The 63-year-old daredevil Duke abseiled 100 feet down the side of the Belvedere at Chatsworth House when he joined in with a charity abseil being held to raise money for sick children.

Simon Seligman, promotions manager at Chatsworth, said: "The Duke is always up for a challenge and was delighted to be involved with the abseil. He wanted to show his support for the charities and enjoyed doing it."


Chatsworth Country Fair in Pictures

This year's show president Mr Titchmarsh officially opened the three-day long event and tried his hand at target shooting and chatted with exhibitors.

Other attractions that proved popular with punters included the new Fine Food Village which showcased the produce of many small scale local producers, the catapult and archery ranges and the animal events.

Mr Seligman added: "We are absolutely delighted with how the show went. We are delighted with the three-day format and very happy with the crowds on each day – numbers are looking very good compared with two years ago after last year's washout.

"The Fine Food Village was a very good new addition and having such a wonderful show president in the shape of Alan Titchmarsh was very popular."