Skip to main content

Churnet Way: Cheddleton to Leek

It was a grey and misty day in a succession of grey and misty days. The sun seems to have gone into hibernation. There are still autumn leaves around to brighten things up, though, and I was glad to get out.


Cheddleton is not well-endowed with car parks. I found a roadside spot near the primary school and walked back along the road, past a war memorial gate, to St Edward's Church. Inside there were candles to light - always a nice touch.


door to St Edward's church


I followed a well-used path along one side of the canal to Basford Bridge, where I finished last time, and then back along the towpath on the other side. Two miles' walking to end up almost where I started! A metal fabricating business proved that there is still some functioning industry in the area. Its yard was piled with galvanised troughs and what looked like giant coat hangers.

Basford Bridge



The Flint Mill is a reminder of past industry. There are two water wheels which used to power machinery to grind flint for the potteries. A volunteer pulled up in his car just as I arrived, which triggered a flurry of ducks. "I'm late with their breakfast today," he said as he scattered seed around. "We started with seven ducks, and now there's sixty."



 

I continued along the Caldon Canal towpath. It was nicely surfaced, so very easy walking. I was surprised to discover some overgrown rails just off the canal. There used to be a line running down to Stoke-on-Trent, but it's marked as dismantled on the map, so I assumed the track had long gone.


Getting to a road, I turned right, walked uphill a short distance, and found myself on another canal. I was slightly puzzled for a moment, until I realised that this was the Leek branch of the Caldon Canal. It comes off the main canal and runs parallel for a while, higher up the side of the valley, before curving towards Leek.


view across the valley

This house had a long sloping garden with a unicycle leaning against the wall at the bottom. Did someone unicycle down those steps? I wondered. Or did they pedal around that small patio, perilously close to the canal?


The Leek Branch meandered along, ran through a short tunnel (were these cows waiting to go through?) and ended abruptly at a former aqueduct. Underneath was the River Churnet. On top, a sign welcomed me to Leek. A nice touch, even though it was really just an industrial estate on the outskirts of town. I wasn't getting as far as the town centre today.



the end of the canal

Hello Leek!

Instead, I turned left and dropped down to the River Churnet. I enjoyed being beside a brisk bubbling river, after so long next to still, silent canals. It wasn't so pleasant trying to find a safe place to cross the busy A53. There I joined the Staffordshire Way and crossed Ladderedge Country Park. A picnic bench on a hill made a good spot for lunch. I'm sure the views are even better on a sunny day.

River Churnet with aqueduct

A53 milestone

lunch at Ladderedge
 

Scurrying across the A53 again, I scooted past a garbage truck on a narrow lane. "You're all right on that side, duck," the bin man reassured me. The lane became a track, then a footpath, before widening to a lane again. Looking at the map, I realised I was walking along the same bit of valley for the third time. First the Caldon Canal at the bottom, next the Leek Branch a little higher up, and now this section of road, looking down on both canals. Soon I was back at the bridge over the Caldon Canal again.

misty views

My original route plan took me along a single-track road called Park Lane, which would have led me directly to the car. However, there were "Road Closed" signs and I could see a bulldozer blocking the way. I wasn't at all disappointed to be forced to walk through Deep Hayes Country Park. It looked interesting, even though it was a longer route.

old outlet valves from the reservoir

There used to be a reservoir here, but it closed decades ago and was repurposed into several smaller pools to provide wildlife habitat. I liked the waterfalls with stepping stones beneath them. Once the pools had dwindled to a stream, the path got muddier. This was the first real mud I'd encountered on this walk - it had all been remarkably dry and well-paved, in contrast to previous sections.


a mossy spring


Joining a public footpath, I passed a bench dedicated to several footpath workers and members of the Ramblers Association. Then the route took me across a few horse fields and back to the Old School Tearooms, just over the road from the new school. Sadly the cafe was closed, but it was nearly an hour's drive home and I needed to get going anyway. I'd have some coffee at home.


Old School Tearooms

Cheddleton - Leek  9.6 miles / 15 km

5 November 2024

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trent Valley: the march of the pylons

In the 1980s, the River Trent supplied the cooling water for fifteen coal-fired power stations, each one gobbling up coal from the local mines and quenching its heat with gallons of river water. The area was known as Megawatt Valley . As the 20th century gave way to the 21st, the mines closed, the coal trains stopped running, and the iconic cooling towers, one by one, fell to the ground. The high-voltage electricity lines which connected the stations to the grid are still there, however, and they dominated the walk I did today. The stately silhouettes of pylons stalked across the landscape, carrying fizzing power lines which sliced up the sky. At one point, I was within view of two of the remaining sets of cooling towers. Diving further back into history, I parked by Swarkestone Lock on the Trent & Mersey Canal, walked past St James' Church, and arrived at Swarkestone Bridge, a 14th-century causeway which still, remarkably, carries traffic today. It was famously the southernmos...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Churnet Way: a wonderful walk

The loop from Oakamoor to Froghall and back was one of the most enjoyable walks I've done in a long time. It had a bit of everything: woods, ponds, rivers and railways; steep climbs and sweeping views; an unusual church, an ex-industrial wharf, and, as a final bonus, car parks with toilets. Of course, the sunny weather helped too. I parked in Oakamoor and set off along a quiet lane called Stoney Dale. This is the route of the Churnet Way, which deviates away from the river for a couple of miles. After a while I turned right and climbed up through the woods on a gravelly path, then dropped down to the B5417. a spring in Oakamoor   Crossing the road, I entered Hawksmoor Nature Reserve. It has some fine gateposts commemorating John Richard Beech Masefield, "a great naturalist". I found a photo of the opening of the gateway in 1933; unsurprisingly, the trees have grown a lot since then! A track took me down through the woods to East Wall Farm. Lovely view! Nice duck pond as ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Theo Alexander

The due date was fast approaching, and, having had Toby five weeks early, this pregnancy was feeling like it had dragged on far too long.  On Sunday morning, two days before D-Day, we went to church, wearily confirming to eager enquiries that yes, we were still here, no baby in tow yet.  And then, at 3:30 am on the morning of Monday 10th February, my waters broke and things began to get moving.  Fast. Yes, I know I had to apologise to you ladies who have gone through long-drawn-out labours last time , and I'm afraid I have to do it again.  The change in the midwife's attitude when we got to the hospital was almost comical; she breezed in and put the monitors on and said, "I'll just leave those for a few minutes, then".  Back she came for a proper examination, had a quick feel, and: "OK, we'll get you to the delivery room RIGHT NOW," followed by a mad dash down the corridor in a wheelchair!  Our new little boy was born at 5:16 am. You...
1 comment
Read more