Want to know the weather on the Roaches? click here This weather station is about 2.5miles from the Roaches
Want to know what you are looking at from the Roaches? From Long Mynd to Shuttlingslowe. check this website. click here You'll need to click the magnifying glass to get good images.
HEADLINES -updated 20 July 2010. SITE updated 20 July 2010
New Wallaby sighting on 19th July 2010! This is more complicated because it was seen by Nigel Roberts and his partner Michelle near the redundant power station near Burton-on Trent some 40 miles south of the Roaches. see email
The Bawdstone has healing powers! A new place of interest. see old photo of it painted white click
The Roaches are up for sale! The Peak District National Park has owned the Roaches for about 20 years. National Parks do not normally own land so the PDNP is getting into line with the rest of the NPs and has sold the Eastern Moors and the Roaches are up for sale.
The peregrines have had 3 chicks which are now flying
Two Wallabies seen together on Kinder by Robert Ward on 18th Sept! Laurie Fentimen has seen one on Kinder Scout on 15th August. David Hobson of Buxton saw one at Hanging Stone on August 2nd and Kate Cooper and family saw another at Wetton mill See photo and short videos on Wallabies page
See photo from 1872 of the Royal visit to the Roaches and the Queen's Chair. Royal visit
Birds of prey continue to be killed, despite the fact that it is illegal and has been for decades. We are calling for an end to this unacceptable cruelty, but the campaign can only be effective with your help. Read more
The Roaches where Buzzards fly and Wallabies still roam. The Roaches (or Roches) is a wind-carved outcrop of gritstone rocks straddling the parishes of Leekfrith and Heathylee in the Peak District National Park about 4 miles north of Leek, Staffordshire and 8 miles south of Buxton, Derbyshire. See Google Earth image
The name Roaches has evolved recently from 'Roches' as the area used to be known only 100 years (or less) ago. 'Roches' is the french word for rocks.
To get to the Roaches take the A53 road from Leek, Staffordshire towards Buxton. After about 4 miles and about half a mile past the Three Horseshoes pub take a left turn signposted Upper Hulme. After a hundred metres take the left fork. Follow this road for about one and a half miles. Park in the lay-byes - you can not miss the Roaches! To avoid a ticket make sure you park as signed!
The only two centres of a sparse population are the Villages of Meerbrook and Upper Hulme. Facilities include a tea room, a village hall, holiday cottages, furniture maker, vehicle repair and a visitor centre.
The Roaches are particularly popular with climbers because of the diversity of the climbing routes there. Also there are many miles of paths to satisfy the most seasoned rambler. see the Walks page
The Roaches area includes Hen Cloud, so named because with a little imagination it looks like a roosting hen. The name could also have been derived from the Anglo -Saxon 'Henge Clud' meaning steep cliff. Also Ramshaw Rocks which includes the weird rock formation called the Winking Man.
For many years, from the 1930's to the early 2000s, a fairly large group of Wallabies roamed the Roaches. We believe only one is left now. They had been released from a private zoo. 3 Yaks were also released at the same time but they died out in the 1950's. I am trying to build up a library of memories of the Wallabies and Yaks. See the Wallabies page.
