The Way For The Millennium - Gnosall Heath, UK - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The majority of the route is off road and in many places shares the route with other footpaths. At this point it is making use of the Stafford to Telford Greenway, a former railway line now a 'rails to trails route'. The sign is close to the site of a former railway level crossing of Wharf Road,but the route deviates slightly here.

The sign also has information about the area.

The Way For The Millennium

This long-distance footpath was established by Staffordshire County Council to mark the Millennium. The Way for the Millennium spans the width of the County for 65 kilometres, running from Newport in the west to Burton upon Trent in the east. The route is based Wholly on public rights of way, the Stafford to Newport Greenway or canal towpaths for which permission has been granted by British Waterways. The Way for the Millennium complements The Staffordshire Way which is a long-distance footpath running north to south across the County. Unlike the Staffordshire Way which is solely for walkers, parts of The Way for the Millennium are available to horse riders and cyclists.

Aqualate Ark is an example of a mediaeval deer park: A place for the local gentry to hunt deer. Like many such deer paths it was transformed into a landscaped park in the eighteenth century to provide a setting for a country mansion. 1t is unusual in that the park retains a herd of deer.

Aqualate Mere Nature Reserve is part of a complex of Meres and mosses (post-glacial lakes and peat lands) that are of international importance to wildlife. You may expect to see flights of ducks and occasional herons passing overhead.

St Lawrence's Church. in the centre of Gnosall was founded as an ecclesiastical centre some time in the ninth or tenth centuries. A community of priests was based at the church. These priests would travel to the surrounding country and preach in the settlements. The church was rebuilt in the twelfth century, with a fine central tower over a crossing, and subsequently remodelled and extended in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

The Shropshire Union Canal was built by Thomas Telford, in the years 1830 - 5, somewhat after the principal period of canal construction. It provided the industries of the West Midlands with a shorter, alternative route to the ports of Liverpool, Chester and North Wales.

From Newport to Houghton, the Way for the Millennium follows the former Stafford Newport Railway (now Greenway). The railway was built in 1849 by the Shropshire Union Railway Company. Trains both passenger and goods ran from Stafford to Newport and then to Wellington and beyond. The line was used for 115 years until 1964 when the last steam engine plied its way along the line carrying a wreath to mourn its passing. It was replaced by the new more efficient diesel. The diesel's reign was short lived however, not many months after, the line was dosed under the 'Beeching Axe. The sides of railway lines like the Stafford Newport line even when the line was in use, were habitats for wildlife. The land at the ales of the tracks wass often covered with Bramble. Rosebay Willowherb (Fireweed) and Hawthorn and these provided habitats for many types of wildlife Now with the colonisation of trees and a greater variety of plants, the wildlife remains. and has increased.

Type of Historic Marker: Standalone metal board Historical Marker Issuing Authority: Staffordshire County Council Give your Rating: Age/Event Date: Not listed Related Website: Not listed

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