Chatsworth

The last place on our list to visit in The Peak District was Chatsworth. We chose to visit this very popular " house" on our way back to Duston. As this was a bank holiday weekend anyone we spoke to said that the roads would be horrendous so with this in mind we knew that to make the most of our limited time we needed to get there right on opening time. We then would need to be in the M1 1.30 pm so that we could make the two hour trip back in time to take our rental car back by 5pm. Plenty of time you would say, but we understand you can easily have a lengthy delay if an accident was to occur.

The village close by to Chatsworth is Bakewell and we had a quick wander around. This is the home of the famous Bakewell Pudding and we would have liked a bit more time for a better look around.

"Bakewell pudding is an English commonly consisting of a flaky pastry base with a layer of sieved jam, topped with an egg and almond paste filling. There are numerous variations and several bakeries each claim to hold the original recipe. The pudding originates from the Derbyshire town of Bakewell."

The man in the Tourist Information office said that a visit to Chatsworth's Farm Shop was also well worth a visit. We just had time to call in before getting to the house by opening time at 11am. What a great place this is. The 11 th Duchess of Gloucester started this shop to sell produce from their estate. There was such an array of beautifully displayed fresh foods - meats, fruit and veg, cheeses. We couldn't resist filling our wicker shopping basket full of goodies.

We drove on to the 'house' and couldn't believe the number of people that were already parked and looking around. We decided we would start in the house and we made our way through the rooms that are opened to the public.

The following piece is from their website and explains what you can expect to see.


Chatsworth is home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and has been passed down through 16 generations of the Cavendish family. The house architecture and collection have been evolving for five centuries.

The house has over 30 rooms to explore, from the magnificent Painted Hall, to the family-used chapel, regal State Rooms, newly restored Sketch Galleries and beautiful Sculpture Gallery. In the Guest Bedrooms, meet an Edwardian Lady's Maid who will be revealing the secrets of her mistress's suitcase of clothes, or dress up in one of our period costumes.

Chatsworth has one of Europe's most significant art collections. The diverse collection is continually added to, encompassing Old Masters to contemporary ceramics and artefacts from Ancient Egypt, through to cutting edge modern sculpture and computer portraits.

After leaving the house we did a very quick tour of the house we spent an hour or so walking around the massive gardens. Of course my favourite part is always the kitchen gardens and this one was no exception with a large array of vegetables, fruit and picking flowers being grown.

The formal garden with its water features were park like and certainly on a grand scale.

You would like to read more information about Chatsworth click on the website link below. For those of you have read the book about The Mitford Girls, Deborah, the youngest sister married the 9 th Duke of Gloucester and became the Duchess of Gloucester. She was the driving force behind bringing the house back to its former glory after falling into disrepair and then opening it to the public.

Chatsworth house official website




 

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