Keeping Cool on a Hot Day Out

On Sunday we made a visit to Chatsworth House and gardens. It is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. This is a splendid estate near Bakewell in Derbyshire and if you have never visited it is definitely worth adding to your bucket list.

  

 We were actually in Derbyshire to attend a 95th birthday party on the Saturday for a close friend's mum. The weekend was not without it's senior moments for me. We had been asked to arrive early at the party to take some family photos. My spare batteries needed charging so a plug was found to charge them. Needless to say I left without the charger and batteries! Imagine on top of this my consternation to arrive at Chatsworth car park to discover I had left my camera at the B & B 40 minutes away and with plans to return straight home at the end of the afternoon. All was not lost. I made arrangements for my friend to collect my camera and she will return it to me next Sunday. A period of negotiation with student daughter persuaded her to lend me her camera in return for me buying some extra data for her phone...

We visited the house first and by the time we reached the gardens temperatures were soaring.

There were many people enjoying the sunshine and one particular feature was very popular, the cascade. This was built in 1700 and is a prominent feature in the garden and can also be viewed from many of the windows.

It is fed by a pool high up on the hill which falls down through the cascade. Water can also cascade over the roof and through the various figures. Each set of steps are a different height to make a different sound of water falling.

The high temperatures had made the water a great attraction and many families were sat around the edge with children equipped with swimming suits.

They were all having a wonderful time and there seemed to be no concerns from anyone about it being used as a glorified fun attraction.

We had a little paddle as we descended . 

We then found a quieter spot for a bit of a cool down. The willow tree fountain is a brass willows tree which sprinkles water. The original tree dated from 1695 but it has been replaced several times over the years. It was an ideal spot for a refreshment!

The gardens are vast and I have more to show you but that is all for today.