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Walking Staffordshire – The Churnet Valley
In the mistaken belief that things would probably be a lot drier in the woods, we decided to venture up Cotton Dell – a delightful wooded valley between the mayhem of Alton Towers and the tranquillity of Oakamoor. We were probably still a week or two away from the...
Staffordshire Walks – Oakamoor & Whiston
The beauty of living where we are is the ability to walk in any direction, from our front door, and find ourselves in fantastic countryside. If you use the brilliant (and usually free) ViewRanger phone app, you can follow the route from here. Just across the road...
A Visit to Carsington Water
In keeping with my unhealthy interest in the weather, it struck me today that I wasn't sure where the term "Indian Summer" came from. I'd always imagined it was something to do with India and the fact the weather improved in September after the monsoons. But no,...
The JCB Story
The JCB Story Some of you may know that JCB (of yellow digger fame) are based just up the road from us. If you’ve driven to Alton Towers via Rocester, the chances are you’ve passed their World Headquarters – a huge shed-like building with very picturesque lakes out...
Drone Footage of The Roaches
Given that absolutely nothing is happening at The Laurels, in respect of fixing things that is, and that the weather was dry and warmish, we decided to take a trip to The Roaches. This isn't, as you may suspect, some hideous place where six-legged insects inhabit the...
Well Dressing
When I was first told about well dressing, I imagined a group of immaculately groomed lovies in suits and frocks. As it turns out, well dressing is pretty much as it sounds - dressing up wells. Just up the road from us is the picture-postcard village of Tissington...
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