The Roaches

dick v., on September 23, 2007, said:

Hi Sarah, the Roaches look like a rather particular rock-formation to me, are they part of a larger mountain/hill area? I hope the name has not much to do with our little friends you run into in warmer parts of this world! Greetings, Dick.

Sarah Graham, on September 23, 2007, said:

Hi dick,

Roaches is how they are written now - used to be Roches until relatively recently = rocks in French. I've just learned from this idiosyncratic website that wallabies used to roam wild there!

They are quite a singular outcrop in the area described as the north Staffordshire Moorlands/ southern Derbyshire Peak District, so are both high and broad. Most of the countryside is quite rolling, actually, so it's a big surprise as these formations seem to loom up at you as you climb the steep, spectacular, treacherous road from the pretty market town of Leek to the Georgian spa town of Buxton.

There are lots of climbers there at weekends, but we walked across them with just stout shoes & our 3 year-old son, so the terrain is very varied. I'd recommend it if you are ever in this part of the world - & you shouldn't need bug spray!

dick v., on September 24, 2007, said:

Hi Sarah, shame about the yaks... That would have been a magnificent sight! Like you were in the Himalayas!!! Greetings, Dick.