Day 2 of our tour of Derbyshire Houses proved to be the most strenuous of the lot. Temperatures hovered around 90 degrees. The day’s journey was described thusly: “A walk along an enchanting rural route following grassy paths that climb out of the village of Parwich, cresting the hills into Tissington.” We were told that the distance of the first hike was two-and-a-half miles with an ascent of 1,026 feet. What say you?

We were driven to Parwich where we met Sir Richard FitzHerbert, the 9th Baronet of the FitzHerbert baronetcy and the High Sheriff of Derbyshire. It was the formidable Sir Richard with his long wooden walking stick who was going to lead our merry band over the hills from Parwich to Tissington Hall, his grand home.  

We began our climb after a brief stroll through Parwich, walking through high grass in meadows that were separated by squeeze stiles.  Allow me to explain the concept of a squeeze stile.  Imagine two tall, flat stones standing upright, about 6 inches apart, connected to a stone or wooden fence. They might have a step up to help the walker stand sideways to squeeze between the stones. The stile’s purpose is to allow people to pass through while keeping animals in their pastures. We were to clamber over many types of stiles on our hikes, but these squeeze stiles were the first we encountered.

On we climbed, getting hotter by the minute. Sir Richard kept up his steady banter, telling us about his son Freddie who is a cinematographer, and his long list of complaints about the cost of upkeep on Tissington Hall. We also heard about this desire to sell Tissington Hall (which has been in the FitzHerbert family since 1609) and the pushback from his son. I mean, really, there was a little too much information!  (This is what happens when you let your husband talk to a bunch of strangers by himself.)

At any rate, Sir Richard the Soul-Barer dropped us off with two guides when we eventually reached the Hall after our ascent of K2.

Tissington Hall is absolutely lovely, and our guides were superb. In fact, the library of that house was my absolute favorite of any room I saw throughout the tour, mostly because I adored the large window seat there.  And the rose gardens were huge and in full bloom. It truly is a magnificent home, even if Sir Richard moans about the cost. He mustn’t let the FitzHerbert dynasty down!

In Herbert’s Tearoom on the grounds of Tissington we had lunch consisting of potato leek soup and Derbyshire oatcakes filled with cheese and roasted ham. We also consumed, to our delight, cold, carbonated lemonade.

Then we were back on the trail. This amble was described as “…an easy walk, mostly following the trackbed of a disused railway, but also along gravel tracks and grassy paths.” Its alleged distance was one-and-a-half miles, but by the time we checked our pedometers, it seemed we had walked six miles in total that day. We were really soldiering on.