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ROWSLEY – CALTON LEES – CALTON HOUSES – BOUNS CORNER – ROWSLEY
ROWSLEY – CALTON LEES – CALTON HOUSES – BOUNS CORNER – ROWSLEY
DISTANCE: Approximately 5 ½ miles
Start your walk outside The Peacock Hotel and walk up Church Lane away from the A6, passing the car parking area for the hotel and continue until the lane starts to go uphill. Now take a footpath on the right which leads you beneath a bridge which held the Midland Railway line above until its closure in 1968.
Follow the path which may be muddy in winter and following spells of wet weather through fields and stiles on a well defined path until you finally emerge at Calton Lees almost two miles away. At one point you will see an unusual pillared barn down to your right.
On reaching the quaint little hamlet of Calton Lees you follow a road around to a sharp bend and then go through a gate on your left and begin the long walk up to Calton Houses with a merry little brook on your left.
The track will take you right through Calton Houses and on to a path followed by a gate. Immediately after passing through this turn left and follow the wall side. You should shortly come to a track heading down through a gate and gap in the trees, where you then follow the path up the hillside opposite heading towards the bank of trees on the horizon.
As you walk be sure to keep glancing behind you at the wondrous views which appear the higher you go. You should be able to see the white painted lodge with its attractive bargeboards and roof timbers sitting isolated on an elevated site. This is Russian Cottage which was a gift from Tsar Nicholas I to the 6th Duke of Devonshire. The two men had become firm friends following the Duke’s visit to Russia in 1816 when he served as the British Ambassador to Moscow. His rapport with the Tsar as well as the Russian people was established due to his good manners and friendly attitude which was adopted for some time by the Russian people as ‘the Devonshire Way’ of behaviour. The Duke arranged an exchange visit in 1844 when the Emperor Fountain was built in the Tsar’s honour. Unfortunately the Tsar had to cancel his visit but he sent Russian cottage with its intricate carvings and window surrounds as a reminder and keepsake. The cottage was used as a luncheon place for shooting parties held at Chatsworth.
Cross a stile into the woods and follow the well-used path. You will also see little signs indicating the route. You should emerge from the wood at the edge of the ridge with the most amazing views in front of you through a gap in the trees. It takes a minute or two to establish your bearings and what you are looking at. Below you is Coombs Valley with Haddon Hall nestling out of sight over the little ridge in front. In the distance are the vast pastures of Haddon Fields.
Follow the track down through the woods and at a junction turn left. Shortly afterwards bear right and walk down a narrow path to emerge on the corner by the junction of several paths at a point where you can look right down the valley to Bakewell or left towards Rowsley.
Turn left and walk past a metal gate following the track which years ago formed the main road from Bakewell to Rowsley. Up until the mid 18th century the valley bottom was marshland and this track was the main route south with a drive shooting down to Haddon Hall. Following an Act of Parliament in 1759 a toll road was laid along the valley bottom which was in part paid for by the then Duke of Rutland on the understanding that it followed the opposite side of the river, away from Haddon Hall. There was a tollgate at the western end of Rowsley village to collect the relevant charge, and the little tollhouse can still be seen although now converted into a cottage.
Keep along the track ignoring any paths heading off to the left which are purely for access to the woodland. After a while you will come to a corner where you head off downhill to the right and away from the woods, although there is a plantation to your right for some distance.
This bumpy road leads down to Rowsley and becomes Church Lane which brings you back to the side of the Peacock.
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