Having enjoyed a warm end to June, July got off to a hot start on Wednesday at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  No arrivals or departures and a quiet start to the day.  Our cleaner with the broken wrist came up for coffee and we sat in the shade on the patio and it wasn’t until we went through to the courtyard that we could feel the real heat and humidity.  In the end our weather station recorded a high of 29.8 deg c, the highest temperature since we had the weather station.  At lunchtime a brief passing storm wet the ground but it was just as hot and humid afterwards.  After lunch we had a short ride out to Calver Garden Centre to pick up some plant food and slug killer then had a nice drive back via Monyash where I picked up an ice cream.  We left the dogs behind.  When we got back Chris watered the plants and I dealt with some bookings and payments.  Still also need to finish off last quarters accounts.  As the temperature held we had dinner on the patio and stayed out until 9pm when it was still 22degrees.  It looked like being a nice sunset so I went up to the back field to take some photos.  Just before we went to bed I went out to close the door to the leisure area and spotted some lightening.  Although not overhead there was an amazing lightening display going on in what must have been a huge cloud formation, but there was no thunder.  Chris went out to look at it too and contemplated taking photos and afterwards wished he had.

June’s weather stats.  Highest temp 25.6 deg C on 30th which was warmest day and night.  Until then highest temp had been 20.9 deg C on 16th with warmest day 27th and night 25th.  Lowest temp 3.4 deg C on 1st which was coldest day and night and wettest day with .83 inches rain.  Total rain for month 2.12 inches (2014 1.39 inches).

Sunday started dull and drizzly at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here) but it brightened up in the afternoon.  A quiet day for us with two departures but no arrivals. One cottage here for a second week.  Did some housework and later in the day we went down to Bakewell to have a look at the well dressings while they were still fresh particularly with some warm weather being predicted.  Monday was a fine day with one departure and two arrivals. One cleaner here.  A busy afternoon for phone calls and emails and both cottages here by 3.30, one had been before.  Later in the afternoon Fay, Andrew and Joanna’s daughter called in for a couple of hours and it was nice to have a chat.  The right weather conditions meant a number of hot air balloons in the sky in the evening so that kept the dogs occupied. Tuesday was a fine warm day with a beautiful blue sky all day.  One departure but no arrivals.  Tuesday handyman here and Chris and he did some more odd jobs outside and some logging despite the heat.  A morning of odd jobs for me and as we had planned a picnic in the evening I also made up various salads. Due to the heat we kept the dogs in most of the day.  After lunch I went down to Over Haddon and helped with the well dressing for a while.  I put in some peppercorns, coffee beans and pine cones.  Chris helped get the cows in, they were very reluctant to go in and after he got back we packed the ruck sacks and with the dogs headed out towards Sheldon.   We had our picnic at the top of Kirk Dale,  it was such a lovely evening.  Enjoy all the photos!

Thursday was a lazy day at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  Well I guess we can have a lazy day sometimes.  Having said that I took advantage of the nice weather to do some extra washing.  One departure.  My sister called in about midday with her partner, they have just had a break in Scarborough and were on their way home.  Sister and I popped to Chatsworth Farm Shop where we got some lunch then spent a relaxing few hours having lunch and a natter on the patio.  They left late afternoon and we had an early tea as Joanna and I were collected by one of the ex Over Haddon WI ladies and together with Lynne we went to Tideswell.  We had arranged to meet up with some of the other ex Over Haddon WI ladies so we could have a look at the well dressings.  It had turned into a nice evening so after our stroll we had a drink at the George.  Friday morning was a bit dull and drizzly but it was still mild and it felt warmer in the afternoon when the sun finally came out.  Two departures and three arrivals and two cleaners here. First arrival here at 3.30 with second at 7pm and final one at 8.30pm.  Chris watered the plants and hanging baskets and I did a number of odd jobs.  Saturday was another fine warm day.  Two departures and two arrivals and one cleaner here.  Down to Bakewell first thing as it was the Farmers Market. Bakewell was very busy as it was also the beginning of Carnival Week and Saturday was International Dance day, although it hadn’t started by the time I left.  Additionally Dogs Unleashed was at the show ground so there were a lot of dogs around too.  Back home and cleaning and checks finished by lunchtime. Both cottages here by 3.30. Some odd jobs during the afternoon and Chris cut the grass.  Made the most of the pleasant evening by relaxing for a change.  Relaxing twice in three days, whatever next!

I had been worrying about Monday because after a busy weekend at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here) Monday was a busy day.  Five departure and four arrivals and two cleaners here.  With early departures cleaning was quickly under way and apart from a few minor maintenance jobs cleaning and checking was complete by lunchtime.  The weather was mixed with sunshine and showers but the forecast is better from Tuesday.  Between arrivals found time to keep up with accounts.  Two cottages here by 3.30, one at 4.30 and final at 5.15, three have been before.  Tuesday started dull but brightened up and warmed up during the day. No departures but one cleaner here to keep up with cleaning.  The morning went in odd jobs for me and Chris spent the morning with the Tuesday handymen tidying up in the gardens and more log splitting.  In the afternoon I went to Sainsburys in Matlock. Later in the afternoon we went to Youlgrave to see the well dressings which were excellent as usual.  As it was a nice evening we stayed and had a meal at the Farmyard and we sat outside in the sun with the dogs.  We enjoyed our meal. Wednesday was a warm and mainly sunny day.  Ideal day for a power cut!  This power outage for most of the day was the rescheduled one from just after Easter.  All guests had been advised on arrival and again on Tuesday night.  The power went off just after 9am and was back by 4.45.  During the day Western Power were checking the overhead electric cables in the area and some tree men were also here to lop some branches close to power lines.  I made the most of the day to do some indoor jobs while Chris was mainly outdoors weed spraying and strimming.  He also helped round the cows up for milking.  One arrival here just after 6pm.

Friday was an overcast day at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  Three departures and two arrivals and two cleaners here.  Both cottages are here for the Eroica cycling event in Bakewell over the weekend and they dropped off a bike at lunchtime before heading back down to Bakewell.  Cleaning and checks completed by lunchtime and I had time to plant out the final bedding plants and pot on some shrubs I had bought from the nursery.  This meant that I had now finished most of the gardening work for this summer so it will be mostly maintenance from now on.  Chris also spent time watering and feeding the hanging baskets as well cutting the grass.  He also went to photograph a cow for Andrew. Also found time to do some preparations for the weekend.  Cottages back from Bakewell just after 6.30pm.  When taking the dogs for walk in evening a curlew flew close by, pity I didn’t have the camera ready.  Saturday started dull but it brightened up in the afternoon although there were a few showers.  Four departures and three arrivals.  Two cleaners here.  All cleaned and checked by lunchtime.  A rush of arrivals at 3pm, one has been before, so rest of afternoon to do final checks for cottages arriving on Sunday and other jobs.  Two cottages were here for the Eroica Britannia.  Sunday was a better day than forecast.  No departures but two arrivals with cottages already prepared.  We went down to Bakewell to get the paper and had a wander around the show ground where the Eroica Britannia festival was taking place.  This year there was an admission charge but that didn’t seem to deter the queues.  Some 3500 riders had set off in stages from 6am to 10 am on either the 30,55 or100 mile route from Water Street returning to Bakewell show ground later in the day.  The bikes have to be at least thirty years old too!  Back home for lunch then a quiet afternoon.  First cottage here at 3pm and second one at 5pm, both have been before.  Also chatted to our Eroica guests when they returned.  One has already planned to book for next year’s Eroica as soon as the dates are known.

Wednesday and Thursday were our weekend at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  Initially I had planned a walk for Wednesday but by Tuesday evening the forecast had deteriorated so we had a day at home.  I had hoped for a fine morning so I could planting out more bedding plants but despite the sporadic drizzle I did some anyway.  By lunchtime the rain had set in but it was still humid so the afternoon went on accounts.  Thursday was also a day off and I had planned for us to go to Hayfield for a walk but it was very breezy and cooler than we expected so we opted for plan B which was shopping!  We hadn’t been to Junction 28 for a while and my chocolate stock was low.  We left mid morning and stopped for coffee and cake at Lea Gardens where it was warm enough to have coffee outside.  The rhododendrons were still out and the gardens are still open for a few more weeks.  From here it was a short drive to Junction 28 of the M1 where we spent a few hours browsing the shops.  Well I did anyway, Chris had a magazine to keep occupied.  Drove back via the Peak Outlet at Rowsley while I was in the mood for shopping then called in at the Chatsworth Farm shop to get some provisions for the weekend.  This was because of the cycle event taking place over the weekend which meant Bakewell would be busy.  Back home late afternoon and by now it felt milder but was still breezy.  We have declared this year the year of the buttercup as we have never seen so many in our fields.  Pity the cows don’t eat them!

Beer Tapas at the Lathkil

Monday was a fine day at our Bolehill Cottages near Bakewell (see here). A busy day with two departures and four arrivals and two cleaners here.  The Tuesday handyman here too and he and Chris did a lot of odd jobs around the gardens and grounds.  Andrew was moving cows and also rebuilt a part of one of our stone walls which had fallen down.  Sometimes they just do that.  All cleaning and checks finished before guests arrivals. Three here by 4pm, one has been before and one is already here for L’Eroica and final one here by 6pm, they have also been before.  In the evening I went to the Over Haddon Village Hall Committee meeting.  As this was the first meeting after the AGM there was a lot to cover so it was longer than usual.  Tuesday was the best day of the week with warm sunshine for most of the day.  We went down to Bakewell later in the

Coconut Cake at the Garden Tea Room

morning, I got some provisions for the next couple of days while Chris went to the builders merchants and the repair centre as one of the strimmers is not working.  We then went to the agricultural merchants to look at a new gate for the garden as it needs replacing following the cow invasion.  As it was so nice we thought we would have lunch out.  It was quite busy in Bakewell so we dropped the shopping off then went to the Lathkil for lunch.  We were able to sit out and enjoy the view. We then walked round to the garden Tearoom and had a chat with Karen and Mark and of course some tea and cake!  Back home I did a little more planting out and Chris used the old strimmer to do some tidying up of edges.  After tea I collected Joanna and we went down to Bakewell for WI.  This months speaker was the Director of Northern Tea Merchants in Chesterfield who gave us an interesting talk on Fairtrade Tea.  A Lovely sunset but the colours had gone by the time I got home.

Sunday 7th June was another fine day at our Bolehill Cottages near Bakewell (see here) and with less of a breeze it felt warmer.  After getting the paper we went to see our cleaner who has broken her wrist.  Due to complications with it she is still not back at work but she needed a hand with some diy jobs.  Back home for lunch and Chris helped move some of Andrew’s cows along the road to some fields where they could munch around the edges after silaging.  After lunch we went to Birchover for their open gardens as we have never done them.  It’s always interesting visiting gardens and on afternoons like this we always find parts of villages that we never knew existed.  We never knew Birchover had a church but now we do!  We also found a spot to look over towards Bolehill!  We stopped for tea and cake at one of the farmhouses on the way out of the village at the end of the afternoon. Back home they had finished cutting in the fields behind us and we’re already rowing and collecting in fields cut on Saturday. At least the weather had held.  Monday stayed fine with a couple of light showers in the afternoon.  No departures but two arrivals and one cleaner here.  Down to Bakewell first thing to go round the market.  When I got back they were rowing and collecting in the fields behind us.  Final checks completed by lunchtime and the rest of the day went in odd jobs.  Silaging continued all day as they also had some fields on their side of so the road to do and silaging finally finished at 7.30.  First guest here at 3.00pm and final guest here at 10.30pm.

Friday 29 May started very wet at our Bolehill Cottages near Bakewell (see here) but was drier and brighter in the afternoon.  Chris went out to check the gutters and got very wet.  One departure but no arrivals and one cleaner here.  The cows have been moved into the front fields so Blue feels surrounded. After lunch we went to the Chatsworth Garden Centre to get some bedding plants as the nursery still haven’t got many in.  We stopped at Edensor for tea and cake on the way back.  Spent some time planning Saturday as it is another busy day.  Saturday was the best day of the weekend weather wise.  Six departures and six arrivals and three cleaners here.  For me being the last Saturday of the month I was down to Bakewell early to go to the Farmers Market.  I was back before the last of the guests had gone.  Cleaning and checking finished by 3pm just in time for a Waitrose delivery for one of the guests.  Chris cut the grass.  Three cottages here by 4pm, one at 5pm and one at 6pm.  Four have been before.  After dinner we went down to Ashford to see the well dressings while they were still fresh.  Enjoy the photos.  Back by 9pm in time for the arrival of our final guests who have also been here before.  Sunday was wet first thing but by mid morning it started to ease off and the afternoon was quite pleasant. The morning went in housework and emails and afternoon in odd jobs and chatting to guests. I checked on my recently purchased plants and walked back through the fields. I thought I had double checked that I had closed the gate into the garden but a few minutes later Chris yelled that there were cows in the garden! Why our garden should be of interest as there was far more grass in the field.  It took us about fifteen minutes to herd them back out and the lawn was left full of hoof marks.  Luckily Little Cowden Farm had some surplus sand which they brought up and Chris knows what he will be doing with the handyman on Tuesday!  A quick tea then down to the Village Hall with Joanna and Andrew for the final film of the season, The Theory of Everything which everyone enjoyed. It was still light at 10pm when we left.