Off Peak staycation
It’s one of the UK’s most popular hiking spots, but the Duncombe Arms is proof you can still find calm corners to relax in, says
The couple’s personality resonates throughout the Duncombe, and they can usually be found serving customers most days. Ten bedrooms in the new-build Walnut House have been designed to feel homely, featuring toiletries from Bamford (Lady Bamford has a family farm in Staffordshire) and original artwork available for guests to buy (Laura’s friend owns a gallery).
In spring, the Greenalls also open up the 12 acres of restored woodland garden surrounding their nearby Wootten Hall Estate.
On a tour, Johnny shares stories about the origins and monkey puzzles and dinosaur trees, and whispers gossip about Jean-Jacques Rousseau who spent a couple of summers here and composed part of The Confessions in a grotto on this site.
“Fans still make a pilgrimage to come here,” Johnny tells me.
Swiss philosophers aside, there’s plenty more to contemplate in east Staffordshire’s meadows and hills – from granite outcrops to historic market towns and, of course, a healthy population of charismatic sheep.
Three great hikes to try...
THE ROACHES
THIS rocky ridge above the Tittesworth Reservoir is a wellknown spot, but there’s still enough space for hikers to hide amidst the craggy outcrops.
Climb to the top for a Lion King moment, surveying a green kingdom melting into the sky and spotting the peaks of Snowdon on a clear day. There are two gritstone outcrops to scale for panoramas: Ramshaw Rocks and Hen Cloud.
At the top of The Roaches sits the dew pond, Doxey Pool, and there’s also a former hunting lodge wedged into the rockface.
Lud’s Church, a moss-covered chasm, is a few minutes’ walk away.
DOVEDALE
PLACED in the 19th century, a series of stepping stones cross the River Dove, creating a popular attraction for families. But aside from the entertainment of hopping over rocks, the scenery is superb: the river winds through a limestone valley, where fungi, ferns and wildflowers cover steep slopes.
Although the stones can be busy, fewer people walk to Ilam Park. Sitting below flat-topped hill, Thorpe Cloud, the postcard-pretty village features alpine houses and shafts of two 1,000-year-old Saxon crosses in its churchyard.
Either park at Ilam or use the postcode DE6 2AY to find a designated car park for the Stepping Stones. The walking route is well signposted.
THE MANIFOLD TRACK
FOLLOW a former narrow gauge railway route, where yellow locomotives modelled on carriages from India trundled in the early 19th century. One railway worker famously referred to the stretch as “a line that starts in the middle of nowhere and ends up in the same place”.
A tarmacked path through the valley makes it possible to either walk or cycle along a trail which follows the ‘many folds’ of the Manifold River.
A short, steep walk from Wetton is Thor’s Cave, a karst hollow shrouded in ‘dragon’s breath’ most early mornings.