Chatsworth Estate?
 

Looking for a good daytrip from London during my next visit - thinking about the Chatsworth Estate in Derbyshire.

Any feedback would be appreciated

Although Chatsworth is not to be missed, I relly think too far from London for a typical day trip..Blenheim much closer. This is another "in your face" stately home with history (Churchill was born there).

I seriously doubt there are any organized days trip London/Chatsworth. And if you are driving you'd really want to spend a day or two touring around.

Other places much closer to London that would be manageable day trips (tho' each would be better as part of an overnight trip away from London) include Blenheim, Warwick, Hatfield House, Woburn Abbey, Hever Castle/Chartwell, etc.

Chatsworth is a great tour (my favorite so far), but it is quite a trip from London. But it is doable if you have your heart set on it.

You can take the train from St. Pancras in London to Chesterfield (2 - 3 hour trip depending on the train.) Then, according to the Chatsworth website, from Chesterfield, take the 170 bus to Baslow, but then it's a 20 minute walk through Chatsworth Park.

Or you can take the train from St. Pancras to Matlock (via Derby) then the local 174, 213 or 214 bus to Chatsworth.

Check out the Chatsworth website (www.chatsworth-house.co.uk) and www.thetrainline.com for details.

Or... some tour companies, such as Astral Travels (www.astraltravels.co.uk) will do private tours, but you're probably talking a good amount of money.

Great question and answers, I've always wanted to go there myself, ever since I read that it was perhaps the inspiration for Pemberley in 'Pride and Prejudice.'
Not to mention that the current Duchess of Devonshire, a Mitford sister, is by all accounts a savvy businesswoman in her management of C'worth.

twodanes, meant to add
last year the Duchess published a couple of books, including one picture book about Chatsworth. Amazon has it.

Elaine, it was very to easy imagine Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy walking the grounds of Pemberly, I mean Chatsworth. :)

Several years ago on a visit to Derby we were taken through the Chatsworth Estate to the village at about 80 miles an hour and there is no way I'll miss going to Bakewell to stay in that village and visit Chatsworth..
http://www.chatsworth-house.co.uk The china shop, Sinclair's upstairs tea room has a fireplace dating back to 1700...also didn'tbuy Bakewell tarts, the authentic,but did take a picture of the charming shop with the fowl hanging outside..lol...The Dutchess shops in the village..GO. GO. GO if only to see the gardens, the maze, and the porcelains..

It is tricky to do it in a day. And it's near-criminal to miss the countryside around. Make it an overnighter and do some decent, bracing, walks. There are tons of rights of way through Chatsworth. Make sure you sample the oatcakes in the estate shop (the pancake-like, flabby things, not the mimsy biscuits the Scots eat). And Bakewell Tart, as sold and served locally, is a very different treat from the packaged tooth-rot sold under that name elsewhere.

Sadly Debo Mitford as was is no longer the Duchess: her husband died last year. She's now technically the Dowager Duchess, and her daughter in law - according to the rules of precedence - now queens it.

Whether, given Mrs Cavendish's doughty reputation, that's what actually happens around the family dinner table is another matter.

if you decide on an overnight stay i can recommend the cavendish hotel in baslow, where some of the furniture comes from chatsworth. from the hotel,in a pretty village, it's perhaps a 20-minute walk trhough the forest to chatsworth.

I believe London Walks does a day trip to Chatsworth as one of its Explorer Days.

www.walks.com

You likely take a train to one point and they'd have some sort of bus transport pick you up. worth checking out if you have your heart set on Chatsworth.

Bakewell Tart? Wash your mouth out. It's Bakewell Pudding. If you call it Bakewell Tart in Bakewell, you'll be run out of town and covered in custard.

Could you "do" chatsworth in a couple of hours one July morning.

My cricket team has a fixture in Baslow starting 2.30 pm and we will be travelliing ex Nottingham.Is it possible to walk up the Derwent from Chatsworth to Baslow?

Would I be right in stating that it is one of the finest stately homes in England?

Wasn't Lyme House in Cheshire used as the location for pride and predjudice?

An amusing anecdote: My Aunt Judith interviewed Debo Mitford at Chatsworth for her TV programme (I think it was THE HOUSE DETECTIVES series, but I might be mistaken). One of the Duchess' prize chickens (I hear they wander the house) pooped on my Aunt Judith's Prada shoe. :)

If you do stay overnight you should also take in Haddon Hall, a wonderful medieval manor house that was spared Victorian meddling. It is two miles south of Bakewell which would make a fine overnight stop with a good choice of accommodation and restaurants.

with regard to inspiring the description of Pemberley, I was referring to the writing of the novel, not to the excellent tv film

Wow - thanks for all the responses.

Truth be known, I have a hidden agenda for traveling that far from London for the day - there is a very small town about 5 miles from Chatsworth that happens to have the same name as my family name (it is a very rare surname, especially in the states - I have only come across it one time). I know that my father's side of the family came from Derbyshire, so this town is probably where my name is derived from.

I thought it would be neat to visit the town (which, according to its size, will take about 5 minutes) but did not want to waste a day without doing some additional sightseeing.

One other question - are there any taxis at the Chesterfield station we could "hire" for the day?

There is a bulletin board at this site..
http://www.derbycity.com/home.htm and if you have an extra hour or two let me recommend taking a tour of the Royal Crown Derby factory...it is taking a step back in time to see how they manage to put out lovely porcelain.. BTW if you need a contactin the area I have a dear friend I would be glad to give you her e-mail.. write to me [email protected]

It may be cheaper to rent a car for the day from Chesterfield than hiring a taxi for the day.

What's your family name? We stopped by the ancestral stomping grounds a few years ago when we were staying in Winchcombe. A little itty bitty village called Little Washbourne - which consisted of a 15th century pub and one house. Not much to see, but it was still fun. :)

With your new info about the family connections -- DEFINITELY go for an overnight. You can take a train or fly to Manchester in the morning and rent a car for 2 days. Stay in a B&B in or near the "surname" village and in 2 days you can visit it, Chatsworth, Hardwick Hall (another "must" ), some of the fabulous peak district.

Then drop your car in the late afternoon the 2nd day and fly or train back to London and be in London in time for dinner.

Even if the village IS small you may find out you want to linger there. An evening in a village pub in a village with my name - I personally wouldn't pass that up (assumimg there IS a village pub - not all have them)

I would NOT try to do this in one day or by taxi. But if you absolutely will not drive you can hire a local driver for a few hours each day.