By Mike Rawlins

“We weren’t even allowed to use the toilet because of the building works,” complains Nick Freeman from Fenton, while his wife explains, “We do this walk once a week, now just to keep active since we retired. But we were not told that this was going to happen.”

So I feel a little better that it wasn’t just me and my wife that went for a walk around Trentham Lake only to find that it wasn’t possible to do the full circuit because of the new boat house being built near the lakeside cafe.  I spoke to a number of people who had walked the ‘back way’ around the lake and not one of them was aware that the circular lake walk was closed.

John Darby from Hanford said: “It is poor that a company the size of Trentham Estate can’t get this right. I know they are not charging for the walk [yet] but even so, a lot of people I know do this walk regularly, a lot of the older ones, might not be able to make it all the way back easily.” He went on to say: “If this is a sign of things to come when the charging starts I won’t be bothering again.”

My wife and I walk around the lake three or four times a week, we know it takes us an hour and we plan it in to our work schedule as we both work at home.  On Monday we did the walk with no problem. On Thursday however, we fell foul of the building work around the new boat house.  We got to the Lakeside Cafe, to find that it was all fenced off and they were digging what looks like will be a boat access ramp to the lake.  Even here there we no signs to say how long the walk was closed for or where any alternative toilet facilities were.

We asked if there was any way around the building works to get us all on to the other side of the lake so we at least had a shorter walk back, to be told that we can go back the way we came or walk up to the car park for the Monkey Forest and out to the A34!  I asked if there was anyone we could speak to about this as there was a group of us now wanting to continue the walk or use the toilet.  We were ever so helpfully directed back to the estate office at the retail village either by walking back the way we came or the A34 route.

We asked the question why were there not any signs up anywhere to say that the walk was effectively closed, to be told that there were signs up all the way from the garden centre.  We had a quick check with the people who were around and strangely not one of us had seen a sign anywhere from the Garden Centre through the stables or on the gate where you go back in to Trentham Estate from the park.

I called the Estate Office to ask if there was any way our ever increasing party could get around the building works to continue our walk, as it was evident that there was nobody on the site who was empowered to make a decision, not even the Trentham Estate security guard, who had been phoned by somebody to come and talk to us.  He decided that helping his mate dig a sign up was more fun than talking to us!

I spoke to a young lady about our situation and she admitted that there was nothing she could do but Mike Herbert was in the office and I could speak to him.  Fair play to Mr Herbert, he took the call which is far more than a lot of company directors would do.

I explained the situation to Mr Herbert who told me that signs were put up, “I saw them being printed off at the beginning of the week ready.” I explained that they may have been printed but there were no signs anywhere to be seen if you walked around the lake the way that we and several other people did.  Mr Herbert apologised and said that he would make sure that signs were put up to inform people.

Mr Herbert went on to explain about the work being carried out around the new boat house should be completed in a week or so and added that  the  the lakeside Cafe is being closed next week (23 March) for a week while they refurbish it  and all the work being done is to improve the facilities around the lake for when the charging comes in to force.

Mr Herbert wasn’t lying when he said signs had been put up, after some investigation we did find them, one inside the visitor centre and one on the wall outside.

I have heard that signs have been put up now, but just in case, be warned you might not be able to walk around the lake and you can’t get a cup of coffee next week..