 Hello, thank you for joining me. I'm in Leek today, Leek Staffordshire, and this is the first video where we're gonna Follow the route of the old railway from Leek up towards Macklesill. So we've done the other way to Stoke on Trent Now where I am now is nothing to do with old railways The station was where Morrison's is and I've already made a video there So I thought it was pointless starting there again So I thought it was starting the housing estate. Now if you look at there's a sign there It says Rudyard that way and it says Leek the other way Now if you were going to, oh, hello, there's a cat. Hello, you come to be in my video with me So yeah, we have this cat who seems to be quite happy to join me. So where were we? That is the cycle path which runs along the old railway But as you can see now, we're not on an old railway at all, but we're gonna go and look for it I'm gonna say goodbye to the cat. Goodbye, off you go That was quite an interesting beginning to the video. I did not expect that So if you're gonna walk along the old railway suggests you go that way But that's probably just assuming you want to get to Rudyard Lake Which you know why everyone wants to go to Rudyard Lake. It's such a lovely place but we are Going to find the mouth of the old tunnel before we start heading towards Rudyard Lake So we're gonna carry on in that direction there So as we go along, I think it's up here Somewhere we need to find the way into where the tunnel was No, I don't think it's that way So somewhere behind this housing estate is the old track bit And what I plan to do is to get onto the track bit, but then go in the opposite direction Nice old home to there in the opposite direction to try and find the old tunnel I don't think there's going to be a huge amount to see because from the other end is completely inaccessible the end from Nearest to the site of Leak railway station, but this end we might be able to see something So that's the plan for today and then what I'm going to do Over the next few days. I'm going to continue walking along the old track bed making my way Up towards Macclesfield. Well, we don't actually quite go to Macclesfield though. The railway line joins The line which runs from near Shogbro up to Manchester. It joins it Near Macclesfield I think the tunnel must be somewhere out there Somehow don't think that's going to get us there. I think possibly we get down here if we take A left up that road there that might take us on to the track bed So what I've actually done is I've come over the top of the tunnel It's a bit of a kind of one of these videos where I guess as I go kind of job But we will find it. I know we're close by And is it this one? That is looking half promising Don't think I think That's the cutting but doesn't look like there's a path So I think we're close. I think we're very close, but I don't think Wait, is that a path there? I think we found it, but we're not actually on track bed So there is a path here Let's have a look up here Strange Yeah, that is that's the track bed then down there And not quite sure where this path goes Perhaps after I've made the video Follow it see where it does go The tunnel must be down there somewhere It doesn't look like it's an easy way down That's definitely you can see how the cutting just ends there So we found the tunnel We need to get down there now. So let's go back this way That path carries on down there We'll see if we can Go up to the tunnel. So in the meantime, I'll see a bit about the history of the Roweline North of Leek It closed In 1964 all together Close to passengers in 1960 And it opened in 1950 and I've just done the history backwards, but Just did for a change Of course Part of the track bed the most scenic section along side Rudyard Lake Thank you very much. It's been a bag of cats. Now we've got dogs What next? um So along the section along Rudyard Lake Is now The Rudyard Lake steam railway, which is You know great and That has featured in my miniature railway Britain series So what if you have a look the next video will be the miniature railway britain video, which has already been published So i'll put a link to that and we Have already traveled the full length of the Rudyard Lake railway and then um after that I shall go and Do the stations north from there. So there's rushed and spent so I think it's just rushed and now but we'll get on that when we get there Um, so there's a few stations up there I don't think it's as accessible As the line to stoke was the line to stokes a bit strange because it's not really A public footpath, but all the dogwalkers use it. So that's why I used it. We're just coming Easily alongside the old railway track now like actually see there's um It looks like it's a path. So i'm not sure where it's going to go So if we come the way the cycle path suggested it would probably cross the road bought us onto here if you look Now it says Rudyard. So let's go through here and um We'll go along the back on ourself. So finally we're on to the trap bed now There's been quite a lot of talk of the churnit valley railway extending to Rudyard I'm sorry not to Rudyard that would be brilliant if they could Rebore the tunnel and extend to Rudyard great. I meant to leak Never say never it might happen one day um That's weird Just get on for a minute The Rudyard Lake Railway may one day extend to leak because they've got all that track from the Arlamal Railway and of course There's plenty of room for them to do that So that could possibly happen now. I've just noticed That looks like a platform, but I as far as i'm aware there never was a railway station here It almost looks like I could have been like a little leak north halt or something. I don't know So when you're watching this um, who possibly remembers the railway in leak, can you tell me Was this ever a halt if not? What is this bit of brickwork because i'm a bit confused Right, anyway, so that way goes to Rudyard Lake We're going this way. We're going to try and find What there is of the tunnel if indeed anything so I imagine it's filled in from what I can see from walking around In the park up by the woodcroft you can look down. I can't see any masonry Of the tunnel so whether what a masonry must exist but be buried so The question is by two things. I'll find one out for myself at the moment Does this path go anywhere? Is it going to be a dead end? And two are we going to find anything of the tunnel? It'd be great to you know, I think we could just go then the tunnel will be there and I could just walk through it But I somehow doubt it Um, whether we're going to find a bricked up tunnel. I'm not sure I think we're going to be answered very soon because I can already see what appears to be A bit of a dead end so perhaps It's looking from what I can see Like the tunnel's been completely filled in and there's nothing to see which is a bit of a shame So where does this path go is this Complete dead end. So when I we first came to where you could see any form of railway We were up there at the top of the cutting And it appears the path that goes Over the top of the tunnel. So what I think I'll do when I get to as far as I can go here I'll go back that way. I won't record it all because They won't be new to show you if I find anything Exciting above there I'll record a bit more and add that onto the video if not then this will be what it is. So it's It's a bit strange here because it's getting muddier, but we're actually Starting to go uphill. So I think about Just there We've left the Trap bed and they've filled it in so I'm sort of getting higher and higher so I've kind of gone from track level So about now I'm probably at The floor of the carriage level if I keep going I'm going to be almost On the roof of the train level And it really does not look like there's anything so it looks like they've filled in The cutting up to where the tunnel was and I had it's getting really muddy as well um Because obviously this is artificial This isn't natural this land. It's been dug out and it's been put back. There's a fallen tree I think Gone as far as I can go without getting Really really muddy Um, this wasn't meant to be a muddy walk. This was just a Stroll to try and find the end of the old tunnel. So I'm gonna leave it here. I'm gonna do that path though Up there just to see where it goes partly out curious to partly if I can find anything at the tunnel so Hope you enjoyed this video um over the next few episodes we shall Continue nor for the next one would be The other side of the leak and Rudyard railway leak and Rudyard railway Effectively covers the railway The section that's reopened as As a miniature railway, but north of there I'll do my usual format as I did with leaked stoke. I'll make a video at each station and I'll make one Where it joins the main line. So thank you very much for watching I hope you enjoyed the rest of the series Looking towards Macklesfield from the old railway leak. Goodbye