Rudyard Lake Festival

Rudyard lake has been a centre for leisure activities for many years. It hosts an annual festival to showcase its new developments and provide a superb day out for the local community.

The dates of the festivals have changed over the years and to length of the festival reduced from two days to one. This reflects the tremendous amount of work which goes into the planning, setting up and running of the day. This work is all done by volunteers from the Friends of Rudyard Lake and the local community.

The 2007 festival was on Sunday August 5th and was blessed with hot sunny weather and a large attendance. The 2008 festival is planned for Sunday August 3rd.

The centre of activities is on the Dam Head at the southern end of the lake. There is a small admission charge to gain entry.

There are a  range of classic attractions set up to entertain and divert the visitor. These include the traditional Lucy dip, Tombola, Bric a Brac stalls, face painting etc.

In addition there is usually a Victorian Fairground, classic cars and entertainers. Music is always provided to add to the festive atmosphere.

Recent times have seen a revival in the lake's fortunes with the development of a new visitor centre, new toilets and better facilities for dealing with the boats. The steamboat The Lady Alice returned to the lake in 2002 and is a particularly fine sight steaming up the lake. A new attraction is the ex naval cutter Honey which has offered cruises on the lake from 2004. The Rudyard Lake Steam Railway has also been much enhanced in the last few years and runs frequent steam trains during the festival.

Of course the centre of attention is the lake itself. The lake was built in 1797 to provide water for the canal system and is strictly a reservoir rather than a lake. The name Rudyard came from Ralph Rudyard who is alleged to have killed Richard III. The lake gave its name to Rudyard Kipling whose parents first met by its shores and had such a particular love for it such that they named their child after it.

The best way to see the lake or get to the festival is to take a trip along the narrow gauge steam railway which runs from Rudyard car park alongside the East shore before terminating alongside the lake opposite the Rudyard sailing club.

The lake is situated in a steep wooded valley at its southern end. At the Northern end the valley opens out into wonderful rolling countryside and its easy to see why Rudyard Kipling's parents were so attracted to it and why it has been so popular as a day trip destination for so long.

The view from the Dam looking North

Power boats are not normally seen on the lake unless powered by steam or electricity.

LOCATION

The lake is very easy to get to for visitors from Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, the North West and Midlands. Its located in the Staffordshire Peak District between Leek, Congleton, Buxton and Macclesfield.  Its convenient for the Midlands, Potteries and the rest of the Peak District. Take the A523 for 1 mile North of Leek and turn onto the B5331 to the free car park at Rudyard station. Click on this link to a Map.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

The lake provides an ideal location for boating, bird watching, fishing, sailing and walking. Rowing boats are available for hire during the festival along with trips on the steamboat. Refreshments are available at the cafe at the Dam head 200 yards from the Dam Station. The Hotel Rudyard is located near the Dam head and serves a full range of meals and refreshments as well as providing overnight accommodation.  A new Activity Centre building was constructed in 2004 to  improve the the catering and provision for boating. . Santa also visits the lake on some Sundays in December click here for more information

Rowing boats and the new visitor centre are located at the Dam head. This is the centre of the festival and the departure point for the steam boat.

The Lake has an active group of Friends of the Lake who work to care for it and promote its attractions. They welcome new members and can be contacted on 01260 299442. Click here to see their excellent website.

The Lake Ranger Mr. John Davey can be contacted on 01538 306280. The friends will always welcome help in running the Lake Festival.

RUDYARD LAKE STEAM RAILWAY LINKS 

FURTHER INFORMATION( click on buttons below)

 Contact us by telephone 01538 306704 or fax on 01995 672280

or emaiI info@rlsr.org