Thorpe & Dovedale

All 4 of us this week, no idea where to go but not north to avoid traffic around Bakewell etc. So at the end of the lane it was decided to go to Thorpe & Dovedale. My turn to drive and we got there at about 06:40 got parked in a lay by just above the 20 minute car park. We walked down towards Thorpe and onto the footpath through the 20 minute car park and just followed the path down to the stepping stones. The light was beautiful over Thorpe Cloud but when we got down to the stepping stones we just couldn't believe the rubbish that had been left including towels, clothes,kiddies shoes and cans everywhere. Even a broken chair and an inflatable chair in the river, these people should hang their heads in shame.
We crossed over the stepping stones and walked along by the river until we saw a footpath to the right saying alternative route to Ilam so we took this path and it went half way up and around Bunster Hill dropping down into Ilam. We went over the bridge and joined the footpath heading to Thorpe, this went across meadows, through woods and then over the Coldwall Bridge then into Thorpe and back to the car.

Route around Thorpe and Dovedale

Thorpe Cloud

Thistle head

Beautiful skies over Thorpe Cloud

Looking down towards Dovedale

Geoff

River Dove with the stepping stones

A blow up chair abandoned in the river

Ike, Rob and Geoff getting across the stepping stones

Rob

Ilam Hall

Geoff

Rob up on a view point

Breakfast stop

Ilam bridge

Part of the monument in Ilam

Ilam bridge

Geoff, Rob & Ike

Gate to nowhere

Foxglove

Rob

Coldwall Bridge

Another redundant gate

Thorpe village

Old water pump in Thorpe.

A cracking walk of just over 4 1/2 miles through some beautiful scenery. Roll on next week