FOR the second year running, hundreds of people flocked to Derbyshire’s World Heritage Site Discovery Days on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 October.
Young and old came to discover more about the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site which runs along fifteen miles of the Derwent Valley, from Masson Mills at Matlock Bath to the Silk Mill at Derby.
Free heritage tours of the mill sites and historic industrial communities were this year supplemented by wildlife and poetry tours as well as a number of unique art installations and workshops, and a host of other activities.
Undoubtedly, the most popular attraction was the horse-drawn narrow-boat,
which only graces the Cromford Canal on the World Heritage Site Discovery
Days. Hundreds of visitors followed the boat as it travelled up and down
the canal between Cromford Wharf and Leawood Pumphouse, which was in steam
for the final time this year. Three working shire horses took turns to pull
the boat.
At the wharf, there was a chance to see traditional narrowboat painting techniques, rope making, street organ playing and on the Sunday, an arts workshop creating ‘woven’ model boats made from nearby plantlife.
At Belper’s North Mill, the ‘human knitting machine’ saw visitors of all ages joining a knitting circle, using their hands to do the work, and a Hallowe’en Party for families was well supported on the Saturday. Also on Saturday evening, a Belper quiz was held in The Lion Hotel, and a concert of Derbyshire songs and stories took place in the Unitarian Chapel. On both evenings the River Gardens bandstand was transformed into a giant magic lantern, featuring images of old Belper, other World Heritage Sites and drawings created in children’s workshops.
At Masson Mills a steam engine welcomed visitors to the northern gateway
to the Site, and there was a reduced entry fee to see inside the working
textile museum. A bobbins game in the museum and Uncle Michael the Clown
in the shopping centre entertained younger visitors.
At Derby’s Silk Mill there were demonstrations by weavers and spinners, and a chance to learn about Victorian decoupage. On the Saturday a vintage bus took people from the Silk Mill up the valley, calling in at Milford, Belper, Cromford and Matlock Bath.
Tours of Joseph Wright’s Derby, and of the Wright paintings in the Museum and Art Gallery, proved popular, and there was a good turnout for the final opening in 2006 of Heage Windmill, where flour was produced especially for the occasion.
As well as the mill and village tours, at Cromford there were guided tours of St Mary’s Church, Willersley Castle grounds and Slinter Woods, as well as a celebration of the work of author Alison Uttley on the Sunday.
Along the 15-mile route of the World Heritage Site, Tan Draig OBE and Todd
Andrew were performing 'Together', an art piece showing how people stick
together when they're visiting heritage sites - they walked the full length
of the Derwent from Ladybower Reservoir to the River Trent over three days,
attached to each other by two elasticated chords.
Adrian Farmer, Co-ordinator of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site said:
“The 2006 Discovery Days have been a great success, helped in part by some wonderful weather. A huge number of people, most of them volunteers, have worked really hard to make this weekend a memorable one and they all deserve a big thank-you for their efforts.
“I hope that people will have gone away knowing a little more about the Derwent Valley Mills, and some of the passion and interest generated by those volunteers will have rubbed off on them. The World Heritage Site has an important role to play in the past and future of Derbyshire, and the better local people know and understand it, the better they will care for it.”
For a second year, crowds exceeded all expectations and the wide range of activities and mild weather ensured that it was a weekend to remember. A third Discovery Days series of events is expected for October 2007.