Dovedale: Ivory Spires and Wooded Splendour

About trip

Right from the start there'€™s drama as you follow the River Dove, wriggling through a narrow gorge between Bunster Hill and the towering pyramid of Thorpe Cloud. A limestone path urges you to climb to a bold rocky outcrop high above the river. Lovers’ Leap has a fine view across the dale to pinnacles of the Twelve Apostles. It’s a view to gladden your hearts - not the sort of place you’d think of throwing yourself from at all. However, in 1761 an Irish dean and his lady companion, who were out horse riding (or were they horsing about?) fell off the rock. The dean died of his injuries but the lady survived to tell the tale. Spires and Caves. The Dove writhes round another corner. Above your heads, flaky fingers of limestone known as the Tissington Spires rise out from thick woodland cover. Just a few footsteps away on the right there’s a splendid natural arch, which is just outside the entrance to Reynard’s Cave. This is the result of the cave’s roof collapsing. The dale’s limestone walls close in. The path climbs to a place more remote from the rushing river, which often floods around here. As the valley opens out again two gigantic rock stacks face each other across the Dove. Pickering Tor has a small cave at its foot. A little footbridge allows you across to the other side to the foot of Ilam Rock. This 80ft (25m) leaning thumb of limestone has an overhang on the south side that’s popular with climbers. It too has a cave at the bottom, which is only 4ft (1.2m) at the entrance but opens out to over 30ft (10m) inside. You will get a better view of them when you cross the little footbridge to the cave at the foot of the rocks. On this side you’re in Staffordshire and the paths are less populated. Hunt's Wood and Hall Dale: The continuing walk into Hall Dale heralds a less formal landscape. The dale is dry and it climbs up the hillside. Hurts Wood has wych elm, whitebeam, ash and rowan. Some fences have kept grazing animals out, allowing the trees and shrubs to regenerate. Hurts Wood is alive and well. You’ll hear and see many birds – warblers, redstarts and black caps; and you’ll see wild flowers – dog’s mercury, wood anemone and wood forget-me-not. It seems a shame to leave the dale behind but soon you’re walking down a quiet lane with Ilam and the beautiful Manifold Valley on your right and a shapely peak, Bunster Hill, on your left. A path takes you across the shoulder of the hill, across the ridge and furrow of a medieval field system, then back into the valley of the Dove. While you're there: It will be tempting to climb to the top of Thorpe Cloud, for the sharp summit has wonderful views, both down the dale and across the expansive flatlands of the Midlands. The path leaves the main route at Dovedale’s meeting with Lin Dale. It rakes across the east flanks before doubling back north-west along the steep crest to the summit. You will have to return the same way. Where to eat and drink: The Izaak Walton Hotel, a former 17th-century farmhouse, stands near the entrance to Dovedale and can be reached by a stile towards the end of the walk. The hotel welcomes walkers Directions: Turn right out of the car park and follow the road along the west bank of the Dove. Cross the footbridge to the opposite bank and turn left along a wide footpath. This twists and turns through the narrow dale, between Bunster Hill and Thorpe Cloud. 2 Follow the path as it climbs some steps up through the woods on to the famous rocky outcrop of Lovers’ Leap, then descends past the magnificent Tissington Spires and Reynard’s Cave. Here a huge natural arch surrounds the much smaller entrance to the historic cave. As the dale narrows the path climbs above the river. 3 The dale widens again. Leave the main path for a route signposted ‘Public Footpath to Stanshope’, and cross the footbridge over the Dove. A narrow woodland path turns right beneath the huge spire of Ilam Rock above you. Ignore the path on the left, signposted to Ilam ‘(steep ascent)’. Beyond a stile the path eases to the left into Hall Dale. Following the valley bottom, as it climbs out of the woods into a rugged limestone-cragged gorge. 4 As the gorge begins to become shallow the path enters pastureland – the attractive village of Stanshope is now on the skyline. At a crossroads of paths turn left through a squeeze stile in the wall and head south with a stone wall on the right. Where the wall turns right, keep walking straight ahead to reach another stile, and then veer half right by a wall in the next field. The path cuts diagonally to the left across the last two fields to reach Ilam- Moor Lane, 250yds (229m) to the south of Damgate Farm. 5 Turn left to walk along the lovely quiet country lane. There are magnificent views from here down to Ilam and the Manifold Valley ahead of you and down to the right. 6 After 800yds (732m) take a footpath on the left, following the drive to Ilamtops Farm for a few paces before turning right over a stile. A field path now heads roughly south-east, traversing low grassy fellsides to the top of Moor Plantation woods. 7 Here the path (fallen away in places) cuts across the steep sides of Bunster Hill, before straddling its south spur and descending to a step-stile in the intake wall. A clear path now descends southeast across sloping pastures to the back of the Izaak Walton Hotel. 8 Turn left (north-east) by the hotel across more fields and back to the car park Extending the Walk. As so often when walking beside the River Dove, it’s difficult to resist the temptation to carry on following its lovely series of dales. You can do this at Point A, continuing up the dale to Viator’s Bridge, a packhorse bridge in lovely Milldale, before heading back across the fields to rejoin the main route at Point B. The bridge on the route takes its name from a character in Izaak Walton’s Compleat Angler, who complains to his companion Piscator that the bridge is too small – ‘Why a mouse can hardly go over it: Tis not two fingers broad.â