Stafford to Leek, following some of the Two Saints Way

Well, here we are back in Stafford where I've decided to walk from here to Buxton via Leek, where I will then meet my family before going up to the Lake District for a week. 

Stayed at my old school friend's house once more, (many thanks!) and departed really early for Leek as it was a 25-26 mile journey I was to be undertaking! The Two Saints Way (Two Saints Way website) is a recently established route from Lichfield to Chester via Stafford, taking in a number of places including Stone, Tittensor and the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Waymarker for the Two Saints Way

View down to Stafford

Can see the Wrekin from here...

After trekking pass Beacon Farm and taking in the views, we take a footpath directly down through some woods and fields to the pretty village of Hopton. Next step is through some more woods with an ill-defined path (I actually strayed from it by half a mile...) and we eventually come to the village of Salt with the Sandon Hall estate in the distance with its acorn-shaped folly!

Hopton flowers

path to Salt

The Hollybush Inn, Salt

Sandon Hall in the distance

After Salt, we reached the Trent & Mersey canal which was followed most of the way to Stoke-on-Trent. It's a pretty canal, with various places coming off it, the first of which was Burston. After Burston, it's a short walk across a boggy nature reserve and some large fields to the village of Aston and its Hall, now a home for retired priests! I swear I could hear a "Feck, Arse, Girls, DRINK..!" coming from there... 

Bridge on Trent & Mersey Canal

Lock

St Rufin's Church, Burston

Peaceful

Pond at Burston

St Saviour's, Aston

After Aston, we head back on the canal and it is just a short walk into Stone where I have some lunch and a pint at the local Wetherspoons. Stone is a pretty little town but I have little time to explore as it's a long trek today! The trail thus far had been reasonably way marked but it was about to take a turn for the worse...

St Mary & St Wulfad's Church, Stone.

After Stone, we follow the canal for a while, climbing a flight of locks and turning off onto a field before reaching the busy A34. Followed that for a while, crossed the Trent (How many of the major rivers in England have I crossed or followed now?) and then head uphill for a half mile up the A51 until crossing to go over a very small, overgrown stile and into some Forestry Commission lands. After this, it all goes to pot. All the way markers seem to have been smashed or moved due to logging or farmers not seeming to want people crossing the lands. Also, the trail, what I found of it, was overgrown with brambles, nettles and other thorny bushes, leaving me with a lot of cuts and bites! I appreciate that it is a new route, but it does need to be sorted! 

This meant however that after Tittensor, I just decided to follow the A34 past Trentham and then it was just suburbia until I found the route to Leek, the A53. So, what started as a promising walk,turned into a sullen march, meaning no pictures and no real enjoyment, especially as it was a hard slog on mostly pavements (thank god!) uphill.

Still, once in Leek, I found my B&B and what a fantastic place it was for a solo traveller! A nice BIG double bed with a separate toilet and bathroom! Heaven! Tomorrow will be a 14 mile hike up to Buxton for an overnight stay with the family before we head up to the Lake District!