Monday 12/8 started dull but soon brightened up at our cottages near Bakewell (see link). One departure and two arrivals and one cleaner up. Chris went down to Bakewell early and I had some final preparations for the tea our WI were holding in the afternoon as well as usual Monday jobs.  After an early lunch Joanna collected me and we headed to the village hall where six of us set up the hall like we did a few weeks ago. By doing these teas we earn some money for our WI so the few hours work is worth it.  Our guests enjoyed the food and the views from the hall.  Back home Chris had a visit from some friends while I was out and our expected guests had still not arrived. First one arrived about 7pm with second one at 11pm. Tuesday was a day of sunshine and showers. Our Italian guests departed and the cleaner was up to turn cottage round. Decided we ought to go out for a few hours in the afternoon but first we went and picked some blackcurrants from our bushes. With plenty of mushrooms still in the fields guests are picking them before the cows come back in.  We opted to try the new cafe at Over Haddon as we have heard good reports but haven’t been there yet. We drove down to Over Haddon and then started to walk down the lane to the dale and not far down is the Garden Cafe. They have only been open a few months and just do drinks and home made cakes but my carrot cake was one of the best I had tasted and was a very generous portion. We introduced ourselves to the owners and end up chatting for a few hours before we went home.  This year we have had a lot more guests with bikes than before and it has also just been announced that the Peak Park has been allocated some funding for more cycle ways.  Amongst the plans are linking the Monsal Trail from the Buxton end to the High Peak Trail near us and extending the Monsal Trail south to Rowsley and Matlock.  We shall be watching the developments with interest.