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Despite being only four-miles long, Bradford Dale has been a magnet for locals and tourists alike for many years.

With its beautiful banks, dale sides and surrounding farmland and woods, there’s no doubting how treasured the area is.

But after the river dried up completely in the drought of 2011 – followed by floods in 2012 – local residents formed the Bradford River Action Group (BRAG).

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Now Derbyshire author and photographer Christine Gregory – who is a member of BRAG – has put pen to paper in a bid to tell the river’s 360-year tale to date, as well as discussing its future.

Her book, A River in Time, explores the evolution of the landscape of the White Peak and the impact of human activity on the area.

Offering a pictorial journey along the River Bradford – from its source to the confluence with the River Lathkill – the book reveals the river’s previous uses and depicts many of the wild creatures that live in and alongside the water.

Christine , who lived for 20 years in a former lead miner’s cottage overlooking Bradford Dale in Youlgrave, said: “I know this place intimately. It is a place of contrasts, deep shadows, dazzling light and many surprises.

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“I feel very strongly about preserving the area for future generations and hope that tourism, nature and industry can be balanced in the future.”

Supported by the Peak District National Park’s Sustainable Development Fund, A River in Time is BRAG’s timely and revealing contribution to the debate about what is happening in the natural world.

Christine takes the reader back in time, explaining how monastic grange farms, enclosures and lead mining shaped the landscape.

She also leads the reader along the river, her atmospheric photographs capturing its changing reflections; the remains of long-gone industry; its wildlife and extraordinary biodiversity.

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The book can be bought for £15.99 in: Parkers Post Office and General Stores, Church Street, Youlgrave; Bakewell Visitor Centre, Old Market Hall, Bridge Street, Bakewell; The Bakewell Book & Gift Shop, Matlock Street, Bakewell.

It can also be ordered online by visitng www.riverintime.org.uk.

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