BEELEY CHATSWORTH PARK WALK
THE WALK
A lovely scenic walk that, after leaving Beeley, explores the woods high above Chatsworth House, where there are stunning views across the park from the Hunting Tower. After passing close to Chatsworth House, you return along the banks of the River Derwent through Chatsworth Park.
From Beeley, the path climbs up to Beeley Hilltop Farm and then across the bracken-clad hillside on the edge of Beeley Moor, to follow a woodland track high above Chatsworth House and gardens. After passing both the Swiss Lake and the Emperor Lake, you arrive at the Hunting Tower. Elizabethan in construction, it has the most wonderful views over Chatsworth Estate and was used by the ladies of the house to view the hunt when it took place in the park below. The cannon at the base of the house came from a ship that fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.
The view of the house and gardens as you walk across the park is unforgettable, even if the Emperor Fountain is not sending up jets of water nearly 300 feet high.
LOOK OUT FOR
Route Point 2 Paine built two bridges at Chatsworth, One Arch and Three Arch, based on Italian prototypes. The bridge at the south end of the park is the One Arch Bridge, built in 1759–1760. The other bridge he built carries the main drive to Chatsworth House. From the One Arch Bridge, there are views north to Paine’s Mill. The Mill was built as a replacement for a former working mill and designed to attract attention.
Point 3 The old road to Chatsworth used to go through the heart of the village and left by Pig Lane, so named because of a group of pigsties by the side of the road. Fortunately for Beeley, it has had a bypass for over a hundred years, effectively shutting out all the hustle and bustle of the Chatsworth traffic hurrying along the winding road.
Point 5 Beeley Hilltop Farm, is one of the oldest houses in this part of Derbyshire and probably dates to 1250. It is a Grade II* listed building with connections to Beeley Old Hall in the village. The Old Hall at Beeley was considered the original Manor House until 1559, when John Greaves of the ‘Greaves’ bought it. Manor House status was then transferred to the ‘Greaves’, later known as Beeley Hill Top. Both reverted to farmhouse classification in the 17th century.
Point 8 Joseph Paxton designed Swiss Cottage in the late 1830s on the northern side of the Swiss Lake as a gamekeeper’s cottage. It was one of the many improvements to the estate made by the 6th Duke of Devonshire. The intention was to impress walkers and carriage riders passing through the estate. It has been completely renovated and is now one of the estate’s holiday lets. The Emperor Lake feeds the Emperor Fountain in Chatsworth Gardens.
Point 9 The Hunting Tower is Elizabethan in construction, and provides awe-inspiring views over Chatsworth Estate. Many years ago, the ladies of the house viewed the hunt from the Tower when it took place in the park below. The cannon at the base of the Tower came from a ship that fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Point 12 Queen Mary’s Bower is close to the bridge leading to the house. It took its name after Mary, Queen of Scots, who was held a prisoner at Chatsworth five times between 1570 and 1581. She was allowed to exercise in a secure environment close to the River Derwent and surrounded by beautiful countryside. Her coat of arms appears over the gateway.
WALK DETAILS
Length: 5.25 miles.
Start/Finish: Calton Lees Car Park.
Location: Leave the A6 south of Bakewell to join the B6012 to Chatsworth. The car park is on the left, 200 yards after crossing the bridge into the estate.
Terrain: One long steady ascent and descent, otherwise easy walking.
Refreshments: The Beeley Inn and the Smithy Cafe in Beeley, as well as a selection of food outlets at Chatsworth House.
THE ROUTE
1. From Calton Lees car park, walk towards the entrance to Chatsworth Garden Centre, but just before reaching it, turn left on a woodland path leading down to the road.
2. Cross One Arch Paine’s Bridge and immediately turn right to walk diagonally for three-quarters of a mile across a long field to Beeley village.
3. Cross the B6012 and walk up the lane past the church, and then turn left into Pig Lane. Within 30 yards, take the stile on the right. Walk up a short field to another stile and in the following field continue straight ahead to the far-left hand top corner to go through a stile.
4. Cross the next field diagonally to a stile about 20 yards in from the top left-hand corner.
5. Continue across the following field diagonally to a gate and walk along the track towards Beeley Hilltop Farm with the wall close on the right. Follow the track as it swings to the right around the farm buildings, where you turn left to a stile. Once over the stile, turn left and within a few yards go over another stile onto the lane leading up to Beeley Moor.
6. Go right, and almost immediately left, over a stone step stile angling to the right across a field to another stile leading along a bracken-covered hillside.
7. Follow the well-trodden path up the hillside, going to the left at the top over a stone stile by a gate onto a woodland track. Continue along the track, and keep straight on. Soon, the main track bends first to the right, and then to the left, before eventually passing Swiss Lake and the northern tip of Emperor Lake.
9. On reaching an electricity pole, turn left down a partly grassed track. In about 100 yards, the Hunting Tower is on the right, and a short flight of steps leads to a service road.
10. Turn left and, within a few yards, start descending a long series of steps on the right. At the bottom of the steps, turn right onto a woodland track, passing an adventure playground on the left, to reach a stile by a white gate into a field.
11. Follow the field around to the right to another stile and then go to the left to join a parkland road and head towards Chatsworth House.
12. Follow the path close to the main drive to Chatsworth House as you approach the bridge over the River Derwent; Queen Mary’s Bower is on the right. Cross the bridge and turn left to walk along the banks of the river until the ruins of an old mill are only a short distance away; then turn right, back to the main road through the estate. On joining the road through the park, turn left, and follow the sign back to the car park.
BEELEY
