Tags
bilberry, church of St Edward the Confessor, cotton grass, heather, Leek, Peak District, Pride and Prejudice, Ramshaw Rocks, rocks, Staffordshire Moorland, walking
Sunday 16th August was Richard’s birthday and we marked it quietly by attending one of the churches in Leek and then having an early lunch at one of our favourite cafés. My own father died shortly before my birthday five years ago and so I knew a little how Richard was feeling.
The church we attended was St Edward the Confessor and we were comforted by the familiar words of the service and afterwards were made very welcome by members of the congregation. I mentioned this church in a post I wrote about the visit we made last year to the Peak District. In that same post is a mention of the favourite café. We were concerned to see that the café was up for sale. Would it still be there next time we visited Leek and if it was, would it still provide us with tasty oatcakes?
I didn’t take any photographs of the interior of the church but Richard did with his phone. The church contains some beautiful embroidery and stained glass.
Stained glass in the church of St Edward the Confessor, Leek
Stained glass window – St Edward the Confessor
I know that one window in the north transept was designed by Edward Burne Jones and made by Morris and Co. Not having any means of finding out for certain which of these two windows is the window I cannot tag the photo. (I think it might be the round window).
Hen Cloud from Ramshaw Rocks
The following day, we drove the short distance to Ramshaw Rocks as we wanted to walk on them again. We parked the car by the side of the narrow road and walked up to the first of the rocks – the one we call the ‘Top Hat’ rock.
‘Top Hat’ rock. I expect you can’t understand why we call it that!
I can see another photo-bombing bee!
Heather (Calluna vulgaris) and Bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus)
A sweet and juicy bilberry!
Beautiful grasses – possibly Tufted Hair-grass (Deschampsia cespitosa)
Perhaps you see now why we call it the ‘Top Hat’!
This rock may look familiar to some of you. Perhaps I should give you a clue. Stick with the link – you will see the rock eventually. If you haven’t the patience, the rock appears at 4.38 minutes into the clip.
This rock can be seen very clearly from the road on your left as you go north along the A53 from Leek to Buxton.
The photos in the slideshow are all of the rocks we saw on our walk.
A view of the surrounding countryside from Ramshaw Rocks
I was surprised to see this Common Cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium) still in flower in August
Lichen and moss on a rock
More Common Cotton-grass
A cocoon on Heather. I don’t know what made the cocoon.
Tormentil (Potentilla erecta)
Richard climbing up the hill
A view
and another!
Richard and the carved boulder
Alpacas
This is some type of Bedstraw plant. Note the pink spots on the flower buds.
I found this tiny fir tree next to the path.
This colourful Rosebay Willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium) caught my eye.
We had by this time walked back to near where we had begun our walk. We returned to our caravan for our evening meal and a hot drink.
Thanks for visiting!
A Suffolk Lane 
Ah! My mother and I were colouring a willowherb in her colouring book, and we had to look it up on the internet because neither of us knew it. It is a lot prettier than the internet photo led me to believe. Richard looks as though he would be pleased to wear a top hat to celebrate reaching the top hat.
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The willowherb was showing early autumnal colours and was very lovely.
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It looks like a challenging walk but worth it for the views. The carved rock is interesting – any idea who did the carving?
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Yes the views are wonderful from the top of the escarpment. We have no idea who carved the rock or when and were very surprised to find it. I’m not sure that many people would approve of it and would consider it vandalism.
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Lovely post as always, so relaxing to read about your wanderings. The staines glass window are gorgeous!!! xo Johanna
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Thank-you Johanna. I love stained glass very much. Clare xx
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I’ve always loved stained glass…this is beautiful, Clare. Your photos are always so relaxing. I think I’ll take another browse.
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Thank-you Jill. You are always so kind 🙂
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Oh wow! Beautiful views from the hills, and the rock formations were a treat to see. Then add in a bunch of beautiful flowers and plants, and it all makes for a terrific post!
A belated happy birthday to Richard, and I almost forgot to mention how wonderful the stained glass windows were.
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Thank-you so much Jerry! I’m so pleased you liked the post. I will pass the happy birthday message on. I love the Peak District very much. There is so much to see and all within a few miles of the most industrialised part of England.
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Beautiful photos and how great you have identified the plants. I always want to know the names.
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Thank-you! I am never satisfied until I have named a plant or an insect!
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The rock carving was fun but the hill looked quite steep so it was just as well that you saw so many interesting things on your walk.
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Thank-you. We were pleased with ourselves when we got to the top!
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I like the stained glass and the top hat is really unusual, but I think my favorite is the frog!
There are some great views from up there and I don’t blame you for climbing it. I certainly would have.
I’ve never seen bedstraw with spots.
Nice hike and happy birthday to Richard!
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Thank-you Allen! I have no idea who could have carved the rock or how long it has been there. I wasn’t sure if the spots on the bedstraw were marks of a disease or if the plant was under some kind of stress. I can’t find any bedstraw that has pink flowers except Squinancywort (Asperula cynanchica) and I don’t think that that is this plant.
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Ah, how beautiful. I love the “Top Hat” rock. Such a lovely place to walk.
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Thank-you Jolandi!
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What a wonderful walk! I love the top hat picture! Thanks again, Clare, for a wonderful collection of photos from one of your walks and for the interesting narration. For some reason I never expected to see alpacas! 😀
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Thank-you Jane! Surprisingly, many people keep alpacas here. The climate suits them and they have nicer characters than llamas. They are good guard animals too. There is a vineyard a couple of miles from where I live that also has a small herd of alpacas.
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So many beautiful photos, Clare! Glad you were both able to get out and walk in such a beautiful place! I love the “Top Hat” rock!
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Thank-you Lavinia. We love the Peaks and never seem to tire of it.
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Excellent photographs, dear Clare… the stained glass windows are beautiful … and beyond the Church.. those remarkable landscapes…
Truly nice… Sending love and best wishes. Aquileana ☀★🎇 ~
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Thank-you so much, dear Aquileana! Much love to you too! Clare xx
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Great photos, and I like the ones with Richard – was he trying to push that boulder? (smile) Yes, that other rock looks like a top hat.
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Thanks Cynthia! I’m not quite sure what Richard was up to – he was trying to explain something and was acting it out so I took a photo just to annoy him!
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I like that. A little bit of mischief.
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Hehe!
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Hello Clare, a lovely post as always. I just loved the stained glass in the church in Leek. Just gorgeous. The scenery around Ramshaw Rocks is stunning. The picture of Richard climbing up really illustrated how steep the climb is – you both must be very fit! So enjoyable to go on these walks with you.
– Kate
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Thank-you Kate. We aren’t very fit at all but we just love clambering about as we used to do when much younger. We often regret all the walking and climbing the next day!
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