People

  • St James to St Giles via St John

    Many visitors (and some residents) don’t realise that the core of old Matlock is around St Giles’ church. The modern town, centred on Crown Square, is clearly linked to the bridge of about 1250, but all the development here is late Victorian. There may have been another Derwent crossing place, before the bridge was built,…

  • Lonely Youlgrave?

    Today Youlgrave is a popular village in the Peak District – especially busy at weekends with visitors and second-home owners. It is built on the ridge between the steep valleys of the Lathkill to the north and the Bradford to the south; the two rivers joining less than a mile away, before Alport. But Youlgrave…

  • Peak Tor: Mound of mystery

    Peak Tor is a steep, tree-crowned hill between Rowsley and Stanton. It is best seen from the north side of the Wye valley, on the old road to Bakewell, from where the ditch and bank earthworks are clearly visible. I walked the site on a chilly April morning, when geese were honking on the river…

  • ‘Forgive us our …’

    The fear of being caught ‘trespassing’ is still common, which is perhaps why towpaths and ex-railway trails are so crowded with walkers. But defining exactly what trespassing means in law is difficult, and in most cases it is only a civil offence, meaning that few landowners would bother to prosecute. But the fear of being…

  • Acrostic Anthonie of the Frith

    St Alkmund’s, Duffield church, seems to have a curious location. It’s right by the River Derwent and near the confluence with the Ecclesbourne, a position which has led to repeated flooding over the years, though the village was mainly built on higher ground. Yet the church is also on what was the main turnpike route…