Chatsworth House and Gardens

As you might recall, I wasn't feeling great at the soccer match so I was a little bit leary about how the next day would turn out.  Fortunately, I woke up feeling pretty good.  I skipped breakfast since we had roughly an hour or so drive ahead of us to reach Derbyshire.  I didn't want to chance having any issues during the drive. 

By the time we arrived at the Chatsworth House and Gardens, I felt nearly back to my old self.  We had a little picnic lunch before we spent some time looking around.  I drank a sprite and nibbled on a few crackers and cheese.  I was able to keep everything down which was a great feeling!! Since strollers and pets aren't allowed in the house, Chris and I were the only ones to take a tour.  Fortunately, there was lots to see and do in the garden area as well.  It was a win for everyone!

The Chatsworth House is home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.  It has been passed down through 16 generations with the architecture and collections evolving for five centuries.  There are over 30 rooms to explore so it can definitely take a solid couple of hours to make your way through all of them.  Chris and I found some rooms more interesting that others.  My favorite was checking out the state rooms and dining areas.  They are always so elaborate!

There was a neat room that was designated as a type of playroom for young children that had older and current pictures of the Duke and Duchess' family.  I enjoyed looking at those for a bit.  The other area that I thought was really fun was the section that included photos and props from the filming of Pride and Prejudice.  In that movie, the house was Mr. Darcy's home.  It was really cool to see all the information about how the house was used in that film.  They had a whole display about it.

 

After we toured the house, we headed out to the gardens to meet up with the Seniors.  They had a fun time playing outside and seeing all the sites in the garden area while we were inside the house.  Chris and I briefly walked around the gardens.  We took a couple pictures and enjoyed the nice weather for a bit before we all ventured back to the car for the long ride back to Burton-on-Trent.

That night, Chris and I had plans to watch Newcastle at the nearby pub - The Blacksmith's Arms. However, when we arrived they told us they didn't have access to the channel and directed us to another nearby place that might have it available.  We walked to that spot, but they were showing the Celtic game and would not show Newcastle until it was finished.  We were annoyed by that so we decided to go back to Blacksmith's.  I'd been wanting some fish and chips and was STARVING since my sickness had me running on nearly empty for about 30 hours at that point.  Unfortunately, they had just run out of fish and chips.  I settled on chicken nuggets and chips instead.  It hit the spot.

Our time in the Midlands was dwindling down at this point.  We had just one more day until we headed down to London and began a whirlwind of a week across multiple countries.  Our last day in Burton was sure to be a good one.

Andrea :)