Dovedale

From the hotel it was just a five minute walk to the river from where a well-trod path led up Dovedale, past Lovers’ Leap (gave that one a miss) to the tiny hamlet of Milldale where we got some welcome refreshment at Polly’s Cottage (“Polly puts the kettle on – and makes sandwiches too”) dished out through a serving hatch in the cottage wall; the return trip made it a fine 7 mile walk along the crystal clear river surrounded by towering limestone slopes and pinnacles, with a well-earned ice cream at the finish.