Chatsworth House, taken by Paul Collins. Found on Wikipedia.
Archie’s getting a little bit impatient with me, because he wants his blog back, but first I wanted to tell you about our trip to Chatsworth House and Garden in Derbyshire last weekend.
When I say “our,” I’m afraid that doesn’t include Archie. His Mum and myself went to stay with some friends in the Midlands, and we couldn’t take The Archieness with us. I don’t think he minded too much, though, as he went to stay with his real mum and half-sister, and I’m fairly sure he enjoys that. He came back exhausted – as he always does – which suggests that he had a good time.
To get back to our weekend away, on Saturday we went to visit Chatsworth House and Garden, which is near to Bakewell in Derbyshire. We last visited there about ten years ago, and it was good to go back to one of the most outstanding stately homes in England. It’s always been one of our favourites.
This short blog post is not intended to be a thorough review of Chatsworth, or anything like that. I just wanted to give it an honourable mention for the simple reason that they allow you to take your dog into the gardens. Many of these properties will allow dogs (on leads) into the grounds around them, but not into the gardens closest to the house. However, Chatsworth is one of the very few that will.
Chatsworth
And what magnificent gardens they are. At over one hundred acres in size, there is plenty of room to walk your dog and lose the kids. There are cascades, a towering fountain (which on full power can reach nearly three hundred feet high), a tree that squirts water at you, a maze, and countless other fascinating features.
If you are able to leave your dog somewhere and go inside the house, it is worth a visit. My favourite room is the library, which is lit as though it is evening, and very inviting it looks, too. And don’t miss the amazing picture of a violin painted on a door – you would swear it was a real instrument hanging there.
You can also walk in the thousand acres of grounds outside of the gardens. These grounds have the River Derwent running through them, and are stunningly beautiful. If you want to explore further, that particular area of Derbyshire is known as the Peak District, and would be one of my top places to visit in England for beautiful scenery and attractive towns and villages. Don’t forget to try a Bakewell Pudding while in that town – the Pudding is quite different to the Bakewell Tart, with which many people are familiar.
For information on visiting Chatsworth, please see the official website at www.chatsworth.org
To read more about Chatsworth, please see the article on Wikipedia
Okay, Archie – you can have your blog back now.
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