The Roaches

Walked: 24 May 2009
Distance: 13m
Terrain: muddy in lots of places, several steep climbs, but the views make it worthwhile.
Route: Starting at Gradback, follow the river to Danebridge, footpaths to Hangman's Stone and Lud's Church, then onto the Roaches and Ramshaw Rocks.

A well-known part of the Peak District, this is a beautiful route, with many points of interest. Today happened to be one of the finest of the year weatherwise, making an amazing day.





The tree under which we're standing, and whose magnificent trunk you can just see on the left of this picture is one of the biggest trees I've ever seen. It's a humbling experience standing within the vast dome that it makes.



Bluebells are still out and looking beautiful.


This is the old bridge at Danebridge


It is possible to nip up and walk out on top of Hangman's stone but I resisted the temptation today.


A very nice spot for coffee and cake.


One of the biggest surprises today was Lud's Church, which is a chasm and well worth taking a detour for.




This is the Roaches itself (themselves?), an edge with a wonderful view each side. From the trig point at its highest point, you can see Jodrell Bank





The water is Tittesworth Reservoir.


This view is looking back at the end of The Roaches. We have descended and are heading for Ramshaw Rocks.


Careful mapreading required here. Many paths head off in all directions, aren't always obvious, and the one we want goes through a couple of farms.


This is Ramshaw Rocks, apparently not as popular as the edge we've just been along, but still spectacular.




Looking down at the winking man. From the road, it's quite a convincing face, and as you drive past, he appears to wink at you. He really does!


The path back to Gradbach is again quite hard to follow, but eventually picks up a bridleway for a pleasant mile back to the start.