Staffordshire Way: Day 3 Hawksmoor Wood to Uttoxeter

Like the Barcelona posts, this is and its companions are a Covid lockdown project. The walk actually took place in 2005/6.

For an introduction to the Staffordshire Way, see Day 1.

Day 3 Saturday 14/01/2006

Following the Churnet to Rocester and the Dove to Uttoxeter

Participants: Francis, Mike, Alison C, Brian, Paul (guest) & Myself

Staffordshire

Our third day takes us beside the Churnet through the so-called Staffordshire Rhineland to Alton (of Alton Towers fame) and then to Rocester, the home of JCB and the end of section 1: The Gritstone Country and The Churnet Valley. Section 2: The Eastern Valleys and Cannock Chase starts by following the River Dove south to Uttoxeter, the largest town on the Staffordshire Way and the end of today's walk.

The Staffordshire Way Section 1: Gritstone Country & The Churnet Valley

Hawksmoor to Alton through the 'Staffordshire Rhineland'

Hawksmoor Wood, just outside the village of Oakamoor, is a National Trust owned patch of ancient woodland. The car park, conveniently adjacent to the B-road from Cheadle to Oakamoor had been the end of Day 2 and was now the start of Day 3. We were ready to walk before 9.30 on a dank January morning.

Preparing to set off from Hawlsmoor

Having left the Churnet when it swung east towards Oakamoor, we had climbed into the forest and now had to return to the river valley. We started with a gentle descent through Sutton’s Wood towards Stoney Dale.

Alison on the path through Sutton's Wood.

…where we perversely turned up the dale away from the river, but only for 200m.

Stoney Dale

Ousal Dale and Dimmings Dale

A 135° left turn took us into Ousal Dale, the route starting with a steepish descent over field paths but soon becoming a tarmac track before passing a magnificent old ...well...tree. Identifying a winter silhouette with confidence is beyond me.

Magnificent old tree

The dale becomes deeper and narrower and then joins Dimmingsdale. Nearing the bottom end, we passed a pond and paused to watch a great crested grebe diving for fish.

Lower end of Dimmingsdale with the former Alton Mill straight ahead

Rural as Dimmingsdale feels now, the area’s industrial heritage is never far away. The pond (visible on the right in the picture above) was constructed to provide power to Alton Mill (100m in front of us). The mill was built in 1741 by George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and leased out for the purpose of smelting the lead mined at Ecton some 15km to the north. By 1760 the smelting operation had a smith’s shop, two houses and a barn as well as the pool. By 1786, though, the lead was gone and the mill was converted to grinding corn. The much-altered building is now a private residence.

The 'Staffordshire Rhineland'

100m beyond the mill, and slightly closer to the River Churnet, the path swings right staying a few contours above the river on the steep valley side.

A few contours above the River Churnet

This would have made climbing Toot Hill easier had we not first had to drop to river level to cross an incoming stream. Still, at 161m it hardly required crampons and oxygen…

Climbing Toot Hill

…and despite its silly name the riverside cliff provided a fine view across the Churnet Valley. Some wag (surely, they were not serious) dubbed this area the ‘Staffordshire Rhineland’ and the name appears in all the guide books.

Francis, Lord of All he Surveys, Toot Hill

A long time ago (the 12th of March 2011, to be precise) as we approached the infant Trent near Tittensor, Mike remarked that he had canoed this stretch in his youth and it reminded him of the Dordogne - a cue for some gentle ribbing. But Mike stood his ground and a little later (see The Stone Circle Part 2) he maintained that the Trent - in summer - with low water - on a sunny day - with warm water and 'sandy' beaches - from a canoe - with a picnic - with no trains going past - can feel a little Dordogne-like! A good try, but now consider the sentence ‘We thought this summer we’d drive down to the Dordogne, we'll hire a gîte.’ How does it sound if you replace ‘Dordogne’ with ‘Trent’?

But to be fair, at 483km the Dordogne may be one and a half times longer than the Trent, but they are both major rivers in their respective countries. Now let us consider the Rhine, 1,230km long and one of the great rivers of Europe, and the Churnet almost 50km long and not even the biggest river in north east Staffordshire. Let us also consider Lorelei Rock and Toot Hill... why bother, the names say it all.

I do not wish to disrespect the Churnet or Toot Hill. I like the picture above, and this short stretch is a little gem. But, to compare it with the grandeur of the Rhineland does disservice to both, most particularly to the friendly little Churnet.

I feel better having that off my chest.

Alton, Castle, Towers and Village

Downstream Alton Castle stands above its rocky precipice. The first stone fortification here dates from the 12th century, and from 1442 it was (like much else round here) owned by the Earls of Shrewsbury. The current building is pure Gothic Revival. In the early 19th century, the 15th Earl abandoned the castle and built himself a vast country seat just across the river. As an afterthought, Augustus Pugin was drafted in to rebuild the castle. The castle is now a Catholic youth retreat centre while Alton Towers, once an aristocrat’s country seat, is a theme park attracting over 2 million visitors annually (but not in 2020!). From March to September the sound of screaming fills the valley.

Alton Castle above the Churnet Valley

A few hundred metres further on we entered the village of Alton, well insulated from the sight and traffic – if not the noise - of the theme park.

Alison leads Mike and Paul into Alton

Alton to Rocester

Beyond Alton we found our way to the lengthy, historic but rather dull Saltersford Lane which cuts off a bend in the river. One of the many saltways that probably predate the Norman conquest, it is believed to be part of the route connecting salt-producing Nantwich with Derby via Newcastle-under-Lyme and Cheadle.

Paul and Brian plod down Saltersford Lane

At the end of the lane we turned south and found a sheltered spot for coffee...

Getting ready to move after coffee

...before continuing between the river and the village of Denstone. Reaching the B-road out of Denstone we turned on to it and use Quixhill Bridge to cross to the eastern side of the Churnet for the first time since we left the Caldon canal.

Quixhill Bridge over the Churnet

We walked through water meadows...

Across the Churnet's water meadows towards the wood

...until the river started a series of meanders. Here a wooded hill descended to the eastern tip of the meanders and the path took us across the slope to emerge just above a roundabout where we took the minor road into Rocester.

Rocester

Golden JCB in Udaipur fort,
a gift to the Maharaja from the Bamfords

Rocester is a large village (pop:1,700) standing on the neck of land between the Churnet and the River Dove, 2km north of their confluence. It has several claims to fame, though our route into the village had avoided the largest and most obvious. Rocester seems an odd little corner to encounter the international headquarters of one the world’s biggest digger and construction equipment manufacturers, but the JCB plant and offices are just over the Churnet and have a bigger footprint than the village. Not only is it a huge company, it is still entirely owned by the Bamford family

Reaching the High Street, we located the Red Lion and stopped for a sandwich and a glass of lunch.

Leaving the Red Lion, Rocester

Refreshed we continued down the High Street past Arkwright’s Mill. In 1769 Richard Arkwright patented his water frame, a major advance on Hargreave’s Spinning Jenny which only 5 years earlier had revolutionised cotton spinning. The days of cotton spinning as a cottage industry were over when Arkwright opened his first water powered mill at Matlock Bath, possibly the world’s first factory. Others followed and in 1781 he converted Rocester’s corn mill, powered by the River Dove, into a cotton mill. The mill remained the village’s largest employer until 1950, finally closing in 1985, by which time it had long been overtaken by JCB. As a final act in 2010, the refurbished mill became a secondary school for 800 students – the JCB Academy.

Next door is Rocester’s small football stadium and behind that the site of the Augustinian Abbey, of which nothing remains, and a Roman fort and settlement.

Rocester to Uttoxeter

At the end of the road, we crossed the River Dove (today pronounced like the bird but traditionally rhyming with ‘rove’), turned south and encountered the best angle to photograph Arkwright’s Mill, in 2006 an unused building.

Arkwright's Mill, now the JCB Academy across the River Dove, Rocester

In crossing the river we had not only ventured into Derbyshire (and would stay there for the next 5 kilometres) but had embarked upon....

The Staffordshire Way Part 2; The Eastern Valleys and Cannock Chase

The Staffordshire Way Part 2, Uttoxeter to Cannock Chase

Much of our brief visit to Derbyshire was rather dreary. We walked on flat land away from the river…

Mike brings up the rear as we leave Rocester behind

…pausing to discuss hedge laying techniques – though with no obvious expertise.

Paul and Francis discuss hedge laying

Then it was back to the dull stuff.

Francis and Alison lead through another flat, dank field

Once we found ourselves on a low rise giving a view of the Dove with Uttoxeter in the distance…

The River Dove with Uttoxeter in the distance

…and in the final stretch, over water meadows closer to the river, the light was pleasingly mellow as the January sun started to consider setting in a pale blue sky.

Brian, Mike and Paul cross the water meadows by the Dove

The highlight should have been the Dove Bridge, described by Historic England as having 2 original C14 pointed arches with chamfered arch rings; 2 later rebuilt semi-circular arches with small projecting keyblocks; parapet stone dated 1691 - probably the date of rebuilding.

The bridge once carried the A50 across the Dove, but on the four-lane racetrack that is the modern road you would not notice you were crossing a river, though an eastbound passenger could look across and see the fine, old bridge, which still willingly carries walkers from Derbyshire back into Staffordshire (or vice versa, should you wish).

I have no picture of the Grade II* listed bridge, instead I stood on it and photographed the river. The Dove is the longest in NE Staffordshire, easily out-ranking the Churnet, but it is still no Rhine.

Downstream from Dove Bridge

From the bridge we used the underpass provided to take a footpath under the A50 and then struck out south west across the fields towards Uttoxeter.

We left the Dove, which heads off south east for another 25km (plus wiggles) until entering the Trent at Burton. I have called it the longest river in Northeast Staffordshire, but to be fair, for every one of its 75km, from source to Trent, it forms the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border, so only its right-hand side is really in Staffordshire.

It was a simple stroll into Uttoxeter. JCB may be headquartered in Rocester, but it has a firm grip over the whole area, so much so that its big yellow citizens looked to be at prayer outside Uttoxeter parish church.

At prayer outside St Mary's, Uttoxeter

We had earlier left a car or two in Uttoxeter, so that was where Day 3 came to its end.

Today's distance: 19km
Total distance completed:61km

Staffordshire Way Day 3

The Staffordshire Way

Day 1: Mow Cop to Rudyard Lake
Day 2: Rudyard to Hawksmoor
Day 3: Hawksmoor to Uttoxeter
Day 4: Uttoxeter to Shugborough
Day 5: Cannock Chase, Penkridge and Lapley
Day 6: Lapley to Seisdon
Day 7: Seisdon to Kinver Edge

THE END