Monday 29/7 was a fine day on the whole with a few thundery showers at out Bolehill Cottages (see here). One departure and two arrivals and one cleaner up. First cottage arrived just after 3pm, they are here for two weeks, with second cottage arriving just before 5pm, they have been before. Not warm enough to eat outside but another warm spell was forecast for later in the week. Tuesday saw no arrivals and departures and in theory was our day off but with an uncertain forecast I opted for some administration work, namely working on next years prices. Just as well as the tree man arrived to do some work on the tree in the front field. They have taken a lot off the height of the tree to save it from being taken down altogether.  It looks a bit odd at the moment but all being well it should recover in the next couple of years.  They had also brought along a cherry picker for some of the high level work which they later set up so Chris could do some work on the gable end of the games room. I also got a ride on it so took some photos of the courtyard. In the end it stayed cloudy but it didn’t rain. That arrived on Wednesday and continued most of the day although it wasn’t heavy. One departure and one arrival and one cleaner up. Cottage arrived about 5pm, they were last here as B&B guests.

So here are the weather stats for July.  Highest temperature on 13th of 27.2 degrees C and lowest on 2nd of 8.6 degrees C. Highest UV 9.3 on 3rd.  Warmest day 13th and night 18th, coldest day 2nd and night 1st.  Total rain was 3.52 inches (4.38 in 2012) but that is distorted by nearly three weeks of no rain then .87 in on 23rd, .97 in on 27th and 1.09 on 28th, most of that falling during the night.

Luckily it all fell overnight! Saturday27/7 was another pleasant day at our self catering cottages near Bakewell (see here), still warm but not as hot as Friday. First thing said goodbye to our departing four cottages before heading down to the Farmers Market where I bumped into one of the departed cottages. When I got back cleaning was well under way. Five arrivals, one has been before, all arriving between 3 and 5 pm. The forecast was for heavy thundery showers from about 8pm and when I took the dogs for their evening constitution there were already some rumbles of thunder. Should have taken the camera to get some shots of the weather rolling across the dales. Blue sensed the change and refused to go any further into the fields and we had just got back in when the heavens opened. Chris put on my new dog walking coat to got out and check the gutters and run off from the courtyard. The storm didn’t last long but the rain continued into the night with some heavier bursts. I did give the dogs some herbal drops to calm them. By the morning the weather station showed that 1.88 in rain had fallen between 8pm and 5am. Sunday was a cooler day with some showers. Went to get the paper and found part of the car park in Bakewell was under water, presumably because of a blocked drain. The river was also a lot higher. I spent a lot of the day on housework, but these things need to be done.

Thursday 25th July saw us heading to Belper in the morning after we had said goodbye to one cottage from our Bolehill cottages (see here). It was a bit damp to start with but it had brightened up by the time we got to Belper. We wanted to look at a particular shop after which we found a cafe at the top of the high street where we were able to sit with the dogs in the garden area. A lot of the diners came out to make a fuss of them! From here we drove across  to Chesterfield which didn’t take that long. We did our round of Bookers then called in at Dunelm. It was feeling quite warm as we headed home so we called in at the Chatsworth Farm shop where there was a Food Fair with a number of suppliers offering samples of their food. Back home we unpacked and we thought about a picnic but with a good day forecast on Friday we decided to wait until then. Friday was another very warm day with one departure and two arrivals and one cleaner up. Chris cut the grass for the first time in nearly three weeks, the rain having greened up the grass as well as encouraged some growth. Both cottages arrived within a few minutes of each other just after 3pm. This gave us the opportunity to go for another picnic later in the afternoon so we packed up the rucksacks and headed for Kirkdale a short walk from here. With the cows in the fields behind Bolehill we had to put Blue on the lead but Smudge did his collie bit and always made sure he was between us and the cows. As we reached the top of Kirkdale we were amazed at the number of blue flowers in the field, these were Harebells. While we were enjoying our picnic I used the binoculars to try and identify some of the ridges in the distance but I couldn’t work out which ones they were. As we were packing up a man walking two lurches passed and we got chatting.   He was able to point out that that the main ridge in the distance was Rushop Edge with a partial glimpse of Mam Tor to the right (I thought it had looked like it but couldn’t believe you could see so far)  and South Head near Chapel en Le Frith to the left.  It is nice to know what you are looking at!

Monday stayed hot and sunny at our cottages near Bakewell (see link). No departures but one arrival and one cleaner up. Completed the quarter’s accounts at long last so we can pay the VAT. Cottage arrived about 7.30 pm after which I went to Over Haddon for the Village Hall Committee Meeting. On the way back there was an amazing sunset and as soon as I got home I dragged Chris out to get some photos but unfortunately had missed the best part. Tuesday was another fine day. I needed to do a shop (I was low on ice creams!) so Chris came with me to Buxton. We also had lunch out. Later in the afternoon we packed up the rucksacks and headed to Chatsworth Park for a picnic. The last time we had a picnic here was during the last heat wave in 2006! We parked at Carlton Lees and walked the short distance into the parkland to find a nice sunny spot with a view of Chatsworth House. The grass was long despite the sheep around and a couple of times we had to check the dogs were still with us. The evening passed quickly and unlike last week, without mishap. Hoping for more picnics before the weather breaks down.

Wednesday, as predicted, started dull but forecast to brighten up in the afternoon, although in the end it was late in the evening at Bolehill before we saw sun at our cottages (see link). We had decided to head over to Cheadle near Leek to have a look at St Giles Roman Catholic Church which was designed by Pugin (he also designed the Houses of Parliament). The church is considered one of his best and it took about 3/4 hour to get there and parking was noticeably cheaper. We managed to find the church, after all its 200 foot spire is visible for miles around and I had a look round the church while Chris stayed outside with the dogs. Chris then joined me in the church and afterwards he showed me where Blue had tried to join him on a parapet but ended up many feet below at the entrance to the crypt! Luckily he was none the worse for his short flight! The High street is admittedly bereft of shops but we found a nice cafe with an outside seating area where we could take the dogs. We then headed a few miles up the road to Leek where the sun came out. After a little shopping we drove the few miles to the Roaches Tea Room but between leaving Leek and arriving at the tea room the sun disappeared behind the clouds again. Thursday was a sunnier and warmer day. Two departures and two arrivals with one cleaner here. A day of odd jobs including catching up on accounts both business and WI. We have found with the hot weather we have gone from watering the plants once a week to every other day. First guests arrived just after 3pm, they have been before, second cottage didn’t arrive until after 8pm by which time I had gone out and Chris had to forgo his fish and chips as the shop had closed. I had gone to Longnor for our annual WI outing. We had a lady take us for a short walk around the village, and in those forty five minutes I learnt a lot about the village. After the walk we had fish and chips in the village fish and chip shop which comes highly recommended. We also had a brief WI meeting. On the way back I talked to Lynne about hay making as I had commented that I had never seen so much hay making going on since we moved here. She said it was the right combination of warm and dry days. Apparently cutting and rowing takes place during the day but baling in the evening so the hay has been able to dry Make hay while the sun shines! Last year it been too wet for much hay making to take place and many had left the grass for silage instead. On the way back there was a glorious view of Parkhouse Hill against the setting sun. Sorry I don’t have a photo.