Kedleston Park
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| View of the hall from Island Lake | View of the rear of the hall | View of the main lake and Adam Bridge |
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OS Maps: Landranger Sheet 128, Explorer Sheet 259 Habitat Large country house with parkland, lakes, woods and a wide variety of tree species. Directions From the south, take the A38 until the exit for Kedleston Road (the University of Derby is the large building on the left). From the north, take the A38 until Markeaton Roundabout at the junction of the A38 and A52 (SK334370). Reverse your direction back along the A38 and take the turnoff for Kedleston Road. Follow Kedleston Road north-west keeping Allestree on your right, past the Markeaton Pub and fork left at SK331398 after approximately 2.5km. The main entrance to Kedleston Hall is on the left after a further 2km. Bus Details Arriva 109 (Mon-Sat) Derby to Ashbourne serve Kedleston Village
Facilities The site is owned by the National Trust and more details for the historic Robert Adam house can be found here. Good disabled access and excellent toilet facilities. A footpath known as "The Long Walk" (and it is!) runs around the boundary of the park to the west, south and east. The Wilderness Walk takes you through Hay wood to the north east of the lake complex and through the wood in the the north east corner of the site. Access from April to October (entrance fee for the park and additional fee if you wish to tour the house). What to see Most of the species you would expect to find in parkland can be found such as Great Spotted Woodpecker (all three species of Woodpecker breed within the park), Treecreeper, Nuthatch (which breed in the tit boxes) and Jay. Buzzard has recently become quite easy to see at this site having recolonised the County from the west - even more remarkable whan you consider that the site is only about 2 miles from the City centre. In summer, a variety of warblers are present including Blackcap and Garden Warbler. Spotted Flycatchers breed around the house and in other areas, however they are less easy to see than even a few years ago. The lake holds breeding ducks including Mallard and Tufted Duck. Oystercatcher and other passage waders such as Common Sandpiper can sometimes be seen resting on the island in the main lake by the bridge. Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail can be seen along the lake complex and there is a breeding population of Greylag Geese. Mandarin and Goosander are regular Winter visitors. Curlew and Red-legged Partridge breed just outside the boundary of the hall. The (out of bounds) Golf Course also has an impressive list of species. There are several species of the more common dragonflies and damselflies on the site and butterflies such as Orange Tip and Speckled Wood can also be seen. DOS Verdict A site for all the family with plenty to see apart from birds! (Thanks also to Brian Cuttell for some of the above) |