A woman has set up a speed-dating service to help people in rural areas find love.
Pixie Greatorex, 40, took matters into her own hands after hunting for speed-dating events in Shropshire.
In December 2024, she founded Shropshire Speed Dating, and has said she was “surprised” by how quickly her first event sold out.
Ms Greatorex said running the business makes her feel “like Cilla Black or Cupid” and is hopeful she can help people of all ages meet someone special.
Ms Greatorex said the dating scene in Shropshire was “not the best” and drove her to start the business.
Dating is “a bit of a minefield,” she said, adding “there’s no way of meeting people, and when you do go out you don’t know if they’re single.”
Ms Greatorex is hoping Shropshire Speed Dating will appeal to people in more rural areas, with her events held in country hotels as opposed to city-centre bars.
She believes people are turning to speed dating because online dating often has its pitfalls.
“I think that people behave quite badly online,” she said.
“Ghosting, vanishing, or just blocking people – the communication is just gone, and people are craving coming offline and being here in person.
“That’s why the tickets sell so fast for the events we’ve had so far.”
Clare, who is 50, went to the event last month – she described dating in a rural area as “absolutely shocking”.
“Living in such a rural location, it’s hard to match with somebody of my age [who will] match my energy – I’ve been single on-and-off for eight years, that’s how difficult it is.”
Clare admitted that there is a stigma around speed-dating, and said she was teased by work colleagues because it was “portrayed as being a bit seedy”.
She said Ms Greatorex’s business was “very classy” and “a bit more upmarket”.
Stefan, 46, from Telford, said he “won’t do [internet dating] any more” after attending one of the speed-dating events.
He admitted he was nervous about going to begin with, but found that he really enjoyed it in the end.
“When I left, I actually felt really at ease and happy, and I knew that I’d made friends as well as meeting somebody.”
Ms Greatorex has big ambitions for her business, aiming to run two events a month for people of all ages – from as young as 25, to people aged 65 and older.
She added that she was planning a neuro-diverse and autism-friendly event, as well as singles discos and karaoke nights.
“I want to serve the community of single people in Shropshire so they have some options again!”
Ellen Knight
BBC Shropshire
