Saturday was a cold and dull day at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  No departures but one arrival with cottage already prepared.  Chris came down with me to Bakewell and we went around the Farmers Market.  We then had a wander around town and stopped for coffee and cake at the Bean and Bag where we havent been for a while.  By the time we got home, having called in at Little Cowden Farm for some eggs, it was almost lunchtime.  A quick check on cottage before guests arrived at 3.30, they have been before.  Rest of afternoon spent on bookings and emails and sorting through paperwork.  Sunday was a brighter day.  No departures but one arrival with cottage already cleaned just the last-minute checks to do.  Collected the paper from Bakewell then housework in the morning.  Karen popped up with some cake in the afternoon, it won’t be long before they are open for the summer!  Monday got off to a misty start with a hard frost.  Spotted first hot air balloon of the year but luckily Smudge didn’t spot it.  One departure and two arrivals and one cleaner here.  Usual monday routines and finally got the last of the new curtains up in Lathkill.  Both cottages arrived between 3.30 and 4pm, one has been before.  Stocked up on logs and caught up with some paperwork.  An early tea then Chris went to the Photographic Society.  Bowls was unfortunately cancelled so I had an evening at home with Smudge in front of the TV.  Tuesday saw the arrival of March and meteorological spring with a mild sunny day.  No departures or arrivals.  Chris and handyman did jobs in vacant cottages as did I.  Also made a start on February accounts.  Had a phone call from one of my nieces asking if she and her partner could stay the night as they had been visiting friends in Manchester so prepared a room for them.  They arrived later in the evening and we had a nice meal at home.

February’s weather stats: Highest temp 11.7C on 21st with warmest day and night 21st.  Lowest temp -1.7C on 25th with coldest day 25th and night 15th.  Wettest day 6th with 1.21 in with 3.86 in for month. (Feb 2015 had 2.08 in).

Monday was a fine but cold day at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  No departures but one arrival and one cleaner here to keep up with cleaning.  Jobs around the cottages for me including hemming some new curtains for Lathkill. Cottage arrived just after 3pm.  After an early tea Chris went with friend from Ashford to Matlock to see a presentation by one of the Bakewell Photographic society members.  I went off to Over Haddon for indoor bowls.  A good evening topped off with me leading  the scoreboard.  Tuesday was another fine sunny day and with less wind it felt like a little bit of  spring in the air.  Two departures but no arrivals with a cleaner here to keep up with cleaning.  Handyman here too and he and Chris did some outside jobs.  Down to Bakewell early afternoon then more work on curtains.  Wednesday started with a frost and and mist in the dales.   No departures or arrivals and the morning went in jobs around the house and cottages.  In the afternoon we went to Buxton and we did a Morrisons shop.  A number of bookings later in the afternoon.  There was a slight dusting of snow first thing Thursday and most of that went when the sun reached it.  Another sparkling morning with one departure and one cleaner here.  Jobs around the house in the morning then collected by Joanna and we went to the Ashford Arms.  Here we met up with the ladies of the Over Haddon WI for lunch and had a pleasant few hours chatting as well as a nice lunch.  It had clouded up by the time we got back home.  Friday was a quiet day, cold and cloudy with a few bright spells.  One departure but no arrivals with one cleaner here, so the day went on jobs around the house and cottages including hanging up some curtains in Lathkill.  The forecast is for a cold weekend but no more snow forecast.  Yet.

I spy Monyash in the distance

By contrast Thursday 18 February was a lovely day at our Bolehill Cottages near Bakewell (see here).   A frosty start with mist rising from the dales and when I took Smudge out it felt warm in the sun although there was a cold wind.  The air was very clear.  No departures but one arrival and one cleaner here to keep up with cleaning.  Took Smudge down to the vets for his annual health check.  After lunch final check on cottage who arrived at 4pm, they have been before.  Time for some housework and paperwork and kept an eye out for a possible nice sunset but it fizzled into nothing.  Friday started off dry and sunny but it had clouded up by midday with drizzle on and off during the afternoon.  One departure but no arrivals.  Took Smudge for a walk in the morning and Mark popped in for coffee as he was passing.  Some jobs around the house and cottages as well as a number of phone calls and later in the afternoon I popped down to Bakewell to get some provisions for the weekend.  Saturday started dry but drizzle followed by rain arrived by lunchtime.  One departure and two arrivals with one cleaner here.  Cottages completed by lunchtime and also did final checks for cottages arriving on Sunday.  Both cottages here by 3.30, one has been before, so rest of afternoon on house jobs and more pruning of files.  There was a weather warning for rain from Saturday lunchtime through to Sunday night but at least Sunday was not as bad as forecast and by mid afternoon the weather warning was suspended.  Two departures and two arrivals but cottages were already prepared.  Usual Sunday routines of fetching the paper, stocking up on logs and planing the week ahead (including confirming cleaning details to the cleaners).  First cottage arrived just after 3pm and second cottage at 6.30pm, both have been before.  In the evening we went to the village hall to see ‘Birdman’ but could not see why it won an Oscar.

A sunny but cold start to Monday at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  Should have chosen this Monday to go to the market especially as we had no departures or arrivals. One cleaner here to keep up with cleaning.  After she left we headed to Hopton Hall as the weather was nice and after lunch in their tearoom we had a walk around the gardens admiring the snowdrops.  Probably just past their best but their was some blossom already emerging on the trees.  Guess it hadn’t seen the forecast for snow on Wednesday!  Back home I popped round to visit one of our guests as she owns a haberdashery shop and I wanted advice on some knitting.  After an early tea I went down to Bakewell with Chris to the Photgraphic Society as the speaker (who I also knew) was giving a talk on the Plitvice National Park in Croatia which is somewhere I have always wanted to visit.  Chris said now I’ve seen the photos I don’t need to go!  A very cold night with a frosty start to Tuesday morning.  Two departures and one arrival with handyman and a cleaner here.  After coffee I went down to Bakewell to get provisions for the next couple of days.  As it was half term Bakewell was busier than usual.  Will have to start getting used to more people and cars in Bakewell again.  After lunch final checks in cottage then some accounts.  Cottage arrived at 5pm, they have been before.  A weather warning for snow was in place for Wednesday but the amounts of rain/sleet/snow forecast kept changing.  Wednesday was a very wet and cold day but at least there was no snow.  One departure and one arrival and with cottage already prepared I only needed to do the final checks.  This left me most of the day to concentrate on accounts, caught up with last months accounts and preparation of last years accounts for the accountants so felt I got a lot done.  Cottage arrived at 4pm.  Enjoy the photos from Monday.

Friday got off to a foggy start at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  No departures but three arrivals with two cleaners here to keep up with cleaning.  The fog gave way to a couple of hours of wet snow but luckily nothing settled.  Just as well as no snow or showers were forecast for the morning.  Plenty to do with final checks in arriving cottages and preparations for Saturday’s arrivals.  First arrival at 3.30, they have been before.  A couple of hours to catch up with paper work and house jobs before next arrival at 7.30 and final arrival at 8.15, they have been before.  Finally caught up with the first episode of the new X Files and with a new series of Heroes next week I’m in Sci Fi heaven!  Saturday saw no departures although with a confusion over dates one cottage nearly left a day early!  A smattering of snow here first thing but it soon went.  A bitterly cold day but it stayed dry.  Three arrivals in the afternoon with just final checks (and a few minor odd jobs) left to do.  First two cottages here between 3 and 3.30, one has been before and final cottage here just after 4pm, giving me the rest of the afternoon to do some jobs of my own.  Sunday was a sunny but cold day for Valentine’s Day.  No breakfast in bed for me as we had three departures to deal with.  Down to Bakewell to get the paper then a quick check of the vacated cottages.  A quiet afternoon with some housework and bookings but no arrivals.  A weather warning indicated we could be in for snow overnight into Monday but luckily nothing materialised.

Thursday was another sunny but cold day at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  A busy day in an unconventional way.  One departure with no arrivals or cleaners.  Chris went over to Buxton in the morning to have a discussion about replacing our brochure while I stayed at home.  A couple of bookings in quick succession followed by a visit from our friends from Ashford who really needed Chris’s computer expertise but they stayed for a coffee and a chat.  The next thing I knew it was lunchtime and Chris came back.  As it was a nice day Chris suggested lunch out, we thought we would try Hassop Station but it was very busy so we went to Chatsworth Farm Shop and had lunch at the cafe there.  From there we dropped into Bakewell so I could pick up some provisions for the weekend.  The river was still very high and I managed to get some shots of the bridge with hardly anyone on it.  They say the bridge is strong enough to cope with the weight of lovelocks.  As I had my camera with me I took some photos on our travels.  On the way back we called into Little Cowden Farm where I was reacquainted with Big Ears the lamb I met a few weeks ago plus a few new ones.  I wish they would stand still when trying to take photos!  Back home for a few hours then collected by Andrew and Joanna and we headed down to the Bluebell Inn at Tissington for an Inter club quiz hosted by the local Holstein Society which our team won.  A great day overall.

Monday 8 February was also another wet day at our Bolehill Cottages near Bakewell (see here).  Thought I would go down to Bakewell first thing to go to the market and pick up a few bits for the next couple of days.  Unfortunately there were hardly any stalls there so I wasn’t there long.  Back to Bolehill where there was one departure and one arrival and one cleaner to keep up with cleaning.  Handyman also here and he and Chris carried on with some painting jobs in Honeysuckle and a few odd jobs in other cottages.  Cleaner with broken wrist came up for coffee, she has had an operation on her wrist and it will still be a while before she can return to work.  Drove her back home before lunch then final checks on cottage before arrival here at  3pm, he has been before and is here for a couple of weeks.  The rest of the afternoon went in jobs in cottages and bookings.  In the evening I went to Over Haddon for indoor bowls.  Tuesday was a complete opposite to Monday being sunny and dry but colder. One arrival and one cleaner here to keep up with cleaning.  We went to see our friends in Yorkshire for the day and cottage arrived at 3.30, they have been before.  Wednesday was another fine day.  No departures or arrivals and Chris carried on with jobs in the cottages while I caught up with some paperwork in the morning.  In the afternoon I went as a visitor to Baslow WI at the Baslow Village Hall and had an enjoyable couple of hours.  Baslow WI are a very active WI with over sixty members.  The speaker was a former vet who changed to a veterinary career later in life and he recounted some of the amusing events that happened to him during his training and career.  Afterwards I came home via the Chatsworth Farm Shop.  A lovely sunset but not photogenic enough to photograph.

Friday 5 February saw the start of a busy weekend at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  One departure with three arrivals and one cleaner here.  Down to Bakewell first thing to get provisions for the weekend.  A dull but mild day with rain arriving later in the evening.  Finished preparations for Friday’s arrivals and also spent some time on preparations for Saturday’s arrivals and jobs in vacant cottages.  First cottage here just before 4pm with second one arriving just after 7pm and final cottage here at 9pm.  Saturday started wet and it rained and rained all day with over an inch of rain falling and it was very windy in the afternoon.  There was a warning for wind but not for rain even though we had the wettest day for a very long time.  One departure and two arrivals but cottages already prepared, just had to do final checks.  Had planned to do some housework but ended up spending most of the afternoon pruning files.  Thought after twelve years here it was about time I did it.  Both cottages arrived just after 3pm, both have been before.  Sunday was a fine day on the whole with long dry sunny spells but feeling colder.  Three departures but no arrivals.  After collecting the paper from Bakewell checked on the vacated cottages and took Smudge for a walk.  It was lovely to see the sunshine after the wet Saturday.  Overall a quiet day with some bookings and jobs around the house.  Also stocked up on logs.  Later in the afternoon the wind picked up again and it started raining yet again.

Tuesday February 2 was a cold day at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  It stayed overcast and the keen wind made it feel quite bitter.  Work carried on in the cottages, mainly Honeysuckle, with handyman and a cleaner here.  In the afternoon I went to Sainsburys in Matlock via the Peak Village.  In the evening we had some wintry showers and we woke up to about half an inch of snow.  There hadn’t been anything on the ground at 3am when I looked out and as white as it was when we got up it went very quickly when the sun got on it.  Chris went out and took some pictures before breakfast but by the time I went out after breakfast it was already melting.  At least it stayed sunny.  No departures but one arrival with cottage already prepared. Had some curtains to iron and put back up.  Took a number of bookings but I also managed to get more jobs done around the cottages.  Chris carried on in Honeysuckle.  Cottage arrived just after 4pm.  Thursday was dull with a few showers and milder than the last couple of days.  No arrivals or departures and one cleaner here to carry on deep cleaning in the cottages and some preparations for the weekend.  I was back in the laundry room as well as undertaking jobs around the cottages ahead of a busy weekend.

Weather stats for January: Highest temp 11.9C on 24th with lowest -1.3C on 17th.  Warmest day and night 24th with 16th coldest night and 17th warmest day.  3.07 inches rain (no wonder the ground is soggy) with 7th the wettest day with .57 in rain. (Rain Jan 15 was 3.1 in).