Saturday started sunny and warm!  Four departures with two arrivals at Bolehill and two cleaners up.  I nipped down to Bakewell to the Farmers Market.  It was busy in Bakewell and at the market.  Back home in time for final guests departure, they have booked for next year.  Late lunch after finalising cottages. Chris cut the grass again too.  First cottage, who has been before, arrived at 3.30 with second cottage arriving at 4.30. With more well dressings from today we then drove to Ashford to see theirs which were good as usual, and also had a look at the Flower Festival in the church which was impressive.  We then drove round to Monyash and viewed their well dressings.  Going late in the afternoon meant the sun was in the wrong place for some of the photos.  Double whammy of cows with the milk cows coming out after milking for the first time to spend the night out grazing as well as the hooligans being let out for the first time.  They had a good gallop round the field for the first time but they are on the other side of the road for the moment.  On this side of the road a couple of cows breached one of the walls and were found in one of the fields set aside for silaging.  It is still to early to set a date even though in previous years silaging may well have been completed by now.  With a number of returning guests here this weekend and the nice weather it was nice to spend some time chatting with them during the afternoon.  Here are some well dressing photos.

Wednesday was forecast to be a pleasant day at Bolehill so I thought about going for a walk.  Chris suggested we use the day to visit somewhere before attractions got to busy during the summer so we opted for the above.  We have had good feedback from guests who have visited them and as they are National Trust we thought it was about time we went as we get a lot of National Trust members staying. As they are close together it was worth visiting both and we had a pleasant cross country drive to Little Moreton Hall which is not far from Congleton.  This is one of the best known timber framed buildings in England and there was more to see than I thought. After a tour of the house we were free to wander around the house and Knot Garden.  We had taken the dogs and although they are not allowed in the house they can go onto the picnic area in front of the house.  It was a lot cooler than I expected but hoped it would warm up by the time we drove the few miles to Biddulph Grange.  Although it did brighten up it never really warmed up.  We had lunch at the cafe before we had a walk round the gardens. The gardens were developed by James Bateman, a horticulturist and orchidologist,  and is an interesting example of a Victorian garden.  It has areas representing different parts of the world from where the many plants and seeds were collected as well as an arboretum, pinetum  and rhododendrons, many of which were not out yet.  I imagine if you picked the right week, and I bet in usual years this week would have been the right week, the gardens would have been a riot of colour.   The house is not open to the public which is a shame as it looks quite imposing.  After the gardens we visited a local garden centre before driving back cross country to Bolehill.  One cottage, who have been before, had just arrived. Spent a few hours catching up on emails and phone calls and this resulted in a couple of bookings.  Enjoy the photos.

The forecast for Monday was for a warm day at Bolehill once the sun broke through the mist, except that it didn’t.  At least it was mild so some more plants went out once two cottages had departed and cleaner had been up.  One arrival later in the afternoon.  Had some time for accounts and paperwork. On Tuesday I popped down early to Bakewell to get some provisions for the next couple of days.  After coffee we went to Chesterfield calling first at Bookers.  As I haven’t been for a number of months (I had hoped to go just before Easter) I am starting to get low on some items for the cottages.  Afterwards we called in at B and Q as some cottage garden furniture needs replacing but we didn’t find anything suitable.  We also called in at Wickes for some guttering.  The day had started off dull and cool but brightened up in the afternoon, well at least it did here, a couple of times I looked across to the Edges and all I could see was dark rain clouds!  With more cows in the fields in the area we are often the first port of call when cows are out on the Sheldon road.  This has happened a couple of times already in the last few weeks. Although the farmer who owns the cows lives a few miles away it is normally Andrew who rounds them up and puts them back!

Monday was a day of sunshine and showers at Bolehill including a heavy hailstorm.  Three departures and two arrivals and one cleaner up.  The morning also saw laundry collected, rubbish collected, oil delivered and leaflets from the Chestnut Centre delivered.  First guests arrived at 3pm and second guests arrived just after 7pm.  One of those afternoons that seem to fly past with nothing to show for it.  When I took the dogs out for their evening walk the air was crystal clear but nippy!  At least Tuesday was not as bad as forecast.  Chris was able to mow the lawns in the morning even if he got caught in a hail shower.  He has also had to put up the electric fence to stop the cows from getting into the paddock area.  One had already found her way in and was given an Asbo.  In the afternoon I had an excursion down to Bakewell to get some provisions, petrol and compost.  It started to rain just before 4pm.  One cottage in arriving just before 5pm.  They are from Australia.  It was wet overnight into Wednesday and cold too, but at least it didn’t snow.  We opted to go shopping and usually at this time of year we go to Lea Gardens and Junction 28 but today we ventured a little further and went to Lakeside Outlet at Doncaster.  This is just off the M18 and took an hour to get to so no longer than going to Junction 28.  It is bigger than Junction 28 but it has  a Thorntons and Cadburys so I was happy.  When I took the dogs out in the evening one of the other guests said they had been to Lea Gardens and had enjoyed it.  Our cherry tree is usually in blossom by now but I reckon it is still another week before it flowers.

It’s that time of year again.  The season of well dressings begins with Tissington.  Friday saw one departure with three arrivals at Bolehill and one cleaner here.  I popped down to Bakewell in the morning to get some provisions for the weekend.  A dull and wet morning turned into a brighter afternoon and after the last cottage arrived at 5 pm (one has been before) we decided to head over to Tissington.  The wells were up to the usual high standards but arriving later in the afternoon meant there wasn’t the crowds.  We wandered round with Chris subjecting Blue to sitting in front of the wells as it was his blog.  We also called into the butcher who was still open and while we were chatting the heavens opened so the poor dogs, especially Smudge, had to endure the rain whilst looking in at all the meat on display!  Heading home we decided to call in at Carriages, an Italian restaurant at Newhaven.  The dining area consists of two old rail carriages decorated in period style on either side of the bar area.  The last time we ate there was before we bought Bolehill so it was time we paid it another visit.  They have a good choice of pasta and Italian dishes and a bar menu and luckily for us they had a table available.  A nice meal and a chat with the owners before driving home.  Saturday was a mixture of sunshine, dullness  and showers.  Four departures and three arrivals and two cleaners here.  All cottages here by 3.30pm, all have been here before so it gave me the rest of the afternoon to research some products as I need to look at replacing some items in the cottages such as crockery.  Sunday started dry but by mid afternoon the rain had set in and it felt a lot colder so a day of jobs around the house. 

Here are some photos of Castleton that I found when I downloaded the well dressing photos.

Tuesday remained spring like at Bolehill and with less of a breeze it felt warmer.  One departure and one cleaner up.  Took advantage of no arrivals to go out for a few hours.  Had thought about a short walk but risk of showers had appeared in the forecast so we had a little drive out to Castleton where we had a wander around.  As it was sunny and warm we couldn’t find a place to eat lunch outside with the dogs as all the tables were taken so we headed to Hassop Station for lunch via the agricultural stores at Brough where Chris picked up some weed killer.  Back home I found a little more time to plant out some plants and tidy up as rain was forecast for Wednesday.  Wednesday started dull and dump but it brightened up in the afternoon.  One cottage out and I headed down to Bakewell to get some provisions for the next few days and get my hair cut.  A quiet afternoon and in the evening I collected Joanna and Lynne for the latest WI meeting.  May’s meeting always sees the voting on the resolutions to be tabled at the National AGM. We also had a speaker, a local lady, well known in the area, who spoke to us about the voluntary double mastectomy she fought to get many years ago as she was convinced breast cancer ran in the family after the death of many close female relatives.  With medical advances, particularly in genetics, it has been discovered the females in her family carry a faulty gene that results in breast cancer so her daughter has had the operation too.  She was instrumental in setting up a national helpline for hereditary breast cancer. Thursday was more autumnal with over half inch of rain in the afternoon and evening.  One departure and one cleaner up.  One arrival about 3pm and spent the afternoon on accounts.  In the evening I went to Over Haddon again this time for the Village Hall AGM.