Staffordshire Moorlands

Hen Cloud in the background

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The remains of the farmhouse at Roachend Farm in the Peak District.

I recently undertook a flying visit to the Peak District to see Brad and Barb who were visiting from the States. On the trek back home, I reached the Ramshaw Rocks just as the sunset was ending. It was too good an opportunity to miss so it was a quick sprint up to the ridgeline, find a decent looking outcrop and move until the composition was vaguely presentable. I know it would have been better to take more time over planning and execution, but sometimes you have to do the best you can in the circumstances....

The Roaches (from the French les roches - the rocks) is a prominent rocky ridge above Leek and Tittesworth Reservoir in the Peak District of England. The ridge with its rock formations rises steeply to 505 m (1,657 ft).

Along with Ramshaw Rocks and Hen Cloud they form a gritstone escarpment, which is popular with hikers, rock climbers and freerunners. It is often very busy especially at weekends.

The Roaches Estate which includes Hen Cloud was purchased by the Peak District National Park Authority in the 1980s to safeguard the area from adverse development. From May 2013 Staffordshire Wildlife Trust took on the management of the Roaches Estate.

In clear conditions, it is possible to see much of Cheshire and views stretching as far as Snowdon in Wales and Winter Hill in Lancashire.

The Roaches are the most prominent part of a curving ridge which extends for several miles from Hen Cloud in the south to Back Forest and Hangingstone in the northwest. At the top there is a small pool called Doxey Pool that is, according to legend, inhabited by a water spirit. Nearby are the broad hills of Gun and Morridge. Wikipedia

*"Most wild wallabies are in this country thanks to Capt Courtney Brocklehurst, a Staffordshire landowner, who was killed in the Second World War. After his death, war regulations decreed the disposal of his private zoo at Roaches House, near Buxton, and five red-necked wallabies were released into the countryside. By the 1960s, numbers had risen to 50. And, although sightings are still reported today, numbers have dwindled due to road kills, dogs, foxes and disturbance." Mow your grass with a wallaby

Although I've never personally seen a wild wallaby in the area as they have probably all died out by now, there is a stuffed wallaby from the area on display in The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery*

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The barn is now only used as a shelter for the sheep that roam about these fields.

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The Roaches in the Peak District.

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Thor's Cave (also known as Thor's House Cavern and Thyrsis's Cave) is a natural cavern located at SK09865496 in the Manifold Valley of the White Peak in Staffordshire, England. It is classified as a Karst cave. Located in a steep limestone crag, the cave entrance, a symmetrical arch 7.5 metres wide and 10 metres high, is prominently visible from the valley bottom, around 80 metres (260 feet) below. Reached by an easy stepped path from the Manifold Way, the cave is a popular tourist spot, affording excellent views over the Manifold Valley.

Thor's Cave was served by a railway station on the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway from 1904 to 1934; the disused line now forms the Manifold Way. Wikipedia

Summer

youtu.be/sg1rFsrCrZ8

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Roachend Farm commands stunning views over the Peak District countryside. It's a shame that there is no-one there to enjoy them.

Water flows into Tittesworth from the Upper River Churnet. Most of the water comes from winter floods and the reservoir acts as a huge storage tank, taking water in and out when needed. www.stwater.co.uk