DUFFIELD a distinctive destination

Ashley Franklin reports on the life and atmosphere that a new wave of drinking and dining businesses has brought to the village

- 

There are two phrases you’re likely to see more than most if you gaze at the handsome properties in the windows of Duffield estate agent Fletcher & Co. One is ‘sought after’ and the other is ‘within the Ecclesbourne catchment area.’ The latter is a reference to arguably the finest secondary school in the East Midlands, which recently attained the highest GCSE results for a non-private school in Derbyshire.

Its mushrooming population has turned Duffield into a virtual town whose expansion has attracted multifarious shops and business services. Although, according to long-standing resident Judy Clough of Duffield News, it’s ‘a dormitory town with a village heart.’ As a neighbouring resident, I sense as much community spirit as commuter living.

In spite of its name, Town Street – Duffield’s main thoroughfare – feels even more like a communal village due to the recent growth of a popular drinking and dining culture. There is also little talk of the demise of the High Street here, a testament to residents’ loyalty.

Sweeping down into Duffield on the A6 from Derby, just before reaching the village there is lush greenery in the expansive farm fields, and you have a similar vista if you drive from the Milford side or via the country lanes from Wirksworth or Little Eaton. The presence of a river, railway, flood plain and surrounding hills have ensured Duffield remains compact and retains its rurality.