A team of dedicated trustees are on a mission to reveal the true identity of one of Derbyshire’s finest standing castles.

This year the Codnor Castle Heritage Trust has been busy clear the undergrowth in the south court of the medieval ruins – getting rid of all thorn, scrub and ivy that has built up there after over the past decade.

And the back breaking work is all aimed at being able to open previously fenced off areas of Codnor Castle up to the public once a month.

Trust chairman Rokia Brown said: “It is starting to look like someone cares about the medieval castle now and we would like to invite everyone to come and have a look at what we are doing and how fantastic the site is starting to look.”

Rokia added: “It’s been a massive task really because the south court is really big.

“But we’ve been really lucky as we’ve had lots of volunteers come along and help us out.

“It’s an ongoing project and this year is going to be the hardest as we have had to tackle all that growth from the last four to five years.

“But once it’s down it will be more a case of maintaining it.”

The site clearing of the south court is just one part of a wider scheme to make the castle more accessible to the public.

A new website is attracting visitors and a book about the history of the Norman castle, home to the De Grey family from the 13th to he 15th Century, is due to be published in June.

For more information visit www.codnorcastle.com. The next open days will be on September 7 and 8.