I am pleased to say that over the last few years it has been the subject of extensive reclamation work and landscaping, the end result is a potentially beautiful open parkland with lots of woodland planting and wildlife projects such as ponds and wetland areas together with a myriad of pathways circumventing and criss crossing the whole area and it was nice to see some signs of the weather warming up as this prickly Gorse bush was starting to flower.
Once it matures it will be a lovely place to visit and a credit to all those involved in the restoration project, although on a day like this it can seem a very bare and lonely place. It is located on what can only be described as a very large undulating mound of land which forms one side of the valley that heads towards the town of Newcastle under Lyme, so the paths rise and fall with the terrain. Without the future mature tree cover which will be extensive, it is very open to the elements, hence if it is windy the cold can cut right through you. They have also retained the old mine workings and shaft along with a small steam train and short length of track, there is also a new visitor centre and a museum staffed by local volunteers.
The car park and visitor centre
There is a second visitor centre/café building at the opposite end from the main park entrance which also allows vehicular access, although I have never seen this café facility open which is a shame as I am ready for a brew about this point. They have continued the green policy by also generating their own electricity and I usually pass by a couple of wind turbines that look like a couple of angry Dragonfly’s as they spin and rotate in unison.
It was as I passed these angry insects that I spotted what I thought was a large bird in the sky, but as I got nearer I realised that it was a kite! Being inquisitive I went over to get a closer look and saw a couple more large kites that seemed to be duelling as they whirled and spun in the sky, diving and sweeping in at each other like birds of prey. I got talking to the guy with the bird like kite and he told me that every month a kite club meets at this place and I am not surprised as it was very exposed and very windy. He also told me that the kite he had with him cost around £180 and was designed to be flown indoors in such places as stadiums. He said that the duelling kites were so controllable that they could actually be landed gently on to the top of a fence post and then be lifted off again and that they cost in the region of £480 each,
I must remember to go up on a meeting day and get some more pictures.
There are many places where you can get off the designated paths and walk through wooded areas, usually of the self seeded variety with lots of Birch and Elder and rough ground cover existing on very poor spoil heap soil. These paths meander through this scrubby woodland and I often detour through them to see what if any wildlife may be present, on today’s visit I spotted several very fresh Badger sets like this one.
I usually make my way up to the very top and have a rest at the highest point, there is an old mine winding wheel with a coal truck and a name plate on it dedicating it to all the people who worked in the now defunct mining industry.
On this summit is what looks like a miniature Stonehenge of tall wooden posts forming a circle, at its centre is a large stone that forms a circular bench where Annie and myself often take a short rest.
If you approach any of these posts it will inform you of any feature on the distant landscape that is in your line of sight from that particular post. One gives you a line of sight to what is now a very shortened monument dedicated to the famous pottery manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood, as a child I remember that it used to be very tall obelisk like structure and visible from many miles around, but it was partially blown down in a severe gale sometime in the 70s in think, in typical penny pinching fashion the borough council refused to fund the restoration and so it stays as a truncated shadow of its former self. I mention this one in particular as I live almost opposite this feature but on the other side of the distant hill and about as far away again. (this image is zoomed, but it can be seen as the highest point between the support legs in the mining wheel picture)
There are several more benches situated around this central feature and they give magnificent views for almost 360 degree around and across the valley. One caught my attention as it had two bunches of flowers placed on it, so I took a closer look.
The plaque gave the name of a young woman who had died very young (aged only 34 years old) and the plaque was from her parents, I have deleted her name out of respect, but it read “I feel you in the wind, you are gone and left a beautiful hole in my heart”
It was now late afternoon, it was getting cold and we sat alone on the bench, I looked back towards my home and scanned the empty horizon, tears flooded my eyes as I again read the plaque and I remembered the flowers I had bought that morning for what would have been our wedding anniversary today, it was time to go home.
I see men flying them on our beaches using fishing rods to let them fly out and reel them back in but I never ever thought the price of a kite would go that high - WOW!
(AHA! cleverly disguised drones is it!!! 
If that is the case why are they called 'man lifting kites' 
