High above Whaley Bridge, our Jubilee beacon joins national chain
A glorious blaze, a glorious Jubilee night
An estimated 400-500 people – a large percentage children – spent a happy evening at the Whaley Bridge cricket club’s beautiful ground, with the dramatic lighting of The Beacon. It was a glorious blaze on a glorious night. We were part of a chain of more than 4,000 beacons or bonfires, linked across the country.
Most people walked from the centre of Whaley, via the now famous Giggle Gaggle short cut. It was a lovely evening. following the best day of the Jubilee holiday. Cameras clicked at a prolonged sunset, from an angle many people had never seen before. The drink flowed, the babbecue sizzled, the music rocked – and kids by the dozen played impromptu cricket. (The cricket club’s plan for its famous pubs six a side competition had to be postponed, because the pitch was still waterlogged from days of heavy rain. A substitute date will be announced later.)
The bonfire, about 20ft high, had been laid well in advance. Three little brothers won a raffle for a place among those lighting the pyre of old wood alongside Town Council chair Anne Winter. It was hot work for them and Anne, but the blaze immediately lit up the darkening sky about 10.30pm. One or two smaller fires in the Goyt Valley could be seen, but not Disley’s, Chapel’s or Hayfield’s, out of sight among the Peak District hills. The Whaley bonfire flames were so high they could be seen from the lower levels of Elnor Lane, with the glow there until midnight.
Pictures from the great Jubilee Night
What a night: little brothers who helped light Whaley's beacon
The beacon burning bright
Getting busy early on before the crowds arrived !
Cllr Rodney Gilmour mans the barbecue.