England
The Roaches
Gritstone crags erupting from moorland where wallabies roam wild below the ridge.
Gritstone towers erupt from heather moorland in a jagged ridgeline where wallabies — escapees from a private zoo in the 1940s — still roam below the crags. The Roaches in the Peak District is a two-mile escarpment in Staffordshire where climbing meets strangeness in a landscape that looks like it belongs in another country.
The Roaches — from the French roche, meaning rock — rise to 505 metres above the Staffordshire moorland, their gritstone edges sculpted by wind and frost into towers, overhangs, and the natural formations that attract climbers year-round. Don Whillans, the legendary climber, established many of the classic routes here in the 1950s and 1960s. The wallaby colony, descended from animals that escaped from a private collection at nearby Roaches Hall during the Second World War, has survived and occasionally bred, though sightings are rare and the population fluctuates. The ridge walk from Hen Cloud to the Roaches trig point crosses open access land with views across to Shutlingsloe, Tittesworth Reservoir, and on clear days, the Cheshire Plain. Lud's Church, a natural chasm in the rock below the ridge, is a mossy ravine associated with the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Solo
Walk the ridge alone at dawn and the gritstone catches the first light while the moorland below stays dark. Descend to Lud's Church and the moss-walled chasm amplifies every sound into something medieval.
Couple
The ridge walk is atmospheric without being strenuous. Share the views from the trig point, search for wallabies in the bracken, and descend through Lud's Church feeling like characters in a story older than the rock.
Friends
The climbing on The Roaches ranges from beginner slabs to routes that test experienced leaders. Spend a day on the crag, then walk the ridge together for a sunset that sets the gritstone on fire.
- Wallabies descended from a private zoo escape in the 1930s still roam the moorland below the gritstone crags — a genuine 'wait, what?' moment.
- The climbing routes on the Roaches are among the best gritstone problems in England — friction-dependent, bold, and steeped in history.
- The ridge walk along the top gives 360-degree views from Staffordshire into Cheshire, Derbyshire, and beyond.
- Hen Cloud, the isolated buttress at the south end, rises from the plain like a ship's prow — scrambling its ridge is a rite of passage.
Oatcakes stuffed with Staffordshire cheese and bacon from market-town cafés in Leek.
Pork pies from Hartington, crumbling and peppery beside a pint of local bitter.
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