With a good day forecast for Wednesday (8/8) Chris took a day off from Buxton and we went to the Ashover Show.  We haven’t been for a couple of years and it is normally an enjoyable day out.  It is as much a show for farmers as the general public.  Instead of heading off early we did a few odd jobs at our peak district cottages before setting off late morning.  This meant we didn’t have to queue for long to get into the car park.  We could see the show was already busy by the number of cars in the car park and the village’s three pubs were also doing well with the good weather. The first tent we stopped off at was the Derbyshire Holstein tent where Andrew and Joanna were doing a stint as hosts.  Ian was also there and we agreed to help out with bringing the cows in for miking later in the day.  We had a look round the display stands watching automatic cow milking machines in action and other machines designed to make the life of farmers easier.  There was a section with vintage cars and tractors.  We then moved on to the craft and food tents but as there was still a lot to see I decided to go back to the food tent later to make some purchases.  We found a quiet spot for lunch before having a look at some of the general stands and the dog and horse competitions.  We also inspected some of the big boys toys (no price tags attached) before we went and looked at the cows and sheep.  Queues were too long for an ice cream!  Before setting off home we went back to the food tent so I could buy some goodies and on the way out made a final call at the local show tent where all the flower arrangements and home made produce had been judged.  Back in time to help bring the cows in but with them spread over two fields both Chris and I with Smudge rounded them up.  Except they didn’t want to behave so Ian’s girlfriend also helped.  In the evening as it was still warm and our ‘day off’ we went to the Lathkil Hotel for a meal.  A wonderful way to end a wonderful day.  Enjoy the photos of the show but here are a couple taken first thing when out with the dogs.  The mist was rising from the dales making for some good photos.