Calke Abbey in Ticknall Derbyshire is a house that time has forgotten as it is in a timewarp from when the Harpur-Crewe’s moved out, with their toys still upstairs, nothing thrown away and everything stored upstairs still. It retains its remote atmosphere set in the dip of the estate, surrounded by lakes, woods, and wildlife. You enter by Ticknall Lodge (which we stayed in) and there are various circular walks around the estate, through the walled garden and out to Calke Church. The house is fascinating with some peeling paint, and the old stables with the carriages that the family used. Electricity only came here in 1962, so the outside world remained a remote place, and the last family member more of a recluse. Only the gardens have been restored and they are lovely to visit, the area used to have tramways and be used for mining and there are tramway trails which take you through fern covered dells, and out round the deer enclosure towards the reservoir.
