The
portion of its course chiefly associated with the name begins half a
mile from the village of Thorpe, which may be reached from Ashbourne,
the nearest station, by coach. From Thorpe the river is approached by a
stony declivity on the east of Thorpe Cloud.
The footpath is throughout on the Derbyshire side of the stream, and may
be reached from the Staffordshire side either by crossing the narrow
bridge or some stepping-stones at Thorpe Cloud. For some distance after
entering the valley the footpath follows the margin of the river, whose
banks are a mass of magnificent foliage, intermixed with a tangle of
brambles, honeysuckle, and wild roses. On the Staffordshire bank, a
little further up, the foliage suddenly changes to a mass of sheer
cliff, changing again to a mass of rifted rocks, divided into curious
turret-like terminations. This striking formation is known as Dovedale
Church, and is accompanied on the Derbyshire side by a number of rocks
which appear from below to terminate in sharp pinnacles, and have been
named "Tissington Spires," from the village close by. About 200 yards
beyond the "Church," on the Derbyshire bank, is the entrance to
Reynard's Cave, a huge cavern with an entrance 40 feet high by 20 wide,
from which the view over the dale is superb.
Throughout its whole length of nearly 3 miles the Dovedale scenery is
the extraordinary mixture of ruggedness and soft beauty, which makes it
unequalled, in its particular style, in the kingdom.
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