There was a hard frost first thing on Wednesday 28 December. Luckily there was no fog here. Four departures and six arrivals and three cleaners here. With some early departures we were able to make a prompt start to cleaning which was finished by lunchtime. All checks and final touches completed by 2.30. At 3pm a procession of cars made its way up the drive with three cottages all arriving together. A few minutes later two more cottages arrived so Chris and I were very busy for a few minutes. Four have been before so most of the chat went in catching up. Final cottage arrived just before 5pm, they also have been before. By now the fog had rolled in and there was a weather warning in place. Again by the morning it had disappeared and Thursday was another sunny and cold day. One departure and one cleaner here. Later in the afternoon we went out for a few hours calling in at the Chatsworth Garden Center, Edensor Tearoom and Chatsworth Farm Shop. Friday started misty but it soon lifted into another sunny day and a little milder than previous days. No departures but one arrival with cottage cleaned so just needed final checks. Spent the day on accounts work that needed to be entered before end of month and Chris spent the day on preparations for the annual newsletter. Cottage arrived at 3.30. Friday was mild but more overcast. No departures but one arrival with cottage already prepared. As my brother in law was expected later in the day prepared a room for him. Cottage here at 5pm and brother in law at 4pm. In the evening we went to the Crispin at Great Longstone for a meal before seeing the New Year in quietly.
December weather stats. Highest temp 12.2 C on 18th with lowest temp -0.5 C on 5th. Warmest day 9th and warmest night 7th. Coldest day 5th and coldest night 27th. Wettest days 8th and 23rd, both with 0.39 although it fell in a shorter time on the 23rd. Total rain for month 1.59 in compared to a wet December in 2015 with 5.14 in.
Christmas Eve was bright and breezy and with no arrivals we decided to go for a walk. We opted for a walk from the door to Monyash and parked one of the cars there then we headed down to Lathkill Dale via Mill Farm. The wind had picked up by mid morning but once we were down in the dale we were quite sheltered. The water was flowing well when we entered the dale but had dried up by the time we reached the source. We had hoped to have lunch at the Smithy in Monyash but it had just closed so we drove over to Grindleford where we had lunch at the cafe. Then we had a walk around the 
outdoor shops at Hathersage before a quiet evening in. Enjoy the 
muddy in places and by the time we got to the top the wind had picked up again. We bumped into our friends from Chelmorton who were doing a different walk. Heading back we walked over the viaduct, the Monsal Trail was not as busy as we thought it would be, and down to the Dale. Retracing our steps we came across some cows blocking the path so had to make a minor detour. Later in the afternoon our friend left to drive home. Tuesday was a quieter day with time to catch up with chores from the last few days and prepare for the big changeover between Christmas and New Year. One departure. Another cold sunny day. Enjoy the 
Wednesday 21st December was a fine day with some passing showers at lunchtime. Visitors in the morning and final check on cottages arriving later in the day before we popped down to Ashford to drop off another card. They are progressing with the groundwork at the proposed Aldi supermarket although the store will not be open until sometime in 2018. Two arrivals in the afternoon between 3.30 and 4.30, both have been before. Put up another tree in a cottage and some housework. Thursday saw a frosty start and it stayed sunny but cold. Two more arrivals mid afternoon, one has been before. In the morning we went down to Bakewell to get last minute provisions then drove round to the Chatsworth Garden Center to see if they had anything interesting in the sale but we couldn’t find anything we liked. We stopped at Edensor tearoom for coffee and cake before heading home. Final jobs in cottages before guests arrived and two more Christmas Trees up then caught up on some paperwork. Friday started overcast, it was mild but then it turned wet with strong winds in the afternoon. Final preparations for last cottage to arrive for Christmas and then we headed off to Hartington to get some cheese and have coffee in the little tearoom. Back home and preparations for our own Christmas and for friend who arrived mid afternoon. Cottage also arrived mid afternoon, they have been before. In the evening we went to the Bulls Head at Monyash for a meal then called in at Mark and Karen’s to wish them Merry Christmas.
Thursday 15 December was a mild but overcast day. No departures or arrivals so made the most of the day catching up on jobs around the house. Friday was a better day. No departures but one arrival who got caught up in the M1 incident and their four hour journey took ten hours with them arriving at 8pm. Second Christmas tree up as well as some jobs in the cottages. Have purchased a number of pillows duvets and mattress protectors so distributed them around the cottages. One cleaner here too. Saturday was still mild but 
sunny. Down to Bakewell for the Farmers Market first thing. No departures or arrivals and Chris started to put up the outside Christmas and I put up the third cottage Christmas tree. Sunday was fine but not as sunny. One departure. Chris finished putting up the outside lights and I did jobs around the house. Mid afternoon we went to see the Christmas Tree Festival at Bakewell church as it was 
the last day. We also had a little wander around Bakewell and stopped for tea and cake at the Bakewell Book Store. Monday was a busy day. Two cleaners here in the morning for final preparations and cleaning in cottages. After lunch we took stuff to the recycling center then went onto Matlock for some shopping. We called in to see the previous owners of Bolehill on the way back and dropped off some Christmas cards. In the evening I went with Andrew and Joanna to the village hall for community wassailing so a chance to catch up with and wish locals a Merry Christmas. Tuesday was a brighter but cooler day spent mostly on Christmas preparations including putting up another tree in a cottage and decorations in the cottages and leisure area. So much still to do!
Saturday 10 December was a cloudy but fine day with no departures but two arrivals with cottages already prepared. Both here between 3 and 4pm, both have been before. A quiet day of catch up jobs and in the evening we had friends around for a drink. Sunday was a similar day weather wise. A busy day with four departures and one arrival with cottage prepared and cottage arrived at 3pm. Spent time on Christmas preparations. Monday saw two departures but no arrivals. Two cleaners here to keep up with cleaning and used the time to put up the first Christmas tree in one of the cottages as well as other jobs in vacant cottages. Tuesday started dry but deteriorated during the day. No arrivals with one cleaner here and two departures after which we headed to Hardwick Hall. Here we were allowed access to the hall with other accommodation providers on a day the hall was closed to the public. After coffee and networking we had a look at the hall which had been decorated for Christmas. We also were allowed to look around the ruins of the old hall although at this point it was raining so we got wet. We had lunch at the cafe there before driving back via Chesterfield where we did some shopping. For the first time since the beginning of January we had no cottages in at all! (2016 only had two nights with no one in). Wednesday was ‘my day’. Down to Bakewell for my dance session before returning home to get changed. Then I was back down to Bakewell where I met up with some of the Wednesday dancing ladies for a Christmas lunch at ‘As You Like It’. It is where we normally meet for coffee but they did us a lovely lunch and we all enjoyed ourselves. Some shopping before heading home again. One cottage arrived just after 4pm, they have been before. Enjoy the 
Monday 5th December got off to a cold frosty start. The fog had settled in the dales so we had the best of the sunshine. Two departures and one arrival with one cleaner here. Cows have moved off our fields but are still on this side of the road. Took Smudge for the morning walk so I could enjoy the frosty scenery. Made the most of a quiet day with doing duvet and pillow checks in the cottages. Cottages arrived just after 4pm. They have been before. No bowls in the evening so a Monday night in. Unlike Monday the fog was more noticeable on Tuesday with poor visibility all day. No arrivals or departures but one cleaner here. Got the Xmas lights and decorations down from the loft. More pillow and duvet checks in the cottages and after cleaner departed we went to Bakewell to get some maintenance supplies. We thought we would eat lunch out at Hassop but there was a Christmas party on so decided to go to Beeley as they allow dogs. When we turned into Beeley we were 
confronted by lots of people with cameras but luckily there was room at the cafe. It turned out that a rare bird had been spotted in the village hence all the people with cameras. Wednesday was a very mild day and clearer than Tuesday. Down to Bakewell for dance class followed by coffee then after lunch went to Buxton for a few hours to do some shopping. Thursday was a quiet day. Organised laundry collections over the Christmas & New Year period and ordered some bedding. With a busier weekend ahead did some jobs in the cottages. Also caught up on blogging and accounts work and started Christmas cards. One arrival here just before 8pm, they have been before. Friday was another mild day. One departure and three arrivals with one cleaner here. A day of jobs in cottages and paperwork. Two arrivals here between 6 and 7pm with final cottage at about 10.30pm, they have been before.
Wednesday 30 November was a sunny cold day but not as cold as previous days. The overnight temperature had risen so I did not need to scrape the car before going to Bakewell for my dance class. One departure and two arrivals but cottages already prepared. Both arrived just after 3pm, both have been before. Another colourful sunset. In the evening I went to the village hall for a meeting regarding a neighbourhood plan for the village. Thursday was another dry day but more overcast. Two departures, the traders from Chatsworth Christmas Market, and one arrival with one cleaner here. Cottage arrived about 4pm, they have been before. Later in the afternoon we went to Haddon Hall as we had evening tickets to see the Hall decorated for Christmas. We enjoyed a stroll around the Hall and as the tickets were purchased for fund raising we helped a local charity too. Enjoy the 
Saturday 26 November started misty but this lifted mid morning into a wintry sunny day. The mist seemed to hang around the dales which made for some nice photographs. Down to Bakewell first thing for the farmers market and they were already queuing for the car parks due to the Bakewell Christmas market also taking place. Had a wander around the Christmas market which looked better than previous years. Traffic was quite heavy in Bakewell by the time I left. Chris spent time clearing leaves out of the gutters. Hopefully that is it with leaves for this year. One departure with one cleaner here and cottage arrived about 4.30, they have been before. Sunday was another fine day. Two departures but no arrivals. Down to Bakewell to get the paper and we had a look around the Christmas market. There were some different stalls to the Saturday. Chris took advantage of the dry day to do some tidying up outside in the afternoon. Monday was a similar day with one departure but no arrivals. One cleaner here. With a dry and mild afternoon both of us spent some time outside in the afternoon getting the grounds winter ready. In the evening I went to carpet bowls and Chris paid a visit to the Bakewell Photographic Society. Tuesday was another glorious day with a frosty start then sunny until sunset. No arrivals or departures but a cleaner here to keep up with cleaning. Late morning we set off to Curbar Edge for a short walk in the winter sunshine. It wasn’t very busy and we ended up doing a four mile walk along Curbar Edge to Froggatt Edge then back. It was a bit misty below the edges but we still had plenty of photo opportunities and where the sun hadn’t reached it remained frosty. Back home via the Craft Center at Calver for tea and cake but was a bit too late to catch the glorious sunset colours. Enjoy the 
Tuesday 22 November was a far better day than Monday. After a dull start it brightened up. No departures or arrivals so I spent some time baking. Chris did some outside job and stocked up on logs. Some of the cows went back across the road for winter so we only have a few cows left on this side. The ground is still very wet and grass apparently stops growing at 6C. Wednesday started dull and brightened up a little in the afternoon. Dancing and coffee in the morning and in the afternoon we went to the Chatsworth Christmas market. We parked at Edensor and walked over the hill to Chatsworth passing some grazing deer as we did so. The market is larger this year and with wooden chalets so had a more festive feel to it. The market closed early on Monday because of the weather and we noted they were still pumping water away from the parking areas on Wednesday. Enjoyed the stroll around the market (with cake and hot chocolate) before walking back to Edensor and home. Thursday was a brighter day but with a cold wind. A quiet morning with a surprise visit from one of our regular guests who have now purchased a caravan. They stayed for a cup of tea. After lunch we headed to Chesterfield, initially to Bookers but also The Range, Currys and Dunelm. No departures but one arrival at 7.30 with cottage already prepared. Friday was a sunny day but still cool. One departure with two arrivals and one cleaner here. Down to Bakewell to get hair cut and get some provisions. First guests here at 4pm, they have been before with second ones here at 8pm. Spent some time catching up on paperwork in between. Enjoy the 
Friday 18 November saw a dusting of snow first thing which melted as soon as the sun appeared. One departure and two arrivals and a cleaner here. After lunch our friend from York arrived for the weekend and in between arrivals at 4pm and 8pm we went down to Bakewell and had a look around and tried out the new pizza place. Saturday was a sunny but cold day. Two departures and one arrival and one cleaner here. After she had finished we went up to Derwent Reservoir avoiding Bakewell which was busy due to the Christmas Wonderland on the Showground (which became quite a newsworthy topic in the local press and on social media). We had a nice three and a half mile walk along the shore of the reservoir enjoying the winter sunshine. There was still evidence of the previous days’ snow on higher ground. On the way back we stopped at the Anglers Rest in Bamford. The pub was bought by the villagers and now is a community hub with a cafe, post office and pub in the premises. Back home just before guests arrived at 5pm. Sunday saw an overcast morning give way to a drier afternoon. One departure but no arrivals. Friend went back home and we went down to Bakewell to collect paper. In the evening we went to the village hall to see the film Private Peaceful. Chris was projectionist for the evening. Monday can be described in one word horrible. Wet from the start it really never improved. Very windy in the morning with a number of pots blown over. Two departures and one arrival with one cleaner here. Got wet on a number of occasions going between cottages. Cottage arrived at 3pm. A lot of flash floods in the area as the ground is very saturated and fallen leaves have blocked drains. In the evening I went to the hall for the village hall committee meeting. At least it had stopped raining by then. Enjoy the