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Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire is a lovely castle that sits on the hill overlooking the Vale of Scarsdale and the surrounding Derbyshire countryside. We don't visit as often as we should, but I am very lucky in that I get to help out at events (the most recent being the Derbyshire Food & Drink Fair), gaining me free entry to the grounds and castle.

HOW TO GET THERE.

We usually go to the castle from where we live in Chesterfield. Our normal methods of transport are either a shared taxi (costs about 8.00 from the town centre) or by bus (numbers 81 to 83 drop off at the centre of town and its not far to walk to the castle). There is a train station around six miles away (also in Chesterfield) and then you need to walk into the centre to get the bus to Bolsover. If approaching by car there are a number of signposts leading from junction 29 of the M1 - if you are driving from the direction of Chesterfield it is approximately six miles east of the town on the A632. If you need any further directions there is a postcode/town search function on the English Heritage website at http://www.english-heritage.or g.uk/server/show/nav.11540 which gives more detailed information from anywhere in the UK via Googlemaps.

There is a pay car park in Bolsover itself, as well as a dedicated coach park opposite the entrance to the castle and a car park with disabled bays.

A BIT OF HISTORY.

There has been a castle on the site since the time of the Norman Conquest, when the Peveril family built the castle as a defensive structure. It was purchased by Sir Charles Cavendish in 1612, who changed the focus from the defensive to the decorative. It was at this point that work began on the "Little Castle" and Charles turned the castle into more of a retreat than a place of battle. Charles' son William (the Duke of Newcastle) took over the reins in 1616 and continued in the same manner - elegance and opulence reigned and William was renowned as a bit of a fan of the erotic (those who saw the recent Most Haunted Live for Halloween will know about the supposed orgies and devil worship!)!

During William's tenure the Terrace Range and the Riding House were constructed and it is at this point that the castle became the building that we mostly see today. Recent years have seen an extensive restoration project and Bolsover Castle has begun the recapture the grandeur that visitors in William's era must have experienced - although it has recently been reported in our local newspapers that vandals are trying

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