Chatsworth Moors | 9 Miles | The Wandering Wildflower

This walk explores the moorland around the stunning Chatsworth House, Derbyshire and includes a visit to the ancient sites of Park Gate Stone Circle and Hob Hurst’s House as well exploring the woods around the house itself. Visiting the Hunting Tower and Souter Stone, near the Aqueduct, this walk is 9 miles.

Chatsworth House is one of the wonders of the Peak District, being a magnificent Grade 1 listed country house surrounded by an immaculate 105 acre garden and a 1800+ acre park. Home to the Cavendish family for nearly 500 years, it’s now looked after by the 12th Duke of Devonshire and his family.

Chatsworth Christmas Market

When we did this walk the famous Chatsworth Christmas Market was on. Here’s a quick tip if you fancy visiting – don’t pay the £25 to park in the Chatsworth car park (this doesn’t even get you access to the house or gardens, it’s just purely the parking for the market! You also still have to do a bit of a walk from the car park). Park at Nether End car park and enjoy a scenic stroll of just under a mile into the grounds. We paid just £6.80 for all day parking. Get there early though – spaces fill up FAST.

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This walk is based on one I found in The South Yorkshire Moors by Christopher Goddard. This is an excellent book which features “a hand-drawn guide to walking and exploring the moorlands of South Yorkshire and northern Derbyshire, covering large parts of the Dark Peak”. Think Wainwrights guides, but for the Peak District! This book would make a great gift for someone who loves hiking (or yourself).

Leaving Nether End car park, we turned right to head over the bridge and then right again to follow the lane which leads to the Cannon Kissing Gate at the entrance to Chatsworth Park. We walked along the bottom track, passing Queen Mary’s Bower, and then turned left to pass in front of Chatsworth House heading up the hill to the Farmyard.

Just before the entrance to the Farmyard a path runs off to the right, climbing up into Stand Wood. We went straight on at the crossroads and then climbed up the steps to The Hunting Tower. This was built in the 1580s as a place for the ladies to watch the hunts in the park.

There is a faint path off to the south through the woods which winds its way to the Souter Stone, a beautiful waterfall which has a small pool on top of the stone. The water from here flows down into the Aqueduct, a folly designed by Joseph Paxton in 1839. You can nip down the path to get a better look at the Aqueduct but we chose not to, and carried on through the woods on a surfaced drive until we reached a T junction. Here we turned right, heading out of the woods and following Park Gate steadily up the hill.

There is a good, wide track leading across the Rabbit Warren. After about a mile there is a faint turning off to the left to pass the Park Gate Stone Circle, an ancient Neolithic or Bronze Age stone circle consisting of 10 stones (and one buried one). You can read more about the site here.

From Park Gate Stone Circle we crossed the moor, skirting the edge of the woodland and climbing gently to join a good track, before turning right for a short detour to Hob Hurst’s House, an unusual square Bronze Age burial cairn.

Turning back, we headed along the track to the north-west, skirting the edge of Gibbet Moor. We came to a stile on the left, climbed over and followed the path as it undulated alongside Heathy Lea Brook. Crossing a wooden bridge over a waterfall, the route continues through the woodland a short distance before emerging in open countryside via a series of stiles.

Over a high stile, we turned right to head down the hillside into Chatsworth Park again and headed across the park to rejoin the track near the Cannon Kissing Gate, skirting to the left of the woodland. We followed the route back to the village centre and had a well earned drink in the Devonshire Arms.

This was a perfect walk to do near Christmas, with the Christmas market in full swing, but would be great to do at any time of year.

Where to Park to Walk In Chatsworth Park

We parked in Nether End Car Park in nearby Baslow and walked up to the Chatsworth Park. There is a car park to the front of Chatsworth House itself.

When is Chatsworth House Open?

You can check the current opening times on the Chatsworth House website.

Can You Visit Chatsworth House Without Paying?

You don’t need to spend any money to enjoy a walk around Chatsworth but you have to buy a ticket to enter Chatsworth House, the farm, playgrounds and gardens. We were only there to spot the deer so we didn’t go into the house. You can prebook your tickets on the Chatsworth House website.