Chatsworth House

Whilst on our tour of the East Midlands we went to visit Chatsworth House.  If you only visit one stately home in your life then this should be it.  I've visited a few over the years and tend to get a bit underwhelmed by it all, 'oh, another dusty, worn out chair', but Chatsworth certainly has a wow factor about it.  There are a few Limes (Tilia x europaea I'd say, maybe) that greet you on your way in that either by design or luck look fantastic.  They have been chopped and new growth has sprouted to make them look like a monster from Scooby Doo.

And passing through the gateway there is an avenue lined by what look to be Chinese Tulip trees (Liriodendron chinense) which also look fantastic when up close with their large, deeply cut leaves.

The entrance to the house and the Painted Hall.

 A view of the cascade from the fist floor of the house.

 Acer palmatum species tucked away behind the cascade.

 The rockery by Joseph Paxton built after a Grand Tour by Paxton and the 6th Duke in 1838.

The house is having some restoration work done to the windows on the side looking out to the fountain so it is difficult to take a picture of that side without it looking like an industrial unit, but it looks like they are either painting the window frames gold or putting on gold leaf, either way they were sparkling in the autumn sunshine.

And after all that walking around I needed to rest.