to Leek is more likely too because this was on a Saturday.
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