The Roaches

Lud's Church (sometimes written as Ludchurch) is a deep chasm penetrating the Millstone Grit bedrock created by a massive landslip on the hillside above Gradbach, Staffordshire, England. It is located in a wood known as Back Forest, in the Dark Peak, towards the southwest fringe of the Peak District National Park about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of the A53 between Leek and Buxton. Over 100 metres (328 ft) long and 18 metres (59 ft) deep, all but the upper third of the slope has slipped forward towards the River Dane. It is mossy and overgrown, wet and cool even on the hottest of days.

Leekfrith is a civil parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands, in Staffordshire, England, north of the town of Leek. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 363.It is an area between the River Churnet which is near Leek, and the River Dane (the boundary with Cheshire) and its tributary Black Brook. The civil parishes of Heaton and Tittesworth are to the west and east. The civil parish includes the village of Meerbrook, the Roaches (a rocky ridge in the north-east) and most of Tittesworth Reservoir. A chasm known as Lud's Church is near the River Dane. A hill named Gun is at the western boundary, and the village of Upper Hulme is near the eastern boundary.The ground is of boulder clay, and the underlying rock is millstone grit. The soil is loam and clay. The land is used mostly as pasture.

Black Brook is a nature reserve of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, about 7 miles (11 km) north-east of Leek, in Staffordshire, England. It is moorland, part of the Leek Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest, and most of it is in a Special Area of Conservation. It is near to the Roaches, another nature reserve of the Trust.

Meerbrook (grid reference SJ989609) is a small village in North Staffordshire, on the River Churnet at the edge of the Peak District National Park. It is situated four miles north of the town of Leek, in the parish of Leekfrith. The Roaches and Hen Cloud, popular walking and climbing locations, are very nearby.

Tittesworth Reservoir is a water storage reservoir near Leek, Staffordshire, England, fed by the River Churnet. The reservoir and associated water treatment works are owned and operated by Severn Trent Water. The reservoir was built in 1858 and extended in 1963. Tittesworth is the second largest reservoir by volume in the county of Staffordshire. The Peak District Boundary Walk runs past the reservoir.

Upper Hulme is a hamlet situated in North Staffordshire, between the historical market town of Leek and the spa town of Buxton. It is clustered around a redundant mill and is located within the upper reaches of the River Churnet. The Mill was recently restored, complete with a working water wheel, but no further information on its future is known. It can be accessed by one of the many footpaths through the hamlet. The Peak District Boundary Walk runs through the village.The hamlet is at the edge of the Peak District and is home to The Roaches and is therefore very popular with ramblers, climbers and hikers alike. The A53 road offers access to Tittesworth reservoir in the south and Ramshaw Rocks in the North, making the hamlet a popular base for walking holidays. There is a camp site, bunkhouse accommodation and holiday cottages available. The hamlet is popular with wildlife enthusiasts due to Wallaby having been sighted on the Roaches, and the successful annual breeding of peregrine falcons. In Peregrine breeding season, a 'bird watching post' is set up at the foot of Hen Cloud and park rangers are on hand to offer advice and information on the bird. At this time of year, some access is restricted. The hamlet has two local pubs; Ye Olde Rock Inn and The Winking Man. It is also home to a popular Tea Rooms. The main industry of the hamlet is agricultural. Upon entrance to the hamlet there is an old Dye Works, which has now been transformed into offices and workshops. Until 2005 the area was used by the British Army as a training area. That space has now been vacated by the Ministry of Defence and is currently for sale.

Swythamley Hall is a late 18th-century country house near Leek, Staffordshire which has been converted into four separate residences. It is a Grade II listed building. Originally a monastic Grange house and lands, the manor of Swythamley was held by the Crown following the dissolution of Dieulacres Abbey and thereafter had several owners. It was acquired by the Trafford family (who owned the adjoining manor of Heaton) in 1654. The Traffords replaced the old manor ( recorded in 1666 as taxable for 8 hearths) with a new house in about 1690. The family remained in residence until Edward Trafford Nicholls ( High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1818) sold the estate to John Brocklehurst in 1832. It was subsequently inherited by John's eldest son, William, and then William's nephew Philip Lancaster Brocklehurst (1827–1904) who was created a baronet in 1903. The Brocklehursts considerably enlarged and improved the house during the 19th century including new wings and a two storey porch to the west entrance front. On the death of the 2nd Baronet Philip Lee Brocklehurst in 1975 his heir and great nephew sold the house and broke up the estate. For some ten years the hall was occupied as a Transcendental Meditation training centre until in 1987 when it was sold for residential redevelopment. The Grade II listed coach house was also converted into a single residence, as was the Swythamley Chapel.

Heathylee is a civil parish in the district of Staffordshire Moorlands in north-east Staffordshire, England. There is no village centre. The parish has a boundary with Leekfrith in the west and with Hollinsclough in the north; there is a short eastern boundary, at the River Manifold, with Sheen, and to the south are the parishes of Bradnop, Onecote and Longnor. Morridge separates the area into a western part, drained by the River Churnet, and a larger eastern part drained by the Manifold and its tributary Oakenclough Brook. The hamlet of Upper Hulme is in the south-west.

Three Shire Heads (also known as Three Shires Head) is the point on Axe Edge Moor where Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire meet, at UK grid reference SK009685, or 53.213°N 1.987°W / 53.213; -1.987. It is on the River Dane, which marks the Cheshire border in this area. On the east of the river, the border between Staffordshire and Derbyshire runs north-east for about a mile to Cheeks Hill, on the higher regions of Axe Edge Moor. From Cheeks Hill the border runs south then east to the head of the River Dove.The main landmark is a packhorse bridge. The bridge is Grade II-listed, and was probably constructed in the late 18th century.

Tittesworth is a civil parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands, in Staffordshire, England. It extends from the edge of the town of Leek in the south-west to Blackshaw Moor in the north-east. In the east is the village of Thorncliffe. To the west is the civil parish of Leekfrith, where the boundary is the River Churnet.To the east is the civil parish of Onecote. Tittesworth Brook runs westwards through the area from Thorncliffe, and flows into the Churnet. The name Tittesworth is Old English: a personal name thought to be Tet, and the word for an enclosed settlement.

Flash is a village in the Staffordshire Moorlands, England, and Peak District National Park. At 1,519 feet (463 m) above sea level, it is the highest village in the United Kingdom and was an early centre for Wesleyanism.

Quarnford is a village and civil parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands district of Staffordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 244, reducing marginally to 242 at the 2011 census. The village is in the Peak District, between Buxton and Leek. The village (as opposed to the parish) is known by the name "Flash" and is the highest village in Britain, being some 1518 ft above sea level. The local church of St. Paul's was built starting in 1743, its graveyard contains graves dating back to at least 1791. Although the village historically was almost an outpost due to its relative isolation and small economic significance, it is situated in some of the most picturesque and unspoilt areas of the English countryside.