Words & Photos Roger Butler

August 01 2010

For six glorious years I lived just 20 minutes away from the Roaches, where a distinctive gritstone crest boldly marks the south-western edge of the Peak District.

I still long for summer evenings clambering among the rocks and heather, and often dream of the days when I could dash home from work and, just half an hour later, park by the gate below Hen Cloud.

Those were the days when the reclusive “King of the Roaches” lived in the primitive cottage at the bottom of the cliffs, and the famous wallabies could still be seen near the mysterious chasm known as Lud’s Church. I saw them only once, when a 5am start and an hour spent motionless in the bracken was rewarded by a pair no more than 20 feet away. These strange escapees were thought to have died out some years ago, but a photo taken last year seems to suggest all might not be lost. I’d love to see them again.

These days a walk around the Roaches is always a bit of a pilgrimage, and I made sure I was on top of Hen Cloud before the arrival of the weekend’s rock climbers. The lonely Mermaid pub, silhouetted high on Morridge Edge, brought back a few memories before I dropped down to the start of the main ridge.

Rock Cottage has now been revamped as the Don Whillans Memorial Hut, but the paths up through the pine trees were as enticing as ever. I found the carefully crafted stone steps which rise steeply between a couple of buttresses and turned left towards the distant trig point.

I never tire of the straightforward but airy promenade along the escarpment, but paused to sit by Doxey Pool and recalled the day when the mist was so thick I nearly stepped right in. Thankfully I pulled back just in time since according to local folklore the water is supposedly bottomless.

The sound of a red grouse stirred me to my feet again, and once I’d reached the top of the ridge I skipped down past some large eroded boulders to cross the lane by Roach End. The northern section here might lack the rocky outcrops to the south but I enjoyed the glimpses down into the woods, which camouflage an infant River Dane and hide the entrance to Lud’s Church.

This deep and secretive crack always makes me feel I’m going to bump into a goblin or a wizard, and I lingered to listen to its dripping water and the echo from a buzzard overhead. Then it was time to return to daylight and follow moorland paths back to the car.

The Roaches might appear in every Peak District guidebook, but sometimes you just can’t beat a well-known and classic walk.

Distance: 9.5 miles/15km Ascent: 1525ft/465m Time: 5-6 hours Start/finish: Track at foot of Hen Cloud (GR: SK 006615) Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorer sheet 24 (The Peak District – White Peak area) Information: Leek TIC, 01538 483741 Travel: A weekend shuttle bus now operates from Meerbrook village (1.5 miles to SW)

Technical Spec
Take track from lane below Hen Cloud and climb directly to rocky summit. Descend NNW to gap below Roaches, cross stiles and join main path into pine trees. Pass stone hut and take stone steps (or other paths) up onto ridge. Walk NNW along top of ridge to reach summit trig point. Continue NNW and cross lane to pass through gap in stone wall. Take path NW along open ridge, after 1.5 miles take path tending N and NE to descend into woods. Look carefully for signs and entrances to Lud’s Church. Then take path down to River Dane, cross and take path onto Gradbach Hill. Contour round to Cloughhead, then walk E to lane. Take paths over Goldstich Moss to follow Black Brook. From lane choose paths S back to start.