A bit damp in Leek

We returned from our second adventure with our 'new' caravan, yesterday afternoon. This time we went a little further afield - not much - but as far as Leek. The campsite was good, and now we've got the hang of things, we settled in very quickly (Friday afternoon). The first photo was taken at gritstone edges The Roaches, just up the road, Friday evening, and the second, nearby, shortly after as the sun was just going down. We were returning through Upper Hulme when I risked taking the third photo, although by now it was becoming rather dark. Earlier, we had driven through Flash which, at over 1500ft is claimed to be the highest village in England, and once known for prize fighting (often held at Three Shires Head), which continued long after it had become illegal. Flash was also a centre for counterfeiting (coins made by using button presses), and hawkers, known as badgers, once squatted on the nearby open ground, travelling from fair to fair selling their wares.

The Roaches (sometimes 'Roches' from the French for rocks) have only been known by this name for less than 100 years or less. Upper Hulme is a small settlement around what was, up to the early 1970's, a silk dyeing works.

We chose Leek as we were meeting up with our friends from Merseyside, and it was more or less half way for all of us. What a good choice it turned out to be, despite the rather dismal weather (with a few breaks between the rain). Although I have been to The Roaches with the walking club, we'd never been to Leek itself, nor explored the general area and now I'm asking myself 'why?', especially as it isn't that far away. What a lovely town, with so much interesting architecture, friendly people and beautiful surrounding countryside. We were lucky enough to hit on the monthly food market (worth visiting alone) taking place alongside an excellent antiques market. We had a good meal in The Cock Inn then on to Compton Mill, which is like an aladdin's cave, full of antiques, with a fabric showroom on the upper floor. Leek is renowned as an antiques centre and certainly lives up to its reputation, and we thought the prices were reasonable.

Our friends C & D arrived on Sunday morning. They'd booked in at The Three Horseshoes, just up the road. We'd took took them for a drive around The Roaches and had a good meal in Ye Olde Rock Inn at Upper Hulme, which was full of happy diners. The people on the next table had heard us talking about our holidays together in Greece, and it turned out that they too were Grecophiles, so we swopped a few stories before we left, for more exploring. C & D agreed that this was an area well worth revisiting. They called to see us on Monday morning, before we left for home and they went on to enjoy a bit more of the local countryside.

Unfortunately my back 'went' on Saturday evening (for no apparent reason) and I'm still shuffling round in the manner of Quasimodo. Tomorrow I should be travelling by coach to Winchcombe for a walk up Cleeve Hill, but I'm afraid I wont be joining them. So there'll be no work done on the plot, for a bit, apart from a little harvesting, as long as I don't have to bend too far.