The Manifold Valley
A walk through Staffordshire's empty quarter...
Well now I know why I have to use a link to my Relive videos…. Substack doesn’t support 3rd party html… Also you can’t edit stories in the Substack Ap…. Come on guys! Get your fingers out!
Enough of this dull ranting.
Here's the Relive of the full walk.
https://www.relive.cc/view/vmqX9kRoJLv
A couple of weeks ago we got the 442 High Peak bus to Hulme End in Staffordshire. It is one of the most scenic rides you can take in the UK and costs no more than £3.00. The bus crosses the border with Staffordshire near Crowdicote after negotiating a short stretch of road which would give the Alps a run for their money…. OK, there´s not very much of it, but it is steep and it does twist aroud quite a bit.
We stopped overnight at the Manifold Inn, notable for good food, comfy beds and pints of Bass (a rare treat in this part of the world.)
After a decent breakfast the next day we started off to Hulme End Station to walk along the old track bed to Waterhouses in Staffordshire. Waterhouses is where the railway joined the line to Stoke on Trent.
It always seems slightly surprising that so many railways were built. This particular one was driven by small dairy farms and week-end excursions to the countryside. That said, it was built on the cheap as a narrow gauge on limestone ballast. Most railways use granite. It would have lasted longer but it is more expesnsive.
There’s a video about the railway
The route follows the valley of the river Manifold and then when it meets the River Hamps it follows that.
On the way you walk through a tunnel, built by the railway because the landowner didn’t want his view spoilt! It caused some consternation to a young lad who found a road tunnel in this part of the country. The tunnel is at the top of the story.
To get to the Hamps, you have to walk past Thor’s Cave, which is spectacular and sits above the valley.
The route is surrounded by limestone crags and small mine workings. The mines were a big deal in the 18 Cent, making lots of cash for the Dukes of Devonshire, who are the landowers…
That's the river Hamps in full flow after 3 days of heavy rain… It spends most of its life underground, except when it quickly and briefly fills its bed. The river is unusual to me because it flows northwards for a long part of its life. Mostt Peak District Rivers flow to the south.
After about three hours of brisk walking we reached Waterhouses for our bus back home. This time the 108 via Leek and the A53.
