The Dragon’s Den star who built an anti-vax outpost in the Peak …

In the ancient woodland of Cressbrook Dale in the Peak District, the bluebells are just beginning to bloom and the scent of wild garlic fills the air. Moss grows up the bark of ash, elm and beech trees, and peregrine falcons swoop overhead. It is a pocket of calm — spiritual even. But the gorge is also ground zero of a bitter divide raging between some Derbyshire villagers and a group of antivaxer conspiracy theorists — headed by the former Dragons’ Den investor Rachel Elnaugh.

Last year, 72-acre Cressbrook Dale — most of which is open-access land — was bought by a group calling itself Phoenix Rose, founded by six women, of which Elnaugh is the de facto spokeswoman. Its “vision” includes a “food forest”,