Access and Interpretation Projects

Access and interpretation projects aimed to get people out and exploring the landscape. Projects were delivered to:

• improve physical access to the area and its heritage
• have better information available on the area and its heritage
• get schools engaged with the landscape and heritage of the area

In Year 3 of the scheme DerwentWISE welcomed Accessible Derbyshire to the Board. A local organisation based in Belper with a mission to make destinations and events ‘accessible for all’.

Cromford Canal: to improve access for all along the Cromford Canal

Learning my landscape: Linking schools to their local landscape and raising awareness of the distinctness and richness of the Lower Derwent Valley as a resource for learning.

This was done through teacher training, educational activities, developing and providing resources and creating habitats and features within the school grounds. One emphasis of the project was to explore the variety of life associated with common tree species to be found in the Derwent Valley and learn about how different animals (including man) use the tree for food, shelter, nesting, firewood and building materials.

Derwent explorers – The project provided opportunities for selected young people to go on an adventure into the Derwent Valley. They planned and carried out a residential visit to a remote hostel in woods in the Lower Derwent Valley, gaining the knowledge and confidence in the process to enable them to make further visits to the project area with family and friends. Evidence from consultation process with communities and schools has shown there is a need for this work.

Quarry heritage –  Project to stimulate and empower people, particularly from quarry communities, to investigate the industrial, social and technical history of this key industry in the Dark Peak (sandstone/gritstone) and White Peak (limestone) areas.

Heritage way – The Derwent Valley Heritage Way is a 55 mile walking route linking the attractions of the valley.

Volunteers were trained to carry out accessibility audits along the trail to feed into the Phototrails website.

The information will help people who have additional accessibility needs better plan their walk along the route.

Crich tramway leadmine – The conservation of lead mining relic on the site of the National Tramway Museum by the removal of obstructing and potentially damaging vegetation. The creation of a safe and accessible viewing platform for visitor access and installation of graphic interpretation panels.

Connecting the valley – The Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (DVMWHS) is stretched out along the Derwent Valley, and managed by many different organisations. This means that visitors can come away with many different messages without clearly understanding the significance of the Valley and how it changed the world.

Through this project we wanted to give the partners an opportunity to step back and consider how their places fit into the overall story of the Valley. We also wanted to produce some interpretation exploring the overarching theme that worked across a number of sites. We chose the online Wonders of the Peak app for this.

Warp and weft – The Lower Derwent valley has an outstanding diversity of landscape, geology and wildlife with internationally important ash and oak woodlands, an abundance of wildflower-rich meadows and pastures and rivers and streams that provide breeding and wintering habitat for many birds and other species. In contrast, early industrialists harnessed the power of the River Derwent to create the first factories in the world, stamping their authority on the landscape and leaving behind a legacy of historic mills dotted throughout the valley.

This project was designed to capture the spirit of the Derwent Valley in music and sound and to celebrate the DerwentWISE project. It will draw together a large audience and many participants and encourage them to think of the area in a different way, to take inspiration from the sights, sounds and history as well as the present day reality of the Derwent Valley and to realise this in music and sound.

The project comprises 3 elements: Research, Composition and Performance.

An hour long suite of music composed by John Crossley and performed at two large scale celebration events that took place at the end of the scheme.

John Crossley is a music producer and composer with over twenty-five years’ experience working with artists such as David Bowie, Depeche Mode and Imogen Heap. Signed to Virgin Records in his early career John had his own Top 40 records and worked on countless albums and singles. He has composed and produced several large-scale performances including the ‘Rosetta’ Suite, 2014 – developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency and performed in sixteen-channel surround sound at the Derby Theatre.

Interpretation – Project to provide interpretation panels at important historical sites around the scheme area. To enhance the visitor experience and allow the different sites to get their stories across.

Trail guide – To review and republish the Guide to the Derwent Valley Heritage Way walking book.

Access grants – Grants awards of £1,000 – £5,000 to fund access or interpretation projects.