Ramblers
Will there or won't there be a bus, that was the question?
To celebrate 75 years of the RA, Staffordshire Area Groups all got together to walk the entire length of the Staffordshire Way on 18th September;the idea was for each Group to walk a section of the route , all starting in the morning. Owing to the length of the route it was not feasible to make it a relay, or for Groups to meet up during the walk so the next best thing was for all to be walking at the same time.
Biddulph Group walked the first leg, from Mow Cop to Cloudside, a 9 mile section. Members of Biddulph Group proceeded past The Old Man of Mow to Nick' In Th' Hill and onto the Biddulph Trail at Whitemoor. A smaller group of 7 walked a shorter version to Timbersbrook and all met at the top of The Cloud. The next leg was completed by Leek Group when a total of 32 walkers joined them for their section of the Staffordshire Way starting from Cloudside & finishing in Leek at the end of the canal feeder from Rudyard Lake. An initial group of 20 people took on the complete 8.5 miles from Cloudside and they were joined by a further 10 at the 2.5 mile mark at the Knot Inn, Rushton Spencer. After lunch everyone gathered at Rudyard Lake to hear a speech given by Margaret Lovett, Labour councillor for Leek, who spoke about the achievements aims and development of Ramblers. She also participated in the walk. Balloons were displayed, but tethered and not released.
18 eager Stoke/Newcastle Group ramblers met in Hanley bus station to get the bus to Leek to walk the next section. Brian Wood led the group onto part of the Staffordshire Way via the Caldon Canal, reaching the lunchtime stop at the Black Lion about midday. Everyone was in good spirits, partly due to very pleasant weather which continued right up to the end of the walk at Kingsley Holt, where the bus was caught back to Hanley. It was an altogether successful event highlighting the importance of keeping the RA in the spotlight and to make people aware of the work being done to keep our paths open for all to enjoy.
The next section saw Lichfield Group walking the 6 miles from Abbots Bromley to Rugeley. Will there or won't there be a bus, that was the question? Members of the group, some travelling to Lichfield by public transport from Tamworth and Rugeley and some locally walking, met at Lichfield bus station to catch a bus to Abbots Bromley. Why the question? The bus timetable, checked by their secretary Pat Evans, indicated that the bus ran on a Saturday but on checking the internet doubts were thrown into the equation by the latest update stating that from August that particular bus did not. With a certain amount of relief at stand four there, in all its splendour, was their transport. The driver was physically shocked when all started to clamber aboard as he said he normally had the run to himself. Even more shocked when two of the group, not having bus passes, paid for their fares. So off they started, with three other passengers, on a glorious tour of Lichfield. No street was missed out or that’s how it seemed with the Lichfield locals commenting that if they had known where the bus went they need not have walked into town to catch it. After half an hour they finally left Lichfield and headed through the Staffordshire countryside to Abbots Bromley. On arrival they were met by the area chairman Graham Rothery. Starting from the Butter Cross they headed through the churchyard to an impressive new kissing gate.
Chase & District Group completed their local section of Staffs Way from Colton to the Glacial Boulder on Cannock Chase. From Shugborough they entered Cannock Chase at the Punch Bowl car park, then through the Chase in all its spender passing by the popular Stepping Stones into Sherbrook Valley and ascending onto the ridge to reach the Glacial Boulder. This completed the Walk which must be one of the most picturesque sections.
Mid Staffs Group completed the 6 miles from Milford to Penkridge with 19 walkers on a nice morning. This section also included the Glacial Boulder, one of the best parts of the Way. It included one lady from Wolverhampton Group who lived in Cannock. This was followed by the Black Country Wakers who undertook the 13 miles from Penkridge to Codsall. The section from Codsall was a difficult one to organise because of poor transport links. However Wolverhamton Group were able to cover this part of the route.
Walsall group walked the stretch of the Staffordshire Way between Seisdon and Halfpenny Green which is about 4.5 miles in length, but their intrepid leader, John King had contrived to make this into a circular walk, returning back to Seisdon by another slightly shorter route making an overall walk of 7.5 miles.
A number of members met at the Post Office in Seisdon and kicked -off their walk at 10:00 by following local paths until they could pick up the Staffordshire Way just north of the village. They then set off along the road to cross over Fox Road and progress along field boundaries to Wolmore Lane. They joined the lane (with its view back towards the City of Wolverhampton), and proceeded to Tinker's Castle Road before turning off on to Abbots Castle Hill, which all thought was the best part of the walk. An ideal day for an autumn walk, the view between the trees on both sides and plenty of interesting fungi to inspect. After this they crossed the B4176, and passed around the quarry to the Halfpenny Green road. Leaving the Staffordshire Way here they sauntered down towards Halfpenny Green itself along the road, only to decide on a lunch stop at the Vineyard before making their way back along other paths, being suitably loaded with purchases of the wine-maker's art - plus a few windfall apples that came their way!
