Dovedale National Nature Reserve

Dovedale has internationally important, ancient ash woodland, wildflowers, grasslands and river wildlife. Take a gentle walk along the picturesque River Dove, cross at the famous stepping stones, climb Thorpe Cloud or continue upriver to the limestone pinnacles, caves and reef-knolls. Managed by the National Trust, this was a favourite of Victorian visitors to the area and its popularity is no less diminished. A must-do for a family picnic.

A 40 minute drive from Buxton south down the A515 towards Ashbourne. Dovedale Car Park (with refreshment kiosk and public toilets) and National Trust Car Park at Ilam Park.

Find out more about visiting below. For a guided walk, download the Local Walks app and follow one of six Dovedale Walk routes.

Dovedale
Ashbourne
Derbyshire
DE6 2AY

For the love of Dovedale – a note from the National Trust

National Nature Reserves are open to the public, and we welcome our visitors to enjoy them freely whilst looking after this special place that you love to escape to. If you love Dovedale, please follow our guidance for a visit that is enjoyable but respectful of the landscape at the same time:

• BBQs, campfires, outdoor cooking equipment (stoves/free standing BBQs) are not allowed anywhere in the Peak District National Park as they are a severe health and safety risk to the landscape and to people. If you see a fire get to a safe place and dial 999 and give location details.
• ‘Wild camping‘ (anywhere outside of designated camp sites) is only allowed with landowner permission, and the majority of landowners in the Peak District do not allow this. There is no wild camping allowed on National Park Authority land or National Trust land. To avoid disappointment, we encourage anyone wanting to camp, to plan ahead and book in at a campsite. The Pitchup website which lists all the different campsites across the UK.
• Dogs must be kept on leads at all times when exploring any National Nature Reserve. This helps to protect the wildlife that lives there from disturbance and also is safest for you, your dog and other people exploring the area.
• Take your litter home. Issues of access, emptying and servicing make the provision of bins extremely costly and our charitable resources, as well as staff and volunteer time is very limited. We have some incredible staff and volunteers who are picking up litter each day across our different Peak District sites. You can help look after the places you love to visit, by taking all your litter home when bins aren’t available. This includes dog mess, tissues, wipes, nappies, shoes, picnic blankets etc. Fly-tipping is against the law and you can face hefty fines for doing so.
• Please keep to footpaths. It is safest for you and for nature that you stick to footpaths as you could easily disturb the home of animals that live in these areas, as well as delicate wildflowers, vegetation, insects and amphibians.

Thank you for being #peakdistrictproud and helping to look after the places we all love.