Distance: 4.1 miles

Difficulty of the terrain: medium

Get the route via: Ordnance Survey Maps or download the GPX. file from Dropbox

Walk in the mid-Derbyshire countryside from Duffield Railway Station to the National Trust’s Kedleston Hall.

The Story

The Walk

Getting Back

Late Acquisition

Situated amidst parkland in the hilly countryside north west of Derby, Kedleston Hall is the quinessence of the kind of grand 18th Century country house the National Trust became synonymous with in the second half of the 20th Century.

Constructed for the Curzon aristocratic family between 1759 and 1765 to a design by Robert Adam. Building the contemporary Kedleston Hall and its associated parkland, in true Georgian fashion, required the demolition of the historic Kedleston village and the dispersal of those who lived there. Today, only the village’s medieval but much altered All Saint’s Church remains hard up against the Kedleston Hall buildings and cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.

Later controversy comes from the house’s ownership by the 1st Marquess Curzon, Viceroy (colonial governor) of India between 1899 and 1916. He filled the house with all manner of South Asian arts, crafts and treasures. The provenance significance of which has now been almost entirely lost.

The collection’s significance as a collection of South Asian art was recognised as far back as 1927 when curators from the Victoria and Albert Museum facilitated the creation of a museum featuring the objects at Kedleston. This remains largely unchanged to this day, though work to properly understand the collection and contextualise it is now thankfully underway. 

As part of this the National Trust commissioned artist and jewellery maker Anisha Parmar to create new work and curate an exhibition “My Adornment is My Power”, which represented items of jewellery from the Kedleston collection alongside new work, exploring the significance of jewellery in South Asian culture.

The Curzon family continue to live in part of Kedleston Hall to this day. Having been taken on by the National Trust in 1977, the year that Derby became a city as part of the festivities around the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Kedleston Hall is a relatively late example of the National Trust acquiring such a property. Calke Abbey, situated south east of Derby near thr County boundary with Leicestershire, was taken on in 1984 and is presented very differently, deliberately having been stabilised as a “country house in decay”.

The Walk

Get the route: via Ordnance Survey Maps or download the GPX. file from Dropbox

I create the Walk Midlands routes via Ordnance Survey Maps Explorer enabling me to take them on my phone. Subscribe yourself via the banner above.

This walk to the National Trust’s Kedleston Hall begins from Duffield Railway Station.

Upon alighting the train on Duffield’s island platform, exit the station via the footbridge.

Once out in the station car park turn left and walk across the station forecourt heading straight down a short stretch of residential road to one of the main roads through Duffield.

On reaching the main road turn left and keep walking for some distance through the centre of Duffield. Along the way you cross over the River Ecclesbourne and continue walking through central Duffield.

Presently opposite a flag pole you reach Wirksworth Road, running north along the Ecclesbourne valley to the eponymous, atmospheric, deeply historic former lead mining town. Here turn right and begin walking along the road out of central Duffield.

Continue along Wirksworth Road walking through a residential area towards the edge of Duffield for quite some distance.

Presently you reach a t-junction right on the edge of Duffield.

Here turn right and walk along the grass verge heading uphill.

After a short distance on the far side of the road there is a pavement. Here look out on the left for a footpath sign.

This points off to the left through a narrow gap onto a well worn snicket style footpath.

Keep on along this snicket style path – muddy when I walked the route – approaching open fields.

Presently you reach a stile and cross into the fields.

On the far side of the stile keep walking straight ahead uphill.

Carry on straight up the hill until you reach another stile.

Continue straight ahead on the far side, carrying on up the hill.

Soon you reach the crest of the hill, where you cross a track leading to a nearby farm, and keep on walking straight a little further.

Upon reaching a hedgerow, cross over a further stile to enter an arable field.

Here you can either walk straight across the field (the right of way allows for this) or do as I did and turn right, walking along the edge of the field towards a large copse, before turning left at the trees to make your way up to a gap in the hedge.

At the gap turn right and walk straight across the field in the direction of a stile.

On the far side of the stile head to the left in the direction of a stile next to a gate near a well established tree in the corner of the field.

Upon crossing the stile walk straight ahead crossing the field making for a stile leading onto a quiet lane.

Once on the quiet lane turn left.

Continue along the lane for quite some distance, until you reach a crossroads, opposite the entrance to Quarndon village.

At this crossroads turn right, taking care as this can be a reasonably busy road, and begin walking along the edge of the road.

Carry on along this road for some distance.

Presently you approach a Derbyshire County Council bus stop opposite an interesting early 19th Century looking building called “The Gothic Folly”.

Here on the left near the bus stop is a gate into a field.

To cut the corner, head through the gate into the field.

Once in the field walk across it making for the far left hand corner.

Here there is a stile – which was too rundown and overgrown when I walked the route to use – but the nearby wooden fence was sturdy, and simple enough to climb over onto the side of the road.

Out of the field, taking care, cross the road. On the far side turn left and begin walking downhill.

After some difference off on your right there is the grand gateway for Kedleston Hall.

Turn right through the gateway and walk straight ahead along the side of the narrow driveway running through the Hall’s parkland.

Continue for quite some distance.

Presently in front of you there is a grand bridge over a large water feature in front of the hall.

Make for and cross over this bridge.

On the far side of the bridge there is a driveway to the left leading towards the hall.

Walk along this driveway until you reach the building.

This is where the walk ends.

Getting Back

Kedleston Hall’s nearest bus stop lies on the edge of the modern village of Kedleston. At the time of writing in March 2024 it was served by the 114 bus between Ashbourne and Derby. Running roughly every two hours throughout the day from The Smithy stop on the edge of the village. To reach the bus stops follow the signs for the road exit from Kedleston Hall. Once in the village (really little more than a hamlet) turn right until you reach the main road where the bus stop in the direction of Derby is opposite you. It is also relatively simple to retrace your steps to return to Duffield for rail services south towards Derby or north towards Belper and Matlock, and for several bus services running south to Derby, north to Belper and Ripley and further on into the Peak District.