After a seven mile walk on Tuesday I had planned another walk of similar length on Wednesday.  With another warm day forecast I was in shorts again, although Chris declined but took them with him just in case.  With our friends and dogs we headed for Ilam where we parked in the village and then headed through the grounds of Ilam Hall and down to the river Manifold.  We followed this upstream for a while before picking up the track to Casterne Hall. This is open to the public for a limited time during the summer months and has been used for films and photo shoots.  From here we carried on up across fields to Stanshope where we had the choice of walking to Milldale or Hall Dale.  We chose the latter and at the first shady spot we stopped for lunch.  For the most Hall Dale is a gentle descent to Dovedale but there is one tricky bit just before you emerge in Dovedale.  For midweek we were surprised at how busy it was, there was an A level Field Trip and we stopped and completed a survey for some of the pupils.  For a while I walked with some of the pupils and chatted to them about their work.  The Stepping Stones were very busy, mainly I guess because of the good weather, I was hoping for a photo opportunity but that was not to be.  As we crossed the fields heading back to Ilam I was starting to lag behind but managed to finish the walk.  After dropping our bags in the car we walked back to Ilam Hall for a cup of tea at the NT tearoom.  It has a wonderful view to Thorpe Cloud.  In the evening we went round to The Cock and Pullet at Sheldon near our peak district cottages.  The proprietors of New Close Farm in Over Haddon were there, they have just opened their new farmshop in Bakewell so I shall be calling in to see it.