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

One hundred churches

About the middle of January, I was walking to school one afternoon when it occurred to me that I must have visited quite a few churches on my explorations. I started counting them. But I quickly ran out of fingers, so when I got home I plotted them on Google Maps. Not only was the number much higher than I was expecting, it was also tantalisingly close to one hundred. Only a few dozen to go. So of course, every walk since then has had to include at least one church! Last Monday I visited my hundredth church: St John the Baptist, Dethick. It was a beautiful little 13-century building with an unusual tower - I was glad it had claimed the 100 spot. I haven't been inside every church. Sometimes they were locked; sometimes I was in a hurry and didn't try the door. St Leonard's Church in Alton had bellringers practicing, and I almost interrupted a funeral when I stuck my head through the door of St Mary's, Marston-on-Dove. A few, such as St Oswald's, Ashbourne, and St Wys...
Post a Comment
Read more

Easter holidays 2025

It felt like a busy Easter holiday this year - a nice mixture of household jobs, time in the sunshine, and family celebrations. Here are a few highlights. Birthday cake Graham's mum had a big birthday, so Graham and his sister secretly organised a few friends to come to dinner with her. She was surprised - and pleased! - when a small family meal at the pub turned out to include fifteen extra people. Theo baked and decorated this amazing cake all by himself. My sole involvement was cutting it up at the end. The event was a big success. thanks to my mum for the photo Days out We had a family day out at Peak Wildlife Park , in the Staffordshire countryside. It's been a few years since we last went; the penguins and lemurs were familiar, but the zoo has acquired a couple of polar bears. Believe it or not, these two are only half-grown. They're about three years old. playfighting polar bears lemurs penguins otters   I persuaded Toby and Theo to come to a garden with me with the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Derwent Valley Heritage Way: Steep drops ahead

It's been a long time since I fitted that much up and down into an eight-mile walk! 740m of steep climbs and steps. My legs were not very happy with me the next day. Between Matlock and Cromford, the Derwent River runs through a deep valley, with Matlock Bath - a landlocked town which pretends to be a seaside resort - down at the bottom. The ridge of high ground used to run all the way round to Scarthin Rock, cutting off Cromford from the rest of the valley, until somebody blasted a hole through it to build the A6. Matlock Bath: pavilion and amusement park I started in Cromford and climbed over the ridge at Harp Edge, then followed a path along through the woods, with the ground dropping sharply away to my right. There were a few small caves among the trees. At Upperwood someone had thoughtfully provided a bench. I wasn't in need of a rest just yet, though. In fact, I was feeling so bouncy that I went down an entirely unnecessary flight of steps, instead of staying on the reaso...
Post a Comment
Read more