Winter wanders

Gosh its so long since I blogged or cached for that matter that I thought I had better get back to doing both. Its been a bit of a busy time lately, Christmas, new relationship and all sorts of general life things that get in the way of the old writing. So here I am, fingers to keyboard about to write about our latest trip out in the great British weather.

Saturday morning was a bit of a rush job, off to Trentham to grab the latest waterproof kit that the place could offer. New coats, fleeces and gloves for the little JACKs were a must as they had grown so much over the last 6 months that nothing fit anymore. Then off to meet the ATA's to plan our shenanigans for the next day. We had planned to do the SMW walk around Leek and Tittesworth then go up the Roaches to grab the remaining 4 but as usual the snooze button on the alarm clock was bashed that much the stupid thing turned itself off. It was only when the geokids hammered on the door shouting are you gonna get up today that we launched into action and got our backsides out of the nice warm and cosy bed.

We had even been that organised the night before, all the packed lunches were ready to go in the fridge, so off we tootled to Leek deciding to bypass the SMW circular and head straight to the Roaches. Some must think we were mad to be venturing out in weather like it was, OK the snow had cleared so we could get there but on getting to the top the kids had a whale of a time jumping in and out of the drifts that were still hanging around. The weather was pretty shocking really, pouring with rain at the bottom turning into snow at the top, but that wasnt going to put us off and to be quite honest, we weren't the only mad ones venturing up there.

Leprechaun JACK and The Mad ATA's

at the start of the walk

1st on the list was Rockhall Cottage, and this one proved to be a very easy find. 1 up to the kids at this point whilst the adults stood around and reminisced at the memories of many a weekend spent climbing or exploring the area when we were teenagers. Not sure if the kids were too impressed at regailing them with the daft stories though.

Next on the agenda was Rocky Roachy and a steady climb between the rocks up to the top. I swear when I was a kid this place was massive and a hell of a climb but either my memory has served me incorrectly or it was because I was a hell of a lot smaller then than I am now but it was really easy climb. I'm sure the rest of the clan would disagree with me judging by the huffing and the puffing that was going on when we got to the top.

Geokids at the top and knackered!!!!

Next stop was Doxey Pool. Now this is a place that I certainly remember from being a kid. I've certainly seen it looking better thats for sure. The weather was so murky at the top and the pool was pretty much frozen over and I'm sure that the legendary mermaid that is supposed to live there would be better off having a holiday in the sun.  Another easy cache find clocked us up to 3 at this point. We were going to go onto the next one which was 1.3 miles away but decided that this one should be left for another day. The weather had really closed in and the rain had turned to snow and as experienced walkers we decided that it wasn't worth getting stuck up there so with the light fading it was time to make our way back down to the cars.

Snowy days!

Now which sane people would go walking in this I wonder?

By the time we had made it down the rock face, the cloud cover had lifted and for the first time that day we could see the beautiful views towards Leek with Tittesworth Reservoir in the distance. Were the kids put off by it.....never, in fact they have asked to go back in the summer to explore the place more, especially when told that wallaby's live there.

Back to the car and after more food and a steaming hot cuppa, we were on our merry way home smiling at another great day out caching.

HAPPY DAYS x