Olympic milestones unveiling in Dales

: Friday, 07 September 2012 09:38

The Olympics will leave a lasting, permanent legacy across the Derbyshire Dales with the unveiling of milestone markers this Sunday, September 9.

The Olympic Torch makes it way down the A^ through Darley Dale Derbyshire Dales District Council coordinated the successful Torch Relay at the end of June and now engraved milestones will mirror Derbyshire's Torch Relay Route.

The milestones will be placed in each of the nine towns and villages that the torch passed through, including Matlock, Darley Dale, Bakewell and Ashbourne.

There will also be two additional markers placed at Highfields School in Matlock and in Derby Market Place.

District Council Ashbourne ward member Cllr Andrew Lewer, who is the County Council's Cabinet Member for Culture said:

"The Olympics have been a proud moment for the UK and for Derbyshire.

"We want to celebrate the incredible achievements of everyone involved and also leave a permanent reminder of the Olympics here in Derbyshire."

Each marker is made from the different, distinctive local stone of the area it is placed in and will be engraved with the name of the village or town, London 2012, and the distance in miles to the Olympic park in London.

Each stone will also have a line of poetry engraved on it to form an overall Olympic Torch Relay poem, written by Derbyshire's Poet Laureate Matt Black.

The eleven markers will be unveiled by Derbyshire Olympic Torch bearers on Sunday to coincide with the closing ceremony of the 2012 Paralympics Games.

The stones have been designed and carved by local stone mason Andy Oldfield.

Timings for the unveilings are Matlock Highfields School 1.50pm, Matlock Crown Square 3pm, Darley Dale Dale Road South 3.20pm, Bakewell Baslow Road by bridge 4.30pm and Ashbourne Market Place 6pm.