Thorpe Cloud is an isolated
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
hill (a
reef knoll
A reef knoll is a landform that comprises an immense pile of calcareous material that had previously accumulated on an ancient sea floor. Reef knolls are geological remnants of reefs and other organic concentrations of calcareous organisms. Reef kn ...
) lying between the villages of
Thorpe and
Ilam on the
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
/
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
border at the southern end of
Dovedale
Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District of England. The land is owned by the National Trust and attracts a million visitors annually. The valley was cut by the River Dove, Central England, River Dove and runs for just over between Milldale ...
. The name
"cloud" derives from the
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
word ''clud'' which means "hill". Thorpe Cloud is popular with the many
day-tripper
A day trip is a visit to a tourist destination or visitor attraction from a person's home, hotel, or hostel in the morning, returning to the same lodging in the evening. The day trip is a form of recreational travel and leisure to a location tha ...
s who visit the area, and provides a fine viewpoint north up the dale and south across the Midland plain.
Like much of the dale, including
Bunster Hill on the opposite bank, it is in the ownership of the
National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
, and is part of their
South Peak Estate
The White Peak Estate (previously known as the South Peak Estate) of the National Trust comprises several land holdings in the Southern Peak District, now referred to as Ilam Park, Dovedale and the White Peak in National Trust publications althoug ...
. These Dovedale properties were acquired by the Trust in 1934.
A
double sunset
A double sunset is a rare astro-geographical phenomenon, in which the Sun appears to set twice in the same evening from a specific viewing-point. A double sunrise may also occur in a similar situation. Such phenomena may have been regarded as si ...
can sometimes be seen against Thorpe Cloud from the top of nearby Lin Dale, as captured on film by the photographer Chris Doherty. The occurrence is visible in good weather on and around the
summer solstice
The summer solstice or estival solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). The summer solstice is the day with the longest peri ...
and perhaps beyond, when the sun sets on the summit of the hill, partially reappears from its steep northern slope and sets for a second and final time shortly afterwards.
Thorpe Cloud and Dovedale were used as locations in the 2010 film of
''Robin Hood'', starring Russell Crowe. Thorpe Cloud can be clearly made out in several scenes towards the end of the film.
Thorpe Cloud also has a rifle range which local and national shooting clubs use.
References
{{Peaks of the Peak District
Mountains and hills of the Peak District
Mountains and hills of Derbyshire