No special access issues
Although there are no special access issues, The Roaches is a very popular tourist attraction, as well as a renowned climbing area, and is therefore under great pressure from visitor numbers. Climbers should park sensibly (more on this later) and stick to the recognized footpaths when moving between sectors.
Approaches.
Main Crag: Turn off the A53 Leek-to-Buxton road into Upper Hulme, approximately 5km north of Leek. Follow the narrow road through the village and continue driving past the Roaches Tea Rooms and parking for Hen Cloud. Approximately 600m beyond the Tea Rooms an extensive series of lay-bys begin, which continue for some 500m. In total there is space for 80 - 90 vehicles but even so, on sunny weekends and bank holidays it is not unusual for these to be fully occupied by mid-morning. Parking anywhere other than in the designated spaces runs the risk of a fine. On foot, pass through ‘Roaches Gate’ and follow the broad footpath for 100m then fork left and continue upwards, passing Rock Hall, to reach the lower tier of the crag (5 minutes from the road). The upper tier is gained by continuing up the path via a rock ‘staircase’ to the left of Raven Rock Gully (8 minutes).
The Skyline and Far Skyline Areas: From the left-hand end of the upper tier follow the path up to the top of the crag and then continue leftwards (north) along the upper path. The various buttresses constituting the Skyline crags are situated at between 100m and 900m from the Upper Tier and are best approached by keeping to the top path and then dropping down, rather than trying to navigate along the base of the crags. First time visitors will almost certainly find it difficult to identify the buttresses from above: a useful point of reference is Doxey’s Pool (a curious pond, seemingly unfed by any streams) directly below which lies Skyline Buttress (walking time 12 - 20 minutes from the road). The Far Skyline Area can also be approached this way (25 minutes) but is actually better approached from the other end of the cliff-top path starting at Roach End. This cuts the walking time to around 15 minutes.
The Five Clouds: pass through ‘Roaches Gate’ as if heading towards the main crag, but then turn immediately left onto a grassy track and follow this for approximately 350m to where it begins to steepen, by some old quarries (this path actually continues up to the left-hand end of the Upper Tier). Turn left here, onto a vague trail and follow this horizontally leftwards for some 250m to reach the sector (12 minutes from the road).
The Nth Cloud: From the upper end of the main parking area near the cottage, continue driving along the narrow road towards Roach End. After approximately 1.4km, and 100m before reaching the point where a left turn heads down to the village of Meerbrook, there is a wooden gate on the right. There is very limited parking on grass verges opposite the gate (do not block the gate!). Climb over the gate and head up a tractor-track to where the crag becomes clearly visible (15 minutes).