Dovedale & The Peak District: Visiting from Derby

The Peak District has so much to offer visitors with rolling hills, beautiful villages and crystal blue waterways. One of the easiest places to get to from Derby is Dovedale (pictured above). Here, you’ll find an attractive valley carved by the River Dove along with the infamous stepping stones from one side to the other. This site is managed by the National Trust who have a never ending battle to keep it safe and clean, but a visit here is a must if you love the countryside. Parking is available in a dedicated (but busy) car park which is well signed. Use the postcode DE6 2AZ to get there. After crossing the stepping stones you can either continue your walk up the valley, or climb Thorpe Cloud, the limestone hill next to the stones. Although steep in places, the climb is easy to do, even with children and after 20 or 30 minutes you’ll be at the top. The views up here are worth every step and will make you feel like you have climbed a mountain!

The great thing about the Peak District is it’s so diverse. Yes, there’s loads of unspoilt rolling countryside, divided by dry stone walls and waterways, but there are also thriving towns and villages to enjoy along with large attractions like Chatsworth House. If you’re looking for picture-perfect villages, call into Tissington, not far from Ashbourne. This is an estate village managed by Lord Fitzherbert and encourages visitors. It has a café and you can pay to tour the house. You can also access the Tissington Trail here which is a former railway line turned into a walking and cycle route.

There are a number of these walking trails to enjoy in the Peak District. The High Peak Trail is another former railway line which is now a busy cycle and walkway. It covers 17 miles from Cromford to Buxton. Our favourite of these trails though is the Monsal Trail which starts in Bakewell and covers 8.5 miles to Chee Dale. The highlight of this route is the Monsal Head viaduct (pictured above) and a series of winding railway tunnels. The countryside around is truly spectacular and there are refreshment points at some of the former stations. You can also go abseiling from Bridge 75! The Peak District also includes sections of nationally important walking routes like the Pennine Way.

The best Peak District towns to visit are Bakewell (pictured above), Hathersage, Matlock and Buxton. Ashbourne describes itself as the gateway to the Peak District and has a good range of independent shops and antique stores too. There are Peak District Visitor Centres in Edale, Bakewell, Castleton and Upper Derwent (Hope Valley). These can advise on further activities/attractions in the Peak District including climbing and walking at locations like Stanage Edge and The Roaches. We’d also recommend visiting the series of Derbyshire reservoirs which supply water to many of the surrounding cities – Ladybower, Derwent and Howden. Derwent Dam (pictured below) was used by the ‘Dambusters’ 617 squadron during WW2 to practice low level flying over ready for releasing the ‘bouncing bombs’ in Germany.

The reservoirs were created by flooding parts of the Derwent valley and a number of villages were lost in the process. At times of low water level, parts of the old village of Derwent are visible in Derwent Reservoir.

LOCATION & MAP

The map below shows the location of Dovedale’s historic Stepping Stones pictured at the top of this page, but you can move it around to see the huge area that the Peak District covers. Accommodation is also marked on this map.