Ilam Park to Dovedale Stepping Stones Trail

Ilam Park to Dovedale Stepping Stones is a 1.5-mile, one-way walk from Ilam Park into Dovedale. It passes Ilam Church and the estate village, crosses fields below Bunster Hill, and finishes at the River Dove’s famous stones beneath Thorpe Cloud. The listed walk takes about 40 minutes one way; most visitors return by the same path, so plan for 3 miles and roughly 1.5 to 2 hours with a pause. Choose it if you want the village and countryside approach as well as the stones. It isn’t a loop.

Leave Ilam Hall on the surfaced path by Ilam Church. Two Saxon cross shafts in the churchyard are about 1,000 years old. The unusual alpine-style cottages in Ilam village date from the 1830s. Continue on pavement, cross the road, then climb steps to a stone track along Bunster Hill. The path reaches fields with more gates and grazing sheep and cattle. At the first gate, the direct route crosses the fields. An alternative turns left beside a dry-stone wall, avoids cattle and takes about 10 minutes longer; choose it with a dog.

The route descends to the surfaced path by Dovedale car park, then follows a track into the valley with the River Dove on your right and Thorpe Cloud above it. The stepping stones were set in place in the mid-19th century; look for fossils in their surfaces. They are the end of this route. After heavy rain, the river can cover the stones and make them impassable. For a photo, include the line of stones in front of the river and limestone slopes behind them.

Start at Ilam Park car park by the hall. It is open dawn to dusk and overnight parking is not permitted. Toilets are at Ilam Park; the Stableyard has seasonal grab-and-go treats. Car parks at Ilam and Dovedale can fill by 9 a.m. on weekends and school or bank holidays. This isn’t a pushchair walk: expect steps, uneven slopes and fields that can turn muddy or slippery after rain. The path passes below unstable scree, so stay on the path. Dogs must be on leads around grazing animals and in Dovedale National Nature Reserve. If you only want the stones, the separate Access for All path from Dovedale Car Park is 640 m each way on a surfaced route without steps or steep gradients; it starts farther up the valley.