Ilam - Coldwell - Thorpe - Dove Dale - Ilam

Phil and Sue Eptlett

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This walk starts in the quaint village of Ilam with its curious tile-clad houses and no intrusion by late 20th Century architecture.

A stroll alongside the River Manifold brings you to the grand stone Coldwell Bridge which was part of the old pack-horse route to Cheadle. A track then ascends to the second of our unspoilt villages at Thorpe. Here the village green and old church take you back to a more tranquil age.

After crossing a meadow and the short walk down Lin Dale you will arrive at Dove Dale and the well-known stepping-stones which cross the River Dove.

From this point the more energetic can take a short diversion up the conically shaped Thorpe Cloud for fine views of the surroundings.

Continuing down the lower part of Dove Dale brings you to a car park where refreshments can be purchased. It is then a short walk back to the start point at Ilam.

England - Central England - Staffordshire - Peak District

Features

Birds, Butterflies, Cafe, Flowers, Great Views, Hills or Fells, National Trust, River, Stately Home, Toilets, Wildlife

4/20/2014 - Thomas Greig

Lovely walk. Nothing too strenuous and easy to follow directions. The only down-side for us was the short stretch in Dovedale itself; whilst lovely in its own right, we were tackling the walk on Easter Saturday 2014 and Dovedale was 'heaving' with people. We were glad to get back to the relative tranquility of the walk across the field back to Ilam. Overall though, we were very taken by this walk.

11/8/2009 - Adrian Perkins

A beautiful and varied walk, with immaculate instructions. Thank you Phil & Sue. Walked November 2009. No problems Adrian (Admin)

10/6/2004 - Julia Ewart

This was really nice. The stepping stones were just visible under the water, and the area from Waymarks 3-4 was very muddy & slippery, but it was a super short walk and completed in the 90 minutes as stated (we didn't climb Thorpe Cloud).

5/2/2004 - david twigg

My family consisting of thre girls 6,7,9 did this walk on the 14th April 2004. We set off at 5.00 for a pleasent evening stroll as we were staying in Ilam Youth hostel. This is a lovely walk and its a great stop at Coldwell Bridge to play Pooh Sticks. It is quite a steep ascent to Thorpe, but at this time of year it was lovely to see the lambs playing. At point 10 when you have entered the carpark once you have gone through Thorpe. We headed for Thorpe Cloud the diversion in the walk and found this ascent much easier than the one mention in the walk. We actually descended this and ended up at the Stepping Stones. Note caution should be taken if crossing the stones as my 5yr old fell in. This walk took much longer than the time stated we arrived back at 7.45. A very picturesque walk and certainly accessible for the average family.