The Rowthorne Trail and Lady Spencer's Wood ...

I think I was out on my fourth walk in four days ... back in April 2011 !

So, who was I out with ? Who's this ?

 It's my grandson ... with his mother !



 I had told Katy that it would only be a stroll so we parked on the Rowthorne Trail not so very far from Hardwick Hall ... and set off in the sunshine ...



 We left the Trail and headed across a field of oil seed rape towards Norwood ...



 The ground was very dry ...



 We entered Norwood ...



 The bluebells were in flower ...

 

They grow quite a lot of oil seed rape in this area but at least the footpath across the large field leading to Norwood Lodge was clear ...

 

There are three or four properties at Norwood Lodge but the path is easy enough to follow between the gardens ...



 We turned right along Newbound Lane and after a few hundred yards entered Lady Spencer's Wood owned by the National Trust ...





 

As you can imagine, with eleven year old Benjamin with us [as he was then] the walk was far from dull ...

 

The next wood we passed through was Park Piece where there was a wonderful display of Dryad's Saddle ...



  



 After leaving the wood and crossing a field we reached the driveway which led us away from the Hardwick Estate ... and back to the car.



This walk was followed on the 28th April 2011
 
Length of stroll ~ 2.84 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 149.93 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 28th April 2011 ~ 677.98 miles

  34 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging just over 4.40 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap

After the walk we went to Hardwick Hall ...





 This lady was dressed as a gardener of the time ...



 I often go to Hardwick just to look around the garden [as I did yesterday !] though all these photographs were taken a couple of years ago ...



 It is a marvellous place, well worth a visit.



 We finish as we started with a photograph of Benjamin. I think he was just about to take flight off the mounting block ...

 

Hardwick Hall ~ my favourite National Trust property.

A couple of years ago I walked around Hardwick Hall. I'd just gone part time and now I could explore places like this without having to take other people into consideration. This was a novelty. Here are some of the photographs I took that day ...

Very late 16th century plasterwork towards the beginning of the tour ...

The Muniment Room ~  "This unique and fascinating room contained 'muniments' relating to the Hardwick estates. Legally, muniments are the title deeds and other documentary evidence relating to who owns land." The room is small and rather dark and the use of flash is forbidden. The walls are made up of these boxes from floor to ceiling ... 



 The High Great Chamber ... again no flash can be used so the images could have been sharper ...



The frieze is late 16th century and impressive in detail. Are these three men putting on pattens over their indoor shoes ?



  The Long Gallery with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I at the far end ...



  The portrait of Queen Elizabeth I is dated 1592 and is over five feet by seven feet. There is more information here and you should be able to click on the image of the portrait for an enlarged version and see all the flowers and creatures embroidered on the Queen's dress. In the meantime here's my photograph ...



Next up was the Green Velvet Room, described as the Best Bedchamber in a 1601 inventory. The bed is 18th century and the tapestries are late 16th century ...

 

I moved from room to room, sometimes forgetting to note the name of the room, as here ...

 

I didn't need any signage for the next few rooms ...



 



The Dining Room, with "the Elizabethan overmantel of 1597" ...



... an Elizabethan overmantel which contains these words ...



In a room nearby one piece of furniture had this notice on it ...



After wandering around for an hour or more I adjourned to the old kitchen and partook of some good food ...



The restaurant is now in the old stableyard ~ this meal was in the original kitchen with pewter plates and dishes on the walls.

Outside I walked through the garden and took a number of views of the hall ...



 




 In the garden the hellebores were in flower ...



In the photo below you can pick out the initials 'ES' on the roof of the hall. 'ES' standing for Elizabeth Shrewsbury [otherwise Bess of Hardwick] ...



 On the green near the old stableyard, a couple of carved benches ...





Before heading back to the car I grabbed a few final shots of the hall [as if you haven't seen enough] and garden ...









  This year the car park has been moved from one side of Hardwick Hall to the other. I wonder whether they will move the memorial in respect of the British Airborne Forces from the old car park ?




We have a number of National Trust properties in Derbyshire but Hardwick Hall is the one I enjoy going back to time after time.