Coombes Valley
This circular walk explores the lovely Coombes Valley RSPB Nature reserve near Leek in Staffordshire.
There's good facilites with a parking area, information centre and picnic area. From here you can pick up various trails taking you to woodland, ponds, scrub and the pretty Coombes Brook which runs through the centre of the site. On the way you'll pass bird hides where you can look for species including Dipper, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Woodcock.
The Staffordshire Moorlands Walk also runs through the area so you can pick this up to explore the surrounding countryside too.
Postcode
ST13 7EU - Please note: Postcode may be approximate for some rural locationsPlease click here for more information
Coombes Valley Ordnance Survey Map 
- view and print off detailed OS map
Coombes Valley Open Street Map 
- view and print off detailed map
Coombes Valley OS Map 
- Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking
Coombes Valley Open Street Map 
- Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking
Further Information and Other Local Ideas
Head into Leek and you can pick up the circular walk which visits some of the area's highlights including the Caldon Canal, the River Churnet, Ladderedge Country Park and Tittesworth Reservoir.
To the west there's more waterside walking through the Churnet Valley at Cheddleton.
For more walking ideas in the area see the Staffordshire Walks page.
Cycle Routes and Walking Routes Nearby
Photos
Combes Brook. Looking downstream from the footbridge. An RSPB bird hide stands behind the photographer. I'd have liked to have found and photographed the Horsley Stone and Buttermilk Spring marked on the map, but they lie within a private area of the reserve.
Bench at the point where the footpath crosses Combes Brook. A bird hide overlooking a pond is nearby.
Cloughmeadow Cottage. View from the bird hide in RSPB Combes Valley reserve.
A Grade II listed cottage in the civil parish of Ipstones
Coombes Valley Visitor Centre. The site is the oldest RSPB reserve in the Midlands, dating back to 1962 when it was home to the last breeding pair of sparrowhawks in Staffordshire.
Low Wood, Combes Valley