DFMH weekly walking group and allotment group DFMH is governed by a board of trustees and currently they have vacancies for two new members. They are looking for people who have the skills and experience to advise officers and other trustees at a strategic level; in particular they are looking for people with a financial background or experience in marketing or fundraising. DFMH is a charity that has been working in the Derbyshire Dales and High Peak areas for forty years; t

Every year Bakewell u3a hosts a coffee afternoon to raise money for a worthwhile charity, sometimes local, sometimes national. For 2026 the organisers have chosen Cancer Research UK and invite you and your friends to come along to the Methodist Church, Bakewell, at 2pm on Wednesday 21st January and join in the fun. There will of course be a raffle and plenty of coffee and tea and biscuits but the main attraction will be the table-top sale of lots of hand-made or unwanted bit

Derbyshire Wayfarer Ranger tickets can now be purchased through an app, making them more convenient for bus and train users. Until now Derbyshire Wayfarer Ranger tickets have only been available to purchase from libraries and tourist information centres as scratchcards, on buses and at railway ticket offices. Developing a digital solution ensures that the ticket is available to a wider number of people and is more accessible. The tickets can now be bought through the Trave

Way back in 2006 I had the bright idea to walk with my sister, west to east, across the Peak District National Park, starting at Upper Hulme and ending in Rowsley. It took us 2 days with an overnight stay on the outskirts of Hartington. Later that year I set off from Marsden in the north to Thorpe in the south, completing an approximately 75-mile hike in nine staggered stages. Each section was completed with a family member and so I entitled this series ‘A Relative Descent Of

Amelie Ingrouille, a student film producer in her final year at the Manchester Metropolitan University is planning her major graduation project which will be a 10 minute short film set in rural 17th century Northern England during the witch trials. She is in search of a field barn that she and a small crew can use to film inside and out. It should be derelict – old enough to work as a convincing 17th century location, but safe enough to have people inside. Amelie would be ext

Over 70 women gathered at the Cowshed Café in Millers Dale for the annual Peak Women in Ag Christmas meeting, filling the space with laughter, music, and festive cheer. The evening was a wonderful celebration of friendship, farming, and community, with attendees travelling from all across the Peak District The atmosphere was electric as guests enjoyed a fabulous night of entertainment from a 10 piece brass band, whose lively set combined classic Bavarian tunes with well-love

Derbyshire County Council’s b_line 3 card, which offers discounts for those aged from 19 up to their 22nd birthday is to be extended from the end of December to the end of March 2026. The card offers single bus fares for £1.50, to those eligible. The current b_line scheme is Derbyshire County Council’s cut-price travel discount and library card for young people aged 11 up to 19. Since 1 November 2023 b_line card holders have been able to buy single tickets for £1.50 on buse

Winster’s festive season began in true village style on Sunday 7th December, as residents gathered outside the historic Market House for the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony. This year’s event was made especially memorable by the presence of Carnival Queen, Kate Conner who helped unveil the sparkling display and bring a sense of seasonal magic to the village. Before the switch-on, Kate visited the Winster Village Shop to assist with the unveiling of its newly dressed

John Everitt and Jemima Letts of the Chatsworth Forestry Team If you, members of your family or any of your friends have autism, this inspirational event is for you and them. John Everitt and Jemima Letts of the Chatsworth Forestry Team will be talking through their joint experience of autism – how it has affected life, work (and logs!) and how learning about it has revolutionised their experience of working together. Come and hear their personal, inspiring and very funny s

Visitors to Haddon Hall were treated to an unexpected touch of Christmas magic recently when the South Notts Men’s Chorus were joined by a most unlikely and enthusiastic guest. As the choir filled the historic hall with seasonal favourites, a bright-breasted robin appeared, hopping and fluttering around the room as if drawn by the music itself. Far from being shy, the little bird sang his heart out, chirping boldly alongside the choir and earning smiles from singers and audi

Santa supported by Rotarians, John Craike and Margie Stuckey The club collected £1,260 at the Aldi store in Bakewell over three days before Christmas for our own highly commended community grants scheme and for Ashgate Hospice Save a precious Bed fighting fund where reduced central funding has currently limited the number of available care beds from 15 to 6. The club is again very appreciative of the support and encouragement from the store manager and his staff. Santa was

‘Faithful in Difficulties’ – The Lives of the “Leadswingers”, creators of the First World War trench magazine of the 3rd West Riding Field Ambulance Service, 1915-1919 19th February ‘Faithful in Difficulties’ (In Arduis Fidelis) was their regimental motto. In between saving lives on the First World War battlefields of Flanders, including at the bloody battles of the Somme and Passchendaele, a small band of young Royal Army Medical Corps servicemen from Sheffield, with shared

Gardens and community green spaces can be fantastic habitats for wildlife. From frogs and toads to bumblebees and butterflies, our gardens are capable of supporting all sorts of birds, mammals, insects and amphibians According to Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, there are an estimated 16 million gardens in the UK – and whether these are big or small, together they form a wide network of spaces that has the potential to be a vast haven for wildlife. Wildlife gardening needn’t be h

The annual party in full swing. Inset: Dave Rawson in the party spirit Yet again the Bakewell Rotary Club held their very successful Old Folks Christmas Party at the Methodist Church in Bakewell. Over 85 local people were on hand to enjoy the food, wonderfully prepared by the kitchen helpers who all donated their time and effort to put on a party spread. It was a very festive event with Santa putting in an appearance. As usual we must thank the local businesses who were so

Redstart Dr Mark Eddowes is a local man from Bonsall. His day-job is as an airport safety consultant but he is also an independent ornithological researcher. Mark explores in detail what we can all sense from our own observations – with a changing climate, our springs are advancing, and our songbirds must migrate back here and breed earlier to keep up. They are shifting northwards and vacating previous breeding grounds to the south. He draws in particular on county records an

The fundraising ukulele concert at the end of November at the Whitworth in aid of Alzheimer’s Research was a sell out, with more than a hundred people in the ballroom. The Matlock Ukulele Group Strummers (MUGS) had a fantastic time playing to a wonderful audience who needed very little encouragement to join in with their songs, demanding three encores at the end of the evening. The event raised £654.50 for Alzheimer's Research taking the total raised so far to an enormous £

One of the High Peak’s favourite visitor attractions, Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens, is open for business whilst essential roof repair work takes place. High Peak Borough Council is investing £1.2 million in repairs and improvement works at the Grade II listed complex. The programme is being delivered in two phases and focuses on protecting the historic buildings whilst improving facilities for visitors. The first phase includes roof repairs to the Pavilion Arts Centre and offi

On Friday the 2nd of January 2026, doors open at 7:00 PM Stories and Music begin at 7:30 PM    In the at All Saints' Church Hall, Matlock Bank DE43JG "I saw a banshee once, just outside of Galway..."When Charlotte was 8 her Grandad told her the beginning of a story but refused to tell the full tale. Years later a chance encounter led her to find the rest of his story buried deep within an archive gathered from families in Ireland. Not only did she discover this unbelievable l

Peak Forest Reading Room is a registered Charity (No. 520493). The building is Grade II listed with historic connections to the Devonshire Estate and was built in 1880. The front of the building incorporates the ‘Venetian’ window, which was removed from the original Peak Forest Church when the ‘new’ church was built. This window dates from 1657 and is of historic significance. Several works to the roof and exterior of the building have already been undertaken, but the int

St Anne’s School Choir and Christmas Tea Oh, Bless them, they were wonderful. A chorus of joyful voices melting our hearts. Perfect. Nothing beats St Anne’s School Choir at Christmas. Then Christmas tea, a lovely finalé to our WI year. Chatsworth Christmas Outing Happy chaos. Some of us were early, some late, some poorly and some were there but we never found them. It was busy and it was tricky to keep together because there was a plethora of young burgeoning media influencer