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COUNTY BAGGING: Staffordshire - 3 Shires Head, Lud's Church, The Roaches and Hen Cloud (12.5 miles)

Day 1: 16th April 2016 - 3 Shires Head, Lud's Church, The Roaches

A forum meet organised by me.  These walks were on my "to do" list so I decided to make a weekend of it.  Myself and Deb stayed at a bunkhouse in Upper Hulme (£10 per night!). Set in a quite farming/industrial setting there's not much in the way of views.  But, it's cheap and cheerful and I'd stay here again in warmer weather as it's a great base for walks in the area.  We met up with 3 others who live relatively nearby for a cracking and varied 10 mile linear walk.

Some pictures:

Ready for the off!

Lovely views over the surrounding countryside

Roy finding a rocky outcrop to "bag"

Handsome chappie

The bridge at Three Shires Head (the boundaries of
DerbySHIRE, StaffordSHIRE and CheSHIRE meet at this bridge)

Classic "3 shires" photo
with Deb on the Bridge and Dave in the foreground

Heading along the Sandstone Way

Snack Stop

Getting a bit squelchy under foot

Bit of easy riverside walking

Another rest stop

Nearly at Lud's Church now

But not before a bit of scrambling for Dave and Dom

Lud's Church
- a massive chasm in the landscape



Back out on the top and lovely weather

On the path to The Roaches now

Oh, I hope THAT weather misses us!

The sunshine on Shuttlingsloe

The start of The Roaches

Nearly on the top of the ridge now

Wonderful, gnarly gritstone rock formations
(which are fairly typical of the "edges" in the Peak District)




Enjoying the sunshine while it lasts

Yup, sideways sleet and snow !

Deb and Roy with Doxey Pool behind

Looking down on Tittesworth Reservoir

Doxey Pool

The sun on Hen Cloud
(tomorrow's walk)

The sun on Ramshaw Rocks
(earmarked for another weekend)


Looking up at Hen Cloud from the road

A final toothy view of Hen Cloud

A great day out that exceeded my expectations.  Much more relaxed than the highly competitive Wales Weekend I went to and, as a result, my tendon only ached that night and was fine again in the morning.


Day 2: 17th April 2016 - Hen Cloud

Deb and me had tired legs today and we umm-ed and ahh-ed about actually doing this walk.  However, once we got going, we decided to give it a shot!

Some pictures:

The lovely village of Upper Hulme

Hen Cloud

Deb looking mighty pleased with herself

Hen Cloud.... bagged!

Looking down the rocky outcrops towards Tittesworth Reservoir

A final view of Hen Cloud from the road

Another enjoyable day's walking and the weather was great.  Just myself and Deb this time.  I think this walk was only about 2.5 miles but it packed a lot of interest into those miles.


Thanks for looking 😊