The green chasm
An 18-metre-deep rock corridor lined with moss, cool and damp even at the height of summer.
August Schwerdfeger — CC BY 4.0 · Richard Law — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Brian Deegan — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Brian Deegan — CC BY-SA 2.0
On the hottest day of an English summer you go down a few stone steps, the light thins, the air turns suddenly cold, and you are standing in a rock cleft more than 100 metres long and 18 metres deep whose walls are furred with moss and fern from floor to rim. This is Lud's Church, and it is not a church at all: it is an ancient landslip that split the gritstone hillside of Back Forest above the hamlet of Gradbach, on the south-western edge of the Peak District between Leek and Buxton. The name comes from a story told for centuries. In the early 1400s the Lollards, followers of John Wycliffe, are said to have used the chasm for secret worship away from the official Church, so it became 'their church'. Literary people know it for a different reason: since the 1950s scholars have argued that this is the Green Chapel where the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight reaches its climax. Standing on the damp floor with nothing but dripping water for company, it is easy to believe. Getting there is the outing. It is car-only, roughly 30 minutes from Buxton or 25 from Leek along narrow country lanes to the small Gradbach car park, which fills before noon on summer weekends. From there it is a walk of about 2 km through woodland with a steady climb, 30 to 45 minutes each way, and entry is free at all times because the site lies inside the Roaches nature reserve run by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. The floor of the chasm is muddy and slippery all year and ordinary trainers will not do, so it makes a superb adventure for children over six who can walk, but it is no place for pushchairs or anyone who struggles with steps. Be honest with yourself about scale: what you see is a green rock corridor you can walk through in fifteen minutes, and the day is really about the woodland walk rather than the destination alone. There are no facilities on site, no toilets and no cafe you can count on, so bring water and a snack from Buxton. In winter the path is muddier and the daylight short, so start early; and if the car park is full, do not park on the narrow lanes around the hamlet, since residents rightly complain about it.
An 18-metre-deep rock corridor lined with moss, cool and damp even at the height of summer.
The spot scholars link to the climax of the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Two kilometres of woodland with a steady climb and views over the Dane valley, half the pleasure of the visit.
Gradbach Mill Lane, Quarnford, Buxton SK17 0SU
With children under six, The Roaches is the easier choice, since the rocks begin close to the road, though neither walk suits a pushchair. Lud's Church needs a 2 km uphill walk and a muddy, slippery floor, but for older children it is an adventure they will not forget.
Walking boots or wellies are essential in every season; the floor never dries out. No guide is needed, but signage is sparse, so carry a map or a trail app on your phone, and follow the road signs for Gradbach rather than trusting the postcode alone, which can send a satnav down farm tracks.