Pictures of Milldale

About Milldale

Milldale is a glorious stone village lying in scenic countryside towards the southern fringes of the Peak District National Park. Its wonderful location on a picturesque stretch of the River Dove makes it an ideal location for getting away from it all to enjoy a bit of fishing, or for a relaxing break amongst the untamed beauty of the peaks where you can walk in the Valley of the Dove, discovering some of natures secret places.

A pretty packhorse bridge spans the Dove at Milldale, this is known as the Viators Bridge, immortalized in Izaak Walton's book "The Compleat Angler", these days the bridge has low walls, but in Walton's time such bridges were built without, to enable horses with panniers to cross without obstruction. The bridge must have been daunting to cross, but not as much as the famous stepping stones a little further along the river.

Despite the fact that Milldale has only a few scattered properties and no public house, it annually receives hordes of visitors. The nearest inn for refreshment is the Watts Russell Inn at Hopedale, or you can try your luck at quaint Polly's Cottage which usually has a good selection of snacks and soft-drinks.

In the village and along the winding paths leading to and fro, there are several old stone buildings to be seen. Milldale's historic Methodist church dates from 1835, and just a short distance away is a mill dating from 1814.

Milldale gives access to other dales including Wolfscote Dale, Hall Dale, Narrowdale and Beresford Dale. The landscape is one of the Peak Districts most beautiful regions, with vast open spaces, valleys and rivers. It has a tingling mixture of appeal and is at once, bright, mysterious, magical and different.