[1] Leave the car park with the town centre and river behind you and head for the right hand (Southeast) edge of large Agricultural Business Centre on Bakewell Showground. At the right hand edge of the building, turn left up the Showground access road, past stockyards to your left. Go through the gate onto Coombs Rd, turn left and then immediately right through a gate signed “The Outrake”. Walk up the tarmac road and after a short distance take the right fork through a kissing gate and follow the concrete track uphill. Where it bends to the left carry straight on keeping the wall to your right. Cross the old railway line through a stile and gate and follow the path to the golf course. Ignore gates to the left and right. Take the obvious path across the golf course beneath the bank on your left into the wood beyond. Take rough track uphill into the woods with the stream below on your right.
[2] At a path junction, take the right fork over two streams (which may be dry) and past a Haddon Estate notice board. The path climbs gently through woodland. Shortly, at a path junction take the hairpin turn left to follow the path that continues to climb gently uphill. When you reach the stream next to a breeze block box, turn right to follow the rough track steeply uphill by the stream to reach the gate in the wall at the edge of the wood. This path can be very slippery in wet weather. Go through the gate. In front of you, slightly to the right, is a small copse. Head uphill to the right hand edge of the copse. As you pass the copse, a gate comes into view in the fence ahead. Aim for a point about 50m to the left of this gate to reach the wooden pedestrian gate next to a pond. Go through the gate, past the pond on your left and through the next gate.
[3] Turn right downhill and follow the path parallel to the fence on the right. Head for the gate to the left of the copse on the fence line. Climb over the stile and continue along the path with the wall and copse to your right. Head for a wooden electricity pole which comes into view. When a house comes into view, the path veers gently to the left, follow it towards an open barn. At the path junction turn left into the woods (sign posted Edensor, Chatsworth). Go down the walled track through the woods and over a large stone steps into the field beyond. Take in the view of Chatsworth House.
[4] Continue down the field on the obvious path to the left of the fenced wood. Pass this wood and then another fenced wood, both on your right. At the end of the second wood, head for the left of the church spire, just to the left of the well worn path. Continue along this line and pass a small group of trees on your left. When the gardens at the edge of the village come into view, head for the metal gate to the right of the small electricity substation. Go through the metal gate down steps to the road. Caution – the steps are steep. Turn right down hill into the picturesque village of Edensor.
(A) Edensor churchyard is where many of the Cavendish family are buried. Amongst them is Kathleen Kennedy, sister of US President John F Kennedy, who was married to the 10th Duke's eldest son. She was killed in a plane crash in 1948 aged 28. On a state visit in 1963, President Kennedy came to the churchyard to pay his respects to his sister. His visit is commemorated by an engraved stone on her grave.
[5] Follow the road through Edensor taking the left fork at the church to meet the main road at a pivoting metal gate. Cross the road and take the path opposite bending away to the right. As Chatsworth House comes into view, walk down to the bridge.
(B) Chatsworth has been home to the Cavendish family since Sir William Cavendish bought Chatsworth Manor on 1549 for £600. His son, William became the 1st Earl of Devonshire in 1618. Large death duties following the death of the 10th Duke in 1950 forced the disposal of much of the estate assets and the remainder was placed in trust. In 1981 the running of Chatsworth was taken over by the Chatsworth House Trust, a charitable foundation established by the 11th Duke to help ensure the preservation of the house, its essential contents, the garden and the park for the benefit of the general public. (Extracts from the Chatsworth House web site. More information at http://www.chatsworth.org/ ).Toilets, cafe and snack shops are available at Chatsworth and are free to use. You need to pay for access to the house and grounds. If you decide to spend more time here, don’t forget that the car park back in Bakewell is locked at 6pm and it will take you 3 hours to get there.
[6] Before bridge, cross the road and take the path to the right running diagonally across the field to some steps in the distance. Go up the steps and take the lower of the three paths available, skirting the trees on your left. Follow the faint path along the bottom of the bank on your right to cut the corner in the River Derwent. Follow the river bank passing a weir, picnic tables and on old mill to reach the road by a bridge. Turn left over the bridge (take care, there is not much room). Go through the gate on the right after the bridge and follow the straight marked path as it gradually leaves the river. The path becomes more obvious and eventually reaches the road by a church.
[7] Cross the road (take care) and go down the lane opposite past the church on your left. At the T junction, turn right and at the triangular green take the right fork downhill. Immediately after the Devonshire Arms, turn left on the road uphill. After the end of houses on the left go through the gate on the right at the next field boundary. At the next gate, turn left and follow the fence uphill to a gap in the wall (keep the fence on your left). Go through the gap and then head for the wall corner at 45° to your right. Continue on that line to go through a gate in the wall and then further to a larger gate on the edge of the woodland.
[8] Enter Rowsley Wood and, after a few yards, take the lower path contouring through the trees. At the first path junction, ignore the path down to the right. At the second path junction, join the larger track by turning left uphill and through the gap in the large wall. After the wall, ignore the path to the left. At the footpath sign follow the path to the right, marked Rowsley, over the bridge. The path descends and then ascends gradually. At the top of the ascent it meets a forest access road. Climb up to the forest road and turn right continuing in more or less the same direction as before until you reach a tarmac road by a house.
[9] Cross the road turn left and immediately right down a marked fenced path next to a house. At the end of the path go through the Yew arch and gate and follow the same line down the field to a gap in the wall. Go through the gap and over a stile to join a fenced path down to the road. Cross the minor road and continue along the A6 in the direction of Buxton and Manchester keeping to the pavement on the right hand side. At the Peacock Arms, turn right into Church Lane.
(C) Take a look at Rowsley Post Office. The sign has the arms of all the families living in the village. A poster in the shop window explains more.
[10] Carry on up Church Lane, ignoring roads to left and right as it rises, steeply in parts. Eventually, the road becomes a stony track and bends to the left. (The path remains a stony/gravelly road until the next waypoint). The road arrives at barriers on the edge of private woodland. Take the level signed bridleway keeping the edge of the mature woodland to your right. Ignore all the roads into the woodland on your right. At the T junction, turn left. At the next junction take the right fork. When the track goes downhill, ignore tracks to the left into a farm.
[11] Shortly, the road bends 90° right; take the marked bridleway going straight on. Turn right through the gate into a field. Follow the path along the edge of the field keeping the metal fence on your left. Continue across three fields and follow the fence as it bends to the left down to a road. Go through the gate and turn left onto the road. Follow the road downhill, shortly around to the right over the old railway line. Ignore a road to the right.
[12] At the end of the woodland on the right, take the signed bridleway on the right. Follow the fence on your left to take the path below the fenced tree and continue on the lower path, down steps, to the river bank. (Note - if the meadow is flooded remain on the higher path and descend at the next suitable opportunity). Cross a stile and follow the river bank path. Cross a bridge and follow the hedge line to the next river bend. Head slightly left towards the church spire in the distance. At the hedge corner, turn slightly right to follow the hedge line. Go through two more gates to reach a tarmac access road and follow it to the Agricultural Business Centre. Retrace your steps back to the car park.