Staffordshire Moorlands - Furnace Forest

Todays adventure took us close to Alton and Dimmingsdale which are near Cheadle, to one of the Staffordshire moorland walks available via their website. Furnace forest, once part of the Earl of Shrewsbury's estate, is where Alton Towers was built by the 15th Earl.  Today, however, it gave us a great trail throught the woods while being soaked by the feburary drizzle! 



The route we took was a slight detour from this map but still a very enjoyable walk, even with the weather!


Today we went all out; 6 adults, 1 child, 5 collies, 2 springers, and 1 staffy! The walk itself was about 4 miles with some steep ups and downs, and when your up against the rain like we were it took us 3 hours or so to complete (with a lunch stop). 


Pond and Millhouse - close to the start of the walk.


We met up at the Ramblers Retreat cafe carpark and set off towards the old mill.  There were plenty of dammed pools and some fast flowing streams all the way round the walk.  The paths varied from sturdy bridal path to completely boggy trails.  Some of the climbs and downs were a bit slippy but that was down to the weather!  at one point we got a great view across the valley to Alton Towers.

The adults walked the 4 miles.  To Alex, who takes two steps to our one, this obviously meant he walked 8 miles today.  Betty and Wilma and their doggy companions on the other hand must have done about 10miles with all the exploring they did.  The whole walk was very dog friendly and we only had to be cautious about putting them on leads for a short section through a livestock field.

One of the dammed pools - and a few wet doggits!

Unless you are feeling really flush I wouldnt bother with the ramblers retreat.  It was a bit too posh inside for us bedraggled lot, but there is a hatch outside with some sunhouses and umbrella's but the prices were a bit steep even for coffee!

We are definitely going back to this walk in the spring to see it all in a different light with less rain and slightly more sun!