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Chatsworth House

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Walk directions

Turn right out of the car park at Baslow and go over the bridge, then right again, along a lane heading south between the banks of Bar Brook and some charming little cottages. At the far end of the track go through an unusual kissing gate into Chatsworth Park.

Follow the wide path straight ahead across the lawned parklands of Chatsworth. Go past a cricket green to reach Queen Mary’s Bower by the side of the River Derwent near the road bridge.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Good paths and tracks, 2 stiles

Landscape - Parkland and low afforested hills

Dog friendliness - Dogs on lead in Chatsworth Park

Parking - Pay car park at Nether End, Baslow

Toilets en route - At car park

Walks in Derbyshire Dog-friendly walks in Derbyshire

About the walk

There are few more magnificent buildings in Britain than Chatsworth House and its splendid gardens. On his visit in 1726, Daniel Defoe wrote that he was astonished that ‘so noble and magnificent a palace’ should be built in such a harsh, out-of-the-way situation. This short walk from nearby Baslow... allows you to walk dryshod with stout shoes, through the gentle parkland beside the River Derwent, and then to visit the house without putting mud on the carpet. Having taken in the splendour of the mansion you then climb quite stiffly through the woods to see a lake, some crags and a wonderful view of the Derwent Valley. A Stately Pile Before you reach the house itself you pass Queen Mary’s Bower, a favoured spot of Mary, Queen of Scots, when she was imprisoned at Chatsworth by the Earl of Shrewsbury in 1570. Beyond the Bower the route reaches a decorative three-arched bridge over the River Derwent. From here you get one of the classic views of Chatsworth House, with the building’s stately reflections rippling in the slow-moving waters of the Derwent River. The first Chatsworth House was completed in 1555 for Bess of Hardwick, a wealthy widow, and her new and equally wealthy husband, William Cavendish, who had helped Henry VIII dissolve the monasteries. Years later, Bess’s grandson, William Cavendish, was made the first Duke of Devonshire and decided that Chatsworth wasn’t grand enough for a Duke. So he pulled the old house down, replacing it with the present one between 1686 and 1708. In the 1820s the 6th Duke added the North Wing and invited the landscape architect ‘Capability’ Brown to design and landscape the gardens. Self-sufficiency on the Estate Climbing the wooded hillside behind the mansion you reach the Hunting Tower at the top of the hill. This is all that remains of the original Elizabethan mansion; the cannon on the lawn outside came from one of the battleships that fought in the Battle of Trafalgar. Beyond the tower, amid extensive woodland, is the impressive Emperor Lake. It was constructed simply to supply a head of water for the Chatsworth Fountain and a water-powered turbine was installed as early as the 1880s. Fittingly, Chatsworth is now developing a state-of-the-art renewable energy centre that will use its own plentiful supply of timber to generate green electricity. It is hoped that it will reduce the estate’s carbon emissions by up to 90 per cent so that Chatsworth can remain solvent and sustainable for another few centuries to come.

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About the area

The natural features of this central English county range from the modest heights of the Peak District National Park, where Kinder Scout stands at 2,088 ft (636 m), to the depths of its remarkable underground caverns, floodlit to reveal exquisite Blue John stone. Walkers and cyclists will enjoy the High Peak Trail which extends from the Derwent Valley to the limestone plateau near Buxton, and for many, the spectacular scenery is what draws them to the area.

Route details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

4.5 miles (7.2kms)

Ascent:

400ft (122m)

If you like this walk, you can try more routes in the area.

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Chatsworth House

Recommended by

Walk details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

4.5 miles (7.2kms)

Ascent:

400ft (122m)

Walk directions

1 of 7

Follow the wide path straight ahead across the lawned parklands of Chatsworth. Go past a cricket green to reach Queen Mary’s Bower by the side of the River Derwent near the road bridge.

2 of 7

Cross the road and turn left for the path up to the main entrance of the House. Walk uphill past the House and then the cafeteria, signposted ‘Farmyard and Playground’.

3 of 7

Go through a gate by a cattle grid before taking the right fork, signposted ‘Stand Wood Walks’, which arcs right, passing close to the farm. A path through the woods on the left, signposted to the Dell, cuts a corner to reach the surfaced road once more. Turn left along the road and up to the Hunting Tower.

4 of 7

Follow the road as it bends around the back of the tower. At a junction go straight on to reach the Emperor Lake. Return to the junction at the back of the Hunting Tower, but this time turn right for a metalled track signposted ‘Robin Hood’ through conifers.

5 of 7

At a junction of tracks with some huge barns to the right, go straight ahead to a field gate at the edge of the woods. Turn left along the nearside of the perimeter wall, then go over it on a ladder stile. A path next to a wall on the right continues above the gritstone crags of Dobb Edge.

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Don’t cross the next stile, but instead bear left on a path down a grassy gully. Emerging into the open parkland once more head west, down the slope, and cross the road from Park Lodge. Follow the perimeter of the woodland on the other side, round left to the same kissing gate passed at the beginning of the walk. Return on the outward route back to Baslow and the car park.

7 of 7

Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Good paths and tracks, 2 stiles

Landscape - Parkland and low afforested hills

Dog friendliness - Dogs on lead in Chatsworth Park

Parking - Pay car park at Nether End, Baslow

Toilets en route - At car park

Walks in Derbyshire Dog-friendly walks in Derbyshire

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

Find out more

Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

Learn more

About the area

Derbyshire

Chatsworth House

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Chatsworth House

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