Christmas Fayre Cancelled Due to Storm Darragh Warnings

Severe weather warnings have compelled a National Trust visitor attraction in Nottinghamshire to close and cancel a second Christmas fayre within a few weeks. Clumber Park’s festive market, which was scheduled for the upcoming weekend, has been called off in advance of Storm Darragh. The event had also been planned for late November but was previously cancelled due to Storm Bert. A decision was also made to fully close the site to visitors on Saturday because of the wind. The country park announced that a “meet Father Christmas” event for Saturday has been cancelled, but it might still proceed on Sunday afternoon. A bike sale has also been rescheduled for January, with additional details to be released in the new year. A spokesperson stated: “Due to the adverse weather conditions forecast, it has been necessary to make changes to our planned events this weekend.” The spokesperson added: “Limiting access to Clumber is something that we want to avoid but the safety of our people and visitors must be our priority.” Nikki Rushin, 53, from Retford, who operates Forest Fables Decor, creating wreaths from foraged material, estimated a loss of at least £1,000. She commented: “All week I’ve been looking at my phone, slowly seeing if the weather’s going to change and and it just hasn’t and it’s just so disheartening,”. Rushin continued: “When I get home in the evenings I’ve been making all my stock. I’ve got so much Christmas stuff and I’m not going to be able to sell it.” She concluded: “It’s not been the Christmas that I envisaged”. Michelle Elliott, 58, from Sheffield, who runs ShellEll creations, a business selling luxury pet accessories, also shared her disappointment. Elliott stated: “I was really looking forward to both of these events and it’s just absolutely devastating that the weather’s forced them to be cancelled and I totally understand for the health and safety aspect. “But it’s just absolutely devastating.” Storm Darragh is anticipated to bring strong winds to many areas of the UK, with gusts expected to exceed 90mph (145km/h) in some parts of the country. In Nottinghamshire, a yellow warning for wind has been issued, with speeds forecast to reach 57mph (92km/h) on Saturday morning. Clumber Park first announced the changes to its weekend events on Thursday, aiming to “give stallholders as much notice as possible”. According to Anna Church of BBC Weather, Storm Darragh is the fourth named storm of the season and is expected to impact the weather in the East Midlands from Friday night and throughout the weekend. While heavy rainfall is predicted, the primary concern is the strong, gusty winds, which could be widespread at 50 to 60mph and locally exceed 60mph. These winds are projected to peak from Saturday lunchtime onwards and will gradually begin to ease off from Saturday night until Sunday. For updates, follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Story ideas can be sent to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp at 0808 100 2210. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content of external sites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.