It's Good to Be the Duke!

We were visited this week by Mary's sister, Alice from Sioux Falls; their sister-in-law, Mary from Omaha; and their cousin, Joanie from Tucson. This was primarily an all-girls family trip, but they needed a chauffeur at times, so I was pressed into service.

On Monday we drove to the neighboring county of Derbyshire, only an hour and a half or so away, into an area known as "The Peak District." This area is quite scenic and (as the name implies) very hilly. Some leaves are just starting to turn, and we continued unseasonably warm weather, so it was a beautiful outing.

Our first stop was the town of Chesterfield, where a design error caused the spire of the 13th century parish church to settle in an unexpected way. As one of the locals put it, "That spire was added in the year 1360 and the church is still trying to get their money back!"

Mary in Chatsworth gardens with her sister-in-law and sister in the background.

After some time to shop at market day in Chesterfield, we drove on to Chatsworth House, ancestral home of the the Cavendish family (better known as the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire) since 1549. The current house, begun in 1687, is now maintained by a private trust, but the family still rents the apartments and continues to live there.

The chamber music hall, Chatsworth

It's clear that it's good to be the Duke! Chatsworth does not quite match Blenheim Palace (see below), but it's opulent by any standard. Sculpture from classical to modern is featured both in the house and in the gardens, and the house is full of paintings (including a famous Rembrandt) and other art.

On Tuesday I caught up on work while Mary took her family members around Nottingham and to a play at the Royal Theatre downtown. Wednesday we did a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon so they could see the Shakespeare sites. We put this lively trio onto the tram this morning, and hope they made it without incident to the train station and on to London today.