For the second Friday running ice was a problem, in fact it was black ice.  After the cold weather of the last few days it started to rain on Friday morning and then it froze on the cold surface.  Luckily our departing cottage got away safely and our cleaner made it up without problems.   Went down to Bakewell late morning to get provisions for the weekend.  Postman was very late and I assumed it was due to volume of post, but apparently they weren’t allowed out until 11am due to the road conditions.  Two cottages due in at our peak district cottages, one arrived just after 3 pm, they have been before , and second cottage was here by 4 pm.  An early tea then I picked up Joanna and we went to Monyash Church for the local WI Group Carol Service.  It was well attended and Joanna did the reading on behalf of Over Haddon WI.  On the way there we had come across a part of the road under water, the rain had just been running of the hard ground and with nearly an inch of rain there was a lot of water around.  I had planned to turn the car round by the pub but the access was under water so we had to drive back almost via Sheldon.   On Saturday we started the day by going out for breakfast, something we rarely do on a Saturday.  This got me fortified so I could start decorating the cottages for Christmas.  Later in the afternoon we went over to Sheldon.  For a small village they make an evening of switching on their Christmas lights.  There were stalls along the Main Street and displays of traction engines and Santa gave sleigh rides pulled by a tractor.  Sunday was a quiet day with one departure.  Again most of the day went on Christmas preparations, mainly in the house, so slowly but surely they are getting done.

Woke up to -6.  Thought that can’t be right, no-one said anything about temperatures that low, but it was.  The warmest it got to was -2, but I am sure we had the best hoar frost for ages at our peak district cottages.  I took loads of photos when I took the dogs for their walk and then more during the day.  Otherwise a quiet day, I caught up with some more accounts and in the evening we went to The Church Inn at Chelmorton for a meal with the lads who are finishing at Buxton on Friday.  Driving over to Chelmorton the frost was still quite spectacular but driving back we noticed the temperature was starting to rise ahead of the rain to come.

Enjoy the photos

Woke up Friday to find snow – in the front garden, the garden seemed to be the snow line, so I was relieved that it was not worse and looked forward to the walk with the dogs and taking some photos at our peak district cottages.  How wrong I was.  Chris went out and decided the drive needed salting and had just got back when we got a call from our cleaner who was stuck on the cattle grid!  Chris went down and started to put more salt down just when the sheep started wandering into the field and decided he was spreading food so they all rushed over to him!  The cleaner had a couple of attempts at getting up the drive but found she couldn’t in her car so went back home to get the 4×4!  In the meantime I was keeping an eye on the departing guests, they had managed to get the car up into the courtyard but as the courtyard is mainly in the shade at this time of year it was quite icy.  They managed to get away with no problem and the cleaner managed to get up here with no problems second time round.  Two cottages due in later in the day.  Also did some preparations for cottages arriving Sunday and stocked up on logs.  First cottage arrived about 3pm and second one an hour later.  They we’re here quite recently and are here this time to see some of the Christmas events in the area but we still had a chat.

 Novembers stats – although incomplete due to the weather station not working here they are:

highest temp 12.4 on 20th which was warmest day with 13th warmest night. Lowest temp 0.4 on 17th with night of 17th being the coldest and 24th being coldest day.  2.19 in rain (11/2011 2.17 in) with wettest day 21st with .83 in.

Another fine morning with a dry day forecast at our peak district cottages so I thought it would be nice for a walk but taking dogs out for their morning constitution I wasn’t so sure.  The ground was still rock hard in places and icy too and the dales would be icy in the shade as would any tracks which limited options.  After a lot of debate we decided we would walk to Sheldon for lunch.  As we set off Chris could see what I meant about the state of the ground.  All through the walk there were icy areas where you wouldn’t expect them and clear patches in the shadiest of places.  From the top of Kirkdale, which I thought would be the worst bit but wasn’t, you could see a dusting of snow on the hills beyond Buxton.  We had already decided we would turn back if it got too difficult but we eventually got to Sheldon.  We could just about walk down the road to the pub without slipping over.  The walk back was just as hard going but at least we had got to Sheldon and back.   Quiet evening in making a start on Christmas cards.

Saturday started with a few showers and a partial thaw in the fields at our peak district cottages but luckily the dogs managed to get away without a hosing.  After that the sun came back out and the temperature dropped.  An email from friend in Yorkshire advised me they had woken up to a bit of the white stuff which was the last thing they needed as it was a big day in their village with the Christmas lights being switched on.  One cottage due to arrive later in the day, luckily they had advised us of their expected time so we could plan our day. Later in the morning I had some potential guests call in to look at the cottages and after coffee we decided to go to Ashbourne for the afternoon.  We took the dogs with us in case we had time for a short walk and found somewhere to park in Ashbourne.  With it being a Saturday in December we weren’t sure if it would be too busy but as Ashbourne doesn’t have any of the large chains I thought it would be OK.  It was busy but not as busy as Chris thought but one thing that is noticeable is that there are very few empty shops, in fact I can’t remember any.  It reminds me of a town near where we used to live that survived on the fact that it had a lot of individual shops rather than the usual chains.  We enjoyed our wander around the town, especially all the deli’s and food shops for which Ashbourne is developing a reputation and we made a number of purchases for Christmas.  After a late lunch we headed back to the car which was parked where the Tissington Trail finished in town so we took the dogs for a short walk along the trail, most of which was through a series of tunnels.  We then had a quick visit to the small out of town shopping complex where we had a look around the shops that included Majestic Wine (no tastings today), M and S Food hall and a small Homebase before heading home.  Guests arrived about 8pm.

Monday saw three departures and no arrivals but one cleaner up to start on all the cottages vacated over the last few days. Time for some jobs around the cottages as well as usual Monday jobs.  In the evening I went to the village hall for the first of the seasons indoor bowls sessions.  Despite a lengthy absence I acquitted myself quite well even if I say so myself!  Tuesday was dull but a lot colder.  One cottage out with none back in but one cleaner up again.  Had planned to go shopping and as he was not required at Buxton Chris came with me to Chesterfield.  First went to the town centre itself to get a few bits for some of the cottages (and for me!) and had some lunch before heading to Bookers.  From here we came home via the Peak Outlet at Rowsley.  There is a lot of water on the flood plains there as it is the confluence of the Wye and Derwent.  Wednesday was sunny but cold and for me an ‘at home day’ where I caught up on a lot of jobs at our peak district cottages and took the car for its MOT.  Also finally put the fruit in soak to make the Christmas cake.  Better late than never.