Travel time 55 minutes each way, via Macclesfield and Rudyard.
Walk time 3 hours 15 minutes. This walk is over 7.5 miles, but generally over fairly level lowland areas. There are a couple of quite short steep rises and plenty of picturesque scenery. The terrain is mainly canal towpaths and farmland. Quite a few fields of cattle and sheep where dogs would need to be on a lead. On a midweek afternoon I encountered very few people!
Weather – cloudy, cool and dry until the last 15 minutes when a shower descended. I decided on a Wednesday walk as tomorrow’s weather forecast is uncertain!
Ordnance Survey Explorer Map 258
Parking – free at Deep Hayes Country Park where there are toilets
Deep Hayes Country Park is beautiful, and a specific visit here is well worth it. They have some well stocked bird feeders where I “captured” a coal tit and nuthatch, and the feature picture of mallards for this blog.
My walk took me back down the drive, a left turn at the road leading over the first canal. This is the main Caldon Canal from Stoke to Froghall, whilst I was taking the Leek Branch.
Continuing up the road over the disused railway, I then took the Leek branch of the canal, heading east.
After a mile or so, I came to the Leek tunnel, requiring walkers to ascend over the hill, but it’s not onerous!
The Leek branch ends at Barnfields where there is an information board about it.
From here, I entered Ladderedge Country Park, walking alongside the River Churnet.
I crossed the river at the A53 road bridge and re-entered the park at the feeder canal. My route follows the feeder for about a mile and a half, alongside a golf course and a couple of large fields with grazing cattle. It is the outfall from Rudyard Lake, after which I believe Kipling was named and around which I usually walk in January / February . The feeder maintains an even speed and very gentle gradient, but is only narrow, as shown on the pictures.
Reaching a footbridge where the Staffordshire Moorlands Walk path goes right, I took a left over the feeder and up a steep gradient out of the valley. As I climbed, I turned to look east where a good view of The Roaches had emerged.
I passed Bradshaw and Summerhill Farm, and a small former quarry in a copse.
Another spectacular view then emerged across a valley, which curiously has no name on the map, nor a major river. Beyond the far side of the valley is the town of Biddulph.
Next stop, Stonelowe Hall…. very nice!
The last stretch took me downhill back over the A53 to a minor road, where I was grateful to a couple of locals who showed me the unsigned and well hidden entry to the next path back down to the disused railway, which strangely still has the tracks!
The route back to the country park can be completed on the railway, or either of the two canals which cross each other near here, so I had to make sure I was heading in the right direction as it was quite confusing!
Still, a splendid afternoon, given the miserable weather earlier in the day.
And finally, one of my 70s favourites came up on the random play on the way home. Got to love some Iggy Pop!
Great photos and walk. Definitely another one to try.
We‘ve recently downloaded the OS Map app. I think it was about £30 for the year. This allows you to plot any route on available footpaths and, better still, tells you if you are not on your chosen footpath!Makes it really easy to follow your walks. Thank you.
Yes, I use the app a lot, but do always take a paper map as well as I have lost the signal occasionally on the phone, and I have a small screen so need to see the bigger picture sometimes.