[1] From the hotel car park head down the drive back to its entrance. On reaching the road turn right, cross over (watch out for any traffic) to use the pavement on the far side and walk towards the village of Thorpe.
On reaching the village take the first turning on the left by Thorpe cottage. Follow this minor road (with care as no pavements) up a hill, (taking in the views behind you). Ignoring any footpaths off to the right continue on the road until you reach a T junction. Cross over the road and take a signed footpath through a gate-stile opposite. Head slightly right across the field to another gate and then downhill heading slightly to the left. Go through a stile to join the Tissington Trail.
(A) The Tissington Trail,which is now used for recreational purposes by cyclists and walkers, follows the former route of the Ashbourne to Buxton railway. The London and North-Western railway opened its line between Buxton and Ashbourne in 1899 but it was closed in 1967. The track bed was purchased by the Peak National Park and Derbyshire County Council in 1971 and reopened as the Tissington Trail, for cyclists and walkers.The trail runs for 13 miles from Ashbourne to Parsley Hay where it joins the High Peak Trial. See http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/90486/hptisstrails.pdf or the interpretation boards on the walk.
[2] Turn left along the Trail (Be careful - watch out for bikes and other trail users whilst walking on the Trail) and follow this, pass Thorpe station on your left (where there is a path side picnic site and interpretation board giving further details of the Tissington Trail) and walk on through Fenny Bentley cutting.
Fenny Bentley cutting is a managed nature reserve, where there are several interpretation boards giving local information on local flora and fauna.
Continue along the Trail crossing a bridge over the A515 main road. Just after the next cutting, and immediately before crossing another small bridge, leave the Trail taking a set of steps down on the left hand side. Pass an interpretation board for Mill Pond Plantation (part of the Tissington Estate), and take the path through the gate stile on the left hand side. Follow the fence and then a stone wall which are now on your right hand side to the wall's end and go through the squeezer stile, cross the field diagonally to its far corner and emerge on to 'The Avenue' by a Tissington village interpretation board and a candle workshop.
[3] Walk into the village along The Avenue to your right, to the village green, with Yew Tree Well on your right. At this point if you continue straight on, with the village green on the left and shortly later a duck pond on the right, you come to Town Well on the left. However, fork left from the Avenue by the village green and follow the road with a stream running down it on the right which leads to you towards the Hall. The Old Coach House tea room is immediately on your left, St Mary's church and then Hall Well on your right and further along Tissington Hall on your left.
(B) Tissington village has, since the 1400s. Tissington Hall was built by Francis FitzHerbert in 1609 and the house has been lived in by the FitzHerbert Family ever since. Inside there are paintings, furniture and other family artifacts. The 10 acres of surrounding gardens feature an arboretum and a rose garden.Tissington is also famous for its annual well dressings which run for a week from Accession Day each year with at least 6 wells being dressed in this ancient Derbyshire tradition. The Hall Well ] is an example of one of its wells .
St Mary's Church, Tissington dates back to Norman times, with records showing it to be a well established church by 1227 and probably built shortly after 1100. It contains an interesting Norman font and many monuments to the FitzHerbert family. See also http://www.derbyshireuk.net/tissington_church.html for further information.
Retrace your steps to The Avenue Sign at [3] when you have finished exploring the village. We now start walking along the Limestone Way.
(C)The Limestone Way is a waymarked long distance walking route of around 50 miles from Castleton, in the Hope Valley, south through the limestone scenery of the Peak District to Rocester on the banks of the River Dove, where it links with the Staffordshire Way. On this walk we join a section of it as we leave Tissington through an avenue of lime trees and follow it to nearly the end of the walk at Thorpe . Further details of the entire Limestone Way route can be found at http://www.simonholtmarketing.com/PDFs/LimestoneWay.pdf
[3] Head along The Avenue away from Tissington (being careful of any traffic), cross a cattle grid and walk along the verge of the road through an avenue of lime trees to a gate by a cattle grid. Go through the gate and cross over the busy A515 and head down the road opposite (no pavement) towards Thorpe, Ilam and Dovedale. (Again being careful of any traffic). Follow this minor road down hill, passing a barn on the right hand side and opposite the end of the field on the right hand side at the bottom of the hill, take a footpath through a hidden stile on the left hand side of the road by a stream.
[4] Climb the field to a gate and squeeze stile in the top right hand corner, cross the road and take the sign posted path bearing left into Bollington End farm caravan site to a stile in the fence ahead (there may be caravans parked in front of the stile) . Proceed on the path (marked with yellow Limestone Way markers) through a series of fields with squeeze stiles and gates in the same direction, crossing a farm track and through further fields to join a tarmac lane. Bear left down the lane and shortly take a footpath signed on the right to Thorpe.
Walk downhill following the wall on right hand side, go through a small gate and continue ahead following the hedge on the right, to a hidden stile. Go through this stile and bearing left, walk down the field with a wall and a ditch on your left. Go through a pair of gates and follow the wall on the left hand side. (Beware: keep to the path by the left hand wall and away from the rifle range on your right particularly when the red flags are flying).
Continue on the footpath signed Dovedale which follows the wall, ignoring a path signed off to the left. In front of you is conical hill of Thorpe Cloud.Take the next stile on the left hand side to arrive back at the hotel car park where you started.