A TOUR GUIDE IN ENGLAND: DAY 5 - PART ONE - ARRIVAL AT BASLOW

Day 5 saw Diane and I getting the train from St. Pancras to Chesterfield, with our ultimate destination being Baslow and, eventually, Chatsworth House. 




From the station in Chesterfield, we made our way to Baslow and were greeted by the sight of sheep, dozens of them, in the fields behind our hotel, the Cavendish. 

Have I ever mentioned how much I love sheep? It turns out that Diane does, too. We were in alt as we left our bags at the door and stood watching them, and listening to their Baaaahing for some time. 


Eventually tearing ourselves away, Diane and I entered the Cavendish Hotel, owned by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. In fact, it was the late Duchess of Devonshire, Deborah (nee Mitford) who had worked so hard to restore, decorate and open the hotel in 1975.
Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire
The hotel began life as the Peacock Inn and bcame part of the Devonshire estate around 1830, when it was acquired from the Duke of Rutland. Being such a fan of Debo and Chatsworth both, I had been looking forward to our stay at the Cavendish for some time. I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed. 



We were given the Burlington Room




After dropping our bags in the room, Diane and I headed out to explore Baslow further. 

The village offers two pubs, one of which is the Wheatsheaf, above and below.


Baslow is a quintessential English village, with bags of charm round every corner. 







After soaking up the atmosphere, we found that it was just barely three o'clock and so we decided that there was enough time to fit in a walk to Chatsworth House and set off in giddy anticipation, like two kids waking up on Christmas morning. Chatsworth, here we come!

You may be glad to know that a stay in Baslow and a visit to Chatsworth House are both on the itinerary for Number One London's 2017 Country House Tour. 

Part Two Coming Soon!