I spent many a happy day at Chatsworth playing in the river when I was younger, I’ve also had some great walks and bike rides around the estate. However… I’ve never been inside the house so I thought it was time I paid a visit. I must say I was very impressed, I’m a member of the National Trust so have visited lots of houses of this grandeur in recent years. Chatsworth felt really special and for me it completed another part to the story of Bess of Hardwick, Hardwick Hall is another house I have visited many times both when younger and in recent years. I was very impressed with the paintings on the ceilings throughout the house, Chatsworth is said to have a masterpiece in every room and I don’t doubt that one bit. The gardens are every bit as magnificent as the house itself and I could happily spend hours wandering through while taking it all in. If you do visit the house I would highly recommend paying a visit to the nearby Farm Shop which has one many awards over the years. They have fantastic estate and locally sourced produce and the cafe there is excellent. You get a premium product for a relatively reasonable price. To find out more about Chatsworth why not head over to their website http://www.chatsworth.org/, before you do that though here are some images from our visit which were taken with my phone.
Why is there a Lion asleep on that table? I hear you ask, Well… In 2001 Chatsworth began opening to the public at Christmas time, each year they deck the house out with a different theme. This year the chosen theme is the story of Narnia – The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe… Hence that is why you see a Lion sleeping on a table, It is Aslan and not just a new security measure Chatsworth have put in place to protect the valuables 🙂
If you fancy heading out for a walk or bike ride and you find yourself in the Chatsworth area… Why not check out the routes on the website by clicking the Chatsworth Tag. Alternatively you could simply click over to this route I walked a year ago Peak District – Beeley Moor & Chatsworth
PeakRoutes.com 