Is there anything more fascinating than a track that goes to somewhere, but you don't know where? To me standing at the end of one brings back memories of staying up too late reading Tolkien when I was a boy, wrapped up in wonder at being whisked off to a fantasy land where anything could happen.
Experience has taught me that dragons and gold aren't part of the daily round, but the excitement of 'exploring' remains and that is what I felt as I turned into Lordship Lane. A street running between the entrance to a quarry and the halls of residence for nearby Staffordshire University that is less aristocratic than its name suggests.
At the end of Lordship Lane, a narrow path overhung by bushes makes its way upwards to where the university is in the process of planting an orchard. Just now its little more than a ring of sad looking saplings, but in a decade or so it should be impressive.
The path, such as it is, is little more than a mown track in a large sloping field given over to weeds and long grass. Although far from scenic itself it does offer some splendid panoramic views of the city that, somehow, manage to make even the tower blocks on the outskirts of Hanley look photogenic.
Follow the path down bank and it takes you under some low hanging trees, awakening in this walker his inner Bilbo. This it Staffordshire University Nature Reserve to give it its proper name and once out from under the trees the path follows, between high hedges, the course of the Trent to a small man-made lake.
The lake is worth seeing, particularly if you like to combine your walking with a little light birdwatching, or just want somewhere quiet to sit. Getting down to it though might be a challenge since the steps down are steep and not very well maintained.
As for wildlife, I visited on a blazing hot June day and so the examples of rare fauna listed on the information board as you enter were obviously keeping out of the heat. I did see several startled looking rabbits; since rabbits spend most of their short lives looking startled I didn't take it personally.
What it did see, unfortunately, was far too much litter, sad little snowdrifts of lager cans and take away cartons. There is something about such thoughtlessness that makes your heart sink.
It shouldn't, and for me didn't, spoil what was otherwise an enjoyable morning's walking. The nature reserve is, probably, something most students don't know is on their doorstep. Scholar or not it is small enough to enjoy a walk there even during a lunch break.