| Date: | 15th. July 2015 | |
| County: | DERBYSHIRE (some STAFFORDSHIRE, ending in S. YORKSHIRE) | |
| Location: | Peak District National Park | |
| Viewed by: | DRIVE (with Walks) | |
| Season: | Summer | |
| Camera: | Panasonic DMC-FZ150 Bridge Camera (RAW) |
| Type: | Scenic Areas | ||
| Sub-Type: | Tors, Moors, Cliffs, Rivers, Lakes | ||
| Roads: | Winding roads, many narrow but not single track | ||
| Distance: | |||
| Car Parks: | See linked articles | ||
| Weather: | Mostly sunny. Good light. | ||
| Time Of Day: | Lunchtime to Evening | ||
| Drive Rating: | ••••• |
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People in Manchester and Sheffield will, no doubt, be appalled to know that 2015 marked our first visit to the Peak District - which straddles parts of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire and South Yorkshire.
About 20 million people live within an hour of the borders of the park, and we found that the western edge of Sheffield is only 2km from the park and 4km from some of the most spectacular views and extensive moorland we found there. For someone who has spent most of his life in the South and who associated Sheffield with steel and industry, this was a real eye-opener and I humbly apologise to South Yorkshire people for the one-eyed perception. Sadly it's still a 3 - 4 hour drive for us to get there...
It's said that more than 10 million people visit the National Park each year, although we're told that it is NOT the second-most visited national park in the world after Mount Fuji, as is often stated on the internet!
We spent two days in the area, on our way to visit friends in Yorkshire - but it was clear that we barely scratched the surface of the many scenic attractions in the Park. Those we did see have certainly whetted our appetite for future trips!
Because we were Peak newbies, our first forey into the National Park was based on two scenic drives, with a few places earmarked for short stops and walks. This is the first of those scenic drives and is based on a "drive-through" of the park from south to north-east which may not suit everyone. However, we have documented the route - and rated it - section by section, so anyone unfamiliar with the area can cut and splice the pieces they like best, to make their own route.
As with most of our major National Parks, it should not be assumed that as soon as you cross the designated border you will be in a wild landscape of heath, tors and tarns.
Much of the National Park consists of arable and livestock farming that is quite similar to farms in other parts of England. The more iconic Peak District landscapes that are familiar from photographs in the BBC weather forecast seem, from our limited experience, to be more in the north.
Our second drive was a loop to and from the Sheffield area, where there seemed to be a better choice of good value hotels than in the park itself or on the Buxton and Manchester side. This was clearly the more interesting of the two, although there are clearly hills and dales that are well worth visiting all over the park.
In actuality we started our first drive from our home in Wiltshire, with the satnav set to start in the Peak District at the National Trust's Ilam estate, although it's pointless to show the route up the M5 and M6 (other than to say hat they can easily become choked by accidents or repairs, so leave more time than the satnav gives you "for safety.").
Fortuitously, however, the satnav brought us into Ilam via the scenic route of Ilam Moor Lane. This was a pretty entry to the area, with nice views across the hills straddling what southerners would call "The Dove Valley" - more succinctly called "Dovedale" here - although it exudes the air of Wordsworthian beauty by any name. (Shakespeare's description of the rose springs to mind...)
If our documented tour from Ilam, then some people might miss these views by journeying to that village via the lower road from Ashbourne and Thorpe, which isn't as pretty (although Thorpe has an interesting church with a squat Norman - or possibly pre-Norman - tower. To keep you on the more scenic route, therefore, the starting point we are listing for this drive is Blore Hall - in the tiny hamlet of Blore.
Today's Blore Hall is a kind of private holiday retreat, but it was once the seat of the Bassett family. William Basset was the last of the male line and is commemorated by a fine alabaster statue erected the parish church in 1630. But the female line continued and the Bassets are distant ancestors of Her Majesty the Queen via Elizabeth, her mother.
The road passes through pleasant stone-walled sheep paddocks, before opening out on the right to afford a pleasant vista over green fields towards Dovedale. This was our first photo-stop.
It then crosses a cattle-grid and the River Manifold to arrive at the Ilam Village war memorial and the gate for Ilam Hall, which we have featured (including parking) in a separate article.
Although Ilam Hall and its gardens are certainly pleasant, it wasn't actually what I'd expected. I'd seen photographs of stepping stones crossing the river in Dovedale and wrongly assumed that these were in the river that runs through the grounds of Ilam Hall. In fact, it's the River Manifold that's found at Ilam. To get to the Dovedale river walk, you need to turn right towards Thorpe after crossing the Manifold Bridge, then take the next left (after about 600m) to get to a (Pay-on-entry) Car Park at the end of a cul-de-sac and make the walk to Milldale from there. Although we did not find it, this is the walk we intended(!) so it's it's also documented in the Ilam Hall and Dovedale article.
About 20 million people live within an hour of the borders of the park, and we found that the western edge of Sheffield is only 2km from the park and 4km from some of the most spectacular views and extensive moorland we found there. For someone who has spent most of his life in the South and who associated Sheffield with steel and industry, this was a real eye-opener and I humbly apologise to South Yorkshire people for the one-eyed perception. Sadly it's still a 3 - 4 hour drive for us to get there...
It's said that more than 10 million people visit the National Park each year, although we're told that it is NOT the second-most visited national park in the world after Mount Fuji, as is often stated on the internet!
We spent two days in the area, on our way to visit friends in Yorkshire - but it was clear that we barely scratched the surface of the many scenic attractions in the Park. Those we did see have certainly whetted our appetite for future trips!
Because we were Peak newbies, our first forey into the National Park was based on two scenic drives, with a few places earmarked for short stops and walks. This is the first of those scenic drives and is based on a "drive-through" of the park from south to north-east which may not suit everyone. However, we have documented the route - and rated it - section by section, so anyone unfamiliar with the area can cut and splice the pieces they like best, to make their own route.
As with most of our major National Parks, it should not be assumed that as soon as you cross the designated border you will be in a wild landscape of heath, tors and tarns.
Much of the National Park consists of arable and livestock farming that is quite similar to farms in other parts of England. The more iconic Peak District landscapes that are familiar from photographs in the BBC weather forecast seem, from our limited experience, to be more in the north.
Our second drive was a loop to and from the Sheffield area, where there seemed to be a better choice of good value hotels than in the park itself or on the Buxton and Manchester side. This was clearly the more interesting of the two, although there are clearly hills and dales that are well worth visiting all over the park.
In actuality we started our first drive from our home in Wiltshire, with the satnav set to start in the Peak District at the National Trust's Ilam estate, although it's pointless to show the route up the M5 and M6 (other than to say hat they can easily become choked by accidents or repairs, so leave more time than the satnav gives you "for safety.").
Fortuitously, however, the satnav brought us into Ilam via the scenic route of Ilam Moor Lane. This was a pretty entry to the area, with nice views across the hills straddling what southerners would call "The Dove Valley" - more succinctly called "Dovedale" here - although it exudes the air of Wordsworthian beauty by any name. (Shakespeare's description of the rose springs to mind...)
If our documented tour from Ilam, then some people might miss these views by journeying to that village via the lower road from Ashbourne and Thorpe, which isn't as pretty (although Thorpe has an interesting church with a squat Norman - or possibly pre-Norman - tower. To keep you on the more scenic route, therefore, the starting point we are listing for this drive is Blore Hall - in the tiny hamlet of Blore.
Today's Blore Hall is a kind of private holiday retreat, but it was once the seat of the Bassett family. William Basset was the last of the male line and is commemorated by a fine alabaster statue erected the parish church in 1630. But the female line continued and the Bassets are distant ancestors of Her Majesty the Queen via Elizabeth, her mother.
Route Section 1:
The selection of Blore as a starting point is an arbitrary one, just to get satnavs oriented correctly, so there's no need to go into the Hall precincts themselves. Just navigate towards DE6 2BS and start the drive by the pond outside the gate entrance. Then reset your satnav to the postcode of Ilam Hall [DE6 2AZ] to start the first section of the tour. (Despite the postcodes we are actually in Staffordshire here. Derbyshire begins the other side of the River Dove.)| Type: | Scenic Area | ||
| Sub-Type: | Tors, Rivers/td> | ||
| Roads: | Winding roads, many narrow but not single track | ||
| Distance: | 2Km | ||
| Car Parks: | Good choice. See article(s). | ||
| Weather: | Mostly sunny. Good light. | ||
| Time Of Day: | Lunchtime to Early Afternoon | ||
| Drive Rating: | ••••• |
The road passes through pleasant stone-walled sheep paddocks, before opening out on the right to afford a pleasant vista over green fields towards Dovedale. This was our first photo-stop.
It then crosses a cattle-grid and the River Manifold to arrive at the Ilam Village war memorial and the gate for Ilam Hall, which we have featured (including parking) in a separate article.
Although Ilam Hall and its gardens are certainly pleasant, it wasn't actually what I'd expected. I'd seen photographs of stepping stones crossing the river in Dovedale and wrongly assumed that these were in the river that runs through the grounds of Ilam Hall. In fact, it's the River Manifold that's found at Ilam. To get to the Dovedale river walk, you need to turn right towards Thorpe after crossing the Manifold Bridge, then take the next left (after about 600m) to get to a (Pay-on-entry) Car Park at the end of a cul-de-sac and make the walk to Milldale from there. Although we did not find it, this is the walk we intended(!) so it's it's also documented in the Ilam Hall and Dovedale article.
Route Section 2:
| Type: | Scenic Area | ||
| Sub-Type: | Tors, Rivers/td> | ||
| Roads: | Winding roads, many narrow but not single track | ||
| Distance: | 2Km | ||
| Car Parks: | Good choice. See article(s). | ||
| Weather: | Mostly sunny. Good light. | ||
| Time Of Day: | Lunchtime to Early Afternoon | ||
| Drive Rating: | ••••• |
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