Amanda Griffiths accepting the cheque from Councillor Susan Hobson, together with Louis, Sam, Oliver, James and Archer at their site in Pilsley Councillor Susan Hobson recently presented Amanda Griffiths, Leader of Chatsworth Squirrels and Beavers a Derbyshire County Council Leadership Funding Cheque for £40. The Community Leadership scheme gives councillors the opportunity to support projects in their own community. Chatsworth Squirrels and Beavers meet on Thursdays, Cubs

After a ‘back of beyond’ walk for the last issue, this was more of a ‘back to the future’ kind of ramble. I parked in the free car park up Wirksworth Dale just off Dale End at the top of Brassington, then walked back down the village to a footpath sign just before the lovely Tudor House on Dragon Hill. Built in 1615, this is said to be the oldest dated property in the village. A datestone shows the initials of Thomas Westerne its builder and his wife Anne, although the words

You don’t have to stop enjoying your British flowers just yet. The days have got shorter; the trees are doing their best to steal the show; how about a last forage round your garden for some goodies to make yourself an autumn inspired wreath for your door? I like to make my wreaths from natural ingredients so that they can go straight on the compost heap when I’ve finished with them in January. You can easily keep tweaking your wreath to take you from autumn abundance throu

A group of enthusiastic pupils, parents and teachers from Bakewell Methodist Academy, joined the parkrun community at Monsal Trail on Saturday 18th October. Mrs Owens, the headteacher and Mrs Donovan a class teacher ran with the children from the school along the 5km trail. Bakewell Methodist Academy are proud to now be a part of the Parkrun Primary family and will be encouraging pupils and staff to join the Parkrun Primary initiative once a month at Monsal Trail Parkrun. On

Peter Burgess-Allen “Fuel Poverty” Keeping Warm and Safe at Home We’d no speaker! Peter “stood in” at very short notice and was brilliant. Well, so was Mandy who found him for us. Questions were fired at him throughout his talk – no one fell asleep. I think we all picked up some valuable tips. How deep is your roof insulation? Have you got a chimney balloon? What about curtains with a thermal lining ? We’re on it darlings, we’ll be queuing up at the DIY stores tomorrow mornin

Andy Nichols Monsal Hill Climb Winner The 95th running of the iconic Monsal Head Hill Climb took place on Sunday, 5th October, with 214 riders tackling the famous 675-yard ascent at one-minute intervals. Despite breezy conditions lingering after Storm Amy, riders produced a series of blistering performances and record-breaking runs. Finley Hudson (Harrogate Nova Race Team) set a new junior record, while Ezra Batema (Clifton CC York) smashed the youth open record by an incred

The Windross Shield awarded to Gemma Cox for first lady over the line There was a good turn out for Chelmorton Chase running race four miles north of Bakewell this year, the local winner was Harry Mosley Gemma Cox was awarded the Windross Shield for first lady home and first male runner, holding front place from the starts was Thomas Oliver in 31 minutes 34 seconds. The was a bumper breadth of club entries form Long Eaton to Belper, Buxton AC, Matlock Soul Mates and moor.

Stephen Coates, President of Bakewell & District Historical Society and Bakewell Old House Museum giving a detailed presentation of John Blake and his work On Thursday 18th September at Bakewell Town Hall, dignitaries and guests learnt about the ‘Mystery of the Missing Mural’. In 1945 Private John Blake, an Army soldier who had been stationed in Bakewell during WWII, painted a huge mural on the rear wall of the Assembly Room in the Town Hall, the Mural was some 30ft wide by

Children attending the first Hope Valley Art Trail By Rail event. A MAJOR new arts festival centred around Hope Valley and its railway stations got off to a flying start when it was launched earlier this autumn. More than 150 people attended the inaugural ‘Hope Valley Art Trail by Rail’ event, which aims to encourage both residents and visitors to explore the very best of the area’s art and culture by train – as well as on foot and by bus. Visitors were able to hop off at k

Albert Keir, a veteran who helped to liberate Europe from the Nazi occupation, has died at the age of 100. Albert Keir was part of the D-Day naval crew which assisted American troops landing on Omaha Beach in France on 6 June 1944. Albert was awarded the Freedom of Derbyshire on 12 February 2025 in recognition of his service and achievements. Albert had been working as a painter and decorator after leaving school at the age of 14, and was a member of the Local Defence Volu

Weaddow Lane, an ancient road that links Middleton to its Smerrill Pastures The roads of our Peak District village and parishes have unique histories which are often reflected in the roads that run through them. This is certainly the case in Middleton and Smerrill; it not only boasts a 4000 year old Neolithic highway which became a Roman Road and is now the parish boundary, but also roads that underwent a radical restructure at the time of the 19c. enclosures and the arrival

Wirksworth once again celebrated Fairtrade Fortnight, after a break of many years. First accredited by the Fairtrade Foundation as a Fairtrade Town back in 2009, in recent years this status has lapsed. A Wirksworth Fairtrade Town Team of local people has recently come together to build on the foundations already laid, re-invigorate Fairtrade in Wirksworth, and win back Fairtrade Town status. Fairtrade Fortnight (September 22 – October 5) celebrates the farmers and workers be

On 22nd November, Irish folk band Whiskey in the Jar play St John's church in Bamford as part of a series of final farewell concerts, having played together for almost forty years. The four piece band feature fiddle, banjo, whistles and bodhran, as well as guitar and a wide repertoire of great ballads and traditional songs. Support on the night comes from the highly talented Seb Stone, who has been making a name for himself on the folk club circuit and at numerous folk festiv

Roger Flint (Chairman), Jack Baddams, Nigel Carabine (Treasurer) At the October meeting of Matlock Probus Club the Chairman, Mr Roger Flint, welcomed members and introduced our Speaker for the day, Mr Jack Baddams. Jack entertained us by telling us how he became interested in birds and wildlife. He became interested in bird watching as a young boy and this interest never left him. At the age of 16 he worked hard to obtain his Licence to become a Bird Ringer. He then attende

British Grown Flowers was the theme for this month’s meeting of Derwent Valley Floral Art. The demonstration by Helen Chambers of Evolve Flowers was entertaining and informative with a large selection of British flowers. All the pieces were in water rather than oasis foam which showed members and guests how this method could be used for all types of floral art. Members who won these pieces in the raffle were very happy. Our next meeting is 6th November with Kath Williams giv

Matlock Music Society continues its exciting 2025/26 season on Friday 7th November with a recital given by the Lumas Winds quintet. The group was established in 2018 and evolved through friendships formed at the National Youth Orchestra, resulting in a very strong bond between its members. The group has featured in many prestigious festivals around the UK and made its Wigmore Hall debut in 2023 and Kings Place debut in 2025. They have been described as an “effervescent wind q

Two concerts are planned for October at All Saints’ Parish Church, Bakewell. On Saturday, 4 October there will be another coffee concert...

Florence Nightingale Memorial Hall, Holloway Sunday 19th October at 7.30 pm Written by a Croatian playwright, this timely play explores...

Photograph © @sharri The legendary Monsal Hill Climb returns for its 95th race on Sunday 5th October. Supported once again by VeloViewer....

Come and celebrate the burning of the legendary Eyam Rat and help to raise invaluable funds for Eyam School! From 5.30pm the...