I spy a Cavalier ...

Stand at the north-western end of Fennel Street in Ashford in the Water and opposite The Elms is a house half-hidden by a hedge. If you can peep over the hedge then you may get a glimpse of this ...

... on the front of the building. Now, to me, he looks like a Cavalier but why he's on the front of the house I have no idea. Anyone else know ?

Walk up Vicarage Lane and cross the end of Pennyunk Lane until you can take a path on your right across one field. This enables you to cross the B6465 and follow a path through more fields towards Longstone Lane. This path can get muddy in wintertime ...


   
Sometimes it gets too sludgy as does the path on the opposite side of Longstone Lane. The good thing about this latter path is that it brings you to the Monsal Trail. The only problem there are the bikes ... but assuming you can avoid them [and they can avoid you] head eastwards until you reach the bridge over Longreave Lane. At this point you can leave the Trail and pass under the bridge to cross the A6020. 

Cross the road carefully here because many of the cars hereabouts are hellbent on getting where they're going at least five minutes sooner than they have to be there. Take the private drive [which is also a public footpath] leading towards Churchdale Farm ...



Beyond the hall, which you get a glimpse of to your right, the path descends down one of those banks which is easier to walk up than down ... especially when it's muddy.



Towards the bottom of the bank there used to be an impressive though rather daunting tree looming over all pedestrians ...







Since these photos were taken I believe this old tree has fallen down.

The path rejoins the A6020 and then you're just a few hundred yards along a pavement to reach Ashford in the Water again.

Just the sort of short walk if you're not too sure about how far you feel like walking. 

This walk was followed on the 2nd January 2011

Length of walk ~ 3 miles *

Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 5.2 miles

Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 2nd January 2011 ~ 534.25 miles

2 of 2011

* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap

Walking around Hardwick Hall ...

We parked near the village of Rowthorne, and set off in the sunshine along the Rowthorne Trail ...

This was the footpath that runs parallel to the Trail. It's just a few yards away.

We left the Trail and turned south towards Norwood Lodge. Across the first field though we had to negotiate a slippery, sludgy, mess ...



Once through the wood the path for Norwood Lodge was, as usual, well marked.



I looked back when we reached the handful of houses at Norwood Lodge ...



From the lodge we walked into Lady Spencer's Wood. According to a National Trust interpretation panel Lady Spencer, who was born in 1737, was the mother of five children including Georgiana by her husband, John, the first Earl of Althorp. Georgiana married the 5th Duke of Devonshire and so the Cavendish family [the Dukes of Devonshire] and the Spencers [which included Lady Diana, of course] were linked.

Lady Spencer loved the countryside and gardening and created the walk I was using some 250 years later.    



Also on the interpretation panel is an extract from a letter written by Georgiana to her mother, Lady Spencer, "I could not bear to write till I had seen your dear walk. It is in great perfection and poor Mallinson, tho' he has had a stroke of the palsy has kept it up very neatly ...". She then goes on to say how she will add some benches to the walk and make it "quite an object for any day when it is fine to go to the wood ..."

There are no benches in the wood. Perhaps there never were ...

We walked across the avenue of trees between Hardwick Park Farm and the Hall itself before reaching Park Piece. There were more muddy paths in this wood ...



We followed the road that brings the visitors into the park before picking up the bridleway that runs from the ponds uphill to The Grange and then onto Ault Hucknall. The gate at The Grange has an interesting latch in the form of a snake.



A snake being the emblem of the Cavendish family who used to own Hardwick.

We reached Ault Hucknall which comprises a farm, two or three houses and a fascinating church ...



As we looked around the church we found this ...



... the gravestone of Lexey Mallison, "Servant to his grace the Duke of Devonshire at Hardwick" and who died on the 15th August 1799. Was this the "poor Mallinson" that Georgiana wrote about in her letter to her Mother ?  Or was it perhaps his or her son ? I've noticed the letter refers to 'Mallinson' and the gravestone to 'Mallison' but surely they're the same surname ... just misspelt by Georgiana or the stonemason.  

As I have mentioned elsewhere Ault Hucknall has some interesting stonework in its wall. There's a small window with some interesting carving above it ... and also to the right of it there's another interesting stone ...



  Then there's the carving of George and the Dragon below another carving of a half man/half horse with a spear [?] and with some creature[s] to his right too  ...



Then to the right of George and the Dragon etc. there's a hollowed out stone ...



After the church we took the left hand of two paths which leads eventually to Rowthorne village ...



After we'd finished our walk we went and had a look around Hardwick Hall itself and noticed the snake on a downspout ...




I finish with a couple of photos of one of my favourite stately homes, if not the favourite ...





Date of walk ~ 4th April 2010

Length of walk 4 1/2 miles

Total walked so far in 2010 ~ 55 1/2 miles

Total walked since 1st September 2009 ~ 185 1/2 miles.

12 of 2010