'I have been dressing Peak District wells for 40 years'

A floral artist is celebrating her 40th year designing and making well dressings, an ancient countryside custom giving thanks for fresh water springs. The tradition is thought to have been started by the Romans or the Celts, and is still honoured by more than 80 towns and villages across the Peak District and Derbyshire. Wendy Greatorex's display over Hands Well is one of six in her birthplace of Tissington - a well originally designed by her great-great-great uncle in the late 1800s. "I love to keep the tradition going," she said. "I've now got children and grandchildren who join in and will carry that tradition on." Greatorex dressed her first well in Tissington at the age of 19, compelled to do so because of the long history of the event in her family. "I have a picture from 1860 of my two-times-great-grandad and my great-grandma as a baby, and they were involved in the well dressing then," she said. Each year, Greatorex takes inspiration from a bible verse, as has been the tradition in the village, but also likes to celebrate notable anniversaries. This year, those included 100 years of Winnie the Pooh, and the 75th anniversary of the Peak District National Park, which she has