Rudyard Lake is a two-mile reservoir in wooded hills north-west of Leek, dug in the 1790s to feed the Caldon Canal and later a favourite Victorian day out. It gave Rudyard Kipling his name — his parents courted here and named their son after the spot. A shore path runs the length of the water, a miniature steam railway putters along one bank, and the village of Rudyard sits at the southern end. Free to visit, with sailing and rowing clubs on the lake.
