Chatsworth House, Calton Lees, Rowsley, and Bakewell

Today's walk started from Chatsworth House, where they are busy preparing for the Christmas market and so many areas are blocked off, spoiling some of the views. I crossed over the picturesque bridge and headed south along the Derwent Valley Heritage Way to Rowsley.

As I was leaving Calton Lees I climbed over my first stile in three months; there might have been only one or two more on the walk today.

As I approached Rowsley I could see that some cows were totally blocking my way ahead by standing under the railway bridge. It was a planned ambush but I spotted them in time and fortunately there's an alternative route through the graveyard and the churchyard.

I continued by taking a short footpath that starts off by going right through someone's garden and then across the fields to the main Matlock to Bakewell road. I needed to walk along this road for over a mile but fortunately there's a causeway all the way. I soon noticed a traffic jam building up...there was an artisan market at Haddon Hall. 

When I reached the footpath just beyond the entrance to Haddon Hall three woman hikers told me that it was flooded up ahead and they had turned back and so I decided to continue along the road for a few hundred yards more until I could rejoin the path further on. I finished the walk at Bakewell and caught the first available bus going back to Sheffield - my leg was aching quite a bit.

Sotheby's Beyond Limits Sculpture Exhibition 2016 In The Garden At Chatsworth House

I'm still struggling a bit as I'm increasing the dosage of my anti-diabetes tablets and so a few hours wandering round the garden at Chatsworth House on a sunny afternoon taking photographs of outdoor pieces of sculpture is just what I needed today.

I got of the bus at Baslow and took a few photographs there before setting off to walk through Chatsworth Park.

I arrived at the House at 10:50, ten minutes before the gardens opened. As soon as I was let in I noticed that an organised walk to see the sculptures was planned for 11:30 so I found somewhere comfortable to sit and eat my sandwiches as I waited.

The guided walk lasted for an hour and was very informative and entertaining; some of the other people with me knew a lot more than the guide did; they were real sculpture aficionados. The highlight of the talk for me was the bit about the intricacies of the French legal code concerning the international trading of fine art and the damage caused to one of the pieces by ducks dive-bombing it and using it as a toilet.

Here are some photographs of all of the installations we visited; there are several more pieces which are part of the exhibition...and of course there are also many statues which are permanent features in the garden.

Rowsley, Calton Lees, Chatsworth House, Baslow, Bubnell, and Calver

At Rowsley I popped into the Peak Village Outlet Shopping Centre: I needed to use the toilets, but also spent a few minutes looking around the place; I've never been there before. It was quite nice, a bit bland maybe; a collection of  pleasant sandstone buildings and walkways with transparent roofs which fitted in well with the surroundings...and there were a few specialist outdoors shops which I might have spent a bit of time looking around if I'd got nothing better to do....oh, and there were a couple of places to eat.

I then walked further into the village, crossed over the bridge and started to follow the Derwent Valley Heritage Way, which I would be walking along for most of the route today. This section of the walk was easy-going and very pleasant, being along the flood plain I should think, and I made quick progress to reach Calton Lees in well under an hour. I went into the Chatsworth Garden Centre Café for a pot of tea and a cherry and almond scone. I was disappointed to see that they had already put up Christmas decorations and displays in one corner.

I continued walking northwards, along the riverbank, now being in the well-maintained landscape of Chatsworth Park. The weather wasn't too bright, but there were still a few autumn colours to be enjoyed.

Next up was Chatsworth House itself, which is always handy for a toilet stop. I went in the gents' near the main entrance, and since I was the only person in there I decided to take a couple of photographs of the urinals and the impressive tiles with Chatsworth-themed engravings incorporated into the design. As usual, the toilets were very clean and sweet-smelling.

I continued along the driveway towards Baslow, where I bought a small tube of ice cream from the shop at Nether End, eating it whilst sitting on one of the benches on the village green. I then headed towards the church, walked over the old hump-backed bridge to reach Bubnell, continuing along the road and then across fields to Calver; where I only had to wait ten minutes for the bus.

Calton Lees, Beeley Hilltop, Robin Hood and Baslow.

I glimpsed my first snow of the winter today: as I was sitting on the bus travelling across the moors towards Fox House the sunlight was illuminating the remnants of last week's snowfall on the higher ground of Kinder Scout and the Great Ridge. There was, however, no snow underfoot where I was walking today; it was just a bit frosty and icy.

I got off the bus just beyond Calton Lees and walked up the lane to Beeley Hilltop. The sun was at just the right angle to light up the countryside and cast dramatic shadows in the direction of Chatsworth Park. This photograph was taken looking towards Edensor Church.

Not far beyond Beeley Hilltop the lane deteriorates and becomes nothing more than a bridleway. After about a mile I reached the boundary of access land and walked across Beeley Moor towards Hob Hurst's House. The site is very disappointing, but the information board explains everything.

It was then a steady descent along the western fringe of Gibbet Moor. The Chesterfield road soon came into view and I noticed a footpath sign. When I was close enough to read it, it was going in the direction of Robin Hood. The footpath wasn't marked on the map, but it was well established and so I decided to follow it.

I was aware that there was quite a substantial beck at the bottom of the valley, just below and before the road. No footbridge or even stepping stones were indicated, but I wasn't concerned because these features quite often don't appear on Ordnance Survey maps.

When the path reached the beck it continued following the bank, becoming quite overgrown in places. It wasn't long until I could see the Robin Hood Inn, just a few yards away; but I couldn't reach it because a deep ditch, a fast flowing beck, a tall drystone wall with what looked to be barbed wire on top...and a road, were all in the way.

I had planned to continue beyond Robin Hood and visit Nelson's Monument and the Three Ships rocks on Birchen Edge and eventually finishing the walk at Calver. Obviously I needed to change my plan; the weather had become cloudy by now and a few degrees colder than when I set off, and so I decided to continue towards the northern perimeter of Chatsworth Park and then catch the bus at Baslow Nether End.