Access on the estate

We try to make all visitors to the estate feel truly welcome, and this is fundamental to the way Chatsworth is managed. Where possible people are left to wander at their own pace, unlimited by restrictive rules or unfriendly notices. The estate does not see a conflict in welcoming so many people to walk and play on land that is also a working, commercial farm and an historic landscape needing protection, but rather sees this as a virtuous cycle, which encourages more people to use, enjoy and understand the land, its history and current management.

The primary aim of the owners is to maintain and improve the estate for future generations. Everything that you see has come about through careful management over hundreds of years, and the work of generations of skilled staff. Many people depend on the estate for their livelihood and their home, and the stewardship of the land and its businesses must ensure that these long standing communities will continue to prosper. The estate has to run as a modern, self-supporting business, keeping the best of the past but using modern techniques and technology where necessary.

The economic activity of the estate is carried out within a policy that insists on the protection of its flora and fauna, and the very special landscape that has evolved over the centuries. We ask visitors to the estate to respect this unique and historic working landscape and to leave it as they found it.