Day 1: Travelling by executive coach from our designated pick-up points, our first stop is the National Trust’s Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire, home of the Ferrers family for 500 years. Much of the house was built in the late
1500s by Henry Ferrers, a lawyer, diarist and antiquarian. It was a sanctuary for the Ferrers family and for persecuted Catholics who were concealed from priest hunters in its secret hiding places. We’ll continue to the 4-star Copthorne Hotel in Sheffield for our four-night stay.
Day 2: Our guide accompanies us throughout the day as we visit Bakewell in the morning before continuing to Chatsworth (home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire). One of Britain’s most famous houses and estates, it featured in the film Pride and Prejudice. With its works of art and beautiful gardens, Chatsworth is set in the magnificent landscape of Derbyshire’s Peak District National Park.
The gardens at Chatsworth Photograph courtesy of A J Hall
Day 3: We visit Renishaw Hall and Gardens, home to the Sitwell family for almost 400 years, before continuing to Hardwick Hall and Gardens, another National Trust property. It was built by the famous Elizabethan Bess of Hardwick and is testament to her wealth and status. Hardwick Hall is almost unchanged since she lived there in the formality of Elizabethan courtly life.
Day 4: In the morning we spend some time in Buxton before driving to Haddon Hall, a fortified manor house dating back to the 12th century, and surrounded by terraced Elizabethan gardens.
Day 5: On our way home from Sheffield we visit the Crich Tramway Village in the heart of Derbyshire overlooking the Derwent Valley. This restored period village is home to the National Tramway Museum and its archives.
Hotel: 4 nights in 4-star Copthorne Hotel, Sheffield www.millenniumhotels.co.uk
Cost: £469 (including executive coach, hotel for four nights sharing a twin/double room on half-board basis, Blue Badge guide for days 2,3 and 4. Single room supplement: £99)
If you would like to join this holiday, please complete the enclosed application form and send it with an sae (not too small, please) to:
Gisela Zürcher-Feiß, 37 The Byeways, Surbiton, KT5 8HT Tel: 020 8399 4990