Delightful Derbyshire

Once again Claire (Sales) and Lisa (UK Ops Manager) headed out of the office this time to visit delightful Derbyshire.

Their first visit of the day was to stunning Chatsworth House, starting at the stable’s courtyard where the café and restaurant are housed, of course they had to check the cakes out!They continued to the main entrance where they saw the coach drop off and the golf buggies for those with mobility restrictions. Taking the short walk into the house to be met by the stunning Painted Hall, they toured each room, as the current exhibition is the House of Stories, tales from the Chatsworth library each room had books displayed. They didn’t cover all the 105-acre garden, but walked to the Emperor Fountain with a Jet flying overhead from the nearby RAF base. Learning that only three miles from Chatsworth House is Peak Village, they took the short drive to enjoy the shops and lunch – all to research for future tours of course!

Back to the car to carry onto Derby with show rounds of both the Leonardo Derby Hotel and the Mickleover Hotel, before settling into their overnight accommodation the Makeney Hall Hotel.

Their second day started with a show round the Makeney Hall Hotel, before travelling on the A6 towards Haddon Hall, where they spotted the Great British Car Journey museum. As neither Claire or Lisa had heard of this they pulled up and went in; with over 150 British Classic cars on display this was a hidden gem, there is also a whisky distillery nearby.

They continued to Haddon Hall to discover 900 years of history, with its fortified manor house and Tudor kitchens they navigated the mediaeval terrain before heading to the beautiful walled gardens with the roses in full bloom. The chapel with its frescoes on the wall was the final stop with a surprise of bat pups nesting in the ceiling.

Continuing their adventure to Tissington to meet with Sir Richard Fitzherbert for a tour of Tissington Hall, his family’s home for over 500years, he enjoyed telling them humorous stories whilst walking through each room. They even met the dogs on the tour of the gardens.  Taking a walk through the village with the ducks they didn’t find all six wells as Tissington is known for its Well Dressing which usually takes place during Ascension Week, a religious observance that occurs 40 days after Easter Sunday from St Mary’s church. But they did find Derbyshire oatcakes for lunch which had to be tried at Herbert’s Fine English Tea rooms.

Click to view The Best of the Peak District tour