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 ...

 

Chatsworth under wraps ... and of staddle stones, toads and Dryad's Saddle.

In the car park at Calton Lees there's a block of [what I hope is] Derbyshire stone in memory of the 11th Duke of Devonshire ...

  The stone acknowledges his "wish that all should enjoy Chatsworth".

From the car park a short stretch of path leads to the bridge over the Derwent ...



 Once you've walked along the short stretch of road beyond the bridge, whilst trying to avoid the traffic, you can bear left and follow the old lane that climbs steadily uphill to Beeley Hilltop ...



 Tucked against the wall of Beeley Hilltop [which paradoxically isn't at the top of the hill] are at least eight staddle stones. These were used as support for small barns or hayricks to keep the rats out ...



  A short distance beyond this old farmhouse we forked left following a concessionary which isn't marked on the OS Map in front of me ~ it's an old map ~ it might be on a newer one ... there was a tall gate that opened onto the moorland [to keep the deer in ... or out ?].



  The path beyond climbs up to Rabbit Warren Edge ...



 I think I can say I have never seen a rabbit hereabouts. 

Once we'd negotiated the very high step stiles, we followed the gravel track through Bunker's Hill Wood ...



There are two Robin Hoods in Derbyshire, one ten or twelve miles away near Whatstandwell and the other one near Baslow on the far side of Chatsworth ...



 We were aiming in the general direction of the latter. The track through the wood continued ...



 We reached Swiss Lake ... and you can just make out Swiss Cottage on the far side in a couple of the photographs below ...







  The track we were on then leads to the Emperor Lake, so named as it provides the water for the Emperor Fountain in the gardens of Chatsworth House, far below. We walked around the edge of Emperor Lake ...



 I'd never been this way before and so was surprised to find that the path brought us out next to a pond overlooking the gardens ...



 As I stepped around the stones at the side of the pond, looking to get a better photo of the gardens below, I stopped just before taking the next step ...



  I had to go down to a lower level to get a shot of the water falling off the end of the stone garden feature ...



 A rotting tree stump provided a home for some Dryad's Saddle [Polyporus Squamosus] ...


  
It seems these may be edible [but don't take my word for it] ... see here ...

 A couple of years ago anyone making a special trip to see Chatsworth House would have been disappointed. Heck, we only live five miles away and we were ...



  We crossed the still waters of the River Derwent again ...



 ... and got another view of Chatsworth House. There were two sides covered in sheeting !



  The path sticks very close to the river in some places ...



 The weir was really noisy ... you've been warned !
 


   I always enjoy watching herons ... usually they take off. 



 We passed the old sawmill ...



 ... and finished with a look at the road bridge we crossed a few hours earlier. I have always believed that the metal grille hanging below the bridge is to keep the deer in ...



 This walk was followed on the 24th April 2011
 
Length of walk ~ 4.86 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 135.91 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 24th April 2011 ~ 663.96 miles

  30 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging just over 4.5 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap