Just published to Geoff’s Rail Diaries – photos and video of yesterday’s great day beside the fearsome incline out of Foxfield colliery. Visit “Foxfield 2015 – the Autumn Gala“
Tag: Staffordshire
Etruria – bones and boats
That’s Stoke-on-Trent, not Italy, though there’s a connection – pottery. The Etruria Industrial Museum preserves, in working order, Jesse Shirley’s Bone and Flint Mill, for many years a supplier of finely ground calcined bone and flint (oddly enough) for the manufacture of Staffordshire china. Steam powered, the museum operates on a limited number of days each year – including this weekend, when there would be a gathering of working boats on the canal beside the works. Somewhere old – and for us, somewhere new, a most interesting little outing (and tea and cakes, but sadly not oatcakes – they’d all gone…).
Mist on the Chase
It was more like fog at home, and might be worse further west. We headed east instead, for a walk on Cannock Chase, from Milford to the visitor centre at Marquis Drive (tea, sausage rolls, cake – we try to live life to the full). Our outward route followed, roughly, the old railway trackbed – not so easy at the southern end of the walk. Returning, we made our way to the Sherbrook valley, retracing our steps only for the last half-mile down the cutting. As forecast, the day gradually brightened, and the sun began to break through towards the end of this very pleasant ten-mile trip.
Or view OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=398585&Y=317851&A=Y&Z=120
The Roaches and Lud’s Church
The Roaches lie just a few miles north of Leek, in Staffordshire. The name derives, supposedly, from the French les roches – the rocks. It’s a most appropriate name too – there are rocks in profusion. The gritstone outcrops along the ridge are spectacular – a great subject for the camera on a day like this, with bright sunshine and low lighting angles.
Not far from the Roaches is another gritstone feature – this time, a deep rocky chasm perhaps 100 yards in length, “Lud’s Church”. Formed, it is thought, some time after the last ice age, a slippage towards the valley has created this remarkable feature. It’s well hidden in the pleasant (if somewhat muddy) woodland, though well signposted – the footpath runs along its length.
The walk back to the car ought to be an anti-climax, but it’s not – the ridge walk back to the road is airy, with excellent views. The afternoon has worn on – the light is distinctly golden for the last stretch, the very quiet road beneath the Roaches taking us back to the car.
An afternoon at Amerton
…in the company of Isabel, Jennie, Sybil Mary, Paddy, Peter Pan and Woto! Six super little 2’0″ gauge steam locomotives enjoying themselves at the annual steam gala. For more pictures and (a little) information, visit “Amerton’s Gala” on Geoff’s Rail Diaries
7th June at Statfold
A day that turned out much better than expected: more photos and an account of the day’s activities – and weather – at Rain and shine at Statfold on Geoff’s Rail Diaries
Rainy day, sunny day at Statfold
I had a feeling, when I booked the tickets, that it was going to rain on the 7th June, for the Statfold open day. It did, too – the forecast had been dire all week, and we were woken by a thunderstorm in the early hours of the morning. Happily, the BBC thought things were going to improve in the afternoon, and they were right.
A (fairly brief) “Rail Diaries” page will follow in due course; meanwhile, here are a couple of tasters.
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