Dukes Quarry
The other weekend we visited Dukes Quarry and the adjacent quarries at Whatstandwell. We’ve spent time here before, many years ago. Myself with work and together when we used to climb, not that we ever considered any of it suitable for climbing! I love these sort of places. You can see signs of old industries that have just been abandoned and taken over by the wild and it’s quiet. This quarry is still owned by the Duke of Devonshire and the Chatsworth Estate, the stone was used for buildings on the Chatsworth Estate, having it’s distinctive pink colouration. It was also the location of the filming of ‘Stig of the Dump’. The boys thought this was a great place to explore, lots of rocks and sticks, that’s all we need. It was a frosty start and we all suffered with frozen toes, but it didn’t stop us. Once we’d explored, we crossed the road down to the canal and headed to The Family Tree cafe, which is a lovely cafe, very good for families.
