The Peak District, Derbyshire & Cheshire
With its spectacular and contrasting scenery, the Peak District is a region of outstanding natural beauty and one of Britain’s loveliest National Parks. The National Trust has been hard at work here for over 100 years and now cares for some 40,000 acres. High Peak Estate is the largest estate, over 33,000 acres of high moorland straddling the Yorkshire-Derbyshire border. Although only ten miles from the centre of Sheffield, the Longshaw Estate boasts more than 1,700 acres of open moorland, gritstone edges and ancient oak woodland, while the 4,400 acre South Peak Estate lies in the magnificent limestone hills, centred upon the well-known beauty spots of Ilam and Dovedale. On the foothills of the Peak District, Lyme Park contains an Italianate mansion and Victorian garden surrounded by a medieval deer park of almost 1,400 acres.

Hardwick Hall is ideally situated for exploring the Peak District and Sherwood Forest, while the gentler landscapes of South Derbyshire contain pretty villages, bustling market towns and the fast-growing National Forest. The area is steeped in history with ancient castles, grand houses and sites that reveal the ingenuity of our industrial past.

Kedleston
Completed in 1765 as a showpiece for the Curzon family, Kedleston Hall is one of Derbyshire’s most spectacular mansions.

The Hall contains the least-altered sequence of Robert Adam interiors in England with many of the original paintings, sculpture and furniture, while the Eastern Museum displays fascinating objects collected by Lord Curzon on his travels in Asia and while Viceroy of India. Visitors may also recognise several of the rooms from ‘The Duchess’, the film about the turbulent life of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. 820 acres of parkland and pleasure grounds include woodland walks, a spectacular series of lakes and cascades, and All Saints Church, the only survivor of a medieval village. Situated in the Midlands and near to the motorway network, this large house is ideal for family gatherings or friends’ reunions, and for exploring the Peak District, the city of Derby and south Derbyshire. Holiday Cottage guests have free access to Kedleston Hall house during opening hours and access to the grounds out of hours (except Tuesday and Thursday).

National Trust places nearby: Calke Abbey, Ilam Park and South Peak Estate, The Old Manor, Sudbury Hall and the National Trust Museum of Childhood, Manifold Valley. Shop and pub: Kedleston, Quarndon. Tea-room/café/restaurant: restaurant at Kedleston Hall, Kedleston Country House Hotel. Other attractions: Donington Park, Derby City. Activities: walking, cycling.

Ordnance Survey Landranger Map 128