An old haunt

At the end of last week my wife and I visited Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire where, 20 years ago and more, we often visited with our family. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon we walked, with one of our daughters, sons in law and granddaughter, along by the side of the lake with the sun shimmering on the water. The narrow gauge railway train was puffing up and down alongside and lots of visitors were strolling by or sitting at the water’s edge. The lake is actually a reservoir, built in 1797, to feed the Cauldon canal. It was here that John Kipling first met Alice MacDonald and so they gave its name to their famous son. It was a favourite spot for outings in the Victorian era, especially for people from the Potteries and Macclesfield. It is hidden gem, not so well known when we first used to go there, but having something of a renaissance now – but not too much of one, I hope.