A new year of Tales and Tunes at the Penny Pot Café, Edale

The National Trust’s Penny Pot café in Edale is hosting a series of events throughout 2013, showcasing local artists and performers in a beautiful and cosy Peak District setting.

The yearly calendar of evening events begins on Friday February 8^th, where the Penny Pot will be filled with the sounds of Chris and Andrea Wright playing traditional folk music and Helen Appleton (organiser of Matlock’s Story-telling Café) telling tales.  The Penny Pot team will serve up a delicious and hearty meal, and all of this will be on offer for just £10 per person.

Simon Atherton, event host and coordinator says: “The Tales and Tunes nights have been great fun and we hope 2013 will be another fantastic year for the event. We've welcomed some wonderful performers to Edale over the past two years and our audiences have come from all over the country to listen to the beautiful music, hear the weird and wonderful stories and to just relax in the informal and fun atmosphere of the night. So bring your friends and family along (and a bottle of something you like!) and enjoy some home-grown talent in the beautiful Edale Valley.”  

The next installment of Tales on Tunes is on Friday 15 March, with further events on May 15, September 20 and November 22.

Tales and Tunes costs £10 per person including a hearty meal, including a vegetarian option, is at the Penny Pot Café in Edale (next to Edale Train station) and runs from 7.30 – 10.30pm.  To book please call 0844 249 1895 or online http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dark-peak/things-to-see-and-do/events/.

Email peakdistrict@nationaltrust.org.uk for more information.  Bookings will close on Friday 1^st February.

Hedge Laying in Upper Derwent Valley

We have just finished our hedgelaying for 2012. This year we’ve been laying the hedges at Ashes Farm and Old House Farm in the Upper Derwent Valley totalling 200 metres.

It has been great to finish the hedges at Old House as I can remember fencing and planting back in 1999 and I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing the job through to laying.

I was finishing the last few metres just before Christmas on a busy Sunday and it was fantastic just how many people stopped to ask questions despite me wielding a very sharp billhook and looking quite scary. It was a great opportunity for me to chat about not only hedgelaying but the diverse range of work we rangers get involved in and all of the work of the National Trust in the Upper Derwent Valley.

This year our working holiday group spent their weekend learning the craft of hedgelaying and it was wonderful to see a diverse range of people, young and old, enjoying learning a new skill and getting a sense of achievement. We started the first planting of hedgerows in the Upper Derwent Valley about 20 years ago and the first hedgelaying began in 2003. Over 2 kilometres of hedgerows have been planted and 1.5 kilometres of hedges have been laid so far.

Our hedgerows are invaluable habitat for our wildlife and the continued management is vital for nesting birds and small mammals to thrive. Every October it is time to sharpen up my billhook and start on the next hedge. So look out for us and have a chat if you’re out and about in the Upper Derwent Valley during autumn.

Andy Houldsworth

Ranger