Finally the first dry and sunny day of the week at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here) arrived on Thursday.  So with no arrivals or departures we opted for a walk in Padley Gorge in the hope of catching the autumn colours.  Usually we park in Grindleford and walk up the gorge and back down but this time we parked at the top of the road from Grindleford to Fox House (where there are a number of free parking spaces) and walked down the gorge before walking back up.  We set off late morning with the sun still out. T he colours weren’t as far as advanced as we thought but as usual Padley Gorge made for a stunning walk for the time of year even allowing for scrambling over rocks and tree roots to get some good photos.  At the bottom of the gorge we stopped at the cafe at the Grindleford Station for a bacon bap.  Yum.  As it was so nice we sat outside with Smudge eyeing our lunch.  Then the walk back up the gorge on the opposite path with different perspectives of the gorge.  We even found some late flowering heather and at the top had views across to Higger Tor and Carl Wark where we had walked a couple of months ago.  We then drove round to Ladybower Reservoir to see how the autumn colours were developing.  Probably still a few weeks away from their best.  Later in the evening we went out with one of our guests for a meal at Piedaniels in Bakewell which we all enjoyed.  Friday was a quieter day with no departures or  arrivals.  Down to Bakewell later in the morning to get provisions for the weekend.  Afternoon spent on preparations for Saturday and house jobs and in the evening one of the cottages joined us for a Chinese takeaway. Enjoy the photos.