Little Leek Illustrations

11/06/2024

Everyone’s heard of the Roaches, but just next door is the lesser known Lud’s church, a huge chasm filled with greenery.

There’s a few ways to get to it but my favourite route is from Gradbach Carpark.

🥾 Walking directions 🥾
Turn right out of the carpark and follow the signs to Gradbach Mill. From there you can stop for a toilet break and a cuppa at Gradbach Mill’s Riverside Café.

The walk continues behind the café on a well-marked path through the gorgeous woodland. After about a mile, you’ll reach a fork; keep left, and soon you’ll find yourself at the entrance of Lud’s Church. This stunning chasm, with its towering, moss-covered walls and cool, mystical atmosphere, is the perfect reward for your hike.

🚗 Parking 🚗
Parking is free but there’s only about 20 spaces and it gets unbelievably busy at weekends. There’s no roadside parking allowed but local farmers have opened their fields for £5-£10 a day if it’s full.

04/05/2024

28/04/2024

Soaking up some sun at Rudyard today ☀️

for a carvery followed by a muddy walk around the lake 🥾

24/04/2024

First post-work walk of the year with

Leek to Tittesworth and back 👍 Not done it in years and it’s such a great walk. Starting at the Abbey Green pub, through the bluebell woods, over the Dam and looping round to Brough Park.

24/02/2024

We took advantage of the lovely sunshine and free parking at to visit the farm and adventure playground today. The kids loved the sand and water play area and got to hold some Guinea Pigs. ☀️

🚗 Free parking until the 14th March
🐑 The farm is open again tomorrow (Sun 25th Feb)
🏡 House and Gardens open again in Mid-March

24/12/2023

**OPEN TODAY 9.30am until 2pm**
1 MORE SLEEP! Don’t panic if you’ve forgotten something! Leek is still OPEN! Lots of your favourite independent shops are open to help you out with those ‘just need a little something else’ & ‘we weren’t supposed to be getting each other anything’ presents 😳🎁 Besides, Leek is just a really nice place to have a mooch & maybe some brunch & get in the festive mood ❤️

17/11/2023

Lost in the autumn charm of Errwood 🍁

Last weekend we went on a walk around Errwood. We parked next to the reservoir, wandered around the ruins and had a brief stop at St. Joseph's shrine.

I should mention - there was a bridge between the ruins and the shrine but it has been removed so you will need to wade through the stream which isn’t the easiest with a baby on your back.

Fun fact - when Errwood Hall was dismantled in 1934 and its stones were used to build local cottages 🧱

🍂 🏰 🥾

03/11/2023

A factory tour of Middleport Pottery is a must for a day out in Stoke-on-Trent.

You can watch Burleigh pottery being made using the same methods as 140 years ago, some of which are now unique to Middleport. From ‘clay to cup’ you can follow the Burleigh Ware through around 25 pairs of hands and get a great insight into each stage of development.

There’s a lovely little cafe to get your oatcake fill afterwards too, all served on Burleigh dinnerware of course.

🧱🏺✨

28/10/2023

The best place for autumn colours in Staffordshire? 🍂 🎃

Dimmingsdale!

A hidden beauty in the heart of the Staffordshire Moorlands, filled with centuries of history, breathtaking views and pituresque scenery. Dimmingsdale offers a slice of tranquility just a stone’s throw away from the bustling Alton Towers.

08/09/2023

Dragon’s Back 🐉

🕰️ 2.5 hours
🗺️ 3.5 miles
⛰️ 394m assent

Chrome hill and Parkhouse hill have been on my list for a while but the steep scramble up and down just isn’t baby carrier friendly. This week me and took advantage of the early nights and braved a post-work hike without the babes. It was knackering, but worth it.

There’s plenty of parking at Earl Sterndale near the, now closed, Quiet Woman pub. The start of the walk is signposted through the pub carpark. As Parkhouse and Chrome hills are so recognisable it’s easy enough to see where to go - up and over, and up and over again!

Known as the Dragons back, it definitely felt like scaling the spines of a dragon at the sketchier points, you will need sturdy boots. The downhills over crumbling stones and steep descents are bum-sliders, so I wouldn’t wear your best shorts.

We went during the Saharan dust storm where sunlight reflects off reddish sand particles creating vibrant hues in the sky, we were treated with some lovely pink and orange tints to the sunset.

🐉 ⛰️ 🥾

07/09/2023

🪻It’s heather season🪻

There’s nothing like The Roaches when it starts to fill with vibrant purple hues. The colour never seems to come as vividly on photos, have a wander up and see it for yourself.

The heather is buzzing with all sorts of bees, butterflies and tiny creatures so keep to the paths and soak in the colourful violet views.

25/08/2023

A sea waste rainbow: Porthtowan, Cornwall

On an cloudy April afternoon, me and my daughter spent the day filing our buckets with rocks and shells. “Oh look mummy, a gemstone!”. It was a tiny piece of neon pink plastic. I explained it was rubbish and she said “Are they litterbugs? Should we put it in the bin?” This started our rainbow ‘gemstone’ hunt. It didn’t take us long to find a plastic shard in each colour. Shockingly, this is just from one afternoon’s play on Porthtowan.

When we got home, the little bundle of microplastics was sad but also quite striking. We arranged them into a rainbow as she recited the name of each colour and we tried to guess what each piece used to be. “Was it lego?” was the most common guess.

I was surprised to find so much but have since read that around 73% of UK beaches contain plastic nurdles like these. It is thought that billions are lost in the UK each year!

18/08/2023

⭐️ Special offer ⭐️

A huge congratulations to everyone who received their A-Level results this week. Whether you're about to start your new job, apprenticeship or off to the uni of your dreams, well done!

As an extra pat on the back, if you order the Westwood Print before the end of August then you can bag yourself a 20% discount. Discount already applied, on Etsy shop only.

So whether you want “Class of 2023”, you left a few decades ago or celebrated your wedding there, get ordering!

16/08/2023

Two summery prints for a summery day ☀️🍊🌞

Middleport & Peak District

13/08/2023

After lots of ancestry research I traced my family back to the 1700’s and discovered I’m from a long line of Stoke-on-Trent’s potters. Throughout the generations I’ve found Printers, Groundlayers, China gilders, Colour makers, Cup spongers, Biscuit placers and a Decorator’s fireman, many of them living in Burslem on streets near Middleport Pottery.

This print has been long in the making, not only because it meant so much to me, but also because of the hundreds (thousands?!) of curved bricks to draw.

✏️ 🧱 🫖

28/05/2023

‘Colours of the Moorlands’

A huge multi-room canopy using natural light to create a kaleidoscope of colour. 🌈 It’s free, it’s today, it’s in Leek, get yourselves down there!

Details about walk ins below 👇

OUTSIDE Arts Council England Architects of Air

26/04/2023

Peak: Good or Bad?

I saw the other day that the name ‘Peak’ might not actually come from describing the many summits of the Peak District. It is thought to derive from the Pecsaetan, an Anglo-Saxon tribe that settled in the area. It got me thinking about the word ‘Peak’ in general and how it’s usage has changed over time.

‘Peak’ is an interesting one because traditionally it has been a very positive word. It is used to describe reaching a ‘peak’; the highest, strongest, or best point of a value, skill or physical object. She was at the ‘peak’ of her performance, they reached the ‘peak’ of the mountain, the temperature will ‘peak’ at 2pm.

When I was at work in East London one of the students pointed out that ‘Peak’ is also used to respond to something being less than ideal. Used to describe bad luck, being gutted or something bad happening to a mate, it’s known as ‘peak’. I was baffled when I told someone something bad had happened and they replied “That’s Peak man” 😂

Mostly, the negative usage of the word Peak is used in London. It must get very confusing down south, and that’s just peak for them. Now, back to the Peak Peak District.

04/04/2023

What size print should I get?

There are two main sizes used for displaying prints; A-size prints and photo size.

A-size prints are your standard poster sizes, A5, A4 and A3. You’ll probably be more familiar with these as standard printer paper is A4.

For those of us who remember getting film developed, you’ll remember the common photo sizes are 4x6”, 5x7”, 6x8” and 8x10” inches.

Typically, it’s easier to find frames in the photo sizes or A4 as most are still sized for printed photographs or at home printers. As displaying printed artwork becomes more popular, high-street retailers have started selling A3 and A5 sizes but there are still less to chose from! For example, 6x8” and A5 are pretty much the same size but 6x8” will be much easier to buy a frame for.

If you want to buy a print, all my prints are available in all the mentioned sizes so I would find a frame that suits the place where you want to display it and then buy the size print to suit.

Don’t forget the mounts! Also be aware many frames come with inner mounts. That is the piece of, usually white, card inside the frame with a hole cut out of the middle to display your print. If your print is 8x6” you want to buy a 8x6” mount. Some will display one size for the frame and one for the mount on the label.

The print featured here is 8x10” with an inner mount.

Sizes in inches:
4x6”
5x7”
6x8”
8x10”
A5 - 5.8 x 8.3”
A4 - 8.3 x 11.7”
A3 - 11.7 x 16.5”

🖼️📷📏

02/04/2023

Easy like Sunday morning ☀️

Escape the hustle and bustle at Rudyard and take a piece of calm home with you.

☕️ 📖 🚤

21/03/2023

If you’re having a hard time deciding, check out our tiny 4x6” prints.

Sold as a bundle of 3 or more, you can pair your favourite places and also choose between gloss or matt paper.

They look great framed together in multi aperture frames. You can get the frames in a few places and currently sell a three 6x4” frame for £7, shown in the second photo.

🖼️ 🎨 🧭

(Price on 21/03/23)

05/03/2023

Solomon’s Temple & Lud’s Church

Both places are magical and steeped in folklore, which is why they work so well paired.

🏰 🌙 🌱

26/02/2023

Did you know Mam Tor is locally known as Shivering Mountain?

It’s the mother mountain that moves. It shivers its shale causing frequent landslips and eventually shook a road off its back in the 70’s.

It even has it’s own gin. My kind of mountain.

🏔️ ☀️ 🌙
mountain

25/02/2023

Everyone loves Dovedale Stepping Stones but if you fancy a break from the hustle and bustle there’s some hidden gems just a short walk away.

A little further up the River Dove there’s huge caves to explore, beautiful walkways and towering rocks overhanging the path. It’s a flat, easygoing walk alongside the river with lots to see and explore along the way.

🍃 💧 🪨

.district

24/02/2023

Orange, terracotta, rust… I’m in love with autumnal hues. Even more so in the depths of winter!

Dimmingsdale looks amazing in every season but nothing beats the glowing orange trees across Mill Pond in autumn. No matter the season, it always offers a slice of tranquility just a stone’s throw away from the bustling Alton Towers.

🍂 🍁 🥾

22/02/2023

The Great Ridge 📍

Mam Tor behind us and through the gate leads to Back Tor. Such a stunning walk, I’m not surprised it’s so popular ☀️