Ilam, Staffordshire

Ilam Park is a 158-acre (0.64 km2) country park situated in Ilam, on both banks of the River Manifold five miles (8 km) north west of Ashbourne, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust. The property is managed as part of the Trust's White Peak Estate. (Ashbourne, the 'post town', is in Derbyshire and thus so is Ilam's postal address, but the Park, and Ilam, are in Staffordshire the county boundary being the River Dove). The property consists of Ilam Hall and remnants of its gardens, an ancient semi-natural woodland — Hinkley Wood — designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), noted for its small-leaved and large-leaved limes and their hybrids.

The White Peak Estate (previously known as the South Peak Estate) of the National Trust comprises several land holdings in the Southern Peak District, now referred to as Ilam Park, Dovedale and the White Peak in National Trust publications although administered from the "White Peak Estate Office". The holdings, totaling some 3,600 acres (1,500 ha), are managed from the estate office in Ilam and comprise: Ilam Park, including Ilam Hall which is let to the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) Dovedale from Thorpe Cloud to Wolfscote Dale and Biggin Dale Wetton Hill and Wetton Mill Ossam's Hill Hamps Valley Woodlands (and Beeston Tor) Grindon Moor Ecton Land at Monyash Alsop Moor Stanton Moor Edge Ravenstor YHA Taddington Wood High Weeldon Winster Market House (the National Trust's first property in the Peak District, 1906)Dovedale itself was acquired in 1934, and a string of acquisitions followed until 1938; Wolfscote Dale was acquired in 1948.

Blore with Swinscoe is a civil parish north-west of Ashbourne, in the Staffordshire Moorlands district of Staffordshire, England, on the edge of the Peak District National Park. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 123, apparently declining to less than 100 according to the 2011 census. The parish includes Blore and Swinscoe.

The River Manifold is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove (which also flows through the Peak District, forming the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire). The Manifold rises at Flash Head just south of Buxton near Axe Edge, at the northern edge of the White Peak, known for its limestone beds. It continues for 12 miles (19 km) before it joins the Dove. For part of its course, it runs underground (except when in spate), from Wetton Mill to Ilam. During this section it is joined by its major tributary, the River Hamps. Villages on the river include Longnor, Hulme End and Ilam. Its name may come from Anglo-Saxon manig-fald = "many folds", referring to its meanders.

Blore (grid reference SK137493) is a small village and parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands District of England. It is on an acclivity above Dovedale, three and a half miles north west of Ashbourne, including the hamlet of Swinscoe, one mile (1.6 km) to the south and a part of the parochial chapelry of Calton. The ecclesiastical parish is Blore Ray with Okeover and the civil parish is Blore-with-Swinscoe, both with slightly different boundaries. Blore parish, exclusive of the portion of Calton, contains about 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) and 273 souls. Swinscoe contains about 1,000 acres (4.0 km2). The village of Blore comprises Blore Hall (now owned by the Holiday Property Bond), St Bartholomew's parish church, the Old Rectory, a few other houses and several farms. The hall was first mentioned in 1331, though only one building remains substantially unaltered since 1661. The Holiday Property Bond is a life assurance bond investment in securities and assets. Its 35,000 Bondholders have exclusive access to Blore Hall. Blore Hall was the home of the Bassett family, (from whom the Queen is descended) ; William Bassett, the last of the male line, died in 1601 and his magnificent alabaster tomb, erected by his wife about 1630, can be seen in the church. Blore Church was built around 1100 and is a Grade 1 listed building. Apart from the Bassett tomb, it has remained virtually unchanged for almost 400 years. It was extensively restored between 1994 and 1997.

Thorpe Cloud is an isolated limestone hill (a reef knoll) lying between the villages of Thorpe and Ilam on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border at the southern end of Dovedale. It is a popular hill amongst the many day-trippers who visit the area, and provides a fine viewpoint north up the dale and south across the Midland plain. Like much of the dale, including Bunster Hill on the opposite bank, it is in the ownership of the National Trust, and is part of their South Peak Estate. These Dovedale properties were acquired by the Trust in 1934. A double sunset can sometimes be seen against Thorpe Cloud from the top of nearby Lin Dale, as captured on film by the photographer Chris Doherty. The occurrence is visible in good weather on and around the summer solstice and perhaps beyond, when the sun sets on the summit of the hill, partially reappears from its steep northern slope and sets for a second and final time shortly afterwards.Thorpe Cloud and Dovedale were used as locations in the 2010 film of Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe. Thorpe Cloud can be clearly made out in several scenes towards the end of the film. Thorpe Cloud also has a rifle range which local and national shooting clubs use.

Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove and runs for just over 3 miles (5 km) between Milldale in the north and a wooded ravine, near Thorpe Cloud and Bunster Hill, in the south. In the wooded ravine, a set of stepping stones cross the river and there are two caves known as the Dove Holes. Dovedale's other attractions include rock pillars such as Ilam Rock, Viator's Bridge and the limestone features Lovers' Leap and Reynard's Cave.

Swinscoe is a small hamlet within the Staffordshire Moorlands in Staffordshire, England. Administratively, the hamlet is part of the civil parish of Blore with Swinscoe.

Thorpe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire; it is on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border, on the east bank of the River Dove, about four miles north of Ashbourne. The population of the civil parish as at the 2011 census was 183.Thorpe is at the southern end of the Peak District National Park almost at the foot of Thorpe Cloud, and is used by some visitors as a base for exploring Dovedale and the Manifold Valley. The Limestone Way long-distance bridleway passes through Thorpe, as does the Peak District Boundary Walk.The Dovedale Dash, a 4¾ mile cross-country running race held annually each November, was first organised here in 1953. It formerly had a railway station, Thorpe Cloud railway station, served by the LNWR Ashbourne to Buxton branch line, which linked with the Cromford and High Peak Railway at Parsley Hay. This former trackbed now forms the long distance Tissington Trail cycle and footpath trail.

Castern Wood is a nature reserve of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. It is an ancient woodland, with scrub and grassland, on the eastern slopes of the Manifold Valley, about 1 mile south of Wetton, in Staffordshire, England. The reserve is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation.

Long Low is a Neolithic and Bronze Age site in the English county of Staffordshire. It is about 2 km SE of Wetton (grid reference SK122539).It consists of two round cairns linked by a connecting bank – an unusual layout and one that is unique in England. The northern cairn measures 23 metres (75 ft) in diameter and survives to a height of 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in). It appears to be related to other chamber tombs of the Peak District group and was excavated by Samuel Carrington in 1849. Carrington found a burial chamber built from limestone orthostats with a paved floor. The bones of thirteen individuals were recovered as well as three leaf-shaped flint arrowheads. The smaller southern cairn is 15 metres (49 ft) across and survives to 1.2 metres (3 ft 11 in) in height following extensive modern damage. It contained evidence of a cremation burial. Further cremations were found in the connecting bank which was built from a parallel row of limestone orthostats and is around 200 metres (660 ft) long, 10 metres (33 ft) wide and 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) high. It is now topped by a modern dry stone wall. Because of the damage to the site, its rarity and the antiquity of the Carrington excavation it is unclear as to the precise nature of the monument. It is possible that the bank is a bank barrow which had a later Neolithic chambered cairn (the north cairn) built on one end and then a Bronze Age round barrow finally added at the southern end.

Stanton is a small village situated at the eastern end of the Weaver Hills, Staffordshire, England. Stanton is located 146 miles (235.0 km) north-west of London and 18.4 miles (29.6 km) east of Stoke-on-Trent. It has a population of 232 according to the 2001 Census. The landscape around the village is mainly pastureland bounded by dry stone walls.