BASLOW, PLANTATION COTTAGE, CANNON KISSING GATE, STAND WOOD, HUNTING TOWER, EMPEROR LAKE, SOWTER STONE, DEVONSHIRE ARMS AT BEELEY, JASMINE COTTAGE, CHATSWORTH PARK, SURPRISE VIEW, EDENSOR, QUEEN MARY'S BOWER, THE PRINCE OF WALES AT BASLOW
Distance: Ten miles.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Weather: Dry with cloud and sunshine
Walkers: Alan Hart, John Jones, Chris Owen, Jock Rooney, Dean Taylor and George Whaites.
Alternative walkers: Colin Davison and Laurie Fairman.
Apologies: Mickey Barrett (returning from Turkey), Alastair Cairns, Mark Gibby and Hughie Hardiman (self-isolating), Peter Beal (heavy cold), Andy Blease (post holiday duties), Tom Cunliffe (in Southport)
Leader: Rooney. Diarist: Hart.
Starting point: Outside St Anne's Church, Baslow, Derbyshire.
Starting time: 10.02am. Finishing time: 3.35pm.
Starting from Baslow to explore the Chatsworth Estate involves one of the longest car journeys undertaken by The Wednesday Wanderers. Is it worth the effort ? The answer was a resounding Yes as six of us enjoyed spectacular scenery in the rolling acres surrounding a national treasure, Chatsworth Hall, ancestral home of the 12th Duke of Devonshire.
Both Baslow and Beeley, where we paused for refreshment, are picture postcard villages in the Derbyshire Dales but looking down on Chatsworth Hall from the aptly-named Surprise View was undoubtedly the jewel in the crown.
Apart from a few spots of rain lasting seconds we were spared the occasional showers which had been forecast and found ourselves basking in sunshine in the garden terrace at The Devonshire Arms.
It was here that Jock announced the sad news that his faithful companion and our friend Tip was no longer with us. However, in the spirit of the wanderers, our lovable border collie had left enough money for a round of drinks for his Wednesday chums.
We were also treated to a second round by 54th birthday boy Dean. We raised a glass to both of them.
Assembling outside St Anne's Church, Baslow, we walked along the main road with the church on our right, passing The Prince of Wales pub on our right, negotiating a large roundabout before going straight on and turning right down stone steps at a wooden public footpath sign (6mins)
The path emerged at Plantation Cottage (12mins) where we turned right and went through Cannon Kissing Gate (13mins), a circular metal device leading to the 35,000 acres of grounds surrounding Chatsworth Hall. Turning immediately left we headed through the grass across a lane and aimed uphill towards a wood.
On reaching the treeline we turned right until we turned left up stone steps (30mins) to follow a path through the wood. At a T-junction we turned right (34mins) and carried straight on where the paths crossed (38mins). This brought us to Hunting Tower on our right, which commanded a splendid view of the valley below and was guarded by two ornamental cannon.
After admiring the vista and taking photos we retraced our footsteps to the junction of paths and turned right (42mins). At the end of a line of trees was a path leading to the shore of Emperor Lake (47mins). We turned right to circle it anti-clockwise. At the far end of the lake we turned right down a gravel track (53mins)
At a T-junction we turned left (55mins) and on our right (58mins) was Sowter Stone, which resembles a giant bird bath and is the start of a cascade which pours water down a sculpted waterfall to the valley below.
Continuing we crossed a tarmac road (69mins) and carried on until we saw a sign for Swiss Cottage on our left (77mins) where we turned right instead. We left Stand Wood via a stone step stile (80mins) and followed the path until we reached a cluster of rocks on our right with a path downhill (86mins). Here we stopped for pies and port.
Resuming we walked down the stony path through waist-high ferns through a series of three kissing gates and a stone step stile (96mins). After crossing the stile we turned right and then left at a yellow arrow to go through two gap stiles leading into a farmyard. By following more yellow arrows we swung right to exit the farm by crossing wooden steps between an electrified fence (103mins)
We crossed a wooden stile marked with a yellow arrow (107mins) and a gap stile before turning right downhill with a hedge on our right (109mins). After passing through a gap stile (112mins) we turned left into the village of Beeley, heading downhill until we saw The Devonshire Arms on our left (117mins)
There was an amusing example of our brave new technological world when Dean ordered a round of drinks to celebrate his birthday and attempted to pay in cash. He was informed the bar no longer accepted common currency and Chris had to come to his rescue with a credit card.
Suitably refreshed we turned left to leave the pub, reaching the main road and turning right (122mins). Turning left opposite the parish church (123mins) we followed a footpath and exited the field by a kissing gate to reach the main road (137mins), crossing the River Derwent, then turning left and immediately right (138mins)
We went through a wood taking the right fork and emerging at the rear entrance to Chatsworth Garden Centre (141mins) where we paused for lunch. Resuming we walked along a lane marked “No parking beyond this point”, passing Jasmine Cottage on our right (145mins)
After passing Pringle and Ryecroft Cottages on our right (164mins) we went through a wooden gate and turned right (168mins). Another wooden gate (171mins) led us into and through a field along a well-trodden path. A third wooden gate enabled us to join a track (175mins) which brought us into Chatsworth Park (177mins) with the Surprise View looking down on the valley with Chatsworth Hall at its heart.
After walking through a metal gate (182mins) we went down a flight of stone steps and turned right to pass St Peter's Church, Edensor, on our right (186mins). We continued to the main road and crossed it to follow a stony path (192mins)
This took us to a road bridge over the Derwent (201mins) which we crossed and turned immediately left at a wooden public footpath sign. The path took us past Queen Mary's Bower on our right (203mins). There follows a brief history which you can skip if so desired.
Chatsworth, known as Chetesuorde at the time of The Norman Conquest, was assigned to William de Peverel (of Peveril Castle fame). In the 15th Century it was acquired by the Leche family who sold it in 1549 to Sir William Cavendish, treasurer of the king's chamber and husband of Bess of Hardwick.
He sold his property in Suffolk and settled in her native county. Work on building the new house began in 1553. Sir William died in 1557 but Bess completed the hall in the 1560s and lived there with her fourth husband, George Talbot, the sixth Earl of Shrewsbury.
He had custody of Mary Queen of Scots who was under a form of house arrest which enabled her to move around the country under the earl's supervision. She and Bess were both keen needlewomen and became friends but as we know it all ended in tears for Mary, who was beheaded.
After a spell in exile during the Cromwell era, the 3rd Earl of Devonshire returned to England following the Restoration of the Monarchy and his son the 4th Earl became the 1st Duke of Devonshire in 1694 for helping to put William of Orange on the throne of England.
All went well for the successive dukes until the 20th Century when a series of punitive death duties resulted in the trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement agreeing a deal whereby the dukes of Devonshire were allowed to use their former premises as tenants.
During World War 11 Chatsworth was occupied by 300 girls from Penrhos College, Colwyn Bay. In 1944 Kathleen Kennedy, sister of JFK, married William Cavendish, elder son of the 10th Duke. But he was killed in action in Belgium four months later and in 1948 his widow Kathleen died in a plane crash.
The 12th Duke of Devonshire is Peregrine Cavendish who lives in Chatsworth Hall.
We continued along the lane passing on our left a plaque for Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-65), who was head gardener at Chatsworth and who designed London's Crystal Palace.
As Chris and Dean inspected the caravan site on our left the remaining four of us went back through The Cannon Kissing Gate (228mins) and retraced our footsteps via Plantation Cottage back to The Prince of Wales (241mins) where pints of excellent Barnsley bitter cost £3-95.
Meanwhile the alternative walkers started from Chinley on a seven-mile walk which involved climbing Cracken Edge and enjoying a pint in The Lamb at Chinley Head.
Next week's walk will start at 9.35am from the free car park overlooking Bollington Recreation Ground. After climbing to Kerridge Ridge, Chris intends to lead us via Teggs Nose to Gurnett, Sutton, the Macclesfield Canal and Middlewood Way back to our cars. Refreshment stops still to be decided have been promised.
Happy wandering !
Sowter Stone.
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