Denstone to Dovedale

11 September 2010 - Denstone to Dovedale

Distance - 13.2 miles

Weather - Sunny and showery

We stayed at - Izak Walton Hotel, Dovedale, Asbourne, Derbyshire, DE6 2AY Cost - £140.00

After breakfast we took our leave of our hosts at Heywood Hall, we thanked them for the great stay and they asked us what our plans were for the day. When we said we were walking to Dovedale the lady of the house offered us a lift! Her husband pointed out that we were on a walking holiday and that it would rather defeat the purpose! Still it was a very kind gesture.

We walked from Denstone back up to the B5032, then took the Limestone Way through fields on the ridge between the Churnet & Dove valleys. The footpath ran beside the River Dove until Lower Ellastone, where we left it, passing by a field full of very cute alpacas. After crossing the B5033 bridge, we continued our riverside walk, although the water this time wasn't the Dove itself, but a tributary.

We left the Limestone Way near Ousley Wood to follow another footpath along the wooded valley bottom. This path was fine until we reached the area around Ellishill Farm, where the footpath was non-existent and we decided to improvise and head up to the A52 near Swinscoe by our own, more direct route. There was a pub here by the main road called the Dog & Partridge and we decided to stop for a bite to eat. It was fortunate that we did, as we started off sitting outside in the beer garden, but were forced to move inside due to a very heavy shower.

After lunch, we crossed the A52 and took a footpath that brought us back to the Limestone Way at Woodhouses. We followed the Limestone Way for a short while up to a lane, but then decided to change our plans. It was still early, and we didn't feel like kicking around a hotel all afternoon, so we took the lane to Blore, followed by a minor lane / footpath to Ilam. It was at this point we started feeling that we were well and truly in the Peak District amid the stone walls and stony hills.

Ilam was a beautiful village, it was one of these places where the local landowner, in this case a certain Jesse Watts Russell, knocked down the old village in the 19th century and built a new alpine-looking one designed by George Gilbert Scott. He seemed like a lovely guy, as he also had a bridge built over the Dove in memory of his wife, but insisted it was constructed so that it didn't obstruct his view from the hall. There's true love! The current owners are a bit more sympathetic, even allowing some house martins to stay at the hall! There was a very nice cafe too, which served ice creams, among other things!


The church for the hall is set in a very picturesque spot, with the flat-topped Thorpe Cloud in the background, whilst the village church is equally charming. We were really glad that we made our detour and gave both the village and hall a visit.


From Ilam we made our way by a relatively quiet road to the Izak Walton Hotel. This being Dovedale, it had been incredibly difficult to find somewhere to stay for just the Saturday night. Everywhere I contacted insisted on a minimum stay of two nights, which we didn't want to do. The Izak Walton was the only place prepared to let us stay a single night, but at the price of two nights accommodation anywhere else. When we arrived, we found that there was a wedding on and many of the public rooms were unavailable, as were some of the outside spaces, like the terrace. For £140 you would think we had a lovely view of Thorpe Cloud, but no, our room (although well appointed) looked out onto the brick wall of an adjoining wing! Still, we thought it was better than paying another hotel for two nights accommodation, when we wouldn't be staying one of the nights and they would probably re-sell the room the night we didn't use it!