One of my favourite walks locally is a loop from the house up to Stanton Moor and the Nine Ladies Stone Circle. The walk passes the privately owned Elizabethan house of Stanton Woodhouse, once part of the Haddon Estate and then climbs through fields to the wooded hillside below the moor. Remnants of long past quarrying can be seen through the trees and then onto the significantly more ancient moor itself with the Bronze Age stone circle just a short distance away. After a short rest atop one of these handily seat-sized stones a loop around the moor enjoying the views also takes in the Cork Stone, a single standing stone from the same period. In the late summer the moor is a riot of purple heather, but this time of year the dark pink flowers of the scattered rhododendrons stand out amongst the green. Leaving the moor brings you down to Stanton-in-the-Peak village and the wonderfully unspoilt Flying Childers Pub a regular winner in the Great British Pub awards for a well earned drink and a delicious light lunch. Then a gentle stroll downhill through the fields appreciating the amazing views across the Derwent Valley to Haddon Hall brings you back to Rowsley village. All in all this 6-ish mile walk includes some good climbing, incredible views, ancient and more modern history – and a good real ale pub. What more could you want?