Rivers around Ashbourne

The area around Ashbourne offers some of the finest rivers in England.

The River Dove

The River Dove is undeniably one of the most picturesque of English Rivers. The River Dove, Derbyshire is the principal river of the south-western Peak District, in the East Midlands. It rises on Axe Edge Moor near Buxton and flows generally south to its confluence with the River Trent at Newton Solney. For most of its way it forms the boundary between the counties of Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

From Hartington to its confluence with the River Manifold at Ilam the river flows through a scenic limestone valley, usually known simply as Dovedale. However, from Hartington south to Ilam, a distance of 8 miles, the dales are more properly named:

  • Beresford Dale
  • Wolfscote Dale
  • Mill Dale
  • Dove Dale

Good riverside paths make the whole route accessible to walkers.
For many years the Ashbourne-Buxton railway line ran within a few miles of the Dove, making the dale very accessible to walkers - the line closed in the mid 1960s, and converted into a walkers' & cycle path, the Tissington Trail.

Much of the dale is in the ownership of the National Trust, being part of their South Peak Estate. Dovedale itself was acquired in 1934, with successive properties being added until 1938, and Wolfscote Dale in 1948.

Dovedale was declared a National Nature Reserve on 14th October 2006.

The river is a famous trout stream. Charles Cotton's Fishing House, which was the inspiration for Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler, stands in the woods by the river near Hartington. It is also the focus of the annual cross-country running event, the Dovedale Dash.

At the Southern end of Dovedale stands Thorpe Cloud (942ft/287m at grid reference SK151510) an isolated limestone hill (a reef knoll) and a fine viewpoint north up the dale and south across the Midland plain. On the opposite bank is the higher but less isolated Bunster Hill (329m at grid reference SK141516) - this also apparently a reef knoll.
Dovedale was featured on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the Midlands.

Dovedale's other attractions include a series of stepping stones across the river, Lovers' Leap and Reynard's Cave.

The River Manifold

The River Manifold is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove (which also flows through the Peak District forming the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire).

The Manifold rises just south of Buxton near Axe Edge, at the northern edge of the White Peak of the Peak District National Park, known for its limestone beds. It continues for 12 miles before it joins the Dove. For part of its course, it runs underground, (except when in spate), from Wetton Mill to Ilam. During this section it is joined by its major tributary, the River Hamps.

Villages on the river include Longnor, Hulme End, Waterhouses (which is actually on the River Hamps), and Ilam.

Its name may come from Anglo-Saxon manig-fald = "many folds", referring to its meanders.