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About The Roaches | Parking Location | OS Map | Current Weather
One of our much-loved places is The Roaches, it’s not too far from where we live, offers up excellent views and changes each season in its beauty. There are also a number of great places to park and even some excellent pubs close by. This route starts at the standard car park and heads off towards the opposite end of the ridge where we meet Luds Church, which is possibly one of the most beautiful hidden gems of the area.
Starting out at the main car park we headed directly up to the top of the ridge, heading through the small wooded area and up the stepped rocked to quickly gain some altitude. It was an overcast day, but it hadn’t rained in a few days so the ground was pretty dry. Upon reaching the top of the peak it doesn’t take much time following one of the multiple paths along to reach Doxey Pool, a fantastic little permanent pool on top of the ridge that allows the area to seem bursting with life.
Continuing along the ridge, we passed the wooded area and this is where you are met with sweeping views on both sides of the surrounding countryside. As you keep gaining height you eventually reach the Trig point and from here a steady walk back down a path which has recently been repaired gets you towards the road. Often at this point, we walk back down the road to the left and get back to the car park (our classic Easter route) however this time we wanted a longer walk and headed over the road, through a sty and down towards another wooded area which was much heavier planted.
Walking through this forest was a little harder than expected as the recent rains had left their mark with a large amount of mud and a few difficult sections to get through. We followed the route through the forest area and eventually after a bit longer than we had liked we ended up at Luds Church. Unfortunately, Luds Church seems to hold more mud that whatever the surrounding area has to offer and it was pretty much impassable this time. Doing this route in summer would allow you to walk through the entirety of the complex and head back around in a loop, however we had to settle for heading back the way we came (a little bugbear of ours). Not long back on the same route and we decided to head off up towards the peak again rather than back through the muddy woodland, this was a much better idea as once we got to the peak the land was much dryer and it was simply a case of following the wall back to the road.
Once at the road, we following it back the way we normally would down towards the car. This road does offer some excellent views of its own and is rarely busy, but as always, I would advise caution as some drivers do not treat these roads as expected. All in all, this is a great way to take in some of the best views and places the area has to offer, it’s even better in drier weather, although it can happily be tackled in wet and windy conditions as well as snow.
We didn't manage to take photos during this due to the weather so here is one from a sunnier hike!
