Hucklow Summer School 2026 – ‘Doing Our Best’
Regular readers might remember the Summer School Diaries from last year, a recounting of the week-long Unitarian religious education week at the Nightingale Centre in Great Hucklow, Derbyshire. Louise Reeve attended again in 2026, when the theme was ‘Doing Our Best’. Here’s a recap of what happened, and some photos!
Day 1: Welcome
Everyone gathers to get to know each other through ‘Introduction Bingo’, set the intention for the week, and get to know each other on a walk around Great Hucklow village.
A getting to know you walk near the Nightingale Centre.
Day 2: Theme Talk 1 and Walking
We meet for the first Theme Talk of the Day, in which I gave a short reflection on what it means to me, and a very nice scenic walk around the Derbyshire hills.
Louise’s contribution to the theme talk:
Day 3: More Engagement, Yoga and Line Dancing
Day 3 contined our engagement group work, Rev. Arek Malecki led a yoga class in the sunshine, adn Rev. Jane Blackall led the line dancing in the evening.
Day 4: Engagement, and out and about
Alongside the engagement work in the mornings, we like to go for walks near the gliding field, and pick the blackberries along the way.
Day 5: Engagement, and Swimming!
We had a free afternoon on Day 5, and some of us took the chance to go to the outdoor pool in Hathersage. Louise led worship at Great Hucklow Old Chapel on the Epilogue Service on ‘Walking the Evening Labyrinth’, a version of her ‘Walking the Labyrinth’ service.
Day 6: Engagement, and Sacred Steps
After our engagement group work in the mornings, we had a ‘Sacred Steps’ worship session in the afternoon led by Mel and Ned Prideaux. The Silent Auction came to a close, and we had our traditional Open Mic Night!
Day 7: Final Day
The final day concluded with a longer Epilogue service in the chapel, a social night – and group photos!
UPDATE:
If you’re curious about what ‘Summer School’, the week-long UK Unitarian religious education week in Derbyshire is all about, you can now see all the ‘Theme Talks’ which start each morning online here: Hucklow Summer School Talks. Our own Louise Reeve appears in the first one!
