Waterhouses — Ashbourne
Watash two
Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Watash here.
Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Watash here.
By Malcolm Boura on 09 Feb 2022
Description
Outline.
For some unfathomable reason the Ashbourne start point is in the alleyway access to Sainsbury's! This route follows Watash 1 as far as Mapleton.
1. From the Ashbourne start point walk west across the Sainsbury's car park, cross Station Street into the leisure centre car park and turn right to join the Tissington Trail which starts with a tunnel. Follow it north for a km or so and then left over the ridge to Mapleton. Pronounced Map-ul-ton. It has a pub.
2. Follow the West side of the River Dove to Ilam. At Littlepark the path goes immediately to the west, uphill side, of the farm. Ilam has a Youth Hostel, National Trust Cafe, and toilets.
2 alternative. The iconic stepping stones and Thorpe Cloud are a little to the north of the main route but they make a pleasant lunch stop. Take the east bank of the River Dove and then up the valley side to Thorpe, optionally ascend Thorpe Cloud, and then down Lin Dale to the stepping stones. From there it is a short walk across the fields to Ilam. Adds about 1km + ascent of Thorpe Cloud.
3. From Ilam cross the park to the River Manifold (disappearing river, flows underground in summer), cross the river at the pedestrian bridge and then path to Rushley. No facilities.
4. Follow the delightful valley up to Calton, no facilities, to join route Watash 1. There are alternative routes both north and south of the valley but I have not walked them.
5. Rejoin Watash 1 for the walk into Waterhouses but see alternatives below.
14km. I have walked all of this suggested route, apart from the main road, at least once during the past two or three years.
This route suffers from the same problem at Watash 1, the stretch of A52 out of Waterhouses, 500m of which does not have a pavement. There are two alternatives. From Waterhouses:
1. Divert north on the Manifold Valley trail (tarmac) for a km or so and then turn right up to Calton. I have not walked the hillside path but on the map it looks well graded. Adds about a km.
2. Divert south via Huddale to Calton. There are a number of paths to choose from but I have not walked any of them. Adds 1 to 2km
Outline.
For some unfathomable reason the Ashbourne start point is in the alleyway access to Sainsbury's! This route follows Watash 1 as far as Mapleton.
1. From the Ashbourne start point walk west across the Sainsbury's car park, cross Station Street into the leisure centre car park and turn right to join the Tissington Trail which starts with a tunnel. Follow it north for a km or so and then left over the ridge to Mapleton. Pronounced Map-ul-ton. It has a pub.
2. Follow the West side of the River Dove to Ilam. At Littlepark the path goes immediately to the west, uphill side, of the farm. Ilam has a Youth Hostel, National Trust Cafe, and toilets.
2 alternative. The iconic stepping stones and Thorpe Cloud are a little to the north of the main route but they make a pleasant lunch stop. Take the east bank of the River Dove and then up the valley side to Thorpe, optionally ascend Thorpe Cloud, and then down Lin Dale to the stepping stones. From there it is a short walk across the fields to Ilam. Adds about 1km + ascent of Thorpe Cloud.
3. From Ilam cross the park to the River Manifold (disappearing river, flows underground in summer), cross the river at the pedestrian bridge and then path to Rushley. No facilities.
4. Follow the delightful valley up to Calton, no facilities, to join route Watash 1. There are alternative routes both north and south of the valley but I have not walked them.
5. Rejoin Watash 1 for the walk into Waterhouses but see alternatives below.
14km. I have walked all of this suggested route, apart from the main road, at least once during the past two or three years.
This route suffers from the same problem at Watash 1, the stretch of A52 out of Waterhouses, 500m of which does not have a pavement. There are two alternatives. From Waterhouses:
1. Divert north on the Manifold Valley trail (tarmac) for a km or so and then turn right up to Calton. I have not walked the hillside path but on the map it looks well graded. Adds about a km.
2. Divert south via Huddale to Calton. There are a number of paths to choose from but I have not walked any of them. Adds 1 to 2km
Status
This route has been reviewed by 2 people.
There are no issues flagged.
Photos for Watash two
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Information
Route status - Live
Reviews - 2
Average rating -
Is this route good enough? - Yes (2)
There are currently no problems reported with this route.
Downloads - 2
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Geography information system (GIS) data
Total length
Maximum elevation
Minimum elevation
Start and end points
Waterhouses
Grid Ref
SK0836250224
Lat / Lon
53.04923° / -1.87671°
Easting / Northing
408,362E / 350,224N
What3Words
digress.states.early
Ashbourne
Grid Ref
SK1806646458
Lat / Lon
53.01514° / -1.73216°
Easting / Northing
418,066E / 346,458N
What3Words
reefs.compacts.single
| Waterhouses | |
|---|---|
| Grid Ref | SK0836250224 |
| Lat / Lon | 53.04923° / -1.87671° |
| Easting / Northing | 408,362E / 350,224N |
| What3Words | digress.states.early |
| Ashbourne | |
|---|---|
| Grid Ref | SK1806646458 |
| Lat / Lon | 53.01514° / -1.73216° |
| Easting / Northing | 418,066E / 346,458N |
| What3Words | reefs.compacts.single |
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reviews
Ken
26 Jun 2023I was tempted to devise an alternative to Watash but then looking at Watash-2 decided to give it a go with a minor variation at Waterhouses. A mix of path but this is a country walk and there could be cattle and stiles. Services half way at Ilam but it needs a detour. A most enjoyable walk.
Starting from Waterhouses the pavement ends where the minor road forks right so I took this road and then an ORPA (Other Route with Public Access) back to the main road this reduced the busy road section to just 500ft or 150M there is a narrow verge to step onto. The crossing to the road left on the bend needs additional care but is doable solo, a group may struggle.
It's a good climb to Calton along a quiet road, no services in the village for walkers but a village hall and church for the locals. The linking path to the back road is interesting looking like a private drive. Onto the footpath and it's a field approach to the distant path descending the dry dale to the hamlet of Rushley. The path is a little overgrown in places but that is summer growth under the canopy of trees.
The path from Rushley is popular and quickly leads to Ilam Park which we cut across so miss any services on offer except for an ice cream van parked near the memorial. We now follow the Manifold Trail alongside the river to Coldwall Bridge which served a Turnpike road that has not morphed into a modern road.
From the bridge it's a mix of tracks and pasture so cattle are present. The path around Little Park may not be as the map or plot but not far off. We finally meet the road at Okeover Mill before crossing the Manifold to enter Derbyshire. The plotted path through the pub yard is no longer but there is a gate at the top of the churchyard.
Another climb then past the caravan and camping site before a drop down to the Tissington Trail for an easy finish via the tunnel into Ashbourne.
Malcolm Boura
13 Mar 2023I created the route and have walked all of it apart from the main road and lane to Calton which I have driven, over the past couple of years.
The main road out of Waterhouses is unpleasant and could be dangerous. There are two alternatives. North up Manifold Trail (level tarmac) and then up the footpath (well graded old track) to Calton. Adds 1.4km, no ascent, and few stiles. The other is south over Milk Hill which adds 1.3km, 28m ascent and a lot more stiles.
There are three alternatives between Calton and Rushley, the valley taken by the route and the paths to the N and S of the valley. All are a good walk apart from a short muddy section in winter on the southern alternative. It is a choice between views, S alternative is better than N, and a delightful valley.
I will add photos to the survey that I am about to complete.
I didn't give it 5 stars because of the main road section.
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Malcolm Boura
25 Aug 2023I have now explored more of the paths between Waterhouses and Calton. In paragraph 2 of this review Ken turned right onto a minor road and then took an ORPA. Continuing further up that lane the white road through Broadhurst reaches the A523 at an easy crossing point and directly opposite a path to Calton. Ken's route via ORPA adds 360m and 11m of ascent. Via Broadhurst adds 700m and 18m of ascent.
The path over Milk Hill has fine views but adds 1000m of distance and 45m of ascent.
The alternative route north on the Manifold Way and then a sharp right turn to climb the valley side to Calton adds 890m of distance and 19m of ascent. This is my preferred route.
Malcolm Boura
25 Aug 2023Oops. I have just redone the distances for the northern alternative and got 1.2km extra distance.
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