Easy Family Walk in Staffordshire: Chatterley Whitfield & Whitfield Valley Nature Reserve

Miles of Memories: Before I got the bright idea to start blogging, we’d already dragged ourselves (and the children, when they arrived) on some pretty memorable walks around the UK. This series is my way of revisiting those adventures –  a chance to share the places we loved, the lessons we learned, and maybe inspire your own family adventures, big or small. Let’s retrace those steps, one memory at a time!

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I mentioned in a previous post about two of our most regularly walked walks when I was living with my husband in Stoke-on-Trent. Well, this was the first most walked route of the two!

Sitting a stones throw from our house was an old mining site, which, in more recent years, had been dramatically re-landscaped to include a beautiful nature reserve, with several little footpaths, and the Cycle Route 55 going straight through it, along the disused railway line.

Aside from seeing the main mining site from many aspects of the walk, there are also other little hints of what used to go on here many decades earlier, and these were popular places to walk to for our little boys, once they were toddling.

It’s a sad truth that sometimes when you live near something, you don’t really utilise it like you should, and then regret it when you move away. I do wish we’d walked here more. It was a lovely little area and absolutely perfect when the children were smaller.

I made good use of it during my maternity leave, and have lots of lovely memories walking with the pram, and later with a pram and toddler, and I’m pleased I did.

There were lots of walks of various lengths and lots of little ways you could go off and rejoin. You could scale the hill, or wander around the pretty lakes, or even take the bikes out. Here is a great link to guide you if you fancy a visit.

It’s a perfect spot for family walks, with plenty of pushchair friendly and toddler-suitable-length walks, as well as lots of variety on where to go and what to see. We never walked two same routes in a row, and the boys were always excited to go on an adventure here. If you’re local, or visiting, and fancy a walk, give it a visit!