Place names which aren't pronounced as they're spelled can cause a problem for off-comed'uns. For instance, ask someone in the Bakewell area of Derbyshire if you're on the right path for Eden-sor and they'll probably grin and tell you they wouldn't know about that but they can show you the way to Enzor if you like.

Edensor/Enzor is a model village on the Chatsworth Estate in the Peak District National Park, an area we've grown increasingly fond of for walking weekends. It's a village which is located where it is because the 6th Duke of Devonshire didn't like it where it was and had it moved. The things you can do when you've a bob or two!

Back in 1839 the Duke decided that the view from Chatsworth House would be improved if the then village of Edensor was removed from it, so he commissioned Derby architect John Robertson to create a new village nearby but out of his sightline.

And so he did, coming up with a variety of styles for the cottages from mock-Tudor to Swiss chalets and Italian villas.

This village was to be our goal as we set off from the attractive town of Bakewell on the first Monday in May, a day which had dawned with a promising clear-blue sky but by 9.30am had clouded over. Still, it was dry and visibility was reasonable as we crossed the river and took a climbing road up past some attractive houses and bungalows.

Just by an industrial estate we crossed the disused railway, which has been turned into a footpath, then joined a rough path which led up through woodland and, briefly, across a corner of a golf course. A sign invited us to bang a gong to warn the golfers we were on our way. We did.

Soon we were in among the tall trees again, following a clear path up the steep hillside to the accompaniment of birdsong to emerge rather breathless at the top on to the minor road we had left at the bottom of the hill, having cut out a large bend.

The views from up here were splendid in every direction as we strode along the tarmac between fields of sheep and young lambs before leaving the road and joining a broad, descending track flanked by huge trees and ancient walls which, with views to the right over broad acres of pasture and park land, took us into Edensor.

It's a fine, pretty place with a wonderful mix of architectural styles and, beyond it, the parkland of Chatsworth across the River Derwent. Dominating it is the church, built in 1870 to a design by Sir George Gilbert Scott on the site of the old church and incorporating several of its features.

It contains a vast monument to William (the first Earl of Devonshire) and Henry Cavendish, sons of Bess of Hardwick, who died in 1626 and 1616 respectively. Buried in the graveyard, fittingly, is Joseph Paxton, the 6th Duke's head gardener who helped to lay out the village. There's also the grave of Kathleen Kennedy, sister of President John F Kennedy, who died in a plane crash shortly after her husband Lord Hartington, the present Duke's brother, was killed in the Second World War. It was to this grave that President Kennedy came to pay tribute in 1963, not long before his assassination.

We strolled the hamlet's lanes for a while before setting off on the return leg, climbing a flight of steps to go through a stile and into open park land grazed by sheep and lambs. As we gained height the views grew ever more expansive. At the top, just before entering woodland again, we parked ourselves on one of three conveniently-placed seats and savoured the scene below us, with Chatsworth House on the far side of the graceful River Derwent and its backdrop of trees from which protruded the landmark Elizabethan hunting tower.

A short climb through the wood and we were in wide, open fields again and heading west along a good, clear, grassy track before eventually passing a hilltop pond and re-entering the wood we had climbed up through at the start of our walk. The steep descent on a footpath which crossed trickling streams took us back on to a different section of the golf course with another warning gong to strike before the last leg of the journey back to Bakewell.

It had been a most enjoyable outing, with lots of variety and plenty to look at along the way in a very attractive part of the country.

Step by Step

  1. Leave Bakewell by Bridge Street, crossing river and turning right into Station Road. Walk up this, forking right before industrial units to cross bridge over disused railway and then go right into a path. Take centre of three choices, the bridleway climbing up through trees to cross corner of golf course and continue upwards to top of wood.
  2. Turn right and walk along road, soon descending steadily. Eventually follow a broad, unsurfaced lane which forks right off road and stick with this into Edensor. Walk down to bottom of village and admire church and, if you like, extend outing by crossing road, walking on to Chatsworth and returning.
  3. Walk back up village from church in direction from which you arrived and follow footpath sign up steps between two houses. At top of steps go through stile into open pasture and head half right across it, passing waymarked post and soon looking for another which points way just to right of plantation of trees. Keep uphill in same direction towards a stile beside wide gate with three bench seats nearby.
  4. Climb stile and walk up broad track between trees and enter open field again. Soon, by signpost in middle of field, ignore descending track ahead and go right on level, broad, grassy track to stile/gate. Through this head for skyline where fence to left and path converge by a pond. Go over one stile and then through another at end of pond.
  5. Walk across corner of field, going to left of small plantation and descending to gate stile. Follow steep path down through trees. At junction of tracks, don't take first right (which climbs) or second right (which, although the right of way, was waterlogged when we did this walk). Instead take concessionary path to left, which descends gently before taking a right U-turn and eventually ending up back on golf course. With a choice of tracks ahead right, go for descending one which forks left past green to stile by gate just over railway bridge. Across another field, reach road and turn right to return to Bakewell.
Fact File

  • Set-off point: Centre of Bakewell.
  • Time for 5-mile walk: 2 hours.
  • Going: easy apart from initial steep climb.
  • Map: OS Explorer OL 24, White Peak.
  • Getting there: follow M1 to junction 29 and then take A617 to Chesterfield. From there follow A619 to Baslow and Bakewell.
  • Parking: large pay-and-display car parks in Bakewell.
  • Refreshments: lots in Bakewell and tearoom in Edensor.
  • Toilets: in Bakewell.