Every Christmas we go round as many local decorated stately homes as possible, but I don't think I've been to Calke before at this time of year, so a couple of weekend's ago we headed there.
Unlike at, say, Chatsworth, the decorations here are mainly outdoors, and the lights lit at sunset, so we arrived quite late in the day.
After a visit to the Christmas market being held in the Riding School, it was thoroughly dark, and we followed the trail of lanterns which led to the front of the house then up to the church.
Heading back towards the house gave plenty of opportunity to see its exterior lit up in ever changing colour.
only a small portion of the house was open to visitors - with a huge tree decorated at the bottom of the main staircase
and a smaller one by the servants' stairs.
Calke is preserved in a state of neglect and decay, and the home-made decorations seemed fitting in this atmosphere.
From here the trail led somewhere I've never ventured before - through the tunnel which connects house and stables, and was once used for servants to move food, coal and such to the house without being seen. I'm not good with confined spaces or anywhere underground, but the way was well lit and quite wide so wasn't too troubling.
Even so, I was glad to see the steps which led up into the old brewhouse and marked the end of the route.
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