dogs in the breeze

Sunday 11 January saw a dusting of snow that quickly disappeared at our Bolehill Cottages near Bakewell (See here) . One departure but no arrivals. On the way back from Bakewell we called in at Green Cowden farm for a cup of tea and a chat.  They have just brought the sheep in for lambing, early lambs will be here by end of month.  At home day went in odd jobs like stocking up on logs.  In the evening we went to Over Haddon for the film night.  We saw ‘The Book Thief’ which was quite a moving and profound film.  Monday saw work start on Derwent with the bathroom stripped out and channels dug for pipe work.  Two departures but no arrivals but one cleaner here for painting.  A damp start and it stayed cool, overcast and breezy for the day.  Kept busy during the day with emails and phone calls but found time to do some more accounts and chat to friend in Yorkshire.  Had planned to go to Sainsbury’s on Tuesday afternoon but after consulting the weather forecast decided to leave it until Wednesday as there was a risk of wintry showers.  Went down to Bakewell in the morning to get some provisions for the next few days.  Quiet in Bakewell but busy at Bolehill with two cleaners, one cleaning one painting, one handyman doing odd jobs.  Work in Derwent bathroom continued as well.  I made the right decision as by lunchtime we had some snow showers which left a dusting of snow.  I went out to take some photos but discovered I had a flat camera battery.  At least I managed to get some accounts done.  More wintry weather is expected over the next few days.

Now you see it

Although business never stopped over the Christmas break at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here) Monday 5 January saw things return to normal.  One cleaner up to commence cleaning and one cleaner here to do some painting.  Took down a number of Christmas trees in the cottages too and what with phone calls and emails the day soon went.  Had weekly phone call with friend from Yorkshire.  In the evening Chris went to the Bakewell Photographic Society and my evening went in phone calls, emails and bookings.  Tuesday started damp but brightened up during the day although it got colder .

Now you don’t

A busy day with a cleaner up to clean, a cleaner up to paint and handyman up to take outside lights down.  I continued with taking last of Christmas trees and decorations down and packing them away for next Christmas.  A day of odd jobs in the cottages and more emails and phone calls.  Also found time for some personal work. In the evening we watched the Richard Wilson On The Road programme driving around Derbyshire and the Peak District.

snowman on New Years Day

Glad he enjoyed the Bakewell Pudding.  Wednesday was our day off and as it was a damp and cool day we opted for retail therapy at the Trafford Centre. It takes about an hour to get there and we went via the Cat and Fiddle and Macclesfield as we think that is quicker than using the A6.  An interesting time wandering around the stores. I have ordered a new sewing machine as the current one is over 20 years old and I will have some more curtains for the cottages to hem shortly.  More pictures from last week. What a difference a day makes.

Friday 2nd January saw three more departures but no arrivals at out Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here). Compared to New Year’s Day it was a lot colder but sunny and dry.  One cleaner here to start cleaning after the new year.  For me it was the start of trying to get the accounts up to date as we have just had the end of the month, quarter and accounting year.  We also spent time on the New Year letter and later in the afternoon I went down to Bakewell to get some provisions for the weekend.  Some of the shelves of the Co-op were quite bereft of food! Saturday saw a flurry of activity after the New Year letter was emailed. We had a number of bookings and enquiries and one of our regular guests booked for next New Year (some of our regular Christmas guests have booked for next Christmas too).  Two departures with no arrivals and time to start taking the decorations and trees down, not only in the house but the cottages, leisure area and office.  Another cold day with some wintry showers but nothing settled. Sunday was a very cold but bright day with a hard frost that took ages to go in the shade.  Down to Bakewell for the paper where it was  -4!   Later in the morning we went over to the Chatsworth Garden Centre to get some Xmas decorations in the sale and stopped for lunch.  Wish I had taken the camera as it was quite picturesque over at Chatsworth.  It was busy too.  Last day the house and gardens were open for Christmas so it will be interesting to find out if it had been  a success.  The afternoon went in taking down decorations and emails and stocking up on logs. Another lovely sunset too.  Here are some pictures from New Year’s Day.

Weather statistics for December:  Highest temp 11.5 deg C on 22nd with warmest day 10th and night 21st.  Lowest temp of -0.8 deg C on 27th with coldest day 27th and night 26th.  Wettest day 11th with .46 inches rain and 3.61 for month (5.02 Dec 13).

2014 weather stats highest temp of 26.1 deg C on 26th July with lowest temp of -0.8 deg C on 27 Dec.  Warmest day 26 July and night 18 July with coldest day 27 Dec and night 26 Dec.   Wettest day 7 November with .87 inches rain with total for year 36.05 inches.

After a few hectic days at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here) we had a quiet day ahead of us on Tuesday so with a nice day forecast we opted for a walk with the dogs in Chatsworth Park.  We went first to Edensor for coffee and cake (they allow dogs inside the cafe as well).  There were plenty of families out enjoying the snowy conditions and sledging down the slopes by Edensor.  We walked over the hill to the bridge at Chatsworth then along the river for a while before heading back to the road.  Chatsworth House has been open since Christmas for the first time and judging by the number of cars streaming in it was proving popular.  There were plenty of sheep and deer around too. We enjoyed our short stroll before driving onto the garden centre and then the farm shop then had a late lunch at Hassop station before returning home.  New Year’s Eve was milder and cloudier and the day went in housework and odd jobs.  Later in the afternoon Chris’s brother arrived to stay the night.  By the time we went down to Bakewell for an early meal at the Peacock the snow was starting to thaw.  By the time we woke up on New Year’s Day the snow had gone, never seen it disappear so quickly.  Mild but dull we decided to go to Cromford for a walk along the canal.  It was still icy in places but the dogs enjoyed their short walk from the Wharf to the High Peak Junction and back.  We had lunch at the Wharf  Cafe (outside with the dogs!) and then went over and had a look at the mill itself.  We came back a scenic way showing Chris’s brother some of the local highlights.  Back home just as the rain started and it was quite breezy too.  Chris’s brother went home later in the evening.  Enjoy some of the photos from Chatsworth.  I will save some for later blogs.

Not as cold as forecast overnight into Sunday at out Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  One departure and Chris out early to check the condition of car park and drive and salt where needed.  Down to Bakewell to get paper, car parks were quite icy so I imagined there would be no Monday market.  On the way back but decided to drive onto Sheldon to see what the road was like.  The snow covered scenery made for some wonderful photo opportunities.  The road was passable in a 4×4 or a car with winter tyres as one of our guests discovered.  Back home and after coffee we cleaned the cottage required for later in the day and I did the final checks on the others where we had guests arriving.  At least we had time for lunch.  Three arrivals with first one here at 3pm, and before the next arrival we went to admire the sunset.  Next cottage was here at 5pm, they have been before and two hours later the final cottage of the day arrived, they have also been before.  Monday 29 December again was a fine sunny day but feeling milder even though it was still cold.  A thaw seemed to be setting in and for the first time in a few days I could use the courtyard without wearing wellies. Rubbish was collected as was laundry although in many areas with no rubbish collected on Saturday collections were falling behind.  Four departures and three arrivals and two cleaners here.  Everything ready for guests arrivals and all here by 3.30, two have been before.  This gave me the afternoon to catch my breath and start on all the jobs that I hadn’t had a chance to do over the previous couple of days. Enjoy the pictures.  I will save some for another day.

Sunday 21 December was a breezy and mild day at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see link). One arrival so after getting paper did final checks.  Out for lunch at the Lathkill with Andrew and Joanna.  Most of the cows have gone into the sheds for the winter now with only some of the in calf heifers out.  A nice meal and back with time to ice the Christmas cake, see guests arrive and do a few more jobs in cottages.  Then I was out again.  This time back down to Over Haddon for the carol service as I had agreed to read one of the lessons. It was nice to see so many villagers there.  Monday saw three arrivals and one cleaner here.  Another mild day and not too wet until the evening. Morning went in cottage preparations and got final tree up at last.  Time in the afternoon for some personal Christmas preparations before guests arrived between 4 and 5pm.  Two have been before. Tuesday was another mild day.  Down to Bakewell early to get last provisions before Christmas.  It was busy in Bakewell.  After lunch some more personal preparations as our friends will be arriving on Wednesday. Final cottage for Christmas arrived at 3pm so no more work in cottages until later in the week!  We then went down to Ashford to see the once regular guests who have moved to the area and after tea we invited some guests over for a drink so a nice way to start our own Christmas festivities. Pictures of the last trees to be done, Derwent and Shippon.

Last blog before Xmas so seasons greetings to you all.

I always enjoy a trip to Ashbourne which is 20 miles from our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here).  Thursday 18 December saw a break from all the hard work with one cleaner up to clean Magpie now that work has finished for the time being.  We had friends over for coffee before setting off late morning to Ashbourne.  One thing about Ashbourne is the number of independent shops that seem to thrive, there are hardly any empty shops and there are plenty of food shops too.  Yum.  We had a light lunch and a further stroll around the shops before heading home to the dogs.  Another mild day although not as wet as forecast but it was breezy.  Friday was a pleasant day, a bit cooler than Thursday.  A few showers made it our way and there were a number of rainbows too. One arrival, our first for Christmas, here just after 3pm.  They have been before and were here only a few weeks ago too!  One cleaner up to continue preparations in cottages for Christmas which is where a lot of my day went too.  Had hoped to get up last three trees but only did one.  A quick trip to Bakewell to the kitchen and bathroom showroom to confirm final order for Derwent bathroom.  Up early on Saturday to go to the Farmers Market in Bakewell.  Cool and drizzly the market was filling up quickly and we also bumped into our guests.  Wasn’t buying much with Christmas being a few days away.  We also had time to walk up to the church and have a look at the Christmas Tree festival.  Almost a hundred to admire, perhaps inspiration for the remaining trees I still have to do!  Back home and as our guests were also back from the market so we invited them over for coffee.  Afterwards I did the final preparations for the cottage arriving later in the day.  He has been before.  In the afternoon I managed to get two more trees up and did some preparations for the arrivals over the following days so deserved my quiet night in!  Here are the pictures of the Lathkill, Honeysuckle and Magpie trees.

After a busier Friday at our Bolehill cottages near Bakewell (see here) we had a quiet weekend.  Friday 12 December  saw two departures and no arrivals and for the first time since January we had no guests in.  One cleaner here to keep up with cleaning. I wanted some shopping from Buxton so we set off to have lunch and do some shopping.  We had seen a snow shower before we departed although nothing settled here but as we approached Buxton some had settled.  We headed to the old baths for lunch where a new cafe had opened and while we were there we could hear a couple of passing hail showers.  The pavement was very slippery when we left and a few wintry showers added to the problem. Shopping complete we headed home stopping off briefly in Chelmorton to see friends.  At home there was no snow at all.  Saturday was a cold but sunny day with a frosty start.  When I took the dogs for their morning walk you could still see some snow on the hills to the west.  Chris did some finishing touches to the new website and I put up our Christmas tree.  Only eight more to go!  In the afternoon our neighbours from Green Cowden came over as Chris had taken lots of photos for them from Thursday so it was nice to stop for a cup of tea and a

monyash nestled in distance

chat.  Sunday was a bit milder but wetter.  We went down to get the paper and some other bits of shopping before calling back in at Andrews on the way back.  We should have gone out for Sunday lunch with Andrew and Joanna but she was not well.  That left us with a quiet day, me doing housework and odd jobs and Chris publishing the new website and dealing with any issues arising.  In the evening we went to Over Haddon for the film night.  This months offering was ‘About Time’, a rom com.  My type of film!