WALK TO LUD’S CHURCH FROM GRADBACH MILL
To reach Lud’s Church on foot, a suggested starting point is Gradbach Mill. Originally constructed circa 1730, it was most likely used for spinning linen yarn. Having been badly damaged by fire in the late 18th century, it was rebuilt to become an industrious silk mill, supporting the industry of nearby Macclesfield. It was reduced to milling timber in the 1880s before being closed near the turn of the 20th century. It spent some time as a cattle shed and was eventually purchased by the Youth Hostel Association in the 1970s. It has since been transformed into a hotel. There is a free public car park a few hundred yards from the mill. Gradbach Mill is well marked by brown tourist attraction signs from the A53, at Flash, Britain’s highest village, or from near the Winking Man Pub, named after a distinctive rock formation at nearby Ramshaw Rocks. Following the road down to another, private car park at the mill leads to a footpath which continues south-west, past the buildings and down the River Dane valley. After a few minutes’ walk, the footpath merges with a larger access track for a Scout camp. When this track curves back on itself in a hairpin, the path continues straight, negotiating an old stone stile across an old stone wall. This drops down to a narrow footbridge over a tributary of the river, called Black Brook. Immediately after the bridge, a confluence of paths with clear signposts indicates that the steepest choice is required to reach Lud’s Church. The path climbs steadily up the hill through Forest Wood. As the slope levels out at a prominent outcrop of rock, the path doubles almost back on itself. A few hundred yards up the path, the surprisingly unassuming entrance to Lud’s Church will be found, marked by a carved stone. The total distance from the car park to the entrance is approximately 1.2 miles. While the paths are surfaced and firm, they are rocky and uneven in places. After walking through Lud’s Church and exiting at the far end, a path leads back to the entrance.