Lud’s Church Ramble

The Lud’s church Peak District walk is of average difficulty and takes around 3 hours to complete.  The walk covers a range of different ground, from woods to high moorland ridges.

The walk begins from the car park which is just beneath the Roaches.  From the car park, walkers should head towards the path which is between Hen Cloud and the Roaches, turning left along this path in the direction of Rock Hall.  The path should then be followed along from Rock Hall in the direction of Hen Cloud, were walkers should find a clearly marked path which passes above the woodland below, and beneath a series of rocky outcrops.  This path will take walkers straight past Rock Hall and onto a ridge, which commands fantastic views of the surrounding countryside.

Walkers should turn left upon reaching the ridge walking past Doxey Pool until they meet a triangulation point at the top of Roach End.  A path should then be followed that passes through a series of crags and leads down to the main road at Roach End.  Walkers should then continue following the ridge towards Castle Cliff Rocks until they reach a number of paths heading off in different directions.

The path signposted Gradbach should then be taken into Forest wood, with walkers then turning right when they see signposts pointing towards Lud’s church.  Walkers should then turn right into Lud’s church and walk down the steps and into the cave.  Walkers should then proceed to walk through the cave until they find the steps which will take them out of the cave and back into Forest Wood.  Walkers should walk through the wood then heading towards the ridge.  The best way to reach the ridge is by aiming for Roach End.  Walkers can simply follow the road which extends below Five Clouds back to the car park.