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s there any better feeling than rowing around Rudyard Lake with the sun shimmering serenely in the ripples extending from your boat? Actually, there is - especially when you let your other half do all the hard work so you can lie back and sip on a chilled glass of champers.

Rudyard Lake is a real hidden gem of the Staffordshire Moorlands, lying hidden between the wooded hillsides just north of Leek. Despite being created more than two centuries ago as a reservoir to feed the Midlands canal system, the lake soon evolved into an area of natural beauty teeming with wildlife and day-trippers.

Since the late 1800s, Rudyard Lake has been a hotbed of romantic activity. Back then, it was the only place to court your beloved. Among the couples that would stroll the banks affectionately holding hands, were John Lockwood Kipling and Alice MacDonald. The place was so special to the young lovers that when their first child was born, they named him after the lake. Something that, surprisingly, didn’t harm the child’s future glittering career.

The best way to make the most of Rudyard’s amorous potential is to hire one of the fleet of rowing boats and set about exploring the two and a half mile long lake. Just be careful not to stray out of the range of cupid’s arrow.