Description:Looking along the River Trent between Leek Road and the dismantled railway line in Abbey Hulton. Mill Farm is just behind and to the left of the camera.The houses on the skyline in the centre front onto Leek Road and the slope to the left leads to the old Biddulph Valley Branch line and the line from Stoke to Leek.
As it approaches the city, the river is about 1 metre deep and up to 2 metres wide. Here it is about 11 kilometres (7 miles) from its sources on Biddulph Moor. The present day valley was probably formed by a larger river carrying glacial meltwater at the end of the last ice age and the valley floor is covered with sands, gravel and alluvium.