Luds's Church
Lud’s Church is a deep, moss-covered chasm penetrating the Milstone Grit bedrock. It's full of history, myths and dark green wherever you look; and to walk down its stone steps deep into the cleft is to escape into another world. Close to the Roaches in Leek and through Staffordshire’s Back Forest, is Lud’s Church. An 18 metre deep chasm created in the Roaches’ gritstone caused by a giant landslip, which over the ages has been covered from top to bottom in vibrant moss and ferns. This makes the entire chasm outstanding to walk through, the dampness, the deep green colour has suddenly replaced the bright and expansive landscape of the Roaches, and it almost seems unbelievable. It doesn’t take long to explore the chasm, as it is only 100 metres long, but you could spend forever studying every nook and cranny- each as unique as each other.
Lud’s Church is not only interesting from a nature viewpoint, it’s also know for it’s history as in the Fifteenth Century it was used as a secret place for worship for people who would have otherwise been prosecuted. The people using this deep chasm as a church were the Lollards, followers of the early church reformer and so-called ‘heretic’, John Wycliffe. Lud's Church may have been named after Walter de Ludank or Walter de Lud-Auk who was captured here at one of their meetings. For at least a century a wooden ship’s figurehead stood in a high niche within Lud’s Church. Placed there by the former landowner in the mid 1800s, it was known as ‘Lady Lud’ and was reportedly placed there in memory of Alice, the daughter of Walter de Lud Auk. It is said that her ghost still haunts the ravine, and it’s certainly not hard to conjure up images of apparitions here. Other than Luds Church’s religious history, there are also some myths that come with the area. Long before the arrival of the Lollards, it is likely that Lud’s Church would have been a place of pagan worship. Sunlight really only penetrates to the depths of the chasm during the height of summer, and it is quite possible that it was the site of Midsummer ceremonies. Indeed, it is still possible to see occasional offerings hidden on the natural shelves and within the dark, overgrown crevices. Going further back into the depths of Lud Church’s history is a myth that the chasm was created by the devil’s finger nail as he scraped back parts of the earth.
Lud’s Church is accessible via the Roaches, and the Back Forest and via Gradbach. Do take care exploring as it is almost always wet underfoot and can be slippery. Parking fills up quickly so arriving early is recommended, especially on weekends and holidays, as parking is limited and the area can become very busy.
To log this virtual cache, please message me with the answers to the following questions - do not include the answers in your log.
1) At the posted co-ordinates. How many steps down are there to enter the church/gorge?
2) At the bottom of the steps, what object do you see here?
3) Using your compass tell me the alignment of the church/gorge?
4) The Photo! Either of you, or if you are photo shy or struggle with the logistics of taking a selfie, you can take a photo of your GPS or piece of paper with your caching name on it, or a travel bug in the church/gorge. Please do not include any of the answers to the questions in your photo.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.