Armchair Traveling: Wait for Me!

I picked up the memoirs of Deborah Mitford last Saturday, and have been dreaming about wandering England's Peak District ever since.

Deborah Duchess of Devonshire was first introduced to me in the books of my favorite author, Patrick Leigh Fermor. They both frequented many of the same literary, artistic, and royal circles and were close friends for nearly 60 years.

The book is a little girly-looking, with its pearl pink cover and all, but the contents are smart, and offer a wonderful look at the changes in England over the 20th Century.

Deborah and her late husband Andrew Devonshire were the unlikely inheritors of Chatsworth Estate and seven other properties in England and Ireland. Their lives were dedicated to keeping their properties solvent and open to visitors.

"People sometimes ask what it is like being a duchess. The answer is that I honestly do not know because after it happened none of my intimates--either among the people who worked at Chatsworth or my friends far and wide--treated me any differently. I sometimes notice a change of gear, rather than attitude, when I am introduced to people but it does not last long--they soon see how unnecessary it is and behave normally (143)."

Deborah converted several of the Estate's outbuildings into rental guest houses open to the public. The Hunting Tower, situated on a rise above the manor house, is maybe the most unusual, and where I would want to stay for a leisurely week of wandering the hills. 

www.chatsworth.org/stay-with-us