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.