Waterhouses
Waterhouses is a pretty upland village straddling the A523 Leek to Ashbourne road.
It is the largest village on the southern edge of the Peak District, and the most substantial settlement in the River Hamps valley.
Many people think the Peak District National Park is located solely in Derbyshire, but many of its most picturesque areas and attractive villages – such as Waterhouses - are actually in neighbouring Staffordshire.
Waterhouses is very attractive with plenty of country cottages, and the village centre is located at the meeting point of the main road and the River Hamps.
The village’s former station has been converted into an information and hire centre from where you can rent bikes to cycle along the picturesque Manifold trail – the track bed of the defunct Leek and Manifold Light Railway.
The railway bed has been resurfaced specifically for the use of cyclists and walkers and attracts many families for a fun day out in the countryside. There is a large car park and toilet facilities next to the information centre.
Unusually, during many days in the summer months, the river bed in Waterhouses is dry, due to the porous limestone rock which allows the river to disappear underground during dry spells.
It reappears when the underground channels cannot cope with the flow of water following heavy rainfall.
In the Vicinity…
Waterhouses is close to the towns of Ashbourne and Leek which both have a range of shops and employment opportunities.
Among the main employers in the area is the Britannia Building Society, which has its headquarters in Leek.
Closer to Waterhouses is the large Lafarge cement works which can be seen from the main A523 road, while Alton Towers, Europe’s largest theme park, is within easy reach and offers many, mainly seasonal, work opportunities.
Stoke-on-Trent and Derby are also within commuting distance for anyone wishing to combine country life with a job in the city.
But the economy of the area is largely based on farming and tourism and in many cases a combination of the two, with farm buildings being transformed into attractive accommodation for visitors.
Waterhouses has a primary school and medical centre, both of which are in Waterfall Lane.
The small farming hamlet of Waterfall lies less than a mile to the north of Waterhouses. This is a pretty little village with a quaint inn, the Red Lion, and a fine late Georgian church.
Calton is another farming hamlet which is close by, situated between the lower Hamps and Manifold rivers.
Tourist Trap
There are many places to stay in and around Waterhouses, and visitors are attracted not only by the beautiful countryside walks, but by several local points of interest.
These include Thors Cave, an incredible site at the centre of the Manifold Valley which was occupied by humans thousands of years ago.
Dovedale, a wonderful section of the Dove Valley and Thorpe Cloud, a hill at the valley's entrance, are also close by, providing some of the most spectacular walks anywhere in the country.
There's also Ilam Church and Hall; the church has been a place of pilgrimage since Saxon times and contains the tomb of Saint Bertram.
Property in Waterhouses
Waterhouses is a quintessential Peak District village so you won’t find many new homes, although there are some fairly modern detached and semi-detached houses in Waterfall Lane and Dove Way.
A survey of the parish showed that 52 per cent of homes here are detached and 42 per cent semi-detached, and the centre of Waterhouses has many attractive little cottages.
The nearby hamlets of Waterfall and Calton are mainly farming areas, and several traditional homes have been converted into bed and breakfast hotels.
Leek and Ashbourne are both large enough to offer a good choice of housing from small terraced homes to large period properties and modern four-bed detached family houses.
The cost of buying a home in the Peak District National Park is far higher than in the rest of Staffordshire, with Waterhouses being among the most expensive parishes.
Living in Waterhouses
Transport:
Rail: There is no train station in Waterhouses. Stoke-on-Trent’s West Coast Main Line station is a 50-minute drive away and offers services to London and Manchester.
Road: Waterhouses is on the A523 between Leek and Ashbourne. Stoke-on-Trent is around 50 minutes' drive away and has two junctions onto the M6. Derby is a similar distance and lies close to the M1 and Nottingham.
Bus: Services are infrequent due to the isolated location of the village. Clowes Coaches run a service between Macclesfield, Leek and Ashbourne which calls at Waterhouses.
Regular bus services are available to Stoke-on-Trent from Leek and from Ashbourne to Derby.
Air: Manchester, East Midlands and Birmingham airports are within easy reach.
Eating and drinking:
The Old Beams Hotel and Restaurant in Waterhouses is featured in the Good Hotel Guide and there are many traditional country pubs with restaurants in the surrounding area.
Ye Olde Crown Hotel in Waterhouses is a 17 th Century Coaching Inn which offers food and accommodation, and The Red Lion in Waterfall also serves meals.
Leek has a wide variety of restaurants and pubs, including a Belgian bar, tearooms, Indian restaurants and country inns, one of which is the well-known Three Horseshoes at Blackshaw Moor.
Parks and Open Spaces:
Waterhouses is a centre for country walks and cycling. The Manifeld Trail starts in the village and cycle hire is available all year long.
The Peak District has some of the best countryside in the UK, much of it close to Waterhouses in the Dovedale and Ilam areas.
Sports:
In the surrounding areas of Waterhouses, Leek Cricket Club plays at a high standard, as does nearby Ashcombe Park and Endon.
Leek Rugby Club is based at St Edward’s Park, Cheddleton, having moved from a base in Leek town centre in the 1990s to a purpose-built ground and clubhouse.
Leek has two excellent golf clubs, the Leek club at Birchall and Westwood, close to the A53 at Ladderedge.
Brough Park Leisure Centre, owned by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, has a swimming pool, a fitness suite and sports hall, and Leek High School has good sports facilities for hire.
There is a sailing club based at Rudyard Lake near Leek, and horse riders are spoilt for choice with a wide range of stables and bridle paths in the area.
Football clubs Leek Town, Leek CSOB and Rocester are highly ranked non-league clubs.
Ashbourne is famous for its ancient Shrove-Tide football match - played with a sawdust stuffed leather ball - between the 'uppards' and 'downards'.
Leisure and Entertainment:
Alton Towers, one of the best known fun parks in the world, is situated close to Waterhouses. It has a range of white-knuckle rides and attractions, plus hotel facilities including Splash Landings, which incorporates an indoor water park.
Attractions in the Staffordshire Moorlands include steam railways in the Churnet Valley and at Rudyard Lake, plus The Blackbrook Zoological Park, at Winkhill, Leek, and Cheddleton Flint Mill.
Stoke-on-Trent and Derby both have theatres including The Regent, in Hanley, and the Derby Playhouse. Both Leek and Ashbourne are well known for their good range of antique shops.