A quiet day. Said goodbye to the B&B couple who have been in for 6 nights. When couples go who have been in for nearly a week it is like saying goodbye to friends. It used to be more common for guests to stay for B&B for a week but these days 2/3 days is the norm. Also a couple in one of the cottages went home. Nobody in today so time to catch up on jobs. It was lunchtime before I finished the usual bits but this also included showing a couple around who then made a booking. In the afternoon I sorted out the linen and towel room which is actually a small bedroom in our side of the house. It is where I keep all the B&B linen and towels plus spare linen and towels and spare duvets and bathmats. Having recently replaced most of the B&B towels I was able to put the old towel into the spares and put to one side some older towels for recycling or dog use.

One cottage reported a broken glass. We don’t get as many breakages as we thought but this last week we have had a few. We don’t charge for such breakages as our philosophy is that accidents happen at home so they will happen on holiday. As it is I dropped and broke a glass this evening! Also one of the cottages reported a DVD not working and Chris checked this out and found this was the case. Again we expect to have to replace a number of electrical items during the year and we were advised that toasters would most probably be the item we replace most but in fact we have had to replace more microwaves than toasters!

We had a power cut in the evening for about half an hour. This is only the second real power cut we have had – we have the occasional ‘blip’ – but as it was still light hopefully it was only a minor inconvenience to most! I finished cooking someones spaghetti on our hob! It was very ominous in the distance and we could see some flashes of lightning and hear some thunder. Luckily it never reached us. We did have a shower over night. Our first rain this month.

Up to sunny skies and a promise of a hot day. Where have we heard that before. Said goodbye to one B&B couple and turned around the room ready for the next guests due to arrive later in the day. Bakewell was busy when we went to get the paper. Lunch was not until nearly 2pm. We were also expecting a colleague of Chris, together with his wife and young boy. They were going to stay the night in our spare room breaking their journey from London to Scotland. They had stopped for lunch in Bakewell before coming here. If nothing else it meant we had a few hours of during the afternoon and evening. We also had a BBQ – our first one this year!

Our next B&B guests arrived on time and it looks like we did have the warmest day of the year so far – in fact the warmest day in over a year! (more please!) Max temp 24.7.

I forgot to say that the bad news of last night overrode the joy of having cows back in the field.

Also I can tell summer has arrived by the number of phone calls i get from 4pm asking if we have a room for tonight. Despite the fact we have a no vacancy sign out we did have one couple drive up and enquire about vacancies. She was surprised she could not find a room and asked why. My question is where was everyone when the weather was bad?

well actually it is more like black Friday night. After blogging I was catching up on some reading and was browsing through ‘Quality Edge‘ a publication we receive regularly from ‘Visit Britain’ for accommodation that is quality assessed (star ratings etc). It does always have useful info and details of national marketing campaigns but the interesting snippet was that tourism in the UK has only just returned to 2001 levels prior to Foot and Mouth and 9/11. We then just happened to catch the beginning of Newsnight when it mentioned that F&M has been discovered again. Like so many things we can now only wait and see what happens.

So Saturday morning arrived a little on the breezy side but still bright. The dogs had their last pats from the departing children as well as their pictures taken. Most guests were away on time but a few took a little longer. It would be the cottages where I wanted to defrost the freezers! All the cottages were left in a fine state so with fewer to do today (five out, six in and two already in) the cleaning was finished by about 1.30pm. One freezer was defrosted. I had some lunch and serviced the B&B rooms then discovered I had still not hung out all the washing from the morning so I then had 45 minutes to do my final check of the cottages which I finished on the dot of three.

The guests arrived at various times between 3.30 and 7pm. This week we have three cottages who have been before, one as recently as Easter. They come very regularly and are looking to move to the area. This means we could lose another regular couple! One of the most long standing customers of Bolehill have found a house in Ashford in the Water and will staying here for the last time at the beginning of September.

Another sunny day! Goodbye to a B&B couple and a cottage with new B&B guests in the evening. The new cottage guests arrive tomorrow but it meant it could be cleaned today and I defrosted the freezer compartment. I have a lot of those to do over the next few weeks. Also, as I put the shower curtain and oven gloves in the wash, I wonder if guests realise how much goes into each changeover. Chris and the handyman spent most of the day sanding and painting external woodwork of the office and some public areas.

After lunch I went to Bakewell. I could tell it was busy by how far back in the car park I had to park! There had been an accident in the Co-op car park where it looked as if a reversing car had knocked over a pedestrian. It was causing traffic to back up but the police was soon there to get things sorted. (Paramedics were already on the scene).

Back home the guests arrived about 6pm and I sat down about 8.30pm having made all my lists for tomorrow and made sure s much was ready as possible. I have some towels to provide tomorrow too. Forecast looks good too.

An uneventful day. Took dogs for walk which was interrupted by a hare emerging from the grass. Two dogs disappear into the distance but return to the whistle – a few minutes later. Some children were out in the garden and were pleased to see the dogs. They have been patted a lot this week. It was nearly lunchtime before the usual morning chores were done. One cottage left with new guests arriving in the evening. Most of the afternoon was spent finishing last months accounts before this months bills start to arrive. No post today which was strange – then discovered there was a post strike. Cottage guests arrived about 6.30 and I finished for the day about two hours later. Can tell when we have better weather – the number of phonecalls looking for a room at the weekend increase!

Hello August. With nobody going out or coming in I hoped to have a few hours off today. Chris’ foot seemed well enough to go for a walk so we headed for Hathersage and a short but relatively easy circular walk including a part of Stanage Edge. We avoided Bakewell, which was just as well as the traffic was queueing almost to Ashford. We could have gone to the Show but have been a few times now so it is nice to give it a miss.

The views from the Edges are spectacular, the only fly in the ointment from Stanage Edge is the cement works in the Hope Valley. Like a lot of the other Edges it is a mecca for climbers and it was quite interesting to see the array of equipment they use. The dogs were more interested in the para glider. It most probably looked like a big bird to them. We ate lunch with our feet dangling over a rock. The lower part of the walk skirted the North Lees Estate, which is reputed to be the house that Jane Austin used as a basis for Mr Rochester’s home in Jane Eyre.

It had clouded up a bit by the time we had got home but it was a warm day and I enjoyed my ice cream on the patio!

So here we are, last day of July. At least we went out with sunshine! My two B&B couples checked out this morning although one couple did book a week in one of the cottages in late September. As per usual the morning went with laundry, making over rooms and monthly chores like ordering tea and coffee. Seemed to be some movement of the bovine variety out in the fields although none seemed to come our way. I do miss them when they are not in our fields. Blue would not agree.

I had been advised that Bakewell was extra busy due to preparations for the Bakewell Show taking place tomorrow and Thursday so Chris dropped me off in town so I could do my shopping. I then walked a part way back up the hill and Chris picked me back up. We followed a very big trailer of bailed hay on the way up. Some of the local farmers have cut the grass for hay and it is drying before baling.

The first of our guests arrived about 5pm and the second couple a few hours later. They had been held up on the motorway as they had witnessed an accident.

So July’s weather stats. Overall 5.72 inches of rain of which 1.03 fell on the 13th. Warmest day overall was 16th although I would have thought it was today.

I must look funny some mornings in the summer. Out I go with the dogs, short skirt, jacket and wellies – my own fashion statement! Two days running I have not worn the rain coat! After breakfast the morning seemed to go too quickly. With guests coming into one of the cottages (they have been here before) and a never ending stream of phone calls this morning I finally got everything done. So this afternoon I turned to my ‘to do’ list and sorted out all the spare crockery. Not an exciting job but one that needed doing. Next the cutlery! Some of the evening was spent involved in the new Fire Regulations. Watch this space.

Another sunny but cooler day. Had hoped for a walk but Chris hurt his foot when cleaning out the cattle grid he other day and he did not want to put pressure on it. Went and got the paper and went to the bottle bank and spent the rest of the morning just doing bits and pieces. Went to the Chatsworth farm shop to get some lunch which we ate on the patio whilst reading the paper. Chatted to one of the cottage guests and I had to convince her that reading the paper wasn’t the usual for a Sunday afternoon! Later I did some accounts and changed a pair of curtains in the empty cottage before a light dinner and blogging!