Sunny skies over the weekend saw Derbyshire come alive. Joey Severn went to see what people did in the weekend sunshine.
MAY Day bank holiday weekend usually only means one thing: rain, rain and more rain.
But this year the weather gods were looking down more kindly on Derbyshire.
After months of cold and wet weather, the weekend finally turned warm and people made the most of the sunshine with events in Derby and around the county.
Hundreds of families made their way to the University of Derby where there was the chance to star-gaze, dig for fossils and even stroke a skunk at the Kedleston Road campus yesterday.
Among those who made the most of the weather were the Masters family.
Mum Jo, dad Paul, 48, and sons Duke, 12, and Alfie made the short trip from their home in Wheeldon Avenue, Five Lamps.
Jo, 41, said: "We had a flyer through the door as we live so close and Alfie is mad for anything with animals. So when he saw the meerkat on the front, we had to come."
But it wasn't a meerkat that 10-year-old Alfie got up close to. It was Nolah the skunk.
She had made the trip from Worcester for the family fun day with Robin James, from Tropical Inc.
But that was not the only entertainment as youngsters and parents alike were taken on a tour of the Solar System inside the National Space Centre's StarDome Portable Planetarium.
Alessandra Jones 10, mum Francesca Orlandi, 41, little brother Luca, three, and dad Jason Jones, 45, were among the visitors. The family, from Crich Circle, Littleover, had never been to the fun day before but were looking forward to the experience.
Francesca said: "My brother told me about it. The planetarium is the first thing that we will be doing while we're here. We can't wait."
Following a slightly damp start, the weekend got into full swing on Saturday at two events in the south of the county.
At Elvaston Castle, a food and craft fair saw businesses from all over the county selling their wares in the grounds of the south Derbyshire landmark.
Organiser Gary Allen said: "The castle is such a great place to have these types of events.
"Hopefully, events like this will make people realise that the castle grounds are not just for dog walking. We want to do more events here."
Hannah Grealy, 35, partner Richard Oddy, 38, and children Maisy, 11, and Charlie, seven, visited from Borrowash.
Hannah said: "The fair is really good. There should be more things like this here."
Over in Ticknall, Calke Abbey's 19th annual craft fair took place, with thousands of people attending over the weekend.
Among the activities on offer were circus skills, archery and tile-making alongside about 80 stalls selling various craft items.
Simon Rich, 42, partner Anna Rich, 40, and children Esmee, six, and Archie, 10, travelled from Shardlow to the fair.
Simon said: "We are in the National Trust, so we heard about the fair through that It's a really good event."
And gastronomes were able to sample a range of delights at the Matlock Bath Food and Craft Festival.
The event saw brewer Septimus Spyder promote a range of ales from his Medieval brewing company.
