Dovedale - Limestone Formations

Limestone Formations

Dovedale is notable for its numerous limestone formations. The most southerly named formation, Dovedale Castle, is a short distance along the river from the stepping stones at Thorpe Cloud. Then a set of steps climb to the limestone promontory called Lover's Leap. The original steps were built by Italian prisoners of war captured in the Second World War, though they are now maintained by both the National Trust and the National Park Authority.

The story of Lover's Leap is that a young woman believed her lover had been killed in the Napoleonic Wars, so she threw herself off the top of the promontory. However, her flapping skirt caught in the branches of a tree as she fell and saved her life. When she got home she heard that her boyfriend was alive and well. There are other legends of a similar nature about Lover's Leap, including one that places the same story in World War II.

Opposite Lover's Leap on the other side of the Dove is a limestone formation called the Twelve Apostles. These rock spires have been created from the harder reef limestone; the shapes have remained sticking up from the side of the valley as the river eroded the rock and soil around them. The National Trust keeps plant life clear to ensure the rock formations are visible.

• Ravenstor
• Pickering Tor
• Tissington Spires
• Dovedale Church
• Reynard's Cave
• Lionshead Rock
• Ilam Rock
• Shepherd's Abbey
• Dove Holes