Ilam > Hartington
Miles: 11 miles
Weather: Perfect walking weather
The one with…
The Cephalopod, missing glasses and the dinosaur!
Summary
Our first day on the Peak Pilgrimage was everything you could hope for — riverside walking, stepping stones, sheep chaos, laughter, churches full of history, and that lovely feeling of strangers quickly becoming a team. From the beauty of Dovedale to the drama of Gypsy Bank, the day was packed with memorable moments, ending perfectly with homemade food and good company back at the YHA.
The Long-Winded Version
🚕 9.30am – We all congregate in the lobby of the YHA in Hartington. It’s raining outside and waterproof clothing is deployed immediately. I give a quick walkers’ briefing about today’s route before we head outside to find Pacman Taxis waiting for us.
🐑 It turns out to be quite an eventful 15-minute journey to Ilam, including a traffic jam caused by sheep and two tiny lambs wandering down the middle of a country lane, completely oblivious to the chaos behind them.
9.45am – As we all disembark from the taxi, I hear a familiar voice… It’s Sam! Sam and I work together on various projects and she lives nearby, so I’m genuinely thrilled to see her. What a lovely surprise to start the pilgrimage.
Even better… the rain has stopped before we’ve even started walking. Result.
We make our way towards St Bertram’s Church — a beautiful church dating back to the Norman period, sitting quietly beside the River Manifold. The church is named after St Bertram, an 8th-century Mercian prince who, according to legend, was killed nearby by wild boars while hunting. Thanks Google!
⛪️ I’m slightly disappointed because this should have been the place where everyone received their very first pilgrimage stamp in their guidebooks. We find the Peak Pilgrimage box… but no stamp inside. Instead, there’s a note explaining that it had been removed because people had been defacing church property with it. Then I notice little red stamp marks all over the white wall above the bench. What’s wrong with people? How can anyone think that’s acceptable? In a church of all places.
📸 We take our first group photo… well, technically a very nice young man takes it for us with Ilam Hall in the background.
“Say… Cephalopod!” he shouts.
“CEPHALOPOD!” we all yell back obediently.
I have absolutely no idea what a cephalopod is, but it makes everybody laugh. Apparently it’s some sort of squid.
🚶 10.55am – We cross a few fields and before long we reach the iconic Dovedale Stepping Stones.
I hand my phone to another kind stranger and carefully explain the newly established group tradition.
“When you take the photo, shout ‘cephalopod’.”
We all pose dramatically on separate stepping stones.
“CEPHALOPOD!” he bellows.
“CEPHALOPOD!” we all shout back in unison. 😂
I already feel like this group has bonded beautifully, and we’ve barely started walking.
11.18am – The walk along the River Dove is absolutely stunning. I expected Dovedale to be rammed with people, but today it feels more like a gentle sprinkling of holidaymakers mixed with a few serious hikers… you know the sort… trousers tucked firmly into socks.
“What’s that?” I ask nobody in particular, pointing at a fat white creature curled up on a rock in the river.
“It’s a duck,” replies Steve.
Ah yes. So it is! 😂
One of those moments that was much funnier in real life than it sounds written down.
A little further on we discover one of the famous penny trees, old trees covered with coins hammered into the bark over many decades.
Steve is on fine form today.
“If you get tired,” he says, “you can get your bus fare home.”
🐦 11.37am – I’m ridiculously excited because I finally spot a white-breasted dipper. Apparently they’re quite common along this stretch of river, but I’ve never seen one before. They’re wonderfully distinctive little birds with plump round bodies and a bright white chest that almost looks fluffy.
Click… photo taken.
12.17pm – We pass another field full of sheep. One tiny lamb is hiding behind a log from its mum, another is bouncing around as if it’s playing “The Floor is Lava”, and then we notice one that appears to be trapped at the base of a tree on a steep bank.
“Shall I go and check it’s alright?” says Steve.
We all nod while watching him scramble heroically up the slope.
As he reaches the tree, the lamb casually stands up and runs off perfectly happily.
Steve turns around, shrugs dramatically at his audience below, and carefully makes his way back down.
🥪 12.30pm – Five miles completed and we arrive at the gorgeous little hamlet of Milldale.
Milldale is one of those places that looks as though it belongs on the front of a postcard — a tiny collection of old stone cottages nestled beside the river, complete with a beautiful medieval-style packhorse bridge crossing the Dove. Ducks drift lazily through the water while walkers perch along the banks eating lunch in the sunshine.
We stop here for around half an hour to demolish our sandwiches. Some people buy coffee, others opt for hot sausage rolls, and everyone seems very content with life.
Just as we leave, the queue outside the little kiosk suddenly becomes enormous. Excellent timing from Team Cephalopod.
Before leaving Milldale, we pop into the tiny church for another stamp in our books.
⛪ 1.35pm – We arrive at St Peter’s Church.
This church has such a lovely atmosphere — peaceful, welcoming and full of character. Parts of the building date back to the 12th century, and it feels like one of those churches that genuinely wants visitors to linger rather than rush through.
Inside are dozens of crocheted kneeling cushions, each completely different from the next. There’s even a little area where people can swap seedlings, plus tea and biscuits available for passing walkers and pilgrims. It feels less like a building and more like a warm hug.
We also search for the gravestone of Ann Green, believed to be the oldest legible gravestone in England, dating back to April 1518. We find it around the back and it’s surrounded by a little cute fence.
🤓 1.44pm – Where are Steve’s glasses? A full-scale search operation begins around the graveyard as we all help Steve retrace his steps. Several minutes later he suddenly pats his pocket.
The glasses have been there the whole time.
☕ 2.05pm – Exciting news… a brand new café called Frank’s Café has opened opposite The George.
Then, quite unexpectedly… I spot a dinosaur. Yep, a dinosaur! Naturally, I lead the entire group to the bottom of the village so we can pose for a photo beside it.
A passing stranger agrees to take the picture.
“CEPHALOPOD!” we all shout once again.
At this point it has become completely normal behaviour.
⛰️ 2.40pm – After a slightly chaotic “squiggle” through a field containing far too many footpath signs, we finally arrive at Gypsy Bank.
I’ve really been looking forward to this section, although I know some of the group are slightly nervous about it.
Gypsy Bank is a sharp limestone valley dropping dramatically down towards the river below. The narrow path zig-zags sharply downhill with stunning views opening up across the valley as you descend. In wet weather it could feel quite intimidating, but thankfully today the ground is dry and conditions are perfect.
Slowly and carefully, everybody makes their way down safely.
I’m very thankful for dry underfoot conditions.
🚶♀️ 3.10pm – The long riverside stretch is beginning to take its toll and people are starting to tire a little.
“I see civilisation!” shouts Lisa excitedly as rooftops appear in the distance.
Never has a village looked so appealing.
Finally, we cross a field full of buttercups and daisies before descending back into Hartington where ice cream, and our final stamp of the day, awaits.
🍲 7pm – We finish the evening with a proper homemade feast back at the YHA.
I make chilli con carne while Snay brings a veggie chilli, red rice and an Indian spicy potato dish. It’s exactly the sort of comforting meal everyone needs after a long walking day.
We round off the evening with our usual round-robin discussion before heading off to bed with tired legs and happy hearts.
Final Thought
Day one of the Peak Pilgrimage felt like the perfect reminder that adventures are never really just about the miles. They’re about the tiny unexpected moments that become the stories you remember years later — shouting “cephalopod” at strangers, rescuing sheep that don’t need rescuing, spotting birds for the first time, and laughing with people who were strangers only hours earlier.
Pilgrimages have a funny way of slowing life down enough for you to notice things again. And after just one day, it already feels like this journey is going to be very special indeed.
