peak district

Eyam looks an idyllic limestone village but a walk around it reveals the poignantly tragic story of a self-imposed quarantine during the Great Plague in 1665 after a box of contaminated cloth arrived here from London. Around 250 villagers died as Eyam cut itself off from the outside world, and plaques on various houses record the locations of some of the deaths. To find out more, see the exhibition in the parish church.

In the village centre, Eyam Hall is a sturdy-looking 17th-century manor house, still very much a family home with a fine Jacobean staircase and impressive flagstone hall (open for a few days of the week during summer).The Miners Arms is excellent for lunch.

Go south on the B6521 then left on the A623 to Baslow. Here go south on the A619 and fork left on the B6012.

Shortly the driveway to Chatsworth House appears on the left. This wonderful estate on the banks of the River Derwent has almost as much appeal for children as for adults. Home of the Duke of Devonshire's family for nearly 450 years, the great honey-coloured baroque mansion is one Britain's grandest, with memorable paintings by Rembrandt and Van Dyck, classical statues and painted ceilings within 26 sumptuously furnished rooms.

The extensive grounds are a delightful expanse for sauntering about: there is a grand terrace, a cascade tumbling down series of steps, a serpentine hedge, a ravine and a grotto. Capability Brown laid out the grounds, but much of what you see was modelled by Joseph Paxton, the head gardener who later on became the designer of the Crystal Palace. There is an excellent adventure playground as well as a farm, and the farm shop has produce from the estate.

There is free access for walkers on the west side of the estate (west of the River Derwent). Across the main road, Edensor (pronounced 'Ensor') is the estate village for Chatsworth with a fetching array of cottages in various architectural styles, all designed by Joseph Paxton.

Carry on south on the B6012 to Rowsley (where Cauldwell's Mill, a working 19th-century flour mill with crafts shops makes a diverting stop) then turn right on the A6 towards Bakewell.