Plan B Forum

An iconic set of stepping stones have been paved over by the council amid health and safety fears.

For centuries ramblers have crossed the River Dove in the Derbyshire Dales using the stepping stones, which have featured on postcards and calendars as an enduring image of an area visited by over a million people each year.


But the famous spot has now become an ugly eyesore after the uniformly flat limestone blocks were placed on top of the stones to stop people slipping.


An iconic set of stepping stones across the River Dove in Derbyshire have been paved over by the council amid health and safety fears that people could slip

The move has enraged local people and a Facebook group has been set up to have the stones restored to their former glory.

Mark Taylor, one of the group's founders, said: 'The special quality of the stepping stones is the stones themselves.

'Generations of walkers had polished and shaped them, making them a testament to the enduring popularity of Dovedale.

'The occasional flooding of some of the stones only added to the beauty and adventure of the attraction and their uneven nature made them appear a natural part of the landscape. They were the perfect picture postcard.

'Now every stone, bar one, has been topped by a mortar and limestone slab sandwich and it's been done with spirit level precision.

'The stones in their original form are lost forever and everything that made them unique and wonderful has been totally obliterated.'


The stepping stones have been used by ramblers for centuries and appeared in Hollywood blockbuster Robin Hood

Over the years the stones have become weathered and worn to become part of the natural landscape made famous in Izaak Walton's book The Compleat Angler.

Today walkers in the area were equally critical of the move.

Phil Sargeant, 53, said: 'I couldn't believe it when I saw them.They just look completely wrong now.

'The river is only a few inches deep so even if you slipped off the old stones it was hardly a disaster - in fact it was part of the fun.

'There was something about using them knowing that they had been used for so long by so many people.

"There's a footbridge nearby anyway so you don't have to use them if the river is in flood.

'Now some council jobsworth has decided to change everything for the usual health and safety nonsense.'

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They were meant to ensure a firmer footing, and drier feet, for walkers crossing the river at the beauty spot.

But putting flat limestone blocks on top of the weathered old stepping stones has turned out to be an embarrassing slip-up for the council who did it in the name of health and safety... because after six months they've been washed away and caused a flood.
The uniform slabs were installed, to the chagrin of locals, on a popular route in the Derbyshire Dales which was made famous by Izaak Walton in his 17th century fishing book, The Compleat Angler.

Three of them were swept off when the River Dove became swollen by recent heavy rain.

The toppled slabs then helped to form a dam as debris was swept downstream, causing the river to flood and the area to be closed to the public - on safety grounds.

After waiting days for the waters to subside so the workmen could cement the slabs back in space, the council admitted one of them is still 'unstable and could be a potential danger'.

'Therefore it has been decided to close the stepping stones to the public until they are deemed safe to use,' said a spokesman for Derbyshire County Council.

The original stones, which remain firmly in place, were used for centuries by tourists, ramblers and anglers.



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