Staffordshire Way

The Staffordshire Way spans the length of the county for 92 miles from Mow Cop in the north to Kinver Edge in the south. The route explores some of Staffordshire's loveliest scenery and several of its most interesting towns and villages, as well as linking country parks and picnic places.

Staffordshire is a beautiful rural county of scenic contrast, and the Way explores it to best advantage. Starting among rugged gritstone hills on the edge of the Peak District, the Way turns south towards Rudyard Lake and Leek beyond. South of Leek, the towpath of the restored Caldon Canal takes the walker through the most secluded part of the Churnet Valley and along hilltop paths with views of the wooded valleys of 'Staffordshire's Rhineland'. In mid-Staffordshire, the Way explores the heart of Cannock Chase, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Beyond, the Way passes by the superb landscaped parklands of Weston, Chillington, Patshull and Enville, the results of 18th century genius and creativity which have earned this area the name of 'Parkland Staffordshire'. The area abounds with reminders of the Norman Domesday survey, mediaeval England and tales of deeds of chivalry. The climax of the route is a lofty sandstone ridge at Kinver.

The Staffordshire Way was completed in 1983 and is an important link in the regional long distance path network. It connects with the Worcestershire Way at Kinver Edge and with the Heart of England Way at Cannock Chase. In north Staffordshire, the Way joins with Cheshire's Gritstone Trail which follows the western edge of the Pennines to Lyme Park, only ten miles from the start of the Pennine Way at Edale.

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