Pilsbury Castle and the Upper dove Valley

About trip

Hartington, lying in the mid regions of the Dove Valley, is a prosperous village with 18th-century houses and hotels built in local limestone and lined around spacious greens. Its history can be traced back to the Normans, when it was recorded as Hartedun, the centre for the De Ferrier’s estate. Hartington Hall, now the youth hostel, was first built in 1350 but was substantially rebuilt in 1611. Bonnie Prince Charlie is reputed to have stopped here in 1745 on his march into Derby, where 5,000 Highland troops were amassing to fight for the Jacobite cause. He didn’t know that the Duke of Devonshire had amassed 30,000 loyalists. The Prince would retreat to Scotland, where he would be cruelly dealt with at Culloden. As you leave the village the lane climbs past the Church of St Giles, which has a battlemented Perpendicular tower. It continues up the high valley sides of the Dove, then on through emerald high fields and valley. Pilsbury Castle: Pilsbury Castle hides from the viewer until the very last moment, but then a grassy ramp swoops down to it from the hillsides. Only the earthworks are now visible, but you can imagine its supreme impregnable position on the limestone knoll that juts out into the valley. You can see the motte, a man-made mound built to accommodate the wooden keep, and the bailey, a raised embankment that would have had a wooden stockade round it. The castle’s exact history is disputed. It was probably built around 1100 by the Normans, on the site of an Iron Age fort. It may have been a stronghold used earlier by William I to suppress a local rebellion in his ‘Wasting of the North’ campaign. Being in the middle of the De Ferrier estate it was probably their administrative centre. In the 1200s this function would have been moved to Hartington. Views up-valley are fascinating, with the conical limestone peaks of Parkhouse and Chrome Hills in the distance. Now the route descends into Dovedale for the first time, crossing the river into Staffordshire. The lane climbs to a high lane running the length of the dale’s east rim. Note the change in the rock – it’s now the darker gritstone. The crags of Sheen Hill have been blocking the view east, but once past them you can see for miles, across the Manifold Valley to the Roaches and Hen Cloud. A field path takes the route on its finale, descending along a line of crags with lofty views While you're there: You could visit Arbor Low, (see Walk 33) 3 miles (5km) north east near Parsley Hay (English Heritage). This stone circle and henge was constructed between 3000 and 2000 bc, around the same time as Stonehenge. The main circle is over 820ft (250m) in circumference. None of the 60 or so stones are erect but the remote setting beneath the even older tumulus of Gib Hill gives the place a dramatic aura. There’s a small charge to see the monument. Where to eat and drink: Very good meals are served at the Charles Cotton Hotel at Hartington (free house). They’re equally good at the Packhorse Inn at Crowdecote (free house), just 200yds (183m) off route. What to look out for: In Hartington the Dairy Crest Creamery is one of the few places licensed to make Stilton. There’s a visitor centre where you can sample and buy the cheeses. Look too for Hartington Hall, now a youth hostel. Directions: Turn left out of the car park and follow the road through the centre of the village. Turn left, uphill by the church on Hyde Lane and then take the third path on the left. This descends northwards across fields. Just below a farmhouse, the path swings left to follow a dry-stone wall on the left. 2 The path cuts across the stony drive coming up the hill from Bank Top Farm. Waymarking posts highlight the continuing route along the high valleysides. 3 West of Carder Low (grid ref 126627) the path goes through a gateway by an intersection of walls and becomes indistinct. Here, climb half right to another gateway, then head for a group of trees. Beyond these another footpath signpost shows the way uphill to a step stile in a ridge wall, where you look down into a small valley. 4 Descend into the valley and turn left to reach a high lane by a stone barn. A stile across the road allows you on to the continuing path, rounding the high slopes above Pilsbury. The footpath rakes left down the hillslopes to a farm track and wall alongside the ancient earthworks of Pilsbury Castle. A gate in the stone wall allows further inspection. 5 Turn right and continue down a grassy track, which eventually degenerates into a field path heading up the valley towards Crowdecote. 6 Just past Bridge End Farm turn left to cross the Dove by a little footbridge. Follow the path directly uphill across a field. 7 Beyond the wall stile the path veers right, through scrub, to reach the Longnore road near Edgetop. Turn left along the high lane to Harris Close Farm. 8 A stile on the nearside of an outbuilding at Harris Close starts the path back to Hartington. In all but one field there’s a wall on the right for guidance. After going through a wood, the path descends through scrub into the valley. It joins a farm track southwards towards Bridge-end farm. At the signpost ‘Hartington’ turn left through a gate and across a field. A footbridge, hidden by trees, allows the crossing of the Dove. The intermittent path gradually swings right (south-east) across fields. The path aims for the woods to the left of the dairy and enters them via a gate. At the other side go through a field beside a dairy and turn left along the lane to return to Hartington.