The Roaches

On the Roaches with Hen Cloud in the Background

Having lived in Stoke for years, being within a short drive of The Roaches, I can sadly say that I have not made the effort to walk or climb on them before. There was no work today, so Rosie and I took a day off - to explore The Roaches. This is the best weather we have had so far this year, with bright sunshine and a warm fresh breeze.
These hills are a craggy outcrop of Gritstone above the town of Leek in Staffordshire. They are a favourite nursery site for rock climbers, with some very good faces. I had a chat with two such souls who were disappointed that the main crags are out of bounds to climbers whilst a pair of Peregrine Falcons are nesting there. We saw one of them flying over Hen Cloud this morning.

We had been on the hills since 9.30 this morning and were coming down near to Lunch time. We met with two rock enthusiasts who were looking for a horizontal fault in a rock gully. They had tried to find the fault before without success. I looked carefully, but could not see any evidence of a horizontal fault line. Apparently, they had a guide that said there was a fault showing slickensides (grooves caused by fault movement). The line of the fault is apparent along the higher face of the crag, but not at the location stated in the guide. Time to go down for a cuppa.