Dove Valley Centre celebrates it's 10th Birthday

One of our fabulous self catering properties is celebrating it's 10th Birthday this year. The 2 cottages and spacious studio are set in spectacular countryside near Sheen and have been thoughtfully modernised using environmentally friendly methods and materials.


After the eco renovation of their redundant barns involving much muck, hay and farming memories, Paul and Elspeth Walker opened for holiday business in 2002. Not without some trepidation they thought - what if no one came? Who would be interested in ‘greener’ holidays?

But the Christmas and New Year periods were booked almost immediately and soon the calendar was filling. Since then, visitors have arrived from near and from California to Hong Kong, from Germany to Scandinavia - many returning each year.

Two of their first visitors got engaged there and Elspeth and Paul were invited to their wedding and later welcomed them back with their baby!

Because of their interests in art education and wildlife conservation, courses are regularly run in painting, crafts and countryside activities, many through partnerships with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, the Peak District Ranger Service and various charities. These have expanded to include annual free family events including biodiversity and Apple Days with an ever- increasing number of families participating.

With the opening of the Studio two years ago as the base for courses and events, their daughter Sarah is now increasingly involved in the business.

To help celebrate this anniversary, throughout the year new and returning visitors will receive a special welcome pack of homemade and local produce.

Apple Delight!

Here in the Peak District we have some wonderful opportunities to be able to work with nature; with bumper crops of apples this year The Dove Valley Centre, in partnership with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, celebrated “Apple Day” in style with lots of exciting and tasty activities, including:

• Apple tasting, identification and history
  


• Apple Juicing- where everyone took their own apples and bottles
  


• Meeting the owls
  


• Appley activities for children
  


• Tasty story telling

An excellent day of family fun!

If you would like to get closer to nature, and meet the farmyard animals then why not book one of our fabulous farmhouse B&B's or cosy self catering cottages for a short winter break? There are some wonderful winter walks from the doorstep.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Barn Owl Ringing

One of our Peak District Holidays group members has spent several years working with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust Barn Owl Group, encouraging barn owls to settle at their farm in the Upper Dove. Elspeth sent this fabulous photo for the blog.

"Although we had seen an owl flying in the late evening through most of last Summer and Autumn, during the bitter cold and snow of the winter we saw not a trace of this pale golden bird. How could it have survived the winter?

But great news - the Barn owl group came in late Spring to check the boxes and found four well grown chicks. They came back later and ringed the birds and we had the privilege of getting close up to these beautiful chicks whose pretty heart shaped faces belies their fearsome talons".

Quite a few of our Peak District Farms who offer accommodation have Barn Owls and a wide range of wildlife. If you are a keen bird watcher why not stay with us in the countryside, bring your binoculars and see for yourself?