Ashbourne, 19th March 2015

This walk, 10 miles long and involving about 400m of ups and downs, explored the Dove Valley and its tributaries south west of Ashbourne, just outside the Peak District National Park.

Starting at the car park at the bottom of the Tissington Trail, we walked down to the Derbyshire/Staffordshire boundary, crossing the River Dove over the Hanging Bridge to Mayfield.  Mayfield was originally a Saxon Village and is mentioned in the Domesday book, however the Hanging Bridge got its name in 1745 when some of Bonnie Prince Charlie's men upset the locals with serious consequences (for the former).

The village has many old and interesting buildings:

Rock House - a dwelling carved out of the local sandstone

Mayfield Hall (see 45 on map below) - beneath the Hall are cellars and passages reputedly dating from 1157

Brook Farm (46), a late Elizabethan stone built residence now three self-contained holiday cottages - yours for only £795k

Holme Farm (44), the oldest house in the Mayfield hamlets, dating from 1440

Old Hall Farm (51) dates from 1620

 From Mayfield we followed the heavily wooded valley of Ordley Brook ...

... to Swinscoe for lunch before crossing the A52 towards Okeover Park and the Hall, the family seat of the Okeover family who have been in residence since the reign of William Rufus.

Ancient oaks in Okeover Park

Then past the Okeover Corn Mill  ...

... and back over the Dove to Mapleton,  Then a short climb took us to the Tissington Trail and back to the car park