Alistair Plant

Featured

Crich Tramway Village

March 29, 2020 Alistair Plant 0

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 […]

Female

Product Test – Paula’s Choice

March 27, 2020 Alistair Plant 0

Paula’s Choice Calm Repairing Serum, £33 This silky-soft serum soothes sensitive skin and calms redness with a gentle yet powerful blend of antioxidant plant extracts and skin-replenishing ingredients. The concentrated anti-ageing formula minimises the appearance of wrinkles while leaving skin soft, hydrated and calm. What are the key ingredients? SEA WHIP EXTRACT Extract from the […]

Celebrity Interviews

Celebrity Interview – Val McDermid

March 27, 2020 Alistair Plant 0

Her books have sold 16 million copies worldwide, been translated into 40 languages and recently her work topped the fiction, non-fiction and children’s book charts all in the same week. But Val McDermid isn’t sitting back basking in her success: she’s always looking for new challenges. The 64-year-old crime writer is working on her next […]

Lost Houses

Lost Houses of Derbyshire – Hazelbarrow Hall, Eckington

March 27, 2020 Alistair Plant 1

Like Norton, about which I wrote last year, Hazelbarrow – part of Norton in my opinion, but according to Historic England belonging to Eckington – is one of those places which were included in the considerable chunk of our county which was appropriated by the City of Sheffield in 1936 to boost rate income. Hazelbarrow […]

Walks

Walk Derbyshire – Holymoorside

March 27, 2020 Alistair Plant 0

DISTANCE: 3½miles (5.6km) of easy walking along farm lanes and woodland, plus by-roads and side lanes. RECOMMENDED MAP: Ordnance Survey 1:25000 scale Explorer Map, Sheet 269, Chesterfield & Alfreton. PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Stagecoach X17 from Matlock. CAR PARKING: Roadside on Belland Lane, connecting the A632 Matlock/Chesterfield road to the B5057 Darley Dale /Two Dales road. REFRESHMENTS: […]

Featured

A Passion For Mosaic

March 27, 2020 Alistair Plant 0

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 […]

Female

Tried & Tested – Nourish with Diptyque

February 25, 2020 Alistair Plant 0

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 […]

Featured

Taste Derbyshire – Bottle shops, tap rooms & micro-pubs

February 25, 2020 Alistair Plant 0

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. […]

Dining Out

Restaurant Review – A Sparkling Breakfast at Darley’s Restaurant and Terrace

February 25, 2020 Alistair Plant 0

Psychiatrists tell us that the most stressful time of the day is breakfast time. Work, school and the first appointment of the morning all combine to make the early part of the day, hectic. And a hurried bowl of indigestible muesli does not help improve the early morning mood. What’s needed every so often, in […]

Walks

Walk Derbyshire – Miller’s Dale

February 25, 2020 Alistair Plant 0

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 […]