Little William Aspinall gets hand on the torch, with Bill Weston and cousin Ava Hodgson

On the eve of the Whaley Bridge Rose Queen Festival, hundreds of local people got into the carnival mode by joining the enormous crowds in Buxton welcoming the Olympic torch on its latest journey.

One little Whaley boy, William Aspinall, aged two got to meet torch carrier Bill Weston AND hold the torch.  His grandma Stella Whitehurst had taken him and his cousin Ava Hodgson, six, to join the crowds near the Opera House.

Schoolchildren from Whaley Bridge joined other High Peak schools at the Dome, University of Derby, for a day of Olympic fun, folowed by prime spots to view the arrival of the torch near the railway station.

Crowds jam the area round the Old Hall and Opera House, awaiting torch arrival

The Buxton crowd was estimated to be between 15,000 and 20,000, much of it concentrated in the Opera House-Crescent area.

The flame is passed from torch to torch. Bill Weston, right, is ready to run

The Whaley Bridge Rose Queen parade is on Saturday, 30 June.  After experiencing the torch excitement at Buxton, the Whaley visitors are ready for another day of carnival fun.

Bill Weston, flaming torch held high, starts his run through central Buxton