By Donna Richardson
Every castle is a timeless narrative carved in stone and this is undoubtedly true of English Heritage site Bolsover Castle. Set on a hilltop, it overlooks the former mining town of Bolsover and the surrounding Derbyshire countryside.
During its history it was the stage of a siege in 1217 before being acquired in 1553 and restored in the 17th century by William Cavendish. As you wander around you may find some of it familiar and that’s because it was the setting of Jane Eyre. Go up the stairs and explore the rooms including a guiilded dining room and various bedrooms and downstairs is a working kitchen.
As you stroll along the castle walk you can appreciate the scenery as the circular walls go right around the garden. The Fountain Garden at Bolsover was designed around the statue of Venus – goddess of love and pleasure. There is also a secluded chamber where intimate banquets were held.
The castle stands at the edge of the Peak District in Chesterfield in the North East of the county. It is a great example of a castle that was built in the 12th Century and then reimagined by Charles Cavendish as The Little Castle.
A mix of Norman, Jacobean and country mansion. When you step inside the Little Castle, you’ll find elaborate interiors, painted ceilings and marble fireplaces which remain intact from the 17th Century. It is a wonderful intricate homage to history and heritage.
It has had a great many famous courtiers including Ava Lovelace and Bess of Hardwick and you can really imagine them moving amongst these painted walls. We explored its Star Chamber and Marble Closet and was mesmerised by the replica furnishings. You can explore the whole building, from its basement kitchen to its top-floor bedchambers, with a multimedia guide to bring it all to life.
Taskmaster
English Heritage has partnered with Bolsover Castle for a series oF fun Taskmaster challenges, where you can explore the castle’s history with dedicated guides and entertainers. We enjoyed sword fighting with Alan A Dale, and took part in silly challenge including building our own castles out of bricks then knocking it down with rubber bricks, drawing a horse with our eyes closed, riding a pretend event horse and making up poems about our day.
As we strolled around the Fountain Garden, designed around a statue of Venus, we admired the flowers and the hidden nooks and crannies before waliing around the ruins of the castle and entering the Little Castle for a tour. From the ramparts you can see the Derbyshire countryside and our daughter stood atop the castle and really engaged with the history of the place.
Elsewhere, William Cavendish’s passion for training horses is reflected in the immense indoor Riding House and great stables and they also have great equestrian shows throughout the summer. Children can run wild in the play area inspired by the castle’s architecture, and you can keep an eye on them from the tearoom.
It really is a superb day out and we all enjoyed it. We stopped by the local pub for a bite to eat and also admired the scarecrows in the small villlage of Palterton which runs from July 13 to 27. We saw Freddy Mercury, Paddington Bear and many more characters for the annul Scarecrow Festival.
