Chatsworth house is the estate owned by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. It is in the village of Baslow, close to Chesterfield. The Google map of the area. The house is surrounded by a large area of parkland and there is a farm shop nearby that is run by the estate.
When I visit I normally catch the Bakewell bus, getting off just outside the main entrance. At around about ten o’clock there’s a mini bus service that runs from the bus stop to the car park for the house. I haven’t been inside the house yet but have been round the gardens.
The gardens cover quite a large are, and are almost maze-like with lots of little areas to wander around and explore. It can take a few hours to go round and see everything.
Entering the gardens the main building is on the left. There’s a gift shop and refreshments shop there (If you go in summer then the ice cream is both very nice and good value for money). then following the path straight onwards then leads to the main fountain of the estate. It’s fed from lakes high up the hills and is one of the largest gravity fed Fountains in the world.
From there there are a number of different routes round the gardens. I normally take my time wandering round the different paths, without any predetermined route, just going towards whatever looks interesting. Some of the features are:
The Weeping Willow: This is a fountain that looks like a Willow tree. Water sprays out of the branches creating an interesting effect.
The coal hole: A tunnel running under part of the garden which was used to carry coal to conservatory where it was used for the heating system.
The Cascade: A long waterfall running down a series of steps. Quite a lot of people go paddling in this. It probably helps them cool off a bit, but I’ve never been tempted to do this.
The maze: This is fun to go around, but isn’t very big so it doesn’t take long. In some ways that’s a good thing since there’s no chance of becoming hopelessly lost and never being seen again.
Revelation: This is a water powered statue. It starts off as a silver sphere. Then as the water flows out of it, it opens up to reveal a golden sphere. It then refills and closes up again.
There are a few different styles of garden, such as the kitchen garden. The most interesting is the tactile garden. It’s made up of different materials all chosen for the way they feel.
Chatsworth house is certainly an interesting place to visit and out of the stately homes I’ve been it is the best one so far.
You can read more about it at the official site. There are more pictures at my gallery
Posted by msparshatt 
