New and Old

A trip home via Hardwick Hall today to end our trip. We went into the Old Hall and were amazed at how much of it had survived, including pieces of the plaster decorations. We climbed the steps all the way to the top and took this shot of the New Hall part way up. They are both remarkable buildings owned and built by the even more remarkable Bess of Hardwick - a biography duly bought from the NT shop to be the next on the reading pile. The walls of the New Hall are covered in tapestries and portraits and made for a really interesting tour round, although not as pretty as either Haddon Hall or Chatsworth. We had a wander in the gardens, lunch and then a fairly short journey home with a food shop and a collection on the way. A replacement card reader was part of the collection so all my photos are finally off my camera - all 465 of them!