
We stayed in a small campsite about 40 minutes drive from Chatsworth. I like these little sites run as a side-line to a pub or farm. This one was called Poplars Farm and seemed to have about 5 hard standing pitches, plus a couple of “cottages”. It cost us £19.00 per night with LX hook up. I would suggest you take a doormat with you as the hard standing seemed to rub off a white dust which some fussy campers might find annoying. We were sited away from the minor road, but at night you could still hear the local traffic’s tyre noise as they whizz around the lanes at breakneck speeds.
The sites that I always avoid are “Holiday Park” sites which try to be the holiday destination itself with snooker halls, bars and playgrounds. I normally just do the three-point turn and scarper.
We woke at 06:00 to walk the dog and set off to Chatsworth after breakfast. The 40 minute drive turned out to take a bit longer because a road was closed with no diversion signs – typical. After 30 minutes hair raising driving along narrow single track roads supplied by Google Maps we eventually arrived at the very civilized “Chatsworth House”. The house was closed but we were on a special mission to look at the theatre and some drawings in their archive.





Full marks to Chatsworth House Staff. They were all so happy and helpful. This was not one of those places covered in prohibition signs like local parks, they just expected you to behave reasonably and everyone seemed to do just that.


Stand Woods


There are some great walks to be had in the grounds. It seemed de rigueur to open the car boot and change into some stout walking boots. They would then smash them together on their return to shake off the mud.
On the Saturday we headed to Glossop to see some friends, calling in at Buxton on the way. We went to see the Opera House but the freezing rain meant we didn’t stay long.
Our drive home took us across “Snake Pass” which was actually a lovely drive – words I never thought I would say!
Leave a Reply