Chatsworth in the Van

Parked up at Poplars Farm – weather not looking too promising!

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.

The Proscenium, Border and Roller cloth were painted by Hemsley
A detail of the Proscenium Arch
Under the stage we were surprised to find “Folding Gate Rostra”
Backstage we saw this old dimmer. I believe they worked with salt water but were colloquially known as “piss pots” because of the method used to top them up! Just make sure they are turned off first.
A window in the theatre stair well believed to be made from Blue John which was mined locally. It is also known as Derbyshire Spar.

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.

Instead of a forbidding sign just saying “NO DOGS”, they have gone to the trouble of explaining why and providing a helpful solution
There are well marked walks around the grounds. This one took me and Tilman up into
Stand Woods
A nice little boulder
A wing of Chatsworth House

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!

2 responses to “Chatsworth in the Van”

  1. Great photos. Keep meaning to go to Chatsworth. Must try next time I’m in that neck of the woods. Always enjoy snake pass but obviously not in snowy conditions. Glad you made it to Glossop. It was appreciated x

    1. Chatsworth was pretty amazing even when it is closed! Definitely worth stopping off there on your way to Glossip.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.