Peter Truman Photography

Over the weekend of 13th/14th June the Derbyshire village of Bonsall opened up nearly two dozen of its private gardens for charity. Bonsall is situated at the edge of the Peak District, close to Matlock and Cromford, and stretches from a junction with the A5012 Via Gellia road, up a long and sometimes steep hill to Upper Town which tops out at around 900 feet above sea level providing really excellent views back down into the Derwent Valley.

Wirksworth is not the first place you would think of when searching Derbyshire for garden delights. It's a small town just outside the Peak District National Park, close to several large limestone quarries and once the centre of the lead mining industry in Derbyshire (now long deserted). It's also an old town with narrow streets and alleyways (colloquially known as "ginnels") that criss-cross the hillside. Gardens and courtyards are often small and hidden well away from the main streets. You could easily have made a big mistake thinking that the gardens here are not worth looking at, but the Wirksworth and Gorsey Bank Open Courtyards and Gardens event held on Saturday and Sunday 11th and 12th July demonstrates.