I decided to keep it closer to Stafford on this weeks trek, I am lucky to have an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty right on my doorstep. Sometimes I just regret that I haven’t really appreciated it as much before now.
It may be the smallest of all the AONBs in the country. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t offer just as much. The site is great for camping and hiking, and it also has a strong connection with mountain biking with many specialist built tracks. It even hosted some of this years Commonwealth Games.
The Route
This one was more of a flat day, although there were still a couple of uphills. One of the paths taken here was definitely meant for mountain bikers and included some climbing. If any route is shared I remembered to check my six as often as possible. Unlike pretty much the rest of my life I don’t have headphones in when I’m off on a trek. This means I’m pretty good at hearing if any two wheeled visitors are getting close.
It is worth noting that there are some trails which are just for bikers on the Chase, these are not open for hikers. They are pretty well marked with “No Entry” when your walking about I have noticed that on the all trails app they do appear as walking tracks so beware.
Autumn in full bloom
Walking through these forests in the autumn just makes them truly come into colour. Yes, trees do look magnificent when they’re full of leaves. I love it when they start to brown and drop to the floor. It is almost like you’re looking through the skin and seeing the skeleton that has stood for hundreds of years.
A weir not a waterfall
A cute little bridge and the weir beneath which looks like it has stood for an awfully long time. The remains of what was once a working mill at the Sitting Mill site near Rugeley.
A great place to take a rest stop before setting back down the same trail to rejoin my loop through the forests.
Variety is the spice of life
There was a lot of different views on this hike. You could see how winter was catching different areas of the forest at different speeds. Sometimes the only difference was a track that came between, separating trees with leaves and those that had lost them all already.
Thats another Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ticked off my list. I am very near the beginning of my mission to visit every National Park, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty this country has to offer. I am determined to tick more from my list in the next twelve months. To truly discover our nations beauty.