Join us at Ryecroft Middle School car park (Denstone Road, Rocester Staffordshire ST14 5JR) at 10am on Saturday 12th October 2013 for our annual Sponsored Walk.

Everyone is welcome to join us in this family event – including the four-legged members of your family!

You can either register on the day or contact us in the office and we will send you a sponsorship form. You can also donate to us by following the link to the Virgin Money Giving website.

You have 2 routes to choose from: JCB Lake (1.35miles) or JCB Lake to Alton and back along the historic Saltersford Lane (9.5 miles).

When you arrive on the day, we will provide you with a detailed map and instructions for the longer walk.

The longer route starts around the JCB Lake, then taking a footpath across the sports field, past the tennis courts and along the disused railway line for 3 miles to Alton. The route then takes us to High St/Townhead, across some more fields to an ancient track called Saltersford Lane. At the end of the track we can either turn right to the Tavern pub where they have a selection of meals, drinks and snacks, or turn left towards the Denstone Farm shop and café.

As this is a more challenging walk, we would encourage you to wear sturdy footwear, bring your waterproofs and don’t forget some refreshments!

Saltersford Lane is a former pack-horse road leading eastward from Alton. It is now a part of the Staffordshire Way. Long before the invention of fridges, salt was a valuable food preservative and was carried long distances by pack horse. The line of stone paving, known as a “causey”, would allow horses to use the road in all weather conditions and the lane is also wide enough for ox carts. The River Churnet was originally crossed by the ford but this was later replaced by a bridge, called Salter’s Bridge. This was still in use in the early 1800s, when the Uttoxeter Canal was cut. Hence a Saltersford (or Saltersfield?) Lane Bridge was built to accommodate it. However, when the railway was built in the late 1840s, the canal bridge was removed and only a farm crossing remains.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the Careline Team if you have any queries. Otherwise we’ll look forward to seeing you on the day!