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Lud's Church
Lets get one thing straight from the begining, it is not a church. It was once a worshipping place for Luddites.
Luds Church according to history was linked to the Luddites. This natural rock formation was used by the Luddites as a secret meeting place.
Here plans were made on how they were going to destroy new machinery and such which was just being developed in the early years of the 1800s.
More information on the history of the Luddites can be found by visiting
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRluddites.htm
It is a large natural cleft in the rock on the hill side above Gradbach, in a forest area known as the Black Forest. This feature was formed by a landslip which detached a large section of rock from the hillside, thus forming a ravine which is over 15 metres high in places and over 100 metres long, but for the most part only a couple of metres wide. This map gives you an idea of where about it is and for this walk we will be starting at Dane Bridge which is just below Wincle.
Just a few yards of tarmac takes you to a stile giving access to the side of the river Dane.
Taking a right at the next stile and up the steps leaves you facing quite a steep climb of about 300 yds, at the top you emerge in to what looks like a nice field with a slight incline, the incline is right but the field is not always nice, the slightest bit of rain and it turns in to a bog.
Head across the field past a standing stone and to a stile over the top wall, when you get to the top of the next slight incline you can see The Hanging Stone in front of you
Turn right and along the hardcore path, the Hanging stone is now on your left a few hundred yards along this path is a junction you take the rising track to the left
As you proceed along this track the view of the Roaches and Roach end gradually comes in to sight.
Follow this link for more about the Roaches
Through the stile in the dry stone wall and on to the land of the Roaches Estate, the finger post points you up the path and to the bottom of the path that will take you along the ridge and up to Roach end.
On a nice day the panorama across the ridge is spectacular, the Cheshire plains to one side, Tittersworth reservoir and the Roaches with Hen Cloud behind to the other and over the forest Shutlingslow , but on a bad day nothing!!
.
A link to a nice site covering
Hen Cloud the Roaches and Lud's Church.
And this is another one.
Try this one to see some stunning pictures of walks.
All along the ridge the path is good under foot and one of my favourite places to stop for a drink and some food is sitting in the shelter of these two rocky out crops
, fed and watered carry on to the top of Roach End.
Turn left at the end and down the path to the back of Black Forest ( not really much of a forest now )
the last couple of hundred yards needs to be taken with care, over the years the bottom of the path has been repaired with the addition of large rocks making steps, in places quite steep and care needs to be taken, specially if its wet.The top of the path as you can see runs down buy the side of the road and is well walked, at the bottom across the stream and in to Black Forest
Into the forest and now the footing changes from rock, sand and if wet mud, to roots and mud, crossing some of the cambered paths over tree roots needs care and attention if wet.
The next mile or so is spent on paths between the trees until you reach a clearing with a finger post.
As you can see it would be very hard not to find Lud's Church with the sign post telling you where to go, "don't you believe it", the entrance can be very well hidden among the foliage, the entrance at this end is very small.
This is the way in, right at the top, but better to carry on down the path another 20--30yds and descend using the steps, vertical rock sides covered with all sorts of plant life and permanently wet make the inside very humid and damp.
 
Spend a little while inside the ravine,and when you are ready climb the steps at the bottom and you emerge on to the path make a left turn and follow the path, over the next mile or so you will cross mud, rock, water and sand, out of the forest and on the way back to the bottom end of the ridge, the view to your right is across the Dane valley and as can be seen from the photo below is in complete contrast to the ridge.
At the end of the path you arrive at the track that will take you back past the Hanging stone .
Across the field with the standing stone in the center and back to the steep path that you ascended a short while ago, the photograph doesn't quite show how steep it is but I am always glad to be going down it at the end of this walk.
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