Links and Credits

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The links and references below all relate to some aspect of the valley, ranging from an in-depth account of the Cheadle coal field to pub opening times and terrible poetry. This site contains precious little by way of original research and I think, having spent almost no time pouring over original sources, that it's important to acknowledge the people who have. All the photos on the site are mine but the supporting text includes information gleaned from all over the place.

Pubs

The Hollybush Inn The Hollybush Inn, Denford
The Hollybush is one of my favourite lunch stops: good bar food and well-kept real ales. It's next to the canal, exactly ten miles from Etruria junction: the milepost is right outside the front door.

The Boat Inn The Boat Inn, Cheddleton
The Boat is another favourite for both food and beer. As the name suggests, it overlooks the canal at Basford Bridge, but it's also handy for the Churnet Valley Railway at Cheddleton Station.

The Black Lion Inn The Black Lion Inn, Consallforge
The Black Lion is the ultimate summer afternoon sit-down or cozy winter refuge for the weary walker. It's in a narrow, isolated part of the valley, overlooking the canal, railway and river. I've never eaten here but the beer is excellent.

The Railway Inn The Railway Inn, Froghall
Haven't been here for ages but I remember a decent pint of Abbot Ale, back whenever-it-was. Sadly, early in 2010 it was closed and shuttered, but when I returned in May, it was "opening soon under new management".

The Railway

The Churnet Valley Railway The Churnet Valley Railway
The Churnet Valley Railway currently runs steam and historic diesel trains between Leek Brook Junction and Oakamoor.
The line is a remnant of the North Staffordshire Railway, known as "The Knotty", built through the valley in the 1840s.

Waterways

Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust
The two arms of the Caldon Canal run into the Churnet Valley at Horse Bridge. The Leek Arm runs north to the outskirts of the town. The main line runs south-east to Froghall, where it meets the remains of the Uttoxeter Canal.

Narrowboat World Narrowboat World
This is a good site for waterways news, columnists, galleries, competitions and a forum. It's especially good if you want to know what gets boaters angry. And they do get very angry.

Boats and Canals Boats and Canals
boatsandcanals.com is a link site with masses of stuff on it, including links to sister site, boatsandcanals.co.uk, which hosts forums on anything and everything boat-and-canal-related.
The "Main Photos" area includes a thread on the major breach in the Leek Canal which happened in November 2009.

Local Sites

Friends of Consall Friends of Consall
"Friends of Consall is a group of environmentally aware people who wish to preserve the local heritage for the future."
This is a developing amateur site devoted to one of the prettiest, most-isolated parts of the valley where I spend a large part of my time. Especially in the Black Lion.

Leek Online Leek Online
The website for "Leek, Staffordshire - Queen of the Moorlands".
Actually, the place is a bit run-down to call itself a "queen" but the Churnet does run around the town from north-east to south. The name is thought to be Old Norse, meaning something like "place by the river", which makes sense.

Strolling Through Staffordshire Strolling Through Staffordshire
Photographs with supporting text from all over Stafforshire, including the Churnet Valley.

General Interest

Foxshaw Gardens Foxshaw Gardens
A all-rounder featuring "...indoor and garden model railways, railways, canals and waterways, garden ponds and aquariums and there is also a section for youngsters".
Includes features on both the Caldon Canal and the Churnet Valley Railway, amongst many others.

Maps, Images and History

Geograph British Isles Geograph British Isles
"The Geograph British Isles project aims to collect geographically representative photographs and information for every square kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland."
The site has a search facility and, naturally, a map-based interface. The Churnet Valley is well represented.

The Staffordshire Views Collection The Staffordshire Views Collection
"The Staffordshire Views are a unique series ... commissioned and collected by William Salt, a London banker whose family came from Staffordshire."
The site has text and map-based searches, including historic maps dating back to 1775.

Old Maps Old Maps
As the name suggests, this site is devoted to maps. Specifically, these are old Ordinance Survey maps, generally from the second half of the 19th century onwards.

Vision Of Britain A Vision Of Britain Through Time
This site contains various types of information. It is especially useful, however, for its early-19th-century Ordinance Survey First Series maps, which pre-date the maps available on the Old Maps site.

Bradshaw's 1830 Canal Map on canalmaps.net Bradshaw's 1830 Canal Map on canalmaps.net
This is a map from 1830 including parts of the Caldon, but especially the Uttoxeter Canal, which was mid-way through its short existence at this point. The road network is also interesting, including the likes of the Blythe Marsh to Spend Lane turnpike, parts of which are, now, no more than a footpath.

The Valley in Poetry

The Weaver Hills The Vales of Wever
A "loco-descriptive" poem written by a guest at Wootton Lodge in the late 18th century. Even by the standards of the time, the language is flowery and was considered "fatiguingly monotonous" by the Edinburgh Review in 1799. It's trite rubbish but good for a laugh, even if you don't stick it all the way through.

Barrow Mound The Fairies of Caldon Low
This poem was written in 1847 by Mary Howitt. Sadly, the prehistoric mound of Caldon Low was quarried away in the 19th century; the one shown is at Swarkestone in Derbyshire. Some of the people who believe in such things think that the fairies may have relocated to Ribden Low, nearby.

Books, Booklets and Other Paper-Based Sources

Other Sources

Information points have been erected at sites around the village of Oakamoor, at Froghall Wharf and elsewhere in the valley. These are excellent resources, featuring old photographs of the sites in their industrial heyday with informative supporting text.