Derbyshire Falcons’ opening home NatWest T20 Blast fixture versus Yorkshire Vikings on Saturday 8 July at Chesterfield is now a complete sell out.

The Club has received huge demand for the popular local derby at Queen’s Park, part of the Custom Solar Chesterfield Festival of Cricket, with over 4,000 supporters purchasing their matchday tickets in advance.

It’s the second time in three years the fixture at Chesterfield has sold out in advance.

Only matchday ticket holders, Members who have claimed in advance and Six Pack Ticket holders, will be able to gain entry into the ground. Tickets will not be available to buy on the day.

Simon Storey, Chief Executive of Derbyshire County Cricket Club, said:-

“The local derby is always the highlight of our week in Chesterfield and we’re delighted with the response we have received. The demand for tickets continues to grow year on year.

“Queen’s Park is a beautiful venue and whilst some fans will be disappointed they have not be able to get a ticket, the safety and comfort of spectators is our top priority.

“To ensure all visitors enjoy a great day with us, additional chairs have been ordered, a higher number of safety stewards will be on duty and additional bars and toilets are already in place.

“It promises to be a great occasion to close this year’s Custom Solar Chesterfield Festival of Cricket and I know the team will enjoy playing in front of a packed house.”

Councillor Steve Brunt, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said:-

“It is great news that the Yorkshire game is a sell-out. It shows the interest in Chesterfield and surrounding areas for having top class cricket in the town.

“We look forward to welcoming supporters of both sides to the game, with the benefits that will bring to local businesses and the local economy.”

Supporters with matchday tickets are encouraged to plan their journeys in advance and give plenty of time to arrive at the ground. Gates will open earlier than advertised at 12noon. Please do not arrive at the ground if you do not have a matchday ticket.

Chesterfield Pride is returning to Queens Park for a third year on the 23rd July. The event has grown in the last two years and has now become a firm favourite on the Pride calendar.

This year the event is set to be even more popular with a bigger site meaning more stalls, more fairground rides, a bigger stage and a number of celebrity acts performing.

The event will be hosted by Candy Du Kane, Ella Va-Night and Celebrity Big brother star Austin Armacost and has an impressive line up of  performers including pop legends The Cheeky Girls, 80’s HiNRG icon Hazell Dean, X Factor’s Blonde Electra and many more.

Dan Walker, Event organiser, says:-

“We are really proud how far the event has come and how the local area has embraced the event”

At the event there will be food outlets, a licensed bar, children’s area and market stalls. There is also an official after party (free admission) with 90’s vocalist Angie Brown performing.

For more information about the event click here.

After a two successful ICC Women’s World Cup warm–up matches, the town is preparing to welcome the Custom Solar Chesterfield Festival of Cricket, in association with Chesterfield Borough Council.

The picturesque ground held two international fixtures, England versus Sri Lanka and India versus Sri Lanka, in the lead up to the global cricket tournament.

The games took place ahead of the week-long festival, which will feature a four-day Specsavers County Championship match versus Durham and a NatWest T20 Blast fixture against Yorkshire Vikings.

Chesterfield Borough Council has confirmed that it has completed a comprehensive programme of work over the winter to improve drainage at Queen’s Park.

Chesterfield Borough Council, which owns the picturesque ground, carried out a full review of drainage using CCTV cameras and found some roots from nearby mature trees had caused a blockage and partial collapse of the drainage system.

A comprehensive programme of work has been carried out to minimise future drainage problems. This includes;

• Installing new drainage at the boundary near South Lodge, down the field in the direction of the bandstand and near the cricket pavilion
• Replacing old pipework in gullies with new plastic pipes
• Using water jets to ensure all pipework is clear of blockages
• Re-turfing areas of the ground impacted by the work
• Putting in place a revised maintenance regime and phased replacement of drainage to prevent problems returning in the future

Councillor Steve Brunt, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said:-

“By using CCTV cameras we were able to identify there had been a partial collapse of the drainage so we decided to carry out a comprehensive improvement programme.

“While no cricket ground in the country can ever claim it won’t suffer from any drainage issues after high volumes of rain, we believe that the work carried out will prevent a repeat of the issues that were experienced last year where the drainage problems continued for some time after the rain had stopped.

“We look forward to welcoming both Durham and Yorkshire to the ground as they take on Derbyshire during the course of the popular cricket festival. We are proud to support the festival which promises to be a great week’s cricket and will bring lots of visitors to the town benefitting local businesses.”

Simon Storey, Chief Executive at Derbyshire County Cricket Club, added:-

“We have worked closely with Chesterfield Borough Council following last year’s event and a full programme of drainage improvements have taken place which will significantly reduce the risk of any future drainage issues.

“Chesterfield is a special venue for cricket and we’re delighted with the response we have received for this year’s festival.  The popular NatWest T20 Blast fixture versus Yorkshire Vikings is set to be another sell out, while the traditional first-class fixture, this year versus Durham, is always well attended.

“Queen’s Park is one of the most picturesque venues in the game and we’re committed to returning for years to come.”

The festival, which runs from Monday 3 July to Saturday 8 July, features a four-day Specsavers County Championship match between Derbyshire and Durham.

It concludes with the traditional local NatWest T20 Blast derby versus Yorkshire Vikings on Saturday 8 July, which is on course to be a sell-out with only 500 tickets still available.

Tickets for the matches are available from Chesterfield’s Visitor Information Centre in Rykneld Square or online at derbyshireccc.com.

Life-size model cows that wowed both the judges and the crowds at the first-ever RHS Chatsworth Flower Show have found the perfect home and will stay together as a herd in the Peak District and Derbyshire.

Three beautiful beasts – all eye-catching features in official tourist board Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire’s Silver-Gilt Medal winning show garden – have been put out to pasture at The Heights of Abraham, Matlock Bath.

The quirky cows – sprayed in metallic colours and ‘branded’ with a blue and white hand-painted circular motif – are destined to be a whimsical talking point for visitors at Derbyshire’s oldest tourist attraction high above the Derwent Valley.

Rupert Pugh, Director at The Heights of Abraham, said:-

“We are delighted that we are able to welcome all three of the quirky cows and keep them in the Peak District. We hope that visitors to The Heights will enjoy the opportunity to see these contemporary, captivating sculptures for many years to come.

“With the main access to The Heights via cable car, it’s certainly been a challenge to transport the cows safely to the top – a very unusual load and not something you would expect to see travelling across the A6!”

Jo Dilley, Managing Director, Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire, added:-

“It’s great news that the cows, which were a real talking point throughout the RHS Chatsworth show, will stay together on home soil so that even more people who come to the area in future can enjoy them.

“We’re really grateful to The Heights of Abraham for giving them long-term grazing rights in one of the most scenic locations in the area.”

RHS Chelsea Flower Show award winning designer Lee Bestall, who designed the tourist board’s Experience Peak District & Derbyshire show garden at Chatsworth (June 7 to 11), was inspired to include the cows after reading a comment by Sir George Sitwell that white cows could be made more interesting if painted with a blue pattern.

One of the cows is sprayed copper, another chrome/silver and the third gold, based on an original concept by Hathersage-based artists Becky Pytches and Rob Hopper. University intern Marion Leclerc (21) from Nantes, France, currently working with Lee and his team at Bestall & Co, then hand-painted a Willow pattern inspired ‘brand’ on the rump of each animal.

Meanwhile the show garden – featuring wild flower strewn meadows leading via a mown path and stone ha-ha to clipped topiary and herbaceous planting favoured by the area’s great country houses – is also flourishing.

It has been recreated at Renishaw Hall & Gardens, north Derbyshire by Lee and his team – all of whom are based there – to attract and inspire even more garden and plant lovers in the future.

Bookings are now open for stalls in Chesterfield market place during the Chesterfield medieval fun day event.

The popular annual event, staged by Chesterfield Borough Council, takes place on Tuesday 25 July and always attracts crowds to the town centre.

Each year, registered charities take stalls at the event to raise money for good causes. Stalls at the event cost £15 for charities and £25 for general traders.

All stall holders will be encouraged to dress in medieval costume with £200 in shared prize money on offer to the three best traders in costume.

Councillor Steve Brunt, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said:-

“The medieval fun day is always a popular event in the calendar. I’d encourage local good causes to take a stall at the event to raise money and join in the atmosphere on the day.”

Also at the event will be a medieval encampment in the grounds of the ‘Crooked Spire’ Church, medieval entertainment and ‘A day in the Middle Ages’ event at Chesterfield Museum.

For more information and to book a stall click here.

Rain may have stopped play as the wraps came off the first-ever RHS Chatsworth Flower Show, but guests in the Experience Peak District & Derbyshire show garden braved the elements in true British style – with a traditional countryside picnic.

They toasted official tourist board Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire’s success in winning a Silver Gilt Medal with a glass of Derbyshire sparkling wine and the cream of local produce – including Bakewell Pudding, Hartington cheese and hand-made pies made with locally-reared meat (Tuesday June 6).

The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire joined the celebrations alongside Sheffield-based designer Lee Bestall – fresh from his Silver Medal winning triumph at RHS Chelsea 2017 – in the eye-catching space, inspired by the richness and variety of the area’s landscapes and formal gardens.

Gardener, broadcaster and writer Alan Titchmarsh also dropped by before RHS show organisers were forced to abandon the media preview day because of bad weather – and was particularly impressed by three life-size model cows grazing in wild flower strewn meadows.

The cows, sprayed in eye-catching metallic colours – copper, chrome/silver and gold – and ‘branded’ with a blue and white hand-painted circular motif, were intended to add a touch of whimsy and humour and are proving a real talking point.

Lee, whose business Bestall & Co, is based at Renishaw Hall, said:-

“I decided to include them after reading a comment by the late Sir George Sitwell of Renishaw Hall & Gardens that white cows could be made more interesting if painted with a blue pattern.

“I don’t think his vision was ever realised, but it certainly stimulated my imagination as a quirky complement to the overall picture I wanted to create. I was delighted by the enthusiastic reception our cows received from our guests on the first day – including Alan Titchmarsh, who really liked them.”

Jo Dilley, the tourist board’s Managing Director, added:-

“Fortunately both the cows and our garden made a great initial impression before the bad weather took hold on the first day, and we are really pleased that the reaction has been so positive, especially from the show judges.

“Now we’re looking for a good home for the cows after the show has closed, and are accepting sealed bids so that anyone interested in giving them a permanent home can register an interest. We’d particularly like to hear from anyone wanting to keep them together as a herd!”

Visitors can find the Experience Peak District & Derbyshire show garden at site number 112 on the RHS Chatsworth Showground until Sunday June 11. Anyone interested in submitting a sealed bid can do so on the Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire stand next to the garden, can contact info@marketingpdd.com or can call 01246 212924 for further details.

After the show has ended, the award-winning garden – built by JPH Landscapes of Sheffield – will be recreated at Renishaw Hall as one of its garden rooms, minus the cows, so that even more visitors to the area can enjoy and appreciate it.

Main show garden sponsors, Derbyshire-based CW Sellors Fine Jewellery, are launching their new, floral inspired Tuberose jewellery collection at the show. Other sponsors are Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire; Hope Cement, A Breedon Group Company; Peak District Premier Cottages; The Camping and Caravanning Club and The Bakewell Bakery.

Local produce for the picnic was supplied by The Bakewell Bakery; the English Wine Project, based at Renishaw Hall; Hartington Creamery; Mettrick’s Butchers of Glossop and Thornbridge Brewery.

Up to 90,000 visitors are expected in Derbyshire over the next five days as the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show opens in the county for the first time.

Derbyshire is gearing up for a big day of cycling when the OVO energy Women’s Tour comes to the county for the second year in a row.

The world’s top women cyclists will race through Derbyshire on Saturday 10 June 2017, starting in Chesterfield and taking in many of the county’s best-known market towns and landmarks before returning to Chesterfield for the finish.