A fantastic circular route from Ilam Hall and National Trust gardens to the iconic Dovedale stepping stones.
This walk is quite short, however it takes in many wonderful and interesting places along the route. You can extend the walk if you want, by taking a detour to the top of Thorpe Cloud, or carrying the walk further up the River Dove. I’ll provide some brief information and links for some of the places of note along the way. There are also lots of pictures.
Ilam Hall (pronounced eye-lam) and gardens are located at the far end of the village of Ilam. Part of the original hall is now used and owned by the Youth Hostel Association having been gifted to them by the then owner Sir Robert McDougal. The gardens and “Manifold” tearooms are run by the National Trust. There is a car park here, that is free if you are a National Trust member. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ilam-park-dovedale-and-the-white-peak
You can only go into Ilam Hall if you are staying there, however the gardens are free, including the Italian Garden. There are a great many walks that originate from here. You can head to the Manifold Valley in one direction, or as we did, Dovedale in another one. Check out our other walks around both these places. Walks in The Peak District and Derby Dales Pt5 – Manifold Way – 5.7 miles one way. Walks in The Peak District and Derby Dales Pt6 – Dovedale Loop – 6.2 miles
The above picture shows the Italian Garden and the old coach house that is used as a bookstore and Tea rooms. The pictures below are Ilam Hall from the front and from the Italian Garden.
The walk starts from Ilam Hall. Take the path towards the church situated in front of the Hall http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/attractions/ilamch.php. As you get to the church the path veers to the left and leads to the road. Take a right onto the road until you reach the junction with the memorial cross. A grade two listed monument erected in 1840 and dedicated to Mary Watts-Russell who used to live in the hall, by her husband Jesse.
At the memorial cross take a left and follow the road until you reach a gate on the left hand side that leads to a path that climbs up a shallow hill.
The path continues across fields, and is quite clearly defined. It was very muddy when we walked this (March) and you would need walking boots or wellies. As you continue you will see Thorpe Cloud ahead of you, and you may be able to make out some of the walkers who have ascended.
When you have crossed the fields, a gate exits onto a path, take a left here, and it will lead you to the car park at Dovedale where there are toilets (20p) and refreshments. There is some information here and some maps.
When we were here there had been a lot of rain, and the river was running really high, making the stepping stones almost impassable. If you wanted to carry on further up the River Dove, it was recommended that you cross the river at the bridge about 50m from the car park, and walk on the right hand bank, or walk round the back of Thorpe Cloud, to approach the stepping stones from the other direction.
We stayed on the left hand bank, and carried on up to the stepping stones. Normally you could cross here, and carry on up the River Dove, or take a right to ascend Thorpe Cloud.
You can see how high the river is running in the picture above.
We returned to the car park, along the same path adjacent to the river, and from there, we took the footpath that ran along side the road that exits the car park to a T-junction about 800m from the car park. Take a right here onto Thorpe Road, this is the road that leads back to the Memorial Cross in Ilam. We intended to take another path that leads back to Ilam, but the fields were really bad, and we decided to save that walk for another time.
If you like these walks, or have any suggestions, please get in touch, it would be good to hear from you. Also if you would like somewhere to stay in the area, we have a lovely cottage that is available for holidays and short breaks throughout the year. Aldergrove Cottage
We also have a facebook page, search for “letslive holidays”, or click the link below. Please like, share and follow us, it is really appreciated.
https://www.facebook.com/LetsLive-Holidays-103806115442908
Below is a link on my MapMyWalk site, it outlines the route described above, and there are plenty of other walks there, check it out.
Holiday Cottage in Ashbourne 