When I phoned Moorlands Connect at 9.15am this morning to book a ride back from Hartington to Alstonefield at lunch time, I was surprised to be told that the service had been cancelled for the day because of the snow.

It seemed a very odd decision as there was very little snow on the roads which had been gritted and I wondered if the new vehicles were not suited to bad weather. I was used to the old bus service which had managed to keep running through most of the snowy winter last year.

We decided to walk to Hartington anyway and there, in the village square, was the Moorlands Connect bus. The driver told us the bus had been on the road since 7.30 am this morning and she was waiting for a passenger who had failed to arrive. She had heard nothing about the service being cancelled.

Our story ends happily as the driver gladly gave us a ride back to Alstonefield and was intending to speak to the call centre. I hope they sort themselves out!