We returned to Hope this morning to see the flower pictures that had been completed and erected around the village near to old pumps and wells for the annual ceremony of well dressing. It's also the beginning of Wakes Week for the village so there was a festival atmosphere and a good time for us to visit as the road was to be closed in the afternoon for a carnival procession. The rain and wind that has returned didn't seem to be bothering the villagers I spoke to as I stopped to take photos. Wakes Week was originally the week long holiday that was given to workers in mills, factories and collieries at this time of the year, but now it's more like a Summer Festival with events that are intended to bring the whole community together.
Hope Valley - the edge of the village
Since we passed through the village on Wednesday and stopped to see the beginning of the picture making process I will start with the work in the Village Hall.
The moulds are filled with clay and sheets of paper with the designs that have been decided as the theme for that year are placed on the top. Using a craft knife the lines that make up the pattern or picture are cut through so that an imprint is left on the soft clay underneath the paper.
As the flowers and leaves hadn't been placed on the design at this point it was good to see the finished pictures.
The children from the village primary school and Hope Valley College also made pictures.
As there was a competition to make the best dressed models based on the 'scarecrow trail' idea, - the theme was 'Musicals' - many of the gardens and businesses were looking festive.
On Wednesday we visited another area in the Peak District and came across some more pictures made from flowers and other materials. Cressbrook is a small hamlet with narrow, leafy lanes that meandering down into the other dales of Water-Cum-Jolly, Monsal Dale and Miller's Dale.
