Lud’s Church, Peak District

What is Lud’s Church? Well it’s NOT a real church, instead it’s a deep, moss-covered chasm full of history, myths and dark green wherever you look. Its colder and damp as soon as you walk into it, stepping down its stone steps deep into the cleft is to escape into another world… I imagined Merlin and Legends of old here.

Near the Roaches which is where we are walking and exploring. Is located in Leek and through Staffordshire’s Back Forest, is Lud’s Church. An 18 metre deep chasm created in the Roaches’ gritstone caused by a giant landslip, ( we did wonder if it elemental causing the tunnel) which over the ages has been covered from top to bottom in vibrant moss and lycan too The green is vibrant emerald. This makes the entire chasm outstanding to walk through, the dampness, the deep green colour has suddenly replaced the bright and expansive landscape of the Roaches, and it almost seems unbelievable. It doesn’t take long to explore the chasm, as it is only 100 metres long, but you could spend forever studying every nook and cranny- each as unique as each other. I however did not explore too much as it’s not that accessible for people like me.

Coming for the Solstice, as our Spiritual walk (as Stonehenge and Avebury are out this year) Lud’s Church was our alternative, as it’s not only interesting from a nature viewpoint, it’s also know for it’s history as in the Fifteenth Century it was used as a secret place for worship for people who would have otherwise been prosecuted. Sounds like my kind of place for sure!!

The people using this deep chasm as a church were the Lollards,(love that) followers of the early church reformer and so-called ‘heretic’, John Wycliffe.

Other than Luds Church’s religious history, there are also some myths that come with the area. It’s a fascinating place to research. Apparently one of them is that Robin Hood and Friar Tuck are reputed to have stayed in the cleft whilst hiding from the authorities. Easy to imagine, lots of nooks and crannies to hide in.

Going further back into the depths of Lud Church’s history is a myth that the chasm was created by the devil’s finger nail as he scraped back parts of the earth. Interesting, but I don’t think that happened.

And these steps, will be forever known as my victory steps. But for now, lots and lots of of recovery needed.

I was wrong, it’s so so painful again!!!

I had a couple of months, where I really felt like I was winning in the pain stakes with my hands. But the bliss is over, for now at least.

So I’m hating life, hating my hands, I want to chop them off. Recent warm sticky weather means my splints are uncomfortable and yet here I am needing to wear them all day and night.

My routine of CBD oil x 3 a day, 8 x Paracetamol and 1 x Etoricoxib and numerous Ibuprofen Gel rubs, just isn’t cutting it, even though I’m wearing Compression Gloves, and Splints more than 80 percent of the time too. So now I’ve added 1 x Tramadol on the worse days.

I’m really hoping it’s merely a blip and I need to ride it out.
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How my hands feel below

As it’s my Birthday next month I’m seriously considering a push brace type of splint, as my dominant hand is catching up and feeling as bad as my left hand. At the moment they are both audibly grinding as I scroll my phone, or to hold things like mugs and bottles.