Whatever normal is!  Monday gave us a taste of autumn at our peak district cottages, cool and wet.  Two cottages out with none back in so I gave myself some time for me! Tuesday was a much better day with some late summer sunshine and warmth.  One cottage out and two back in and one cleaner up.  Found time for some planning in the vacant cottages, we will soon have to make a list of what we are going to do in the cottages over the winter.  Rubbish collected but laundry will be taken on Wednesday.  First cottage arrived about 3.30pm with second one arriving about 4pm, they have been before so had a catch up chat with them.  Time for some accounts in the afternoon too.  Wednesday was forecast to be dull and wet and it was.  One cleaner up to keep up with cleaning and one cottage arrived later in the afternoon, they have been here before.  At least they are forecasting a better weekend weather wise, which is just as well as the Chatsworth Show has said it is going ahead!

The forecast for Saturday was heavy showers and the morning got off to a misty start.  Five cottages out and five back in so after saying goodbye to guests and hello to three cleaners headed off to the Farmers Market.  I didn’t think it was very busy but some of the guests who went later said it was busy.  Another Saturday with a prompt start to cleaning and with no problems this was completed by midday so my checks were finished by lunchtime.  Despite the forecast it stayed sunny and warm during the morning and early afternoon.  About three o’clock there were some rumbles and the sky had darkened over but it was going away from us.  It continued to rumble for about an hour and we saw the first rain about 5pm.   We were obviously lucky and missed the worst of the showers, during the afternoon we could see showers in the distance. Two cottages arrived between 3 and 4pm, two more arrived between 5 and 6pm with final one later in the evening. The forecast for Sunday had been for a fine day except we were the ones under a cloud in the morning with drizzle putting paid to a long walk.  After lunch it started to brighten up so we opted for the Secret Gardens of Bakewell.  This year they were in the south west sector of Bakewell.  If you are driving from Matlock along the A6 as you get into Bakewell there is a 60’s/70’s estate on the left with Burton Closes Hall on the hillside. The Hall was designed by Joseph Paxton and is now a retirement home. The former Lodge to the Burton Closes Hall estate can still be seen from the A6 and was one of the open gardens. We parked near the cemetery further up the hill and took a footpath down to Bakewell which came out right where the gardens were.  Although mainly bungalows in this area most of the gardens were on slopes and some had steep slopes at the rear which led up to a ha-ha. We were able to climb the slopes (at our risk) especially as the mornings rain had made them slippery and from one of the gardens you could see the towers of Haddon Hall but I didn’t want to climb up that slope.  As usual many of the owners were on hand to talk about their gardens and the work they had done to get them to the state they were in, some had photos too.  Nearer the hall some of the houses even had redwood trees in them just like the Chatsworth Estate.  By the time we had done all the gardens we thought we would walk into Bakewell itself just in case we could find somewhere for afternoon tea but most were closing. We walked back to the car, stopping to photo the church and  back at our peak district cottages we had time for tea on the patio before it got too cool.  The dogs had the cows and a balloon to keep them occupied.

Thursday was a pleasant day at our peak district cottages so I allocated the morning to outside jobs, mainly watering, feeding and dead heading the hanging baskets and chatting to guests in the process.  One cottage out with one back in and one cleaner up.  Cottage arrived about 4pm, they have been before.  Spent some time in the afternoon on accounts.  In the evening we went for a meal out opting for the Bulls Head in Ashford in the Water.  We thought it was quiet for the time of year and chatting to the landlady she said the Thursday before a Bank Holiday is usually quiet but if we had tuned up on Wednesday evening then we would have been turned away.  She described this year as ‘inconsistent’ which is a good word to describe bookings in 2012.  We have never had to discount in August before to the extent we have, admittedly we are not the only ones, and with two of the three cancellations for the first week in September, which is normally fully booked months in advance and now looks quite empty.  My only consolation is that I have bookings for every month from January to August in 2013, I took two bookings for August 2013 on Thursday.  Initially the forecast for Friday had been wet but by Friday morning the forecast had changed and we had a cloudy but dry day with the first rain not arriving until later in the afternoon.  One cottage in and cleaner up to keep up with cleaning of cottages and public areas.  Again allocated the morning to outside jobs and gardening.  Some finishing off in cottages and preparations for the weekend during the afternoon.  Cottage arrived about 3pm, they have been before.  Spoke to friend in Yorkshire who had just experienced a very heavy downpour  (watched a wheelie bin float down the lane) but no damage to her home. Hopefully they’re coming down to stay with us in a few weeks time.  Looking forward to that.  Perhaps we’ll have a few days off?

Monday was a quiet day at our peak district cottages.  One cottage out and one cleaner up.  With a number of regular guests spent some time chatting to them as they departed and returned during the day.  Spent the afternoon working on next years prices, overall there will be no increase in prices although dates will change to reflect next years public holidays.  In the evening a couple of our guests found the cows following them and their dog as they walked up the drive.  Chris went out to make sure they were OK and the dogs went too.  Blue decided  to be brave and woof from the garden but Smudge went down and positioned himself between the guests and the cows and the cows just came to a halt.  It looked really strange!  Tuesday and Wednesday were a bit more hectic with three cancellations for imminent bookings causing me some headaches.  On Tuesday morning I went down to Bakewell to get some provisions for the weekend. One cottage in later in the day so after final checks had planned to do some accounts but ended up updating web sites because of the first cancellation. Cottage arrived about 5pm.  On Wednesday the plan was to hang up some curtains and do some jobs in the vacant cottages but two further cancellations meant my time was spent dealing with them.  These things happen.

Had dithered about doing a car boot on Sunday morning but with an uncertain forecast decided not to.  Could have as first shower wasn’t until late morning but never mind.  One cottage out and one back in later in the day, this had already been cleaned.  The gate had been opened for the cows to come into the drive field and on Sunday morning the first girls ventured back into the drive field after an absence of over a month.  Went down to Ashford to get the paper and called in at the couple we know.  They are having a new kitchen installed so we thought we would check on the progress.  After a chat and a coffee we came home and pondered what to do.  Although it was quite muggy there was the odd light shower so after lunch and after the cottage arrived, they have been before, we drove over to Taddington.  We haven’t been there for a while and thought we would have a look at the well dressings.  When we got there it was obvious they had had a heavy down pour especially as a gazebo had been erected over the main well dressing near the church.  As it was mid afternoon it was very busy, usually we go later in the day, and I had hoped to see the flower festival in the church but a brass band concert was taking place so could only see a part of it.  After we had viewed the dressing and the stalls in the church’s grounds we had a wander down the main street and noticed how many alleyways and paths were leading off it.  We took one of these (literally) up to the second well dressing.  From here we could look out over the local countryside and see Fin Cop but most of the village was obscured by leaves of trees.  We walked down another path back to the village and then drove over to Flagg for an afternoon tea.  It stayed cloudy but later in the evening it misted over at home, I thought it might be a precursor to a heavy storm but it soon cleared and we didn’t see any storms at our peak district cottages after all.

Thursday was another fine day at our peak district cottages which saw one departure.  Time to catch up with jobs around the house and garden.  Later in the afternoon I took Blue to the vets as his eye was still inflamed and weeping. He has a doggy version of conjunctivitis.  In contrast Friday was dull and drizzly with some heavier bursts but not as bad as forecast and it was quite muggy.   Two cottages out with two back in, both have been before.  One cleaner up.  Needed to go down to Bakewell to get some provisions for the weekend and as Chris was at home he came with me.  So we had lunch in Bakewell (lunch out twice in a week, lucky me)!  We tried the Byways Cafe which changed hands recently and we can report we enjoyed our lunch. Back in time for guests arrival, both have been before.  One had discovered that one of her colleagues would be arriving on Sunday, she only found out that morning!  Saturday was not too hectic with two departures and three arrivals and one staying on for a few more days.  Two cleaners up and with a prompt start an early finish was made.  One cottage arrived between 3 and 4 pm with two arriving between 4 and 5 pm, both have been before.  It was a nice enough evening to eat al fresco, a way to end a Saturday.

Monday remained mainly dry with a few light showers later in the day. One departures with one arrival later in the day.  Usual Monday routines.  Although their was much talk about the last few weeks it does seem strange that the Olympics are all over.  I had to laugh when I got a flyer in the post about the Torch Relay with a money off voucher, don’t know where that’s been hiding the last couple of months!  On Tuesday I went to Buxton to do some cleaning.  Had planned to leave the dogs behind but Blue had other plans and snuck passed me with Smudge following behind so I let them come with me.  Cleaning finished Chris and I ventured down to Spring Gardens with the dogs for a spot of lunch in the warm sunshine.  Then I left the dogs with Chris whilst I had a quick wander round town then a trip to Morrisons before collecting the dogs and retuning home.  I was back just before 5pm but found no cars at our peak district cottages.  Everyone was still out enjoying the good weather.  Wednesday was cloudy in the morning but wet in the afternoon producing nearly another half inch of rain. One cleaner up and one arrival about 5pm. A fence man was installing a new fence at the top of our drive field.  The grass is now very long and Andrew will let the cows back in when the fence is finished.  Noticed one of Blue’s eyes was a bit inflamed.  In the evening I went to the village hall for a short meeting about Hallmark 2 status.

Thursday was another pleasant day, not that we saw much of it.  Spent most of the day over at Buxton doing some cleaning.  As it was a nice day took the dogs and they relaxed in the garden.  Friday was a warm day at our peak district cottages.  No departures but two back in and one cleaner up.  Found time to water and feed the hanging baskets.  After lunch went down to Bakewell to get provisions for the weekend.  Usually I go in the morning so it was busier than I expected, perhaps because it was so nice.  Guests arrived between 4 and 5 pm.  During the day I could hear that silaging was still going on in Andrew’s neighbours fields.  Chris came back fro Buxton promptly so we could take advantage of the warm weather and go for a picnic.  We had some recycling to drop off before Saturday’s departures so as we were out in the car we went somewhere different.  We drove over to Curbar Edge where we were onto the Edge with commanding views within minutes.  Enjoyed the picnic and some insects enjoyed picnicking on me!  The dogs enjoyed woofing at a balloon in the distance and Chris enjoyed taking photos.  We noticed that the heather was starting to come out too.

With a good day forecast for Wednesday (8/8) Chris took a day off from Buxton and we went to the Ashover Show.  We haven’t been for a couple of years and it is normally an enjoyable day out.  It is as much a show for farmers as the general public.  Instead of heading off early we did a few odd jobs at our peak district cottages before setting off late morning.  This meant we didn’t have to queue for long to get into the car park.  We could see the show was already busy by the number of cars in the car park and the village’s three pubs were also doing well with the good weather. The first tent we stopped off at was the Derbyshire Holstein tent where Andrew and Joanna were doing a stint as hosts.  Ian was also there and we agreed to help out with bringing the cows in for miking later in the day.  We had a look round the display stands watching automatic cow milking machines in action and other machines designed to make the life of farmers easier.  There was a section with vintage cars and tractors.  We then moved on to the craft and food tents but as there was still a lot to see I decided to go back to the food tent later to make some purchases.  We found a quiet spot for lunch before having a look at some of the general stands and the dog and horse competitions.  We also inspected some of the big boys toys (no price tags attached) before we went and looked at the cows and sheep.  Queues were too long for an ice cream!  Before setting off home we went back to the food tent so I could buy some goodies and on the way out made a final call at the local show tent where all the flower arrangements and home made produce had been judged.  Back in time to help bring the cows in but with them spread over two fields both Chris and I with Smudge rounded them up.  Except they didn’t want to behave so Ian’s girlfriend also helped.  In the evening as it was still warm and our ‘day off’ we went to the Lathkil Hotel for a meal.  A wonderful way to end a wonderful day.  Enjoy the photos of the show but here are a couple taken first thing when out with the dogs.  The mist was rising from the dales making for some good photos.