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| Waterhouses is the largest village on the southern edge of the Peak, and the most substantial settlement in the Hamps valley. The village centre is where the Leek to Ashbourne road, the A523, crosses the Hamps and the road to Cauldon turns off south. There are rows of cottages clustered around this junction and a pub, The Crown Inn, on the corner. Just above here is the old station, once the terminus of the Manifold and Hamps Light Railway, and the remaining station buildings have been restored by the Peak Park and converted into an information and cycle hire centre. There is a substantial car park and public toilets here too.
The small farming hamlet of Waterfall lies a kilometre and a half away to the north. This is a pretty little village with a quaint inn, the Red Lion, and a fine late Georgian church. It gains its name from the fact that the Hamps disappears underground not far away.
Calton is a another nearby small farming hamlet situated between the lower Hamps and Manifold rivers. |
Nearby Places of Interest| Dovedale and Thorpe Cloud | Dovedale is the name given to the section of the Dove valley between Milldale and Thorpe Cloud on the bounday between Derbyshire and Staffordshire. Famous for its scenery and fishing. | | Ilam Church and Hall | Ilam Church, Staffordshire, is the burial place of St Bertram and a place of pilgrimage. A lovely church with some Saxon parts. Close to Ilam Hall, once home of the Watts Russell and Port families. | | Ilam Hall and Park | Ilam Hall is the remains of the hall built by the Watts Russell family in the 1820s, close to Ashbourne. The Hall and Park now belong to the National Trust | | Manifold and Hamps Trail | The Manifold and Hamps Trail is a Staffordshire Peak District cycle track which follows the old light railway which once ran along the valley. | | Thor's Cave | Thor's Cave is the most spectacular sight of the Manifold valley, Staffordshire, a large cave with a fine view, which was inhabited in the Stone Age. |
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