Notes from the Grand Tour

Dear Diary,

Frightfully hot today. Glorious vistas spread before me as I made my journey forth, first by train and then carriage to my destination.

Lunched with the Duke - awfully nice chap - before examining some of the finest art and treasures I have ever beheld.

It is the 1780s and I am a young man of vast wealth and fine looks, if I say so myself, and I am embarking on my Grand Tour, wherein I shall travel throughout Europe admiring all she has to offer and possibly bring back some trinkets of huge historical importance for my own private collection...

If only. I’ve always wanted to time travel and do the Grand Tour - and I’m not talking about the 1950s coach tours to Morecambe my parents used to go on. I mean the tradition among the wealthier echelons of society in which young men, and sometimes women too, would take a year or two to travel Europe studying architecture, art and history to round off their education.

An impossible dream, but thanks to Experience Nottinghamshire and Visit Derbyshire & the Peak District, a Grand Tour of sorts has been revived - and you don’t even need to leave the country.
The tourist boards have got together with a number of art galleries, artists and the Duke of Devonshire to recreate the experience via the area’s stately homes, galleries and museums.

And so it was that I hurtled through the countryside on a train from St Pancras and then on a coach to begin my tour at the magnificent Chatsworth House.

Swooping down through the stunning parkland, the trees eventually part giving you your first view of this breath-taking 16th century pile, gleaming golden in the sunshine.

Unlike many stately homes, this is no stuffy relic of a time gone past - Chatsworth is a bustling community hub, thriving in the 21st century thanks to the hard work of the Devonshires.
Around every corner of its endless corridors are hidden treasures... I glanced at a collection of Lucien Freuds in one corner as we whizzed past on our way to the main event - a collection of works by artist Pablo Bronstein.

Bronstein was chosen by the Duke to create a collection of works inspired by Chatsworth and the Grand Tour and it’s well worth a look at his witty, colourful drawings.

Over at the Nottingham Contemporary art gallery, Bronstein has also curated an exhibition of treasures from Chatsworth, including Delft porcelain, William IV and Queen Adelaide’s coronation chairs, paintings by the likes of Rembrandt and, most astonishing of all, a colossal Roman marble foot from what must have been a vast statue. How you get that through customs, I don’t know.

The collection is the largest loan from the estate for more than 30 years and not to be missed.
We also visited the Derby Museum and Art Gallery where a long-missing work by Joseph Wright has been discovered and is currently undergoing a lengthy and delicate restoration process. A room full of his glowering and magnificent paintings, many inspired by his own Grand Tour, are also on display.

Another must if you’re in the area is a visit to the Welbeck Estate and the Harley Gallery.
In the gallery, visitors can enjoy part of Rem Koolhaas’ exhibition, Elements of Architecture, which focuses on the corridor.

And they can also marvel at a rather unusual door, which belonged to the 5th Duke of Portland, a curious character who led a solitary life and whose main hobby seemed to be building underground tunnels around the estate, some big enough to drive carriages through, and who created an enormous underground ballroom, even though he didn’t seem the sort to be throwing parties. Said door has two ‘in’ and ‘out’ letterboxes set at angles so not even a nosey servant could peek through the flap into his private chambers.

Welbeck, like Chatsworth, is still a private home and has embraced the changes over the centuries to create a modern centre for activities - there’s a big kitchen garden providing produce for a popular farm shop, there’s a micro brewery, artists’ studios and the School of Artisan Food, where we were treated to a delicious lunch and a taste of an authentic Grand Tour dessert, a tart of nuts and fruits with Parmesan ice cream.

If art and architecture don’t float your boat, you can tailor make the tour to suit your own tastes. After all this is a region with a rich variety of attractions, from the Silk Mill museum in Derby, to the wilds of the Peak District to the legend of Robin Hood, so there really is something to interest everyone.

And as the Duke of Devonshire said, back in the day, the Grand Tour was the province of the privileged, his own ancestors included, and the treasures they brought back could only be enjoyed by the elite.

This UK version of the Grand Tour, set up with the help of Arts Council England and Visit England, has made the experience and its treasure trove of delights accessible to all.

You can buy a Grand Tour Passport to gain access to special offers across the
four venues from www.grandtour.uk.com. The site has all the information you could need, plus maps and suggested itineraries so you can tailor make your own tour.

Gill Harris stayed at the four-star Hart’s Hotel Nottingham, a modern, comfortable hotel slap bang in the city centre and close to all the main attractions, including the castle.A classic double is £129 per night.
For details and booking, visit hartsnottingham.co.uk.