DISTANCE: 5 miles (8km) of field and river path walking linked by a mile of walled farm track.  Reasonably dry underfoot except during lengthy wet spells. RECOMMENDED MAP: Ordnance Survey1:25,000 scale Outdoor Leisure Series Sheet 24, White Peak area. PUBLIC TRANSPORT:  TM Travel service 65 between Sheffield, Miller’s Dale and Buxton, hourly service, Monday to […]

DISTANCE: 3½ miles (5.6km) of moderate forest track, open moorland, surfaced road, waymarked field path and rough access drive.  525 foot (160m) climb. RECOMMENDED MAP: Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure Sheet 1, Dark Peak. 1:25,000 scale. PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Hourly TP service buses to Buxton, then bus or train to Disley where a short walk along a […]

Lathkill Dale is one of my favourite walking areas of the Peak. I don’t know how many times I have walked beside what Izaac Walton called ‘the purest of streams’. I have walked there and enjoyed it in all weathers and in every season of the year. There are almost unlimited variations of footpath routes […]

5 miles (8km) of moderate to strenuous walking on well-defined footpaths and by-roads. 492-foot (150m) descent and ascent. Recommended map: Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 scale, Outdoor Leisure Map Sheet 2, The White Peak. Bus Services: High Peak number 58, hourly on weekdays and two-hourly on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays. Car Parking: Pay and Display Tegg’s […]

5 miles (8km) of minor road and field path walking with one steady 252 foot climb (77m). Moderate. RECOMMENDED MAP: Ordnance Survey Explorer Map Sheet OL24.  1:25000 scale; the Peak District, White Peak Area.     PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Your Bus service between Ashbourne and Matlock calls at Carsington Water Visitor Centre and Carsington village every […]

I’ve always thought of Ripley town centre as a comfortable place. A wide variety of shops; well connected by public transport, which runs through the centre of the town, and there’s plenty of car parking. Ripley isn’t overpowering; part of its charm is that it’s all on a human scale. That comfortable feeling doesn’t vanish […]

Cooking in a traditional way has always been the priority at the Sanam on King Street Alfreton, and for the past 25 years they have stuck to that premise. Over that period of time they have seen restaurants come and go, some change hands. Their philosophy of providing quality food at a fair price has […]

Shapla Spice is one of the longest established restaurants in Ripley, Derbyshire. I must admit I drive past Shapla Spice almost every day and always thought it was a take away, how wrong was I?  It was on a pleasant Friday evening that my partner and I were booked in to dine, it was then […]

Fresh, seasonal and cooked in a traditional way. The New Inn is situated conveniently on the main A6 just midway between Belper and Duffield. And true to its name it is experiencing a new lease of life under the careful direction of Kyle and Hollie.  Make no mistake about it, this isn’t a fast food […]

Dining at The White Horse, Woolley Moor The White Horse conjures up the happiest of memories for us as it was here that we spent many sunny evenings with our children and friends enjoying the spectacular, beautiful Derbyshire countryside and a quiet drink. However, that was many years ago and happily, like our family, it has developed […]

Recently it has become almost fashionable for major cities to bring back trams to their streets.  Some like say Manchester, have done it with the minimum interruption to normal street traffic.  There, it was managed by mainly using defunct railway tracks, but in other places the radical idea of reinventing a long gone system of […]

Although it’s a while since I waved a hot glue gun in anger, I’m confident I could give craft queen Kirstie Allsopp a run for her money if only I had the time, money and patience to follow basic instructions.  Sadly, my previous attempts at crafting – toy making and calligraphy – only left me […]

It was 2005 when Thornbridge Brewery, in Derbyshire, started producing one of the UK’s first craft ales. There are now 70 micro-breweries in the county and there’s been a huge rise in the number of outlets – bottle shops, tap rooms and micro-pubs – on a mission to bring these bespoke beers to the public.  […]

So often one can awake from a reverie in the corner seat of a railway carriage when the train stops and look out through a grimy window to see where one is: a helpful sign on the platform, lamp standard or station building quickly puts one right and allows one to slip back into the […]

The large, attractive village of South Wingfield no longer relies on mining coal, or producing knitted fabrics for its industries, but has become a quiet dormitory town for the surrounding area.  Its one major feature is Wingfield Manor.  It was here that Mary Queen of Scots was held captive for several years, all the while […]

Fresh Lotion  For The Body £36 200ml Cool, fluid, pleasing. The bright scent of Orange Blossoms. Like a morning breeze that awakens the bay of Alexandria, this lotion refreshes sleepy skin, leaving it soft and replenished. Smoothing Body Polish £48  200ml Sumptuous, rich, regenerating. “Queen of All Fruits” the bountiful pomegranate from Carthage is brimming […]

Natural Cosmetics with a difference. Our brand is much more than a chic logo – it denotes our cosmos. Our selected medicinal plants are certified organic and help the skin to help itself and to regenerate. We respect our inner beauty just as much as our outer beauty. We are obsessed with quality and have […]

Skin Academy has just launched the UK’s most eco-friendly beauty range, Skin Academy Zero. Skin Academy Zero is the first mass market, 100% natural, 100% recyclable / recycled packaging and sustainable skincare range that is set to shape the future of the beauty industry. The innovation sets a new environmental standard in the beauty industry, […]

Nourish from the outside-in with these new additions to the vitamin-packed Pre-biotic  SUPERFOOD SKINCARE RANGE New Superfood Blackcurrant Jelly Exfoliator £28 | 50ml This super gentle facial scrub is jam-packed with anti-oxidant rich fruit extracts, Black Tea Extract and Glycerin, leaving the complexion smoother, softer and hydrated. • Sustainably-sourced Blackcurrant Fruit Pulp exfoliates for a smoother, […]

The Soap Co. is an ethical luxury brand that creates sophisticated cruetly-free body care products to nuture and care for your skin. Wild Nettle & Sage Hand Lotion 300ml £18 13 natural oils including healing sage, uplifting rosemary and stress relieving thyme provide the delicate herbal notes for our Wild Nettle & Sage hand lotion. […]

As you proceed out of Matlock going north you will pass on your right the end of Dimple Road, which rises vertiginously up the steepish hillside. Some way up you might just miss Allen Hill a narrow road leading down into a mass of 1960s housing and rising out on the other side as little […]

When Mick Stanley and I were researching the first edition of The Derbyshire Country House around 1980 our attention was drawn by a colleague of Mick’s at the Derbyshire Museum Service (of blessed memory) to an item in a north Derbyshire auction. Provenanced from a vendor in Buxton, this was a fine oak 17th century […]

‭‬For any reader who missed my description of Greenhill Hall‭, ‬I ought to repeat that although Norton is today a fully integrated suburb of Sheffield‭, ‬this has only been the case since 1936‭, ‬when the Sheffield Council‭, ‬greedy to boost rate income‭, ‬managed‭ ‬to obtain a large chunk of NE Derbyshire during the local government […]

‭W‬ell informed readers might be tempted to say‭, ‬on seeing the subject of this article‭, ‬that Measham is not in Derbyshire at all‭, ‬which seems all wrong in view of the fact that we try to present histories of lost‭ ‬Derbyshire‭ ‬houses‭. ‬All it not quite as it seems‭, ‬however‭, ‬as Measham was until 1897‭ […]

Glapwell Hall was a rather rambling stone house of later seventeenth century date, made more rambling by Georgian and Victorian additions, producing, as one former owner put it, ‘a house of comfort rather than conformity’. The rooves were a right jumble from above. It was built of coursed rubble with Permian magnesian Limestone/coal measures sandstone […]

More than ten years on from her unforgettable rendition of I Dreamed A Dream from the musical Les Misérables, Susan is heading out on tour to do what she loves most of all: singing to an audience. When she stepped onto the Britain’s Got Talent stage, few people could have imagined the impact she would […]

‘Prism is at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 3rd – 12th October and at The Theatre Royal, Nottingham from 21 – 26 October’Tara admits she always gets nervous: “It’s always been the same as far back as I can remember. Excitement and the desire for something to be good are the drivers and inevitably make […]

Take two of the world’s greatest classical voices, get them to sing a selection of their favourite hymns, arias and popular songs, and what do you have? One of the fastest-selling albums nowadays of any genre. Aled Jones and Russell Watson are continuing their partnership with their first tour together, stopping off in Nottingham where […]

Oozing confidence, charm and charisma, Julia Watson saunters around a church she’s known for many years, entertaining a rapt crowd with tales of her career and reciting some of literature’s greatest lines. It’s obvious that she was cut out to be on stage and it’s no surprise later when she tells me “I love acting”. […]

“There’s nothing better than walking into a mucky stable or a mucky barn with a pitchfork and a wheelbarrow and cleaning it out”  The feeling of writer and TV presenter Kate Humble who’s known mainly for specialising in wildlife and science programmes for the BBC. She’s also appearing in theatres around the country and will […]

Over the past month the colours in the trees have really started to change, have you got space in your garden for a small growing tree? There are plenty of different varieties that are suitable for a modern small garden – they create a focal point that is evident all year especially if you choose […]

Wow October already!  It truly has been one of the best years for growing.  With last month’s ‘Indian’ summer along with the warm start to the autumn season this continues to be a kind year to gardeners and more importantly those of us able to be outside enjoying the garden. With the fantastic sunny weather […]

Last month I was asked to judge Ticknall Flower and Produce show for the third time. The standard was very high again and extremely difficult to judge. I was pleased to see a great effort from the children’s category and an interesting section “Gardening Disasters” which strangely enough made me smile than cry. I said […]

Its always interesting looking back on my diary and what I wrote this time last year in Country Images Magazine. I wrote about how the rain just kept coming and it rotted the Rose blooms on the plants – it just shows that 2 years are never the same and you have to adjust your […]

Last month I visited a place where I used to go as a child almost every weekend, Elvaston Castle near Borrowash. It must have been about 15 years ago that I last visited the walled gardens – I had the opportunity to visit again to see what the gardeners have done (with very little money). […]