ILAM COUNTRY PARK VISITOR
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Location: Between the A515 Ashbourne to Buxton Road and the A52 Ashbourne to Stoke-on-Trent Road (SK134508).
Visit: Dovedale stretches along the valley that runs from the tiny hamlet of Milldale, down to the large car park close to the road linking Ilam and Thorpe. In some places, the water has eroded the limestone into spectacular rock formations. Examples of which are the Lion’s Head and the natural archway in front of Reynard’s Cave. The valley is a walker’s paradise, providing both easy walks for the casual walker as well as more strenuous hikes for the more experienced practitioner, with its steep-sided limestone sides and tree-covered slopes. The stepping-stones across the Dove at the southern end must have appeared on more calendars and gift boxes of all shapes and sizes than any other countryside scene in England. The stones are quite stable, and people of all ages love to cross them, with queues often forming at busy times.
Refreshments: Ilam Hall National Trust Tea Rooms provides good food and excellent views of the Italian Gardens and beyond, whether inside or in the garden. The Izaak Walton Hotel is named after the famous author of ‘The Compleat Angler’ and has outstanding views from the gardens. Check if it is open before visiting. Try the car park at Blore Pasture for a picnic, where there are picnic tables and fabulous views.
Ashbourne: The historic market town of Ashbourne lies in the valley of Henmore Brook and on the edge of the Peak District National Park. Its location has led to it being frequently called the ‘Gateway to Dovedale and the Peak District’. With its many fine buildings and busy shops, it is a town to stop and explore and enjoy the numerous surprises in its ancient streets, a cobbled marketplace, hidden alleys and yards. Conservation Area status has protected most of the town since 1968. St Oswald’s Church, situated on the edge of the town, is one of the most admired landmarks in the county. Its graceful spire, which rises to 212 feet, attracts many visitors. The Old Grammar School was founded in 1585 by the Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth. Four hundred years later, another Queen Elizabeth, the Second, visited Ashbourne to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the school. It is no longer a school. The pavement cobbles outside the Old Grammar School came from the River Dove and are scheduled as an ancient monument.
ILAM PARK
Explore the 158-acre Ilam Country Park, managed by the National Trust, which lies on the banks of the River Manifold, surrounded by beautiful countryside. Enjoy a stroll along Paradise Walk, originally planted as a pleasure ground for the hall.
Alpine-style cottages, a Tudor Gothic Hall, an eccentric river and a wonderful background of soft green hills make Ilam a very popular place with visitors. Many of whom come to walk in Ilam Hall’s beautiful parkland, which is free for all to walk around, along the aptly named Paradise Walk by the River Manifold.
Paradise Walk is fringed by woodland, planted as a pleasure ground for the hall, and is a favourite with visitors. An ancient semi-natural woodland, Hinkley Wood, lies on the southern side of the River Manifold. Designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, noted for its small-leaved and large-leaved limes and their hybrids. The park possesses well-maintained trails, ideal for walking and hiking. A recently completed project to create a 1km circular route at Ilam Park, making the historic and picturesque site more accessible for everyone.
It was here that Jesse Watts-Russell, a wealthy industrialist, had a rather grand hall built. It had battlemented towers, ornamental chimneys and a flag tower. The architect, who designed the hall, was also engaged in the building of Alton Towers, and there were some similarities between the two.
Following Watts-Russell’s death, the hall was in the hands of the Hanbury family for a time before being tried unsuccessfully as a restaurant, then sold, and partly demolished. In 1934, Sir Robert MacDougal decided to buy it for the nation and give it to the Youth Hostels Association ‘for the perpetual use of the youth of the world’. As the YHA did not have a trust body, it gave the building to the National Trust. What remains today are the old entrance hall, armoury and servants’ quarters, now converted into a Youth Hostel. There are tea rooms, a shop, information facilities and a car park available for visitors.
A short distance from the YHA is St Bertram’s Bridge, which carried the old road across the River Manifold before the present bridge existed. Bertram, who had connections with the Royal family of Mercia, was returning from Ireland with his wife and newborn child. He left them briefly, only to find on his return that wolves had savaged them both. At once, he denounced his heritage and spent the rest of his life as a hermit preaching the gospel.
In the church of the Holy Cross, the chapel of St Bertram contains a shrine that became a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages and the scene of many miraculous cures. The Chantrey Chapel holds a finely carved memorial to David Pike Watts, a former owner of the estate, whose daughter married Jesse Watts-Russell.
