| Cannock Chase | |
|---|---|
 A path in Cannock Chase | |
 Location of the Cannock Chase National Landscape area in the UK | |
| Location | Staffordshire, England |
| Coordinates | 52°44′46″N2°00′04″W / 52.746°N 2.001°W /52.746; -2.001 (grid referenceSK000165) |
| Area | 68 km2 (26 sq mi) |
| Established | 1958 |
| Visitors | 2.3 million (in 2010-11) |
| Website | Official website |
Cannock Chase, often referred to locally asThe Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county ofStaffordshire, England. The area has been designated as theCannock Chase National Landscape, anArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and much of it is managed byForestry England for its important ecology and for recreational use. The Chase gives its name to theCannock Chase local government district. It is a formerRoyal forest.
With the exception of the southeastern area, the Chase is almost wholly underlain bysandstones andconglomerates of the Chester Formation dating from theTriassic period. Formerly known as the Cannock Chase Formation, these form a part of theSherwood Sandstone Group. Overlying these rocks in the Rugeley area are the, often pebbly, sandstones of the Helsby Sandstone Formation, formerly referred to in this area as the Bromsgrove Sandstone. Older literature will often refer to thebunter sandstone, a name which geologists no longer apply to theNew Red Sandstone of Britain. Southeast of Rugeley Road the bedrock is provided by themudstones,siltstones and sandstones of the Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation, a succession dating from the end of theCarboniferous period, and which is separated from the overlying New Red Sandstone rocks by anunconformity. The Hednesford Hills are formed by the Chester Formation sandstones.[1]
A 'humped profile' dry valley running west–east, and followed by the bridleway between Brocton and Beggar's Hill is interpreted as aglacial overflow channel, operative during theice age. An expanse of glacialtill underlies Haywood Warren with smaller patches mapped elsewhere. Sand and gravel have been quarried in different parts of the Chase over the years, as atWolseley today.[2]
The Chase is located betweenHednesford,Huntington,Lichfield,Rugeley,Brocton,Milford andStafford. It comprises a mixture of natural deciduous woodland, coniferous plantations, open heathland, small lakes and the remains of early industry, such ascoal mining. The Chase was designated as anArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on 16 September 1958 and is the smallest area so designated in mainland Britain, covering 68 km2 (26 sq mi). Much of the area is also designated as aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Despite being relatively small in area, the chase provides a remarkable range of landscape and wildlife, including a herd of around 800fallow deer and a number of rare and endangered birds, includingmigrantnightjars.
Efforts are[when?] underway to increase the amount ofheathland on the chase, reintroducing shrubs such asheather in some areas wherebracken andbirch forest have crowded out most other plants. The local flora also includes several species ofVaccinium, including the eponymous Cannock Chase berry (Vaccinium × intermedium Ruthe).[3] In January 2009, an outbreak of the plant pathogenPhytophthora ramorum was discovered on the chase, at Brocton Coppice. Various restrictions were put in place in an attempt to prevent its spread.[4]
The chase is an important local amenity for recreation, with 58% of the National Landscape area publicly accessible, and several visitor attractions lie within it. While only around 10,000 people live within the National Landscape area itself, 135,000 people live within a 30 minute walk of the area, and 3.2 million people live within a one hour drive of the area. It received an estimated 2.3 million visitors in 2010-11.[5]
There are a number of visitor centres, museums andwaymarked paths, including theHeart of England Way and theStaffordshire Way. There are also accessible trails to enable people to experience the health benefits of the Chase, such as The Route to Health.[6] Additionally, there are many unmarked public paths. On the north-eastern edge of the Chase can be foundShugborough Hall, ancestral home of theEarls of Lichfield. At its southern edge are the remains ofCastle Ring, anIron Agehill fort, which at 242 metres (794 ft) is the highest point on the Chase. Severalglacial erratic boulders are also found on the Chase, remnants ofglaciation. One is mounted on a plinth.
The Chase has severalwar memorials, includingGerman andCommonwealth war cemeteries. A memorial to the victims of theKatyn massacre was unveiled by Stefan Staniszewski, whose father Hillary, Zygmunt Staniszewski, died in the massacre. Preserved below the memorial are phials of soil from bothWarsaw and theKatyn forest. Freda, the HarlequinGreat Dane mascot of theNew Zealand Rifle Brigade (Earl of Liverpool's Own) is also buried on the chase marked with a memorial marble headstone.
The Chase is popular with cross-country mountain bike users. The purpose-built XC 'Follow the Dog' trail[7] is an 11 km (6.8 mi) technically challenging route, opened in 2005, starting and finishing at the Birches Valley Visitors/Cycle Centre. It is open to all; however, it is not recommended for beginners. A new section of XC trail was opened in April 2010. The 'Monkey Trail' (11.2 km (7.0 mi)) is a more technical trail that splits from 'Follow the Dog' at about the halfway point, then rejoins slightly further on. There are several features mountain bikers can look out for when riding on the chase, such as Kitbag Hill, Rabbit Hill, Quagmire Bridge, Roots Hall and Brocton Shorts.
Increasing popularity of the MTB trails led Network Rail to install a cycle bridge in 2013 at Moors Gorse to replace the previous pedestrian level crossing where multiple near misses indicated a high risk to cyclists.[8]
Since 2006, the forest has been used as an open-air music venue as part of theForestry England nationwideForest Live, with acts such asThe Zutons,The Feeling,Status Quo andJools Holland playing in a forest clearing. Also contained within the chase isHednesford Hills Raceway a historic venue that frequently hostsStock Car Racing andBanger Racing
A modelWorld War I battlefield was constructed nearBrocton by Germanprisoners of war held in a camp on nearby Cannock Chase and guarded by soldiers of theNew Zealand Rifle Brigade.[9][10] The model was of the village and surrounding area ofMessines in Belgium, which included replica trenches and dugouts, railway lines, roads, and accurate contours of the surrounding terrain.[11][12]
In September 2013Staffordshire County Council allowed a team of local archaeologists and volunteers to excavate the well-preserved battlefield, revealing many new details.[13] Staffordshire County Council used laser-scanning technology to recreate the site as a 3D interactive model that can be explored online.[14] The model was open to public view for a few weeks before being buried again to ensure its preservation.[15]
The Chase Through Time project[16] (2016–18) explored two thousand years of the history of the landscape of Cannock Chase AONB. It was a partnership betweenStaffordshire County Council,Historic England and theHeritage Lottery Fund.[17]
An archaeological survey usinglidar which enabled researchers to see beneath trees coverage, and map usually unseen archaeological features in combination with historic aerial photographs, which illustrated changes to the landscape over the last 70 years. The project mapped archaeology from prehistoric burnt mounds, medieval and later coal mining, post medieval land division showing the early land management of the Chase, and aspects of the landscape's use in theFirst World War. 565 archaeological sites were mapped, with 436 of these sites new to the record.[18]
The area gained notoriety in the late 1960s when theCannock Chase murders made national headlines. The remains of three young girls were found on the Chase after going missing from areas along theA34 road between there andBirmingham. Raymond Leslie Morris, a motor engineer fromWalsall, was found guilty atStafford assizes of one of the murders in 1968 and was sentenced tolife imprisonment. He died in prison in March 2014, aged 84, after serving 45 years.[19]
Since the 1970s, sightings ofBlack Eyed Kids,Black Dogs,[20]Werewolves,[21]British big cats,[22]UFOs,[23] and evenBigfoot have been reported in the local press. However no conclusive evidence has ever been produced verifying these claims, and they may best be thought of as forming part of localfolklore.
The 1972Labi Siffre albumCrying Laughing Loving Lying features a track, written on Cannock Chase, and named after it.[24]
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