A walk around The Roaches in the Peak District

This was an awesome walk. We had already done a lot of other walks in the area and were unsure of how this one was going to turn out. I pick my walks by finding public rights of way on my trusty offline navigation app OSMAnd, then create a circular route out of them. It can be a bit pot-luck because you don't know what the terrain is going to be like, whether there will be good views etc. but it was the only paths left in the area that we hadn't walked, so gave it a go - and how glad we were!

The walk began at Gradbach Scout club, an area low down in the valley surrounded by fields of sheep. We passed by this cool looking tree, all twisted and gangly. The path took us to the valley bottom where a river ran trough, and on the opposite side an area of woodland. We crossed the river by treading carefully on the rocks that made up some haphazard stepping stones.

The woods were cool. They had a variety of different trees. Some evergreen, some not, making for a variety of different colours as autumn set in. The path took us up through to the top of the woods. It was only a small area so we soon saw the wide open spaces of moorland approaching us. These two trees towered above the rest, almost signifying the entry/exit of the woodland.

After existing the woods the path climbed higher still. We decided to take a break before heading onto the summit. Turning around we got a great view of the surrounding landscape. The woodland we had just exited was just a small row of trees toward the bottom of the valley now. The surrounding land was made up of heather and long grass, but for this single tree, standing proud on it's own.

In the distance was Croker Hill, peaking above the rest of the landscape. A mixture of greens, browns, yellows and purples, combined with the blue sky and grey white wispy clouds was a treat to the eye.

Break over, we plodded onward to the summit. As our vision started to peak over the edge we were surprised to see long distance views over The Roaches, covered in mist; quite the contrast to the clear views we had just been taking in.

Isaac took the opportunity to stand proudly on the edge, sniffing the air and taking in the views as if it were his kingdom, like something out of lion king.

The path now took us along the ridge line at the top of the hill, 360 views all around. Misty on one side, clear on the other, it was quite beautiful, quite spectacular.

We didn't want it to end, but alas all things must. Ted was starting to tire and we were getting hungry for some lunch, so we began our descent back down into the wood from whence we came.

Back down in the woods we stopped for some lunch in a rocky area, providing some natural seating. The boys stared in anticipation that we would feed them. Isaac was salivating! Of course we provided some sustenance for them.

Finally we arrived back at the start next to the fields of sheep and this one field with a singular horse. He was very friendly and came over for a stroke. I gave him an apple; he enjoyed! We laughed as he chomped down on it, he was cheeky. We then returned to the car to drive home. What a walk!

Hiking