Here's how to enjoy Peak District magical Christmas lights in Chatsworth House gardens

Chatsworth House is sharing some festive magic with its visitors this Christmas and lighting up its garden as Tier 3 Covid-19 restrictions come into effect in Derbyshire.
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A festive light installation has been created this year at the Peak District stately home near Bakewell for the first time, as well as a new Christmas trail.

In keeping with Government guidelines, the huge spaces of its 105-acre garden and 1,000 acres of parkland will remain open.

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Although the house has to stay closed to visitors, Chatsworth’s car parks, takeaway picnic shops and estate farm shop also remain open and the farmyard and gift shops reopen on December 2.

Festive figures form part of the new displayFestive figures form part of the new display
Festive figures form part of the new display

The estate farm shop in the nearby village of Pilsley continues to operate under its usual opening hours and a collection service is also available - goods are loaded straight into the boot without customers having to leave their car.

The 105-acre garden is famous for its rich history, historic and modern waterworks and sculptures, its Victorian rock garden and maze, while the spectacular 1,000-acre park on the banks of the River Derwent was chiefly designed by famous gardener Lancelot 'Capability' Brown in the 1760s.

Chatsworth is currently undergoing the biggest transformation of its garden since Joseph Paxton's work finished nearly 200 years ago. The 25-acre redevelopment area includes a remodelled Rock Garden, the Maze borders, the Ravine, the Trout Stream and the Jack Pond.

Festive lights at Chatsworth with a glimpse of the house in the backgroundFestive lights at Chatsworth with a glimpse of the house in the background
Festive lights at Chatsworth with a glimpse of the house in the background
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The project involves the clearance of previously inaccessible areas, large-scale structure installations, new sculpture commissions, the movement and addition of hundreds of tonnes of rock, hundreds of thousands of new plants and hundreds of new trees, as well as new pathways taking visitors into under-explored areas of the garden.

The garden is the product of nearly 500 years of careful cultivation. Although some points of interest have been replaced to make way for new fashions, the garden retains many early features, including the Canal Pond, Cascade and Duke's Greenhouse.

The famous waterworks include the 300-year-old Cascade, the Willow Tree Fountain and the impressive, gravity-fed Emperor Fountain, which reaches heights up to 90m.

To book a visit, go to www.chatsworth.org