My Adventures 3: Dove Holes

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Mel and I park in the National Trust Car Park here for free as I'm a member else its £7 for the day. We leave the car and walk down alongside The River Dove.

We passed the Izaak Walton Hotel, named after the author of the book The Compleat Angler. He fished the River Dove in the mid 17th century. Bunster Hill is on our left and Thorpe Cloud is ahead of us, with the flat top.

Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust, and annually attracts a million visitors. The valley was cut by the River Dove and runs for just over 3 miles (5 km) between Milldale in the north and a wooded ravine near Thorpe Cloud and Bunster Hill in the south. In the wooded ravine, a set of stepping stones cross the river, and there are two caves known as the Dove Holes.

Dovedale's other attractions include rock pillars such as Ilam Rock, Viator's Bridge, and the limestone features Lovers' Leap and Reynard's Cave.

A look back to where we walked up.

The river marks the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

We reach the Stepping stones across the River Dove, it's a lot busier than when I visited in January 2019.

Put in place in the middle of the 19th century, the stones have long been a magnet for visitors to the area. There are lots of fossils in the stones, you can spot them as you cross them.

The River Dove is a famous trout stream. Charles Cotton's Fishing House, the inspiration for Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler, stands in the woods by the river. From Hartington to its confluence with the River Manifold at Ilam the River Dove flows through the scenic limestone valley known as Dove Valley, or Dovedale. From Hartington south to Ilam, a distance of eight miles (13 km), the Dove flows through Beresford Dale, Wolfscote Dale, Milldale, and then Dovedale.

View back to the Stepping Stones with Thorpe Cloud looming above.

We now follow The River Dove towards Milldale.

I can't help but marvel at the sight of the Limestone gorge, its rock formations, the babbling river and the silence of it all! Heaven!

I told Mel its all nice and flat, I forgot about this steep uphill section!

We got to the top and stop for a breather and take on some water.

Dovedale is of special ecological interest for its plant life, particularly the calcareous ash woods, which are considered among the best in England.There are unusual plants such as Solomon's seal, lily of the valley, Paris quadrifolia and small and large-leaved lime trees.

A large number of Ash trees have been cut down after Ash dieback disease has hit here.

The gorge towering overhead reminds me of a cartoon where Wile E Coyote throws a rock on an unsuspecting roadrunner.

We reach the bridge that leads over to Ilam Rock.

The limestone rock that forms parts of Dovedale is the fossilised remains of sea creatures that lived in a shallow, tropical lagoon about 350 million years ago. During the two ice ages, the limestone was cut into craggy shapes. Dovedale is famous for its numerous limestone rock formations. Ilam rock pictured here is one of the most spectacular, standing at about 25 metres high.

It's another mile and a quarter to Milldale, We stop for a rest on the bridge while Mel makes up her mind if she wants to turn back or crack on to Milldale.

Mel decides she'll walk on, so we walk on towards Milldale.

We now reach Dove Holes, that resemble cave mouths.

Dove Holes Caves are in the valley of Dovedale in the Peak District of England. The valley was carved by the two Ice Ages and subsequently the River Dove; and stretches for just over 5 km (3 mi). These dry caves were once used by hunters as shelters around 13,000 BCE and later, (4,500 years ago) as tombs by Neolithic farmers.

The caves lie beside a bend in the river Dove near Nab Dale in what is part of the Dovedale National Nature Reserve, designated in 2006 because of its diverse plant life and natural rock formations. Their oval forms were probably created by swirling meltwaters when massive glaciers filled the valley.

Dove Holes Caves are very accessible to walkers passing by on the path alongside the River Dove. The larger cave has a somewhat steep rocky entrance; the smaller is somewhat shallower. However, though they are impressive to look at, they are quite shallow with no deep passages leading off to explore.

We walk on following the River Dove towards Milldale.

It seems a lot longer than I remember. I just want Milldale to appear as I feel for Mel as this is a bog walk for her.

Eventually Milldale appears and we walk across the Viator Bridge and to the shelter.

The ancient, narrow packhorse bridge at Milldale originally had no side walls so that horses with panniers could cross the bridge without being impeded. Izaak Walton, who refers to himself as "Viator", which is Latin for "traveller", wrote about it in The Compleat Angler:

"What’s here, the sign of a bridge? Do you travel in wheelbarrows in this country? This bridge was made for nothing else – why a mouse can hardly go over it, tis not two fingers broad!"

From this the bridge acquired the name Viator's Bridge.

The bridge has been in use since the medieval period, for packhorses transporting silks and flax from nearby Wetton and Alstonefield. It is listed as an ancient monument.

Milldale is a village of stone cottages at the northern end of Dovedale and the main access point to the dale from the north. A corn mill existed until the mid-19th century, its stables are now used as an information hut by the National Trust.