The Winking Man

Ramshaw Rocks are a rocky gritstone escarpment similar to the nearby Roaches which can be found along side the A53 Leek to Buxton road. There are some interesting features which can be found here and which are worthy of mentioning. Probably the easiest and most prominent feature can be seen from the A53 as you drive past Ramshaw Rocks and this has come to be known as the Winking Man, in fact there is a pub nearby named after this anomaly!

The face of the Winking Man.

The Winking Man is a rock formation about 10ft in height that overlooks the Leek to Buxton road, it resembles a mans face due to the fact that it looks like a mans head with a forehead, nose, mouth and chin. A traveller in the past and even today as he travels along the A53 which is built upon a Roman road would have been aware of the face, and as they would have passed, so would their viewing angle have changed which would have resulted in the eye appearing to wink!

The nose on the Winking Man would have been more pronounced but unfortunately it was vandalised in the 1970s so it is no longer as large as it once was. In the past the face was regarded as something supernatural and was probably thought to be a God, possibly Thor or Woden.

Another unusual rock can be found on Ramshaw Rocks and this is known as the Serpent Stone. There seems to be very little information regarding this curious shaped stone, apart from the obvious name it has been given, even the tourist centre in the nearby town of Leek were unaware of its existence. I do know that it forms an alignment with the nearby Bawdstone on the slopes of Hen Cloud during the Spring Equinox. I have yet to check using Dowsing rods to see if there is a Ley-line (line of energy) running through it.

The Serpent Stone