5 Aug 2026 Baslow and Chatsworth Leader: Ruth, Length of walk: 8.5 miles, Driving distance: 43 miles, Number walking:14
Click here for a map of the route.
An exploration of the Chatsworth Estate starting from Baslow in Derbyshire. The car park is at DE45 1SS WTW ///define.fabric.worry
After struggling with the app required to pay for parking in the Baslow car park, the group crossed the bridge to enter Chatsworth deer park through the Cannon kissing gate. This contraption prevents livestock from leaving while allowing wheelchair users to go through. It was inspired by Mrs Jill Cannon, who may be a wheelchair user but is probably not the same Jill Cannon from Newark who stole £25,000 from the bridalwear company that employed her.
On the way to the bridge by Chatsworth House the group passed Queen Mary’s Bower, a raised area that used to be surrounded by fishing ponds. The structure is named after Mary Queen of Scots, who was imprisoned at Chatsworth from time to time before she was executed elsewhere. She is said to have taken exercise on the mound; legend is silent on where she did her fishing.
There was some controversy as the group crossed the bridge because they interrupted the filming of an advert promoting visitors to Britain. The actors in the advert were of course mixed-race and so the discussion started.
The fountain that usually blasts water high in the air was out of action. Given the continuing drought this was not surprising.
The next exciting structure the group passed was the old watermill. This was built in 1761 after a weir had been constructed in the river to provide a head of water to power the waterwheel. The mill was last used in 1950 and then abandoned. It gradually deteriorated until 1962 when it suddenly went worse as a tree crashed through the roof in a gale. It is a listed historic building, but that probably won’t stop the deterioration.
The walkers stopped for coffee by the river and then moved on to cross the bridge near Calton Lees. This signalled the move from the valley bottom to the top of the hill, where they flopped by the side of the path to have lunch.
As they returned along the top of the hill they passed the lake in front of Swiss Cottage. The estate helpfully provides a depth gauge to show how much water the lake contains, and the reading was “not much”. A forest of alder trees has taken over part of the lake bottom. Joseph Paxton would turn in his grave.
Anyone walking along this route has to make the detour to the Hunting Tower, so that’s where the group went for a picture. It is 400 feet above Chatsworth House and provided a site for the ladies to watch the horsemen and hounds chase about in the park below. If there were any such activities going on while the walkers were there, they missed it because the trees now interrupt the view.
After taking the gentle slope down to the river valley, the group exited through the kissing gate and returned to the car park. Those who were not in a hurry to return home enjoyed an ice cream by the public toilets.
