3rd November 2018

I have to say straightaway that this was not one of the best walks we have been on – the first two walks in this book were two of the best we have been on and we had high hopes for Number 3 but there seemed to be a bit more road walking and the views were definitely not as impressive.  Having said that – the two pubs we visited were fab.

So it starts from Leek and we didn’t park where the book recommended so we got a little confused and walked around Brough Park for about an hour trying to find some “impressive iron entrance gates” to the park – which we couldn’t find and nobody we spoke to had any idea what we were talking about – even 3 police officers!!!  As you can imagine – there was one or two heated exchanges of opinion here lol.

There was quite a walk along the road after this – which was mainly carried out in stony silence lol.  Anyway – only lasted about 5 minutes before we were talking again and then off the road and across a stream onto the first uphill pull of the day.

We had some lovely cobs, a sausage roll and cup of coffee here – and a M&S strawberry iced bun – love a picnic!

You go up the hill and at the top you get a lovely view of the Moorlands and get your first glimpse of the reservoir.  Through a couple of fields and you get to the network of paths installed by Severn Trent Water to take you around the reservoir.  We took the waterside option which takes you down by the side of the reservoir and eventually out through the Visitor Centre.

Tittesworth Reservoir has a long history – the original dam was constructed in 1858 to trap water from the River Churnet to provide a reliable source of supply for the town of Leek and its textile industries but by the mid twentieth century  – in 1963 – a new dam was built to increase the reservoir’s capacity – and when it’s full, Tittesworth Reservoir can supply 10 million gallons of water!  It now provides a good quality habitat for a variety of plants and animals, including otters and water voles.

Anyway – out of the visitor centre, and a walk along the road into Meerbrook and there’s the first pub – The Lazy Trout – time for a pint!  There isn’t a website for The Lazy Trout but if you check it out on Trip Advisor it has excellent reviews.

 Time to get going – it’s going to be dark by the time we get back and we’re only about half way round!   Another walk down a road again before getting back onto the field then uphill to the highest point of the walk and then descending back towards Leek and you get to The Abbey Inn.

 And we arrived at The Abbey Inn –

 This pub dates back to the 18th century and although it caters primarily to the food market they have well-kept beers from local breweries – it was quiet when we went apart from a group of gentlemen from Germany who had the same book as us!  The landlord was fab – we had a great chat with him about the history of the pub and he showed us some great old photos.  We could have stayed all night – really didn’t want to leave.  We will definitely return for some food – probably a Sunday lunch – the food sounds amazing and has great reviews.  LOVE this pub! And thank you to the lovely landlord – we had a great time.

By the time we left it was proper dark but didn’t take long to get back to the car.  This was a nice walk but not a favourite for either of us, however, the Abbey Inn was a definite pub we would return to for a meal – and a beer of course!

What’s your favourite Peak District Walk?