Village & Community Magazine February 2021 Keeping All Our Villages of Connected and United in the New Year ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ Although still in ‘Lockdown’ things are beginning to look a little better now that the vaccine is being ‘rolled out’ throughout the country and hopefully we can ‘soon’ start to ’relax’ a little. There will still be the need to take care when being out & about in public places and wearing a mask, when mixing with other people, may be the order of the day for some time to come. Common sense is the watchword for the future and it seems to have been lacking, during a lot of the time in this pandemic, by quite a few. Locally we’ve seen the crowds gather in the Manifold Valley, around Thor’s Cave and at Dovedale Stepping Stones amongst other places with the most memorable legacy of their visits being the amount of rubbish they left behind, their lack of understanding of our communities and rural life in general and in some instances their downright rudeness and disregard. On the plus side it has meant a lot of people have had the benefit of looking at what we take for granted day in and day out…. the wonderful scenery of our area, the beauty of our small rural villages and the peacefulness and tranquility of it all compared to towns and cities. Your Community Magazine Very many thankyou’s to all those who have taken the And so, for the time being, can you please find something time and trouble to submit items for this month’s Magazine. to submit for future editions, that is until we start to begin Without these items it would be pointless carrying on with life again and our Villages can revert to their normal either this or any future editions whilst we remain in the functioning capacities. current situation. Should your contributions dry up, then it is pointless continuing the Magazines production and if I Just one more thing. Final call for anyone you know who is pull the plug again then I doubt I would resurrect it. I not on email, does not have a family member, good appreciate that Facebook and other such communication neighbour or friend to print a copy of the magazine off for methods have taken over the planet but we here at Trees them and you know would be willing to provide stamped Cottage do not use such methods of communication and I addressed envelopes, to contact me direct on am reliably informed that many of you out there do not use 01538 304560. them either... Tricia (Typist) Enjoy a smile… A man found a penguin wandering around the streets so he took it by the flipper and walked along with it. He came across a Stuart, Emma & Elliott Gould of policeman and asked him what he should do with it. The policeman said, "I think you should take it to the zoo". However, the next day the policeman saw the same man with the penguin again so he said, "I thought I said to take it to the zoo." The man Warslow, said, "I did and today I'm taking it to the cinema." wish all friends and neighbours a Merry Christmas Thought for the Month and a much Happier New Year! xx Nothing is Impossible The word itself say’s I’m Possible Wetton & Alstonefield Community First Responders Serving the community’s emergency medical needs with pride, care and excellence Thank you Thank you to the customers and proprietors of the Watts Russell Arms for their special support of WACFR at this difficult time. 2020 In 2020 we attended 44 calls during 2875.5 hours on duty which equates to an average of 33% cover. The number of calls has reduced this year due to various reasons – a reluctance for the public to call 999 because of COVID-19 and the ambulance service changing the category of calls and distance they will send us to, among other reasons. Villages we were called to most frequently were Grindon, Longnor, Wetton and Waterhouses. It does depend on who is on duty though as our CFRs live in Wetton, Alstonefield, Butterton and Back of Ecton so the ambulance service work out how long we will take to get there and then decide whether to send us. The average time it took for an ambulance to arrive after us was 21 minutes but it could be anything up to an hour or more. AGM Our AGM is on 24 February at 7.30pm on Zoom. If you would like to virtually attend this public meeting then please email [email protected] for the link. New Responders We are pleased that West Midlands Ambulance Service are training new responders in 2021 – we have four people who have been offered a place after passing their interviews which is great news. Shopping? If you are shopping online then please have a look at easy fundraising. We are now registered on the site so can receive donations from shops when you click through from www.easyfundraising.org.uk at no cost to you. We are also registered on Amazon Smile too so you can choose us as your charity when you buy something from www.smile.amazon.co.uk. It’s just the same as the usual Amazon website but we get a donation if you make a purchase on the Smile version. For more information about first responders contact Nicky on 01335 310296 or Sally on 07970 241272 www.wacfr.org Charity no: 1121223 . OUR RIVERS Three major rivers border or pass through our parishes of Alstonefield, Butterton, Elkstones, Ilam, Warslow and Wetton – the Dove, the Manifold and the Hamps. River Dove The River Dove rises on Axe Edge, south of Buxton, and flows south forming the border between Staffordshire and Derbyshire for much of its length. The eastern boundaries of Alstonefield and Ilam follow it from Beresford Dale in the north through Wolfscote Dale, Milldale and Dovedale to its confluence with the river Manifold near Thorpe Mill in the south. It has two main claims to fame – Dovedale and Izaak Walton’s book, “The Compleat Angler”. Dovedale is beautiful with steep wooded sides and white rocks carved into fantastic towers, caves and spires that attract over a million visitors a year. The limestone rock that forms the geology of Dovedale is the fossilised remains of sea creatures that lived in a shallow sea over the area during the Carboniferous period, about 350 million years ago. During the two ice ages, the limestone rock was cut into craggy shapes by glacial meltwater, and dry caves such as Dove Holes and Reynard's Cave were eventually formed. The Compleat Angler is a celebration of the art and spirit of fishing in prose and verse written by Izaak Walton in the 17th century with contributions from his friend, Charles Cotton. The Dove is a famous trout stream and Charles Cotton's Fishing House, which inspired the book, stands in the woods by the river in Beresford Dale. The source of the Dove on Axe Edge is protected by a stone bearing their initials. River Manifold The River Manifold rises half a mile south of the Dove near the Travellers Rest pub. It flows roughly parallel to the Dove for 12 miles before joining it at Thorpe Mill. The river flows through the middle of our area from Hulme End to Thorpe Mill with Warslow, Elkstones and Butterton to the west, while Alstonefield, Wetton and Ilam lie to the east. For part of its course, it runs underground (except when in spate), from Wetton Mill to Ilam. The Manifold valley was famous for the mining of copper and lead, and the mines at Ecton were some of the richest in the country. Nowadays there is little trace of the industry that made many people rich, particularly the Duke of Devonshire who at one time owned the Ecton mines. The main areas of interest are around Ecton where the old spoil banks and the old engine house still remain. The limestone cliffs that fringe the valley contain several rock-climbing areas, and named rock features, including Thor's Cave and Beeston Tor, which overlooks the confluence with the River Hamps. The Manifold Way is an 8-mile footpath and cycle track from Hulme End to Waterhouses, along the former route of the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway along the Manifold and the Hamps. River Hamps The Hamps rises just south of the Mermaid Inn – a Grade II listed 17th century coaching inn in a spectacular location on the Warslow – Leek road overlooking the Roaches. It was previously a pub but is now a holiday complex. Just to the north is the Mermaid’s Pool or Black Mere Pool where legend says the mermaid was brought here hundreds of years ago by a sailor from nearby Thorncliffe. In an alternative story, a beautiful young woman rejected the advances of a local man so he accused her of being a witch and convinced the local townsfolk to drown her in the pool. The river flows south past Onecote, forming the western boundaries of Warslow & Elkstones and Butterton. Then it heads east through Winkhill and Waterhouses before turning north to form part of Butterton’s eastern boundary, meeting the Manifold at Beeston Tor. Like parts of the Manifold, the Hamps disappears underground during the summer months and the river bed from north of Waterhouses through to the confluence with the River Manifold runs dry. Disclaimer: The information above is gleaned from various articles on the internet and is intended for local readership only.