OLÉ ME DUCK! Tea and Tapas? Spanish flair and steam locos? Helen Werin heads for Chesterfield

13/05/2011

 We’re plodding up the 150 or so steps of the Church of St Mary and All Saints on the top of which sits Chesterfield’s famous twisted spire when a little voice asks if we are going to climb right to the top of the “wonky bit”.


There are a few looks of disappointment when Paul Wilson, the verger, explains that we can only go as far as the top of the church’s stone tower. But that’s enough for me, thank you, bearing in mind that the 14th century spire is not just crooked – it leans over three metres. We go outside, standing right under this curiosity which, so legend has it, is the work of the devil. In truth, it’s more likely the result of bad workmanship and the amount of green timber used in its’ construction.

 

Back inside we look up in awe at the network of ancient oak timbers. Only the last four metres have ever been replaced and that was in the 1950s. It’s also hard to believe that, until the late 19th century when a ‘backbone’ was installed in the structure, that it was only gravity which kept the 200 tons of wood and lead attached to the stonework. No bolts or nails were ever used. Reassuringly, the local college keeps careful tabs on the spire’s movements.

 

The spiral sandstone steps are very shallow in places. Towards the top there’s no hand rail, so I admire the deftness of Paul’s size 14 feet in making it down so swiftly. I’m reassured that, just below me, half a dozen hunky firemen are on hand, albeit on one of their scheduled safety recces. It was their predecessors who, in 1961, saved the church and landmark spire when an electrical fault sparked a blaze. If the firefighters had been along just a few minutes later the spire would have acted as a chimney for the flames.


The spire is, without doubt, Chesterfield’s most recognised feature, visible for miles. On our journey here along the M1, we passed those two other great landmarks of north Derbyshire, the 16th century Hardwick Hall and 17th century Bolsover Castle.

 
If it was a surprise to see a romantic castle in the middle of a former mining area, its’ deer park now crossed by one of the busiest motorways in Britain, it was even more of a surprise when we arrived at our hotel. The luxurious new £20m Casa is right above Chesterfield’s ring road, sandwiched between a vast Tesco Extra and the supermarket chain’s previous site, now abandoned, and surrounded by busy junctions and commercial units. Yet it oozes Spanish flair and style and relaxed Mediterranean friendliness. It also offers the quietest room I’ve ever had in a British hotel – so long as I don’t open the huge windows.


That night we try delicious tapas in the hotel restaurant, Cocina, along with a delectable lemon sole and beautifully tender pork from the kitchen of Gordon Ramsay-trained Matt Rushton. The views from behind the filigree drapes may be over neon-lit units and the supermarket car park but it’s like we’re in a parallel universe. We’re cosseted in softly-lit splendour courtesy of its owner, the half-Spanish local entrepreneur and rally driver, Steve Perez, whilst the rest of the world rushes by outside. A lot of the food comes from Steve’s organic farm nearby. A case of Olé me duck? I should say so!

 

This surreal contrast of sophistication and utterly down-to-earth market town and mining area sets the theme for the rest of our visit.

Standing on the terraces of Bolsover Castle it’s hard to imagine that the land spread before us was where the immensely wealthy Cavendish family hunted.

 

The constant drone of M1 traffic wafts up to where a figure of Hercules defiantly supports the balcony of the ‘little’ castle. Inside this ‘castle within a castle’ the walls of the Star Chamber bear illusionist paintings of St Peter carrying the keys to the gates of heaven. Across the courtyard is the indoor riding school where William Cavendish watched his star performers. Yet all around us are remnants of coal mining, underpinned by the view over the ‘model’ village of New Bolsover, built for the pit workers. This lies just below the castle’s outer layers of architecture which conceal a great court, secret garden and winding passages.

 

Our journey to Hardwick Hall, five miles away, takes us past the former Glapwell Colliery, where model pit wheels symbolise the past. We’re on the lookout for even more eye-catching symbols; the initials ES, for Elizabeth Shrewsbury, aka Bess of Hardwick. They’re not hard to miss, decorating Hardwick’s six towers along with her coat of arms. 


Bess is portrayed as a savvy businesswoman who outlived four husbands, gathering social status, land and wealth along the way. Her flamboyant monument in Derby Cathedral was designed by the architect of Bolsover Castle before her death so that she could ensure that she would be “worthily remembered”.


 There’s no danger of that. Her taste for intricate detail and textures has ensured a fabulous legacy with what is probably the finest collection of 16th and 17th century tapestries and needlework in the world. We admire them close up; huge Flemish tapestries and Persian table-carpets and wall-hangings of velvet, gold cloth and figured silk. Some of the smaller embroideries are likely to be the work of Bess herself. Many of them tell stories, including the famous Tobit table carpet made in 1579 for Bess and her fourth husband.


The lavishness and largesse is mesmerising. I wonder what the young men of the School of Airborne Forces, who trained here before the Normandy invasion, would have made of it. They, too, left a legacy. When one of Hardwick’s ponds was dredged in the 1970s, 600 bicycles were recovered, craftily dumped after being appropriated on nights out by men who had missed their transport back to camp.

 

 

By now we’re ‘glegging’ for a cuppa, as they say in these parts. Back in Chesterfield, we discover what can only be described as a tea and coffee Paradise. The first thing to hit us as we enter the Northern Tea Merchants’ shop and café is the gorgeous aroma. Then there’s the menu of beverages; it’s mind-bogglingly vast, with about 50 types of tea alone. Customers sit at glass topped-tables under which a wheel of coffee beans and teas are displayed. James Pogson, the director, who says that he has “lived and breathed tea and coffee” since he was a lad, proudly tells us that he still has some of the door-to-door customers from his father’s days more than 50 years ago. It takes a lot of willpower for me to walk out of that door.

 

Our meal at The Clowns Conservatory Restaurant at Buckingham’s Hotel is our biggest surprise of all in Chesterfield, literally. It’s amazing, unlike anything else we’ve ever had before. It’s been created especially for us by Nick Buckingham, the recipient of countless awards. Every meal Nick cooks is unique; there are no menus and what we eat is based on what’s available that day, locally and from his allotment. We tuck in to herb souffles with saffron sauce, melt-in-the-mouth Black Pig Wellington and confit of duck, with tiny terrines of broccoli, sweet potato fritters and red cabbage. The chocolate fondant with white chocolate cream, caramel shards and berries, is simply a plate of heaven.


I seriously wonder if Nick is superhuman. There is no opening or closing  times in Clowns; he also has the hotel and The Restaurant with One Table for larger parties, plus he makes all his own cheeses, sausages and black puddings, smokes and cures ducks, grows a lot of the food and offers cookery courses.

 

Before we head home we visit Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre, the last remaining railway roundhouse still in operation in the UK, if not the world. It was saved from demolition by an action group and now houses one of the largest collections of diesel, electric and steam locos in the country. The pride in this place is tangible. We watch as an ancient LNER engine, saved from the scrap yard, is overhauled before going to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.


On the walls are memories of the glory days of steam from local railway men. One in particular stands out. Former engine driver Reg Dicker fondly reminisces about taking some bacon to work and having a fry-up on the shovel. “I never tasted ‘owt like it”, he declares.
The same could be said for us after a weekend in Chesterfield.


WHAT ELSE TO SEE AND DO

 

  • Revolution House is a former alehouse where three noblemen, including the Earl of Devonshire from Chatsworth, began plotting their part in events which led to the overthrow of King James II in favour of William and Mary of Orange. The thatched cottage offers an insight in to 17th century life and a video tells the story of the revolution. Free entry. High Street, Old Whittington, Chesterfield. S41 9JZ. Open April 1-September 30 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays. 11am-4pm. www.visitchesterfield.info 01246 345727.
  • Chesterfield’s traditional open air market has been going since at least 1165. Market days every Monday, Friday and Saturday all year; Flea Market every Thursday; Farmers' Market on second Thursday and last Sunday of every month. There is also a Market Hall, open Monday-Saturday (some stalls close early on Wednesdays).
  • Chesterfield Canal Trip Boat Cruises on the John Varley narrowboat run from Tapton Lock Visitor Centre. www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk 01246 551035.
  • Queen’s Park, with its boating lake, miniature train, children’s play areas and bandstand, hosts Derbyshire County Cricket Club matches several times a year and is the venue for the annual Chesterfield Cricket Festival.


WHERE TO STAY

  • Casa Hotel, Lockoford Lane, Chesterfield, S41 7JB. 01246 245999 www.casahotels.co.uk
    The Casa Hotel has 100 luxury bedrooms, six suites with Jacuzzi baths and two suites with hot tubs on the balcony. Under 12s sharing parents’ room are free.

INFORMATION 

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