An ancient Peak District custom, the well dressing season has begun. This was one of the first, there will be many more well dressings to come over over the next few months. See the whole of this board on the blog - http://roachling.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/the-first-well-dressings.html
@shelle_johnson
yes, the wheelbarrow race is an annual event in Bakewell, great fun! There were three villages holding well dressings over the weekend, but they happen from now until September, different villages do theirs on different dates. The boards are made in advance and as you can imagine, a lot of hours go into each one, then they are displayed for up to a week for people to come and see. I will probably put more pictures here and some will go on my blog too over the next few months.
Fabulous capture Louise, we missed these when we were on holiday a few years ago. There certainly is a huge amount of work in it. Will be interesting to see more if you get chance! ☺
@francoise
I think that depends on the Great British Weather! The clay boards they make them on are soaked for a day or two I think, often in the village pond, and I think the moisture in it helps things stay fresh, but wind and rain do batter the boards, birds come and eat any seeds used (petals are traditional but often seeds and small stones are used nowadays). In 2012 when we had the wettest year / summer ever (or something like that!) many of the displays didn't last as they were so wet petals just got washed away. I remember one where the weight of the clay with all the added weight from the rain meant it was just falling off the board in great chunks. As a rule though, I think they last a good few days, but will start to fade. I'll be posting more photos of this one and others on my blog soon, and I'm sure more will pop up between now and September.
This is an exquisite piece, fav for me, so glad you captured it before it fades and disintegrates. I hadn't heard of well dressing before, so googled it and learned something, thanks to you. The artistry in this one, especially the water and reflections, is amazing.
yes, the wheelbarrow race is an annual event in Bakewell, great fun! There were three villages holding well dressings over the weekend, but they happen from now until September, different villages do theirs on different dates. The boards are made in advance and as you can imagine, a lot of hours go into each one, then they are displayed for up to a week for people to come and see. I will probably put more pictures here and some will go on my blog too over the next few months.
This one was in Middleton by Youlgrave
I think that depends on the Great British Weather! The clay boards they make them on are soaked for a day or two I think, often in the village pond, and I think the moisture in it helps things stay fresh, but wind and rain do batter the boards, birds come and eat any seeds used (petals are traditional but often seeds and small stones are used nowadays). In 2012 when we had the wettest year / summer ever (or something like that!) many of the displays didn't last as they were so wet petals just got washed away. I remember one where the weight of the clay with all the added weight from the rain meant it was just falling off the board in great chunks. As a rule though, I think they last a good few days, but will start to fade. I'll be posting more photos of this one and others on my blog soon, and I'm sure more will pop up between now and September.
For anyone who would like to see the full board this photo is from, or any of the other well dressings, with links to more info about it, here is a link to more photos from today -
http://roachling.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/the-first-well-dressings.html