Another walk from the Peak District, this time in the south-west, close to Leek, with great views and interesting rock features, a great place to take the more adventurous kids.
Just past the Roaches, north east of Leek, the road takes a bend east, just here you can park (limited parking on the side of the road) and walk up the hill in a south easterly direction. It’s a good clear path, with easy walking which will take you up along past Bearstone Rock. There are great views across the rolling hills to the west, and all the way along there are plenty of gritstone rocks for little ones to see and explore.
Depending on how far you want to go, this path takes you all the way along to the Roaches, a popular climbing spot, which can prove fun to watch, to get all the way to there it’s just under 2 miles. It’s worth noting though that this makes it a linear route, so you’re retracing your steps back to the car after rather than a circular route.
Should you go as far as the Roaches, there are some circular paths you can walk at the end, which takes you alongside some easy scrambling routes, so if you’re looking to introduce the kids some something rocky, then it’s a great place for that (although it would probably be better to park at that end as it’ll tire legs out!).
As this is such a well used path, it’s easy to follow but can get quite busy. It’s also often very windy along there, so worth packing an extra layer or windproof jackets. About half way between Bearstone Rock and the Roaches is a taller rock formation, which does provide good shelter from the wind, so if you need a stop/picnic location to take shelter, then look for that.
If you want to see more about what it looks like walking along there, check out my short video of our walk below, or take a look at any of my other kid friendly walk videos.
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