Date: 24-Jan-2008
Map: Landranger 119
Weather: Sunshine all day, cold in the
wind.
A
pleasant stroll from
Ilam Village to Dove Dale, Wolfscote Dale, up
over the valley to Alstonefield and back to Dove Dale via
Hall Dale: 12 miles with
detour – as measured
with a toothpick – I couldn’t be bothered to get the parcel
string
Before I start can I
say that this walk is better in summer when the sunlight can
reach the valley floor. If you come in May you will see the
well dressings that take place in many Peak District
villages. But for today the weather forecast was reasonable,
and I knew that most of the paths covered would be
reasonably dry.
The
Manifold valley looking east towards Ilam
When I drove through Buxton with rain sleeting down
on the windscreen, I wasn’t too hopeful of a good day But as
I drove towards Dove Dale the sky cleared, good old BBC
weather forecast. I parked up in Ilam village next to the Country Park
– I haven’t been in yet so I can’t tell you if it’s worth a
visit or not. Ilam is a small village with some interesting
houses to look at. A short walk away from the village brings
you to a path towards Dove Dale (you could park at Dove Dale
and save yourself the extra 2 miles). The River Manifold
flows through a wide floodplain to your right, but you walk
along towards Dove Dale, with the conical shape of Thorpe
Cloud prominent in front of you. Thorpe Cloud is carefully
managed by the National Trust, as it tends to be
overpopulated in holiday times when the good weather
arrives. This leads to excessive erosion in places – those
high heels can cause havoc. If you walk here at the weekend
you will see the whole spectrum of society spilling out from
Dove Dale car park - £2 in the winter. Some will be in flip
flops, others in Sunday best, all mixed in with the regular
walkers.
Thorpe Cloud at the entrance to Dove Dale
The first thing to
notice is the measuring station, where the river falls over
a weir, and constantly monitors the flow. There is also an
information board which is worth a look as it gives you some
background on Dove Dale and its surroundings. The quote from
Byron 1798 says “There are prospects in Derbyshire rivalling
those of Switzerland and
Greece”…..It’s nice but rivalling
Switzerland? If you can
visit when the schools are back in term time and midweek, it
is very peaceful – almost soporific, ….cue Last of the
Summer Wine music.There
are 2 pathways from Dove Dale car park, the left pathway
takes you up to the stepping stones but no further – I
wondered what the flood signs were doing out. I found out
when I saw the stepping stones were under a foot of fast
flowing water. In the
summer there are queues to crossover the stepping stones,
and it needs a lollipop man or lady to keep control of the
traffic.
Looking up Dove Dale towards the stepping stones around the
corner
The
stepping stones, but not today
I thought the flood signs at the car park referred to
the path way, but it referred to the stepping stones, so
that was a detour to start the day. After retracing my steps
back to the wooden bridge I crossed over to the dark side!
The normal path was flooded, so walking around the
edge was a little slippery on the Limestone rubble. There
was no sun down here in the wintertime as I passed under
Thorpe Cloud. The sheep were keeping well above the river
and were grazing in a long line higher up the slopes.
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……..aaaaaaaghhh
Once past the stepping stones the footpath is wide
and well maintained, and you will now leave the crowds
behind. There are lots of squeeze stiles and gates to pass
through up the dale. When you’re tugging at some gates and
they don’t open, try pushing! The valley sides are steep and
heavily wooded in places. There are lots of Hawthorn and
Alders, also a lot of Ivy that is choking the life out of
some trees. They look very brittle in the winter light. The
first rocks that came into view were
the Twelve Apostles. So I said 3 Hail Mary’s and
moved along up some steps to lovers leap.
The
start of the good paths
As you climb the steps to Lovers Leap, you can see
lots of fossils in the Limestone at your feet. The long tube
like fossils are Crinoids – a fossil shallow water plant
from the Carboniferous period. A little further on are the
Tissington Spires – all of these Limestone pillars are the
hardy remains of cliffs that have worn away around them.
Tissington Spires
I came across some fallen tree trunks with coins
knocked in them. I noticed the same thing at Malham (see the
January walk), so maybe it is a piece of artwork, or a
forestry worker? Not
many coins have been pulled out, and you’d never get them in
the car park machine.
Got
any change?
The walk continues up the side of the river in the
valley floor, passing weirs along the way. There is a lot of
bird life here most time of the year, and today we saw
Dippers, Moorhens, Chaffinch, Long Tailed Tits, Mallards,
Coots, Moorhens, Herons, Crows, Ravens and a solitary
Kingfisher – not bad for mid-winter. I passed the Heron a
couple of times, and there must be a reasonable amount of
fish in here as there were ‘Private Fishing’ signs along the
bank at regular intervals. The next feature along the way
was Reynard’s Cave, which stands impressively above you on
your right. It is a water worn feature, probably from melt
water torrents of the Ice ages.
Reynard’s Cave
As the valley
narrows and closes in on you there are a couple of sections
of duckboards to walk over. Gabions (baskets with rocks in)
have been placed on the river bed, and they make a nice
contrast to the regular path.
Hello
Ducky…boards
Around another bend the tall slab of Ilam rock comes
into view, a popular climber’s friend in the warmer months.
There is a wooden bridge here which takes you to Hall Dale
or you could scramble up the steep path next to Ilam rock to
get to the top of the woods – if you want to cut your walk
short.
Ilam
rock leaning at a jaunty angle.
Keep
strolling along and around another bend you will come across
Dove Holes making a spectacle of itself. This is another
water worn feature that you could have a peek around. I
didn’t, it was too cold to stop for long.
You pass the pathway to Alsop-En-Le-Dale which leads
you up to the Nabs mentioned by Byron. The valley sides here
are quite thickly wooded, and in the summer you should see a
good variety of wildlife.
Past Hall Dale the valley widens out a little and you
soon wander into Milldale, where Postman Pat and Mrs Goggins
live…well it looks like they do. It is a lovely small hamlet
nestled at the junction of three Dales. Milldale is about 4
miles from the start of the walk, so it is a good spot for
some refreshment.
Dove
Holes, but not a Dove in sight
I turned
right along the main road from the village and walked along
the pavement, crossed the bridge and turned north up
Wolfscote Dale.
Milldale – cross the bridge and turn right to Wolfscote
Dale.
Wolfscote Dale immediately feels more open than Dove
Dale due to being less wooded, so you feel less enclosed.
The paths are generally in good condition but were a little
boggy today. I met the Heron again stood to attention (the
Heron, not me) and met up with him later on. The river
zigzags along, and I ignored the many small bridges until
reaching Coldeaton Bridge – it has a sign on it. All the
previous bridges were marked up ‘Private Property’,
presumably as many people cut there journey short and nipped
up to the top of the valley. When you reach the right
bridge, cross the river and then you are faced with the only
stiff climb of the day. But it’s good to get the heart rate
up and it doesn’t last long to the top of the hill –
signposted as Gypsy Hill at the top. Look back and you have
a good view of the Tissington Trail at the head of the
valley. A former railway track now used as a bike riding
trail – it’s not so good for walking – a bit boring up
there.
Wolfcote Dale – you have the hillside up the left to climb
around the bend.
At the top of Gypsy
bank, it was about halfway around so I had some soup –
minestrone today which required much slurping to get all the
pasta pieces. Ok when there is no one else around. Up on the
top it was a few degrees colder than the valley floor, so I
ate up and continued on. The vista opens up and you have
views all around you of farmland, neatly closed in with
Limestone walls, with the odd copse of trees topping the
hills. There always seems to be a breeze blowing at all
times of year up on the higher ground – Ok when it’s hot.
The path continued up a stony narrow farm track up a gentle
incline towards Alstonefield, passing the YHA along the way.
Looking down to
Coldeaton
Bridge
Good
grazing land as far as you can see
Walking into Alstonefield you notice what a neat
little village it is (true of a lot of villages in the
Derbyshire Dales). You pass by a converted Wesleyan Chapel
that now houses handmade oak furniture. Further on is the
village pub, a good spot to take lunch if you haven’t got
some pies. Take care through the village as there are a
couple of village greens that could confuse. You will see
the church on your left if you have navigated correctly, as
you make your way down another farm track.
Clear
skies above
Alstonefield
Church
I
continued across the fields, hugging the walls (the path,
not me), dropping
down gradually towards a steep bank that descends to a small
valley below Hope. Cross the
road and straight up the other side along a small
farm track . Here you have a gentle sustained walk up
towards Stanhope. Pause for a breath and you will have good
views back to the church at Alstonefield. The snowdrops were
out in the afternoon sunshine, so I stopped and stared for a
while. The track continued up to Stanhope, where you are met
with the fine old manor house, a substantial building for a
small hamlet. From the road junction you will have a view of
Hall Dale ahead of you across the fields, one side of the
valley deep in shadow as the sun dropped lower in the sky.
A
steep muddy path down – there is an alternative route to the
left
Looking back across the steep bank up to
Alstonefield
Church
Stanhope Manor…over here son…on my head…..Goal……..
Looking towards Hall Dale…named after Stuart Hall…..not
I crossed over the
fields, boggy in places and made my way towards the obvious
stiles. You could take a route that climbs above the Dove
Dale valley towards Ilam, but I preferred the valley again.
The path down into Hall Dale was a little stony and rough in
places, and deep in gloom in the late afternoon light. I
could see The Nabs sparkling in the sun up ahead of me. Once
I had dropped backed into Dove Dale I met up with Harry the
Heron again, he must have been hungry. Further on there was
a bunch of squabbling Mallards fighting over the loaf of
bread I had thrown at them.
Here
fishy fishy…
Missed…….
I crossed back over
the River Dove by the wooden bridge next to Ilam rock and
made my way back down Dove Dale and met a strange sight in
the woods. The spikes of Pikering Tor were looking spiky,
and Thorpe Cloud looked resplendent in the evening sun.
Pikering Tor
Thorpe Cloud.
Dove
Dale from close to the car park
A last look back up Dove Dale, pale in the evening
sun and then I retraced my steps (wishing I had parked here)
back to Ilam. A lovely gentle stroll taken at leisure – very
peaceful at all times of the year…except on bank holidays!!
Walking, sometimes it’s just restful.
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