A short walk from the car park at the Leek and Rudyard Railway, following the railway line, gets you to Rudyard Lake.
From the first train stop, called The Dam, you can walk onwards at the side of the lake or turn left onto the bridge and down by the lake on the opposite side where there are visitor facilities.
We walked along by the railway. Just us and a few dog walkers. Well I say a few but each of the walkers seemed to have several dogs.
It was quiet, sunny and for once quite warm. There were several birds calling.
We heard Chiff Chaff, Robins, Wrens, GreatTits and also a Nuthatch.
We spotted a Heron and also a swallow, swooping over the water.
We
stopped for a while on the other side of the lake and sat outside with a
coffee and shared a piece of banana bread.
The lake was built by the Trent and Mersey Canal Company. under the guidance ofJohn Rennie, to supply water to the Caldon branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal. It was begun in 1797 and completed in 1800. It still supplies water to the canal system it was designed for. It is now owned by the Canal and River Trust.
It was here that Rudyard Kipling's parents, John Lockwood Kipling and Alice MacDonald met. Here is more about the Kipling connection.
Writer George Orwell visited Rudyard Lake between the two world wars when he was researching for his book The Road to Wigan Pier. He didn't think much of it.
'Not a soul anywhere and bitter wind blowing. All the broken ice had been blowing up to the South end and the waves were rocking it up and down making a clank-clank, clank-clank. The most melancholic noise I ever heard.'
Thank goodness we had bright, Spring sunshine for our walk. Next time, if the train is running, we may take it to the other end of the lake.
All for now.
An interesting place to visit and walk Rosie and fascinating about the Rudyard connection. Glad you had some Spring sunshine instead of more of the rain we seem to be having constantly! Dog walkers do seem to like places like that and we went somewhere once where there were loads of people with about 4 or 5 dogs each - I suspect they were professional dog walkers!
ReplyDeleteThank you C, yes I expect one or two might have been professional dog walkers. It's a good long walk at the side of the lake. It was last week we visited on one of the dry, warmer days. Rain again the next day of course. I wonder if Rudyard Kipling liked his name, I guess he would have changed it if he didn't:)
DeleteGeorge Orwell chose the wrong time of year to go by the sounds of it, it looks a great walk with plenty to see and hear and having a little train to ride on next time will be the icing on the cake! 😊
ReplyDeleteThank you CK, yes he did. Not the place to be in the midst of winter, he didn't like his hostel accommodation either. The little train recently changed hands so I'm hoping it's up and running again soon, I've never been to the other end of the lake so hoping that will get us there:)
Delete....which explains why Orwell didn't have any children called Rudyard, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteOh, John, bless you - you made me laugh out loud and cheered me up on a grey and drizzly day. Take care:)
DeleteInteresting history behind this place. The train ride would be fun!
ReplyDeleteThank you Granny Sue, I'm keeping my fingers crossed the train runs this year:)
DeleteI didn't know about the Rudyard connection either. It looks like a lovely walk to enjoy along by the railway. A train ride would be enjoyable another time. Thank you for sharing your pictures.
ReplyDeleteThank you Beverley, I'm glad you enjoyed the photos:)
Delete