Chatsworth House, Edensor, Rowsley, and Bakewell

Today I walked from Chatsworth House to Bakewell, but going the long way round via Edensor, Calton Houses, and Rowsley. The walk was a change of plan though because my train to Sheffield didn't show up and so I missed the 275 bus and had to catch the 218 to Chatsworth House instead.

The public toilets at Chatsworth House are really impressive - I was the first to use the gents' this morning and had them all to myself to take some  photographs.

The first part of the walk was through Chatsworth Park to Edensor.

I had to walk through the herd of deer as I left the village. I got much closer than the photographs would suggest.

I continued to Calton Houses, just holiday cottages I think, and then reached the Derwent Valley Heritage Way and walked alongside the river to Rowsley.

[Looking back at Chatsworth House in the distance]

I finished the walk by walking up the lane which goes all the way to Bakewell. I'd done five miles and I'd had enough; my feet were hurting because my boots had been rubbing against the tops of my toes. I walked straight over to the bus stop to wait for the next bus back to Sheffield, the 13:13 number 218 service. As soon as the bus stop came into sight I could see that there was already a bus there and people were boarding...it was the 275 which goes by a different route back to the city.

There seemed to be still one or two people needing to get on the bus when I arrived at the stop, especially a rather large old woman standing right next to the vehicle's doors. Suddenly though the driver closed the doors and sped off. I gave the woman a look of death and she just replied that it wasn't going to Totley. Why didn't she get out of the way, or ask me if I was wanting to get on the bus?

As it was, within a minute a very late running 218 arrived. I gave the woman very precise instructions as to what she needed to do this time. She got on...and so did I.

A few minutes later the bus nearly crashed as we were passing through Pilsley. A car pulled out straight in front of us and the bus driver had to jam on the brakes. I lurched into the back of the seat in front of me and the shopping trolley belonging to a woman sitting at the front of the bus fell over and spilled some of its contents.

Several people on the bus congratulated the driver or asked the woman if she was okay...I just remembered that I needed to get some tins of beaked beans when I got back to Doncaster.