Yesterday we visited the incredibly picturesque 𝗜𝗹𝗮𝗺 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 in Ashbourne, DE6 2AZ.
Ilam Park offers space to play and explore with woodland walks within the 158 acre Country Park on the banks of the River Manfold. It is a 25 minute walk to the famous stepping stones in Dovedale although we didn’t visit them yesterday as they currently have some flooding.
The car park is free for National Trust members (just scan your card) or £3.50 for upto 4 hours or £5 for the full day.
Everything was open including the toilets, second hand bookshop and Manifold Tearoom offering hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, jacket potatoes, cakes etc.
The site currently has a Percy the Park Keeper trail for children but do check the website to see if this is still available when you choose to visit. We didn’t do it but saw a few activities on our way around that looked fun and educational for children.
It’s good to note before you go, that mobile phone signal is none existent, so it is well worth downloading maps to your phone prior to going. Especially for your walk around the hills if you’re off for a hike but also for your route home as your phone sat nav won’t start working for a while.
And make sure you have wellies or really good walking boots. It is currently very muddy.
More details of Ilam Park can be found on the National Trust website here.