Staffordshire (a land-locked county of canals)
Staffordshire is one of the many land-locked counties in the West Midlands, this one famed for its pottery history. With industrial roots, most canals these days are now for towpath walks, or pleasure cruising.
Cannock Chase, a designated National Landscape (a more protected new name for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) covers rolling heathland and woodland.
If out walking, always follow the Countryside Code, to keep all creatures safe. Also read our post on how to protect England’s historic canals.
Also in Staffordshire is Flash, the highest village in England. Very close to the Cheshire and Derbyshire borders, it had a pretty rough history of smuggling and counterfeiting money. But today it’s loved by locals and tourists, who visit from neighbouring Buxton, a few miles away.
Ilam: A Swiss-Style Village
This village is well-known, due to resembling a Swiss village due to little cottages and lush valleys (you would think you were in Lucerne, minus the lake). The stately home that lived here was partly demolished in the 1930s. What remains is now a YHA youth hostel, owned by the National Trust.
The Peak District in the North
Staffordshire’s corner of the Peak District sits in the north, England’s oldest National Park mostly being in Derbyshire. This packs wild moorland and rugged peaks, and due to being so accessible from so many counties, is by far England’s most popular walking holiday destination.
The ‘winking man’ is a natural rock formation near the village of Leek, as it resembles a face. Protruding from a hillside, locals know him as ‘Winky!’
