Manifold

From Stanshope Hall (which is a privately owned B&B, so we couldn't go inside - sorry Desiree), we turned west across the fields to the rim of the Manifold Valley.

I really love the little rocky outcrops of limestone.

The Manifold is a sister river to the Dove, though generally less well known. The upper course runs through gritstone, but at Ecton, it reaches limestone country and cuts through a deep valley. 

North of Ilam, this valley widens out and is dry for much of the year as the river disappears underground, only emerging again just above Ilam Hall, after which is reaches its confluence with the Dove and the two rivers take on that single name.