South Derbyshire has many hidden gems for people from the District and beyond to visit.

There’s Calke Abbey where time stood still from the 1880s for the Harpur Crewe family who threw nothing away as their home started to crumble around them. Now it has been preserved by the National Trust as an English country house in decline.

At Swarkestone, the crossing of the River Trent is a scheduled ancient monument. It is also the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie’s men lost hope and turned back on their march to London to seize the British crown.

And over in Smisby, there’s the Bluebell Arboretum and Nursery where rare trees, shrubs and plants can be bought and you can also ask experts to plan an arboretum for you. Cllr Mick Bale, Chairman of South Derbyshire District Council will be visiting Smisby Arboretum and Nursery at 2pm on Tuesday 20 May, 2008.

Says Cllr Mick Bale, “The Bluebell Arboretum and Nursery is certainly making our District greener and helping other people to plant more trees, shrubs and plants to make the environment better. When one of the Arboretum’s special varieties is featured in a press article, they can sell out overnight.

“The Arboretum sells its rare trees, shrubs and plants to visitors and through mail order. It has trees such as the Katsura which has been on earth for many millions of years and which has leaves that smell of bonfire toffee as well as Giant Redwoods which can grow to 300 feet and live for up to 3,000 years. It stocks 41 types of maple tree. There are Wedding Cake trees, Sea Buckthorns, Sweet Gums, Chilean Fire Bushes, Magnolias and Mahonias. The Bluebell Arboretum shows what can be achieved in 16 years. It’s no wonder that people travel from all over Britain and Europe to get help to create their own arboretum.”