A weirdo chicken at Chatsworth

I can't seem to upload photos via blogger at the moment so Andrew has put some on Flickr. Just click on the photo above to see all the ones he uploaded.
This amazing cockerel looks like he is wearing pantaloons!

When we decided that we would come to England, the place I most wanted to see was Chatsworth. Today we went and I was not disappointed! We went other places first, however, so I'll start at the beginning.

Chesterfield is in Derbyshire and the countryside is quite different here from where we have been so far. It is much hillier and, as well as the lush green grass and trees, there is heather. The stone walls separate the fields and they look like patchwork. We stopped at some really high points with marvellous views.

We went to a little village called Eyam. It is famous for what it did in 1665 and 6 during the plague. A tailor in Eyam was sent some cloth from London with the plague germs on it. He and his neighbours died and when the rector realised that the plague was in the village he convinced the villagers to cut themselves off to prevent it from spreading to the rest of Derbyshire. The church and graveyard are lovely.

Have you ever had a Bakewell tart? Well they are actually puddings, not tarts. We went to the gorgeous village of Bakewell and not only bought Bakewell puddings, but had a fabulous pub lunch.

Then, to Chatsworth. The countryside it is situated in is beautiful and the park is gorgeous with sheep and deer. We parked and went into the house. This house is mentioned in Pride and Prejudice and many say that it was Austen's model for Pemberley. It played Pemberley in the latest Pride and Prejudice movie. When Elizabeth Bennett and her aunt and uncle visit Pemberley in the movie, they go through a room with marble sculptures. I have been in that room! My favourite sculpture is the one of the lady with the veil. It really looks like a sheer veil - made of marble! To my great surprise and pleasure the marble bust of Mr Darcy made for the film is in the room as well. All of the rooms, halls and staircases are spectacular, I absolutely loved it.

We went out into the gardens and walked beside the cascade, wandered paths through the woods, found the centre of the maze (and our way back out) and felt the spray of the great fountain. A wonderful, wonderful day.