Shining Cliff Woods, Derbyshire

In medieval times "Schymynde-cliffe" was one of the seven royal parks within Duffield Frith and, as such, belonged to Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster.

It was an estate within the manor of Alderwasley and in 1284 was given to William Foun who was given the job of maintaining the boundaries between the Pendleton and Peatpits Brooks.

They passed to Thomas Lowe by marriage in 1471 and in 1514 he was granted by Henry VIII the right to "empark and empale" his estate and enjoy "free warren" within it.

To the east of Shining Cliff Wood stands Oakhurst House, a 19th-century Jacobean-Arts and Crafts country home which has fallen into partial ruin.

A well-known legend has it that the nursery rhyme Rock-a-bye Baby relates to a local character in the late 18th century, Betty Kenny (Kate Kenyon), who lived in a huge yew tree in Shining Cliff Woods – now known as the "Betty Kenny Tree".