The Roaches and Lud’s Church Circular from Hen Cloud

This 7.6-mile circular walk starts on Roach Road south of Hen Cloud, follows the Roaches ridge to Roach End, loops through Lud’s Church and returns to its starting point. It is a lollipop rather than a tidy circuit: the ridge approach is walked twice, with the church loop joining it in the middle. Allow about 4½ hours. This is a half-day commitment, but the change from open gritstone high ground to a dark, mossy woodland cleft keeps the walk varied.

A signed footpath leaves the lane and climbs through the gap between Hen Cloud and the Roaches. Follow it into the col, keeping the wall on your right; at the top, turn left through the next wall to reach the main ridge. The climb is steady, but the ground can be rough, muddy and uneven. Doxey Pool sits beside the ascent, and the path continues to the trig point at about 505 metres. From the ridge you can look over Tittesworth Reservoir, North Staffordshire, the Cloud and Cheshire. The crags beside the path are popular with climbers and boulderers. The route stays on the ridge path. For a photo, keep a rocky outcrop in the foreground with the wide view beyond; a bare horizon loses what makes this ridge distinctive. Continue north to Roach End, where the path meets a road.

Cross the road at Roach End and follow the signed path down towards Lud’s Church. At the first junction, take the left branch into the trees. The path leads to an 18-metre-deep rock cleft with mossy walls, steps and boardwalk; its narrow passages feel much darker than the open ridge. Mud can persist inside, and the rock becomes slippery after rain, so this is the slowest section. The often-repeated story that the cleft was a hidden fifteenth-century Lollard church is local belief, not settled history. After exploring, return to the path and continue west to a second point on the ridge, then follow the ridge back to Roach End. Cross the road there and retrace your approach over the Roaches to the same start.

Start from the permitted roadside parking on Roach Road at grid reference SK006618, by the signed path between Hen Cloud and the Roaches. This is roadside parking, not a large car park; spaces fill quickly on busy days, so an early or late start helps. The reserve is open at all times and dogs are allowed on leads. Expect a steep, uneven half-day walk rather than a gentle stroll to the chasm. If you mainly want Lud’s Church, a separate 2.4-mile return from Gradbach reaches the cleft without the ridge; it starts at a different access and does not visit the Roaches.