Peak District village remade from cake raises £17,500 to help rural transport charity

The incredible feat was overseen by renowned Youlgrave cake landscape artist Lynn Nolan, 63, and took nine months to complete.

The extraordinary cakes were auctioned off at the Eyam Mechanics Institute on Saturday, November 30, to raise money for Bakewell and Eyam Community Transport (BECT).

Charity fundraiser Sandra Naylor said: “We’re increasingly reliant on public donations, so we approached Lynn because we’d seen the Youlgrave village cake she made in 2016 which raised £13,000 for their church roof.

“It’s been a team effort, but what Lynn has done for us is absolutely amazing. It has to be seen to be appreciated.”

Lynn, a retired florist, planned the project from photos taken around the village.

The cake version of Eyam Hall alone raised over £400.

Dozens of volunteers and local businesses contributed time and ingredients to make the 65 fruit cakes, before Lynn spent 645 hours icing them.

The end result involved 608 eggs, 66lb of butter, 73lb of flour, 462lb of icing, 37 tubs of glace cherries and nine litres of whiskey, as well as LED illuminations.

The total of £2,500 raised at the auction will be added to £15,000 received in donations from people visiting the display.

Lynn said: “It’s for such a good cause. For some people who rely on the community transport service, their driver might be the only person they see in a week.”