The Roaches - click on this title for an information link

RIGHT - now I've got your attention...........

Hi all,
well, as you all know, February is usually very drab and there's not much to see, at first glance, in the countryside. Too late for foliage, too early for flowers. Although today there was the odd bunch of Snowdrops, and I DID see two Daffs poking their heads up. I was eager to get out, as I have a NEW (well - new to me) camera!!! My old one gave up the ghost, so I got another one from Ebay. It's almost the same as my other one, but a later model. It has a few more refinements, but looks and feels the same and, as I loved the old one, I love this one too.

You can have a look at the spec' etc here; http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/fuji_3800.html
Well, the day came, and it was GORGEOUS! A PERFECT day for a walk like the Roaches, so I had chosen well. We saw surprisingly few people out, I would have expected crowds as it was SUCH a clear and lovely day.
This is my first view as I top the ridge at the Mermaid pub. It always excites me to see this, The walk started just the other side of that hill, Hen Cloud, and went along that ridge on the right, the Roaches. I then walked in that far valley around Gun End.

The walk starts straight up the hill, and along the western flank of the Roaches (from the French ' Roche', meaning 'rocks'). You are usually protected from any of the strong winds the Roaches are noted for on this section, but soon turn right, up a gully, and into the teeth of the gale, if there is one!





The view of Tittesworth from Hen Cloud.

The sun glints on Doxey pool. A lot of legend and lore surrounds this pool. Some say it's bottomless, some say it is connected to the Mermaid pub. Some say a Mermaid called Jenny Greenteeth appears here at certain times (usually to do with the moon) to lure walkers to a watery grave, and some say it is cursed. I must admit, it's true that I've never heard birds singing here, and that's another part of the legend! For more information, click here;

http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/visits/ludschurch.php

This is the 'smooth side' of the Roaches. The other side rises up in a cliff face, this side is more rolling and gentle, with far-reaching views of the surrounding countryside.

How's THIS for magical??? Light reflects as I look back to Doxey pool.

The rocks are eroded in some really strange patterns, and it doesn't take much imagination to 'see' various things.
This one on the right is a mans head looking up to the sky.

Last time I did this walk, we sat on this tree to have lunch.
Today, the tree WAS lunch - to marauding fungi!

Luds church. So called because the Lollards, who were followers of John Wycliffe, an early church reformer, are supposed to have used this as a secret place of worship during the early 15th century, when they were being persecuted for their religious beliefs. Lud's Church may have been named after Walter de Ludank or Walter de Lud-Auk who was captured here at one of their meetings. A wooden ship's figurehead from the ship Swythamley formerly stood in a high niche above the chasm, placed there by Philip Brocklehurst, then the landowner, around 1862. It was called 'Lady Lud' and was supposed to commemorate the death of the daughter of a Lollard preacher.

http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/visits/ludschurch.php

This shows what a lovely day it was. I never can resist a gnarled old tree to use in the frame.

Look - the farm sign was loose, and....well........... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

This rock is known as 'hangingstone rock'. Yes - they DID used to take poor unfortunates up there and throw them off with a rope around their neck. Looking down, I would think a lot of them would have been decapitated, as it's a long drop.
Ironic really, that your last view of this world should be such a lovely one before the horror of the act.

This was MY view - thankfully, not my last.
The Roaches looks especially lovely in this rare, purple light that you get in winter.

Looking back from above Gun End. this dwelling is called Gun End barn. SOME BARN!
With views like this, I'd never want to go out, if I lived here - just sit, and stare.........

And that was the end of a very, very good day. A week ago, we were enveloped in snow, this week, it was like a spring day. Lots of wild flowers are getting into their stride now, and the birds are really singing their little hearts out. The promise of REAL spring was heavy in the air today, and it turned what could have been a wet, dreary and drab walk, into a magical foray to the Roaches!