Canal-edge Staffordshire
Longsdon
A high-ground village above the Caldon Canal, with Arts and Crafts detail, waterside walks and two characterful pubs.
- Best for
- Canal walks, pub lunches and Arts and Crafts detail
- Give it
- An estimated half day, or longer with both walks
- Don't miss
- Gerald Horsley's fittings at St Chad's
Photo: AtticTapestry · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
The Fox verdict
A small village with water-led days out
Longsdon works best as a quiet base for canal towpaths, Deep Hayes and an unhurried pub stop.
The village pairs St Chad's Arts and Crafts architecture with the Caldon Canal landscape below at Denford. A two-mile heritage walk, the woods, meadows and pools of Deep Hayes, and two contrasting country pubs give a modest place useful variety without turning it into a checklist.
Where to go
Places in Longsdon
Every place below is checked against a published source, listed with what it is and how long to give it.
Local signatures
3 placesThe Wheel
A traditional country pub with Draught Bass, a rotating guest ale and a beer garden looking over the surrounding moorland.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 75 minutes for a meal or drink
- Locality
- Leek Road, beside Longsdon Memorial Hall
- Access
- Dogs are limited to the outside seating area.
Caldon Canal Heritage Walk
A roughly two-mile canal circuit passing old limekiln remains, the narrows of a former lift bridge and Denford Farm.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 75 minutes for the two-mile circuit
- Locality
- starts at The Hollybush Inn in Denford, about 1.0 mile from Longsdon
- Access
- The mostly flat towpath includes a short minor-road section; the optional Deep Hayes extension is steeper and can be muddy.
Deep Hayes Country Park
A 60-acre country park of woods, meadows and pools, with parking, toilets, a picnic area and walking routes linking with the canal.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 90 minutes for one shorter loop
- Locality
- Deep Hayes Country Park car park, southeast of Longsdon
- Access
- The figure-of-eight walk can be split into two shorter loops.
Food & drink
1 placeThe Hollybush Inn
A canal-side pub converted from an old flour mill, with home-made food, real ales, a large rear garden and an outdoor play area.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 75 minutes for a meal or drink
- Locality
- Denford, beside the Caldon Canal
- Access
- Dogs are welcome on leads.
History & heritage
1 place
St Chads Church, Longsdon
A Grade II* church designed by Gerald Horsley, with a west tower and broach spire on the A53.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 30 minutes
- Locality
- on the A53 in Longsdon
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Three ways to explore Longsdon
Signature outings
Arts and Crafts detail
Gerald Horsley designed St Chad's in a variation on Perpendicular Gothic and also designed its chancel gates and altar frontals.
Deep Hayes on foot
Explore a 60-acre mix of woods, meadows and pools on a figure-of-eight route that can be split into shorter loops.
A mill turned pub
The Hollybush occupies an old flour mill beside the Caldon Canal, with a canal-side garden and home-made food.
The village story
Longsdon Village Guide
Country pubs, canal paths and Arts and Crafts character on the edge of the Churnet Valley.
Moorland Pub and Garden
The Wheel sits on Leek Road beside Longsdon Memorial Hall, with Draught Bass, a rotating guest ale and extra upstairs seating that can double as a small function room.
The beer garden looks over the surrounding moorland and includes a small children's play area. Children are welcome in the garden, while dogs are limited to outside seating.
Pubs and Amenities, Past and Present
Down the hill at Denford, the Hollybush occupies a converted flour mill beside the Caldon Canal. It combines a traditional bar with home-made food, real ales, a canal-side garden and an outdoor play area.
A historical Staffordshire directory records a post office in Longsdon, with Benjamin Williams listed as sub-postmaster.
Canal Walks and Valley Paths
The canal's Leek Branch opened in 1801 and retains four Grade II-listed stone bridges. Denford's name was recorded as "Derneford" in 1341, meaning a hidden or secret ford, and a bridge crossed the brook there by 1529.
Walking here mostly follows water. The two-mile heritage circuit traces the canal past the ruined limekilns of the old Cheddleton Lime Company and a former lift bridge, with a steeper extension into Deep Hayes Country Park.
Church and Longsdon's Origins
St Chad's stands on the A53, built in 1903–05 by the Arts-and-Crafts architect Gerald Horsley, who designed the chancel gates and altar frontals. Its west tower and broach spire make a distinctive landmark, with Arts and Crafts fittings throughout.
Longsdon turns up first as "Over Longsdon" in 1278, one of twelve townships making up the ancient parish of Leek, and didn't become a parish in its own right until 1894.
Leek Links and Family Extras
Leek is a market town to the east along the A53, with regular markets. Leek lost its passenger services in January 1965; Wall Grange and Longsdon station, in Cheddleton, closed in 1956, while Blythe Bridge has an operating National Rail station.
The mostly flat two-mile circuit offers an easy family walk, while the country-park extension adds steeper ground.
Stay around Staffordshire
Make a longer stay of it
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For homeowners
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A guide with a point of view
Written from research. Edited for real journeys.
Use the Official site links for live practical details, then use this guide for context, ideas and room to explore.
Photography credits & licences
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Sources
Every place on this page is checked against a published source. Each entry links the record we used and names who publishes it.
- The Wheel — camra.org.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- The Hollybush Inn — hollybushleek.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- St Chads Church, Longsdon — achurchnearyou.com national body or asset manager
- Caldon Canal Heritage Walk — canalrivertrust.org.uk national body or asset manager
- Deep Hayes Country Park — staffordshire.gov.uk statutory register or public authority