The intention was to walk along the river bank in Chatsworth Park so we headed up the A6 but as we got to Matlock the weather changed for the worse with constant drizzle. We parked in Edensor just beside the church and just walked along the footpath over the iconic bridge into Chatsworth Park. We made a small detour and had a look at Queen Mary's Bower.
Queen Mary (Mary Queen of Scot's),was held prisoner at
Chatsworth between May to September 1569, whilst there she was permitted
the indulgence of air and exercise. The bower became one of her favourite
spots.
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| On the bridge to Chatsworth Park |
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| Queen Mary's Bower |
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| Queen Mary's Bower |
The main block of the Chatsworth House was
re-built by the 1st Duke between 1687 and 1707, on the site of Bess
of Hardwick's original Tudor mansion. The long north wing was added by the
6th Duke in the early nineteenth century. The house is built on sloping ground,
lower on the north and west sides than on the south and east.
Many more structures stand in
Chatsworth's grounds: There are two surviving Elizabethan buildings, the
Hunting Tower and Queen Mary's Bower. Flora's Temple and the 1st Duke's
Greenhouse survive from the 1690s. The Stable block and bridge were built by
James Paine in the 1760s. Joseph Paxton's Conservative Wall and other
glasshouses date from the C19th. The 11th Duke and Duchess added the Display
Greenhouse in 1970.
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| View of the bridge from Queen Mar's Bower. |
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| Bamford Edge in the background |
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| Red Deer grazing |
From Queen Mary's Bower we walked up to the main car park in front of the House, then up to the stables and had a look around.
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| The stable block |
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| Inside the stable courtyard |
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| Ike, Geoff and Rob "Horsing" around on the mounting block outside the stables. |
It had been constantly drizzling and we headed back to the car in Edensor village where we had our breakfast.
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| Looking back towards the stables with the Hunting Tower on the horizon |
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| St. Peters Church in Edensor |
After we had our breakfast we decided to call in at Cromford Mill, and luckily for us it was a Christmas themed weekend with various events happening. The rain stopped and the sun came out.
There was an interesting wood turning display going on and we had a look at that.
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| Wood turning |
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| Ike & Rob getting hints |
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| All this power (fast shutter speed) |
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| Same water (Slow shutter speed) |
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| Garden section in the mill yard. |
To finish the day off a nice rainbow appeared over Cromford.
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| Rainbow over the complex |
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| No pot of gold today |
We got a bit wet today but still an enjoyable outing with mates, what more do you need.
Cheers
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