I get a lot of guests asking me whether Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall are part of the National Trust and I have to tell them that they are privately owned estates, still in the hands of the same families which have managed them for hundreds of years.

However, there are plenty of National Trust Properties with easy reach of The Old Station House including:-

1. Hardwick Hall – Hardwick is the second great house built by the infamous Bess, many years after she and her second husband built Chatsworth. Hardwick Hall “more glass than wall” is a fascinating place to visit. Right next to the house Bess built is the much more modest house she grew up in, now sadly a ruin managed by English Heritage.
2. Lyme Park – (pictured) made famous as the house used in the 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice as Pemberley complete with the lake that Colin Firth as Darcy dived into so memorably.
3. Calke Abbey – a fascinating glimpse into how a great house gradually declines through the generations. When the NT took over the Abbey the last aged occupant was essentially living in just one room and they made the decision to preserve, rather than repair, some of the decay – to great effect. Don’t miss the luxurious bed hangings, discovered after languishing for more than 200 years in a wooden chest!
4. Kedleston Hall – Magnificent eighteenth century “temple to the arts” with expansive grounds full of sweeping vistas. This extraordinary property was used to represent Bath in the film The Duchess with Keir Knightley
5. Sudbury Hall – used for the interiors of Pemberley in the 1995 production. Called “The Children’s Country House” Sudbury is the home of the Museum of Childhood and is a place where the whole family can have fun with history.
6. If great houses aren’t your cup of tea why not head off into open country managed by the Trust, like the Longshaw Estate which has excellent walking country in the High Peak. Wander through the ancient woodlands and open heather moors that you might remember as the base for Springwatch in 2025. Alternatively you can hike from Edale up to Kinder Scout, the highest point in the Peak District and well worth the climb for the views, which will truly take your breath away.