The Staffordshire Way is a long-distance walk in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The path links with the Cheshire Gritstone Trail, the Heart of England Way and the North Worcestershire Path. The Way was opened in three stages by

Staffordshire County Council Staffordshire County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includ ...

between 1977 and 1983 and was resurveyed and refurbished with the assistance of the Ramblers' Association to mark the Association's 60th anniversary in 1995.

The route

Starting at Mow Cop Castle on gritstone hills on the edge of the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

in North Staffordshire, the Staffordshire Way follows the Staffordshire/

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

border northeast for to the summit of the Cloud (a route shared with the Gritstone Trail). It then traverses southeast through Staffordshire's countryside for passing through

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

, then along the Caldon Canal through the Churnet Valley to

Rocester Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border. Geography The village is about north of Utto ...

and

Uttoxeter Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Staffordshire borough of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. The town is from Burton upon Trent via the A50 and the A38, from Stafford via the A51 ...

. The route then goes southwest through the Trent Valley,

Shugborough Hall Shugborough Hall is a stately home near Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England. The hall is situated on the edge of Cannock Chase, about east of Stafford and from Rugeley. The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the dissol ...

parkland and

Cannock Chase Cannock Chase, often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase National Landscape, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and muc ...

(an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

) to

Penkridge Penkridge ( ) is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire, South Staffordshire District in Staffordshire, England. It is to the south of Stafford, north of Wolverhampton, west of Cannock, east of Telford and south-east of Newport, Shro ...

. From Penkridge it turns south passing near to

Brewood Brewood is an ancient market town in the civil parish of Brewood and Coven, in the South Staffordshire district, in the county of Staffordshire, England. Brewood lies near the River Penk, north of Wolverhampton and south of Stafford. Brewoo ...

and continuing southwest through the parkland of Chillington Hall and close to Weston Park. It then turns south again passing through

Codsall Codsall is a village and civil parish in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is situated 5 miles northwest of Wolverhampton and 13 miles east-southeast of Telford. It forms part of the boundary of the Staffordshire-W ...

, within half a mile of Perton and near to Patshull Hall and Pattingham. It then continues south near to Enville and Highgate Common before finishing at the dramatic

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

ridge of Kinver Edge. The section between Rushton Spencer and Cannock Chase is now part of

European walking route E2 The E2 European long distance path or E2 path is a 4850 km (3010-mile) series of long-distance footpaths that is intended to run from Galway in Ireland to France's Mediterranean coast and currently runs through Scotland, England, Belgium, L ...

. The path connects with the North Worcestershire Path and the Worcestershire Way at Kinver Edge, the Heart of England Way at Cannock Chase, the

Limestone Way The Limestone Way is a waymarked long-distance Rights of way in England and Wales, footpath in Derbyshire, England. It runs for through the White Peak of the Peak District National Park, from Castleton, Derbyshire, Castleton south to Rocester ...

at Rocester and the Gritstone Trail in north Staffordshire.

Hazards

It is recommended to take an

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

map when walking the Staffordshire Way as there are patches of the route that are poorly signposted. Parts of the route are frequented less than others and as such can become intensely boggy, especially after heavy and/or prolonged rainfall. As some parts of the route are across farm fields, expect the way ahead to be blocked by occasional herds of

dairy cattle Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred with the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species '' Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was ...

and itinerant horses.

Photos of the Staffordshire Way

Image:Mowcop.jpg, Mow Cop Castle Image:Bosley Cloud Summit.jpg, View of the Cheshire Plain from the top of the Cloud Image:Staffordshire_Way_-_geograph.org.uk_-_169056.jpg, As a small path just before

Image: Staffordshire_Way_-_geograph.org.uk_-_178930.jpg, As a track near

Abbots Bromley Abbots Bromley is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire and lies approximately east of Stafford, England. According to the University of Nottingham English Place-names project, the settlement name Abbots ...

Image:Shugborough Hall 03.jpg, Shugborough Hall Image:Stile_on_Staffordshire_Way_-_geograph.org.uk_-_178942.jpg, Running through a field near Bagots Forest Image:View of Kinver from Rock Houses.JPG, Kinver as seen from Holy Austin Rock House at Kinver Edge

References

{{Reflist

External links

Staffordshire County Council: Staffordshire Way page
Footpaths in Staffordshire Staffordshire Moorlands Long-distance footpaths in England County-themed walking routes in the United Kingdom