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Date: 12/12/2012
From: Rockhall
Parking: Roadside parking
Start Point: Rockhall
Region: Peak District
Route length: 6.9 miles (11.1 km)
Time taken: 03:16
Average speed: 2.2 mph
Ascent: 400m
Descent: 373m
Summits: The Roaches (505m)
Other points of interest: Doxey Pool, Lud's Church
The Roaches is as popular a place as you might encounter in the Peak District, sharing many characteristics with the much larger Stanage Edge in the north. While not as expensive as the great edges of Stanage and Curbar, The Roaches stretches hundreds of metres along its length and is formed in exactly the same way. I had done this walk only a few months previous but the draw of a winter excursion was too great to resist and I was desperate to show Sara the superb scenery of The Roaches, including the dramatic Lud's Church.
We'd managed to plan a walk on a weekday which kept the crowds at bay. It was, however, startlingly cold which probably also played its part. There's a long layby near the foot of Hen Cloud that provides some suitable car parking though the issue of free spaces wasn't a problem today. I imagine it's a slightly different story on a sunny summer weekend.
Despite the, it was a spectacular day with crisp, clear blue skies stretching around in all directions, the perfect winter day to be out and about in the countryside. The path from the car park winds up through the woods on the slopes of The Roaches and past the famous Rockhall Cottage. This is in fact the Don Whillans Hut, a building that is dedicated to the great climber by the same name. Interestingly, part of the building is built directly into the rocks of The Roaches, utilising an old cave. It is currently administered by the British Mountaineering Council and you can read more about it here.
The first order of the day is to reach the foot of The Roaches |
Hen Cloud |
Frozen fields stretch out into the distance |
The Don Whillans Hut |
The gritstone of The Roaches |
The path leads towards a depression between the rocks |
The path emerges through a break in the rocks |
The view towards Tittesworth Reservoir |
The view west west |
The Cloud stands above the clouds |
A look back south to Hen Cloud |
Frozen puddles |
Ice tinted trees |
Doxey Pool |
The frozen waters |
Sara makes her way along the ridge |
Tittesworth Reservoir |
Approaching the high point of The Roaches |
The trig pillar marks the high point of The Roaches |
A view along the ridge to the north |
Some impressive rock scenery on the way to Roach End |
A window between the rocks |
The view southwest |
A wall accompanies the path towards the Hanging stone |
A serious frost on the grass |
Crepuscular rays over the countryside |
Sara above Back Forest |
Sunshine over the fields |
Add caption |
The lane leading towards Forest Wood |
One of the wallabies |
A small clue lies on the ground |
The entrance to Lud's Church |
The drop down into Lud's Church |
Sara in the first chamber |
The second chamber is much larger |
The icicles adorning the walls |
Things get a little more interesting after the second chamber |
The are some nice narrow cracks to squeeze through |
The return to the surface is a bit more sedate |
The hidden exit |
Gradbach Wood |
The lane leading back to Roach End |
Three of the Five Clouds |
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