1891
Established
29
Schools in 2024
368
Holidays in 2024
Welcome to Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre
Important Update: Our Journey Toward a Brighter Future
Since 1891, Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre has been dedicated to providing life-changing seaside holidays for disadvantaged children across Derbyshire. These holidays are more than just a break, they bring joy, build confidence, and create lifelong memories for children who need them most.
As we look ahead to the future, we’ve made the difficult but necessary decision to pause our holiday service during the 2025 season. This pause will allow us to undertake a thorough strategy review to ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of Derbyshire’s children for years to come.
A Message from Our Trustees
Outgoing Chair of Trustees, Alan Grimadell, shared:
“The Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre has been going since 1891, and the need to provide a seaside holiday for in-need Derbyshire children is as strong today as it was then.
As a long-running charity, we remain true to our core purpose. We know that providing a holiday in our centre means so much more to the children who attend than just a week’s break. It gives them confidence and helps forge friendships and bonds. Many children who attended our centre have never forgotten the feeling of love and support it gave them.
But times have changed since 1891, and our trustees have decided it is necessary to pause our holidays in 2025 while we fully review our entire operation, with the aim of coming back better, stronger, and more resilient to face future challenges.”
Incoming Chair of Trustees, Mike Copestake, added:
“We temporarily closed for two years in the late 1980s to transition from local authority funding to being fully self-supporting. Now, we face a similar challenge to meet rising costs and ensure we continue to provide much-needed holidays in 2026 and beyond.
Trustees are already hard at work redefining our vision to continue ‘to inspire Derbyshire’s children to flourish,’ while staying true to our values of being caring, aspirational, passionate, encouraging, and inclusive.
As we go forward, the public’s support and encouragement of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre is always appreciated.”
How You Can Help
While our holidays are paused in 2025, your support remains vital to our mission. Here’s how you can help:
While our holidays are paused in 2025, your support remains vital to our mission. Here’s how you can help:
- – Stay Connected: Follow our journey as we plan for a brighter future.
- – Spread the Word: Share our mission and story to help us raise awareness.
- – Support Our Campaigns: Look out for our Comeback Appeal 2026 and other fundraising efforts as we prepare to return stronger than ever.
- – Donate using either our ‘Go Fund Me‘ or ‘Just Giving‘ appeal pages– Share your story: Have you or a close family member visited our Centre for a holiday? Share your story with us – we would love to hear from you! Email us [email protected]– Volunteer: We are always looking for help with fundraising. Chat with us about how you can get involved. Email: [email protected]
- – Stay tuned: Look at our events page to see what’s going on, where and when, come along, have a chat about what we are up to and how you might be able to help.
Thank you for standing with us as we take this important step toward building a stronger future for Derbyshire’s children. Together, we can continue to make a lasting difference in their lives.
Facebook Posts
Join Us in Making a Difference: The Comeback Appeal 2026
For over 130 years, we’ve been offering children the chance to create cherished memories, build confidence, and enjoy the magic of a seaside break. These holidays provide so much more than fun—they offer a vital boost to the well-being of children who need it most. But rising costs have been no secret and so we have taken the decision to pause holidays at our centre in 2025, with the aim of coming back bigger and stronger in 2026.
So the goal of our 'Comeback Appeal' is to raise £75,000 to bring back our life-changing holidays to disadvantaged children in Derbyshire and spread joy and hope to even more children in 2026.
This year, we need your help to make this possible. By contributing to The Comeback Appeal, you’ll be helping us bring sunshine back into the lives of children who might not otherwise experience a holiday.
Every donation, big or small, brings us closer to giving these children the gift of happiness, hope, and unforgettable memories.
Thank you in advance for your generosity and support for this cause that means so much to all of us. Together, we can make 2026 a year to remember for Derbyshire’s children.
Let’s make the comeback stronger than ever.
Contact Us Today
Some of Our Valued Supporters
The day has arrived and we’re setting up for a fantastic time here at The Needles Pub in Alvaston. Tombola, food, cakes and crafts plus of course the chance to chat with volunteers from Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre about our history, look through some albums that record times gone by, and most importantly what we’re planning for 2026 and beyond.
Huge thanks to Trev and Mel for arranging g everything for today and raising funds for us. It’s so amazing to have support like this from within the community.
Hopefully we’ll see you here later today. ... See MoreSee Less
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Is there still.going to be a bouncy castle?
What a tremendous achievement from Peter Ennis
He left Lands End 11 August 8am. 1177 miles and 51805 feet later he has arrived at John O’Groats! Peter says “it’s the hardest thing I have ever done by a light year but totally worth it…thank you so much to everyone who has donated …the link is below, if you have been impressed with my efforts then any donation will help to change a young persons life…now, I’m off to have a big plate of fish and chips!”
www.justgiving.com/page/peter-ennis-1
We’re so lucky at the Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre to have supporters like Peter who are willing to go way above and beyond to help us.
We’d also like to thank Peter’s family who have encoured him and been there every step of the way. ... See MoreSee Less
3 CommentsComment on Facebook
What an amazing achievement - a lifetime of memories created during 1177 miles of cycling. The funds raised will help to make memories for children in 2026. 👍
🥳
Karen Ennis
What a tremendous achievement from Peter Ennis
He left Lands End 11 August 8am. 1177 miles and 51805 feet later he has arrived at John O’Groats! Peter says “it’s the hardest thing I have ever done by a light year but totally worth it…thank you so much to everyone who has donated …the link is below, if you have been impressed with my efforts then any donation will help to change a young persons life…now, I’m off to have a big plate of fish and chips!”
www.justgiving.com/page/peter-ennis-1
We’re so lucky at the Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre to have supporters like Peter who are willing to go way above and beyond to help us.
We’d also like to thank Peter’s family who have encoured him and been there every step of the way. ... See MoreSee Less
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Peter Ennis continues today and this time it’s his final leg, number 12.
So yesterday Peter completed leg 12. He set off from Dornoch for Melvich on the north coast. It looked a steady up and down with 2000 feet of climbing, but the last 13 miles included over 1000 ft alone with three proper stingers. Amazing scenery once again, lots of wildlife - an eagle, pigs, highland cattle, sheep on roads, and very little traffic. Arrived in Melvich at half six - just one leg to go!
Thank you Peter Ellse for your tremendous support of Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre - after the next leg it’s literally all downhill 😁
If you’re captivated by Peter’s monumental efforts then please share in his success by donating to his JustGiving page linked below:-
www.justgiving.com/page/peter-ennis-1 ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Peter Ennis completing leg 11 of his epic bike ride from Lands End to John O’Groats which is amazing.
From his update here’s the transcript:-
LEJOG Leg 11 update: After the best fish cake in the world (specially made after the kitchen was closed) at the Osprey Hotel in Kingussie last night, I tucked in to a massive bowl of porridge complete with cinnamon and berries. This set me up proper for the 100 mile ride to Dornoch. Some great scenery again, another ferry ride - this time an 11 minute hop from Cromarty to Nigg after 75 miles, then 25 mile to Dornoch, arriving just before sunset.
Two days left - feel free to donate!
www.justgiving.com/page/peter-ennis-1 ... See MoreSee Less
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Superb effort Peter Ennis
Peter Ennis and his mammoth cycle ride on behalf of the Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre continues.
He’s now in Scotland - passed through Edinburgh and on the Forth Bridge.
If you’d like to add to his £1442 total then use the Just Giving link below, and remember if you’re a tax payer the gift aid element adds 25% to the total raised.
www.justgiving.com/page/peter-ennis-1
Well done Peter, thank you and good luck for the rest of your journey.
www.facebook.com/share/v/14H3bqv4UXM/?mibextid=wwXIfr ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook