The next day we left a bit earlier (9.15) and drove to the nearby village of Ilam. We started by going past a memorial pillar erected by the then landowner to his wife.
We then moved on to the church to see a memorial where the children were supposed to be piously praying for their parents, whose effigies were on the grave in front of them. The youngest boy is depicted as having eyes open and a cheeky grin – probably realistic!
Also in the church was a fairly recent frieze, painted by the locals and depicting the history of the village from medieval times. It was amazing when one realised the artists were all amateurs. From the church we could see Ilam hall – now a youth hostel.
At some stage about half had been demolished before it was saved to be used for youth. There was a café there so many of us went to have a drink while others did an extra walk round the grounds of the hall. On the way back to the bus we passed the school and village houses which the landowner had built in – supposedly – alpine style.
We then took the minibus to nearby Alstonefield where we were shown a gravestone in the churchyard which is apparently the oldest identifiable one in the country. As you might be able to see, it is from April 11th 1518. Even more surprisingly it is the grave of a woman by herself – Ann Green. The name is over the top of the stone and has to be felt, not read.
We walked on from there, briefly stopping to look at a primitive Methodist chapel. We then stopped at Milldale, on the river Dove, to have lunch.
Most of the rest of the walk was then along the river Dove – and walking beside a river is always lovely in the sunshine. We passed several interesting features – the Dove holes, Ilam rock and Lion rock were some of them.
Part of the walk was in the shade – and we were grateful for those parts as it was hot by then.
We eventually reached the “famous” Dovedale stepping stones but didn’t go across them.
Our route was the away from the river and up to the hotel. It was probably only about half a mile but it felt longer – in the heat, exposed to the sun, uphill and at the end of the day!
After a break and shower it was time for dinner – followed by curling! No – no ice – the “stones” were on ball bearings. I was useless at it, but it was quite fun.
The following day was our free day, so after breakfast I wrote postcards and then tried to follow a route round Thorpe village. I totally failed to follow the route as usual, because I couldn’t find any of the landmarks.
I think I went passed the village pump at least twice before I saw it! Well, it isn’t that obvious….. I did find a post box for the postcards and saw the church but gave up in the end and went back to the hotel. I might have had a little sleep in the afternoon before going for the cream tea, put on because there were lots of people arriving that day.
After dinner in the evening, there were more fun quizzes before a reasonably early night.
To be continued…..