Paradise Walk
The River Manifold boils back up from underground between the stones, a striking sight even in this limestone country.
AndyScott — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Robert Powell — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Robert Powell — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Beep boop beep — CC BY-SA 4.0
A river vanishes underground and then wells back up between the stones: that is the sight along Paradise Walk at Ilam Park, where the River Manifold resurfaces after miles hidden beneath the limestone. This National Trust country park of roughly 158 acres straddles both banks of the river at the southern edge of the Peak District, about 8 km by road north-west of Ashbourne, on the Staffordshire side of the Dove. At its centre stands Ilam Hall, a Gothic Revival mansion built between 1821 and 1826 for Jesse Watts-Russell, mostly pulled down in the 1930s, and a youth hostel since 1935 that you cannot tour. So come not for the house but for what surrounds it: the terraces and the Italian Garden, and next door the Grade I church of the Holy Cross, with its shrine of St Bertram, where medieval pilgrims pushed ailing limbs through the openings hoping for a cure, and the marble Chantrey memorial finished in 1831. Watts-Russell also rebuilt the village in Alpine style, which makes it one of the odder sights in the English countryside. Entry to the park is free; you only pay for the car park if you are not a National Trust member, £6 for up to four hours and £8 beyond that. The tea-room occupies the old stable block, and there are toilets, baby changing and plenty of lawn for family picnics. Paths near the hall are firm and pushchair-friendly, but the riverside walk has steps and turns muddy after rain, so bring proper shoes. The practical point for anyone planning a day: Ilam is the quieter gateway to Dovedale and its famous stepping stones, about 2 km on foot towards Thorpe Cloud, and its car park is roomier and calmer than the Dovedale one on summer weekends. By car it is about 40 minutes from Bakewell in the heart of the Peak District and an hour to an hour and a half from Manchester, Nottingham or Sheffield; there is no practical public transport. The tea-room usually runs 10:00 to 16:00, and winter daylight is short, but the grounds themselves stay open all year from dawn to dusk.
The River Manifold boils back up from underground between the stones, a striking sight even in this limestone country.
St Bertram's medieval shrine and the marble Chantrey memorial, steps from the hall and free to enter.
About 2 km on foot to the famous stepping stones, from a car park calmer than Dovedale's own in summer.
Ilam, Ashbourne DE6 2AZ
Both car parks charge the same (£6 up to four hours, £8 for longer, free for members), so the difference is crowding, not cost. With small children or little time, Dovedale is closer, with the stones about 1 km away. But on summer weekends it fills early and cars queue on the lane, and then Ilam is far more relaxed: a 2 km walk through lovely scenery, with a tea-room and toilets at the start.
No. The hall has been a youth hostel since 1935 and is not open to visitors; what is open to the public is the tea-room in the stable block. The pleasure here is the gardens, the river and the church, not the house.