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Hardwick Hall, Chesterfield, Derbyshire added to National Trust in East Midlands by D0c.Col on 15/06/2023

National Trust's Hardwick Hall

Hardwick Hall was the home of one of the most influential women during the Elizabethan era. Known as, Bess of Hardwick, Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, was one of the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I. The Hall was regarded to be a conspicuous statement of her wealth and power and was a primary example of an Elizabethan prodigy house that arrived in a Britain when it was no longer necessary, or legal, to fortify a domestic dwelling.

Designed by Robert Smythson in the late 16th century, the Hall was positioned with commanding views on a hilltop in the Derbyshire countryside and essentially consisted of six projecting towers that stood at the sides of the rectangular house.

One of its main features isthe numerous number of windows that are exceptionally large for a time when glass was considered a luxury. The Hall's chimneys form part of the internal structure of the walls in order to give a greater capacity for the huge windows without weakening the exterior walls. Smythson began its construction in 1590 and Elizabeth moved in on its completion in 1597, a residency that was to endure until her death in 1608.

The house's design was one of the first English houses where the great hall was built on its central axis rather than at right angles to the entrance. It holds an internationally important collection of 16th-century textiles, furniture, and portraits.

Bessy’s self-importance continues with a plethora of ES initials, that stand for Elizabeth of Shrewsbury, carved, stamped, sown and printed everywhere you look. As a visitor your certainly left in no doubt as to who was responsible for building this grand house. Each of its three main storeys has a higher ceiling than the one below, the ceiling height being indicative of the importance of the rooms' occupants. The house has one of the largest long galleries in England & there is also a tapestry-hung great chamber with a spectacular plaster frieze illustrating hunting scenes that has changed little since its conception.

Hardwick was just one of Bess's many houses. Each of her four marriages had brought her greater wealth. She was born in her father's manor house on the site of the later, now old Hall at Hardwick, which today is a ruin that lies just beyond the forecourt of the 'new' hall. After Bess's death in 1608, the house passed to her son William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire. His great-grandson, William, was created 1st Duke of Devonshire in 1694. The Devonshires made Chatsworth, another of Bess's great houses, their principal seat so Hardwick was therefore relegated to the role of an occasional retreat for hunting or used as a dower house and as such escaped the attention of modernisers and received few alterations after its completion.

From the early 19th century, the antique atmosphere of Hardwick Hall was consciously preserved. And a low, 19th-century service wing is fairly low key, at its rear. In 1950, the unexpected death of the 10th Duke of Devonshire, with the subsequent 80% death duties caused the sale of many of the Devonshire assets and estates. At this time, Hardwick was occupied by Evelyn, Duchess of Devonshire, the widow of the 9th Duke. The decision was taken to hand the house over to HM Treasury in lieu of the Estate Duty in 1956. The Treasury transferred the house to the National Trust in 1959. However, the Duchess remained in occupation of the house until her death in 1960. Having done much, personally, to conserve the textiles in the house as well as reinstating the traditional rush matting, she was to be its last occupant.

The flight was not in a FRZ and the local council does not have a bylaw to prevent TOAL. It was pretty busy, but I was able to launch the DJI mini 3 Pro close from just outside the National Trust property boundary.

Parking is a breeze in the Harwick Park Area and is outside the Trust's boundary.

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location in more detail on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.16628, -1.30299 • what3words: ///types.dome.cage

The originator declared that this location was not inside a Flight Restriction Zone at the time of being flown on 03/06/2023. It remains the responsibility of any pilot to check for any changes before flying at the same location.

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Parking at W3W: ///served.only.live (or across the road in the other car park…) is free.

The car park is next to the burnt-out shell of the Golden Lion pub. You will also find the old ferry tethering post, and a small boat with a large rock in it, next to the car park.

If you don't have a car, South Hylton metro station is only about 500m away.

Other Points of Interest (POIs)
The Wear Hopper 36 is at W3W: ///party.reap.jabs
The Shipwrights pub is at W3W: ///then.horses.gifted

TOAL from W3W: ///arrow.drank.closed, or follow the public footpath further along the river bank and choose a spot to your liking.

The 2 anchors are at W3W: ///economies.prices.study – they lie either side of a path through the trees near the Golden Lion.

Hylton Viaduct is at W3W: ///storms.length.mole

There is a public footpath that goes under the bridge. Follow this path and you will come to the wreck of the Elegant II near the river bank. The last part of this short walk can be wet and muddy, wear appropriate footwear.

A useful TOAL spot is at W3W: ///curiosity.trim.swim – this gives line of sight to both the Elegant II and the viaduct.

For all POIs, watch out for birds and other wildlife.
Enjoy!

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 54.90495, -1.456158 • what3words: ///oils.indoor.cotton

Whitrope Heritage Centre (By paulburgh)

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Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 55.29371, -2.748002 • what3words: ///wipes.tomorrow.daredevil

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Land owner permission not required.

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Co-ordinates: 57.61092, -6.172351 • what3words: ///named.existence.dolphins

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Park at the Old School Car Park - free - and walk to the beach - bewars Ticks as the fields are sheep infested...

Log ranging views, which I don't feel I did particular justice to as we were with friends and I didnt want to delay folks too much, I need to return here for a longer stay...

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 57.86892, -6.953348 • what3words: ///chaos.rushed.column

Wardlow Quarry (By Grockerman)

Parking is conveniently available near the site. I embarked from a public footpath that circles the quarry's edge. As the quarry is operational, it's important to be cautious. Nonetheless, the weather was delightful, and I enjoyed some breathtaking views.

https://w3w.co/blueberry.unzipped.shadowed

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.02616, -1.879577 • what3words: ///reliving.quantity.zealous

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Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.82703, -0.627404 • what3words: ///bumpy.punk.random

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To fly at the cliffs but avoid the SSSI and/or hikers, note the small gap in the SSSI near the carpark. I set up at the end of that gap, flew through the gap out to open water. That was my passageway each time. I'm not sure if that was being overly cautious, but seemed like a good idea. I also did not overfly the cliffs at any point. With that being said, I had no issues.

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 56.56017, -2.557476 • what3words: ///daring.vocab.spit

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Taken on our last full day on Skye, as the weather was beginning to break - 25 mins later we were dodging the rain - but still the landscape was looking gorgeous.

The foreshore has an SSSI for fossils, but there are no restrictions for drone flying nor at the Car Parking area, which is where I flew from.

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 57.14569, -6.106949 • what3words: ///spines.trending.fraction

Glen Shiel Waterfall and Bridge (By dansdrone)

Beautiful view of the River Shiel and stone bridge that I couldn't quite figure out the purpose of - doesn't seem to go anywhere of note. Easy to get more than 50 meters from car park and able to maintain that separation from road with no problem. November flight outside of the restricted hours for RAF Low Flying.

Kept drone flight low and very close given proximity to road, and only flown when no other cars were parked in the car park. A little ways back down the road, there is a trailhead for hikers but again keeping the drone low and very close made this a non-issue.

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Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 57.16588, -5.325561 • what3words: ///firelight.noses.chaos

Cotter Force, Richmond (By D0c.Col)

The Falls and Cotterdale Beck.

Cotter Force is a small waterfall on Cotterdale Beck, a minor tributary of the River Ure, near the mouth of Cotterdale, a side dale in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England. Cotterdale Beck has several other smaller falls in its course before joining the Ure, but Cotter Force is the largest. The force is not visible from the road, but it takes only a short walk to reach it. It comprises a series of six steps each its own small waterfall with the largest single drop being about 5 feet (1.5 m). The force is narrower at 13 feet (4 m) at the top widening to 43 feet (13 m) at the bottom.[4] A short path allows easy access from the A684 near Holme Heads Bridge approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Hawes. After the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust carried out an upgrade to its footpath, Cotter Force is now accessible to wheelchair users and less mobile visitors and a small layby is right next to a sign adjacent to the path from the road.

Be aware, that if you want to get close to the action there is a lot of small branches to negotiate!

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 54.32284, -2.234763 • what3words: ///adapt.additives.chemistry


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