Thursday was supposed to be the worst day of the week weather wise but no one told Thursday that!  Turned out to be the warmest day of the week and month so that must say something about July!  Spent a little time in the morning out in the garden picking blackcurrants and a bit of tidying up. In the afternoon went to Buxton to do some shopping.  Friday saw one cottage depart and one cleaner up.  Popped down to Bakewell to get final bits for the weekend. Noticing how much busier it is too.  Weather held again and the forecast looks promising for the next few days.  As I am blogging in arrears this is a good a time as any to post July’s weather stats from our peak district cottages.

Warmest day 28th with highest temp of 23.1 and warmest night was 4th
Coldest day 18th with lowest temp 7.3 and coldest night 22nd
total rain  2.13in  (2010 2.78 ) with wettest days 6th and 17th tying with .39in.

Hope you like these pictures taken from the walk on the Edges that are easily reached from our peak district cottages and when the sun is in the right direction we can even see them!

The forecast for Wednesday was a cloudy start with it brightening up later so I decided it was a good day for a walk.  I had chosen the Edges as our destination but starting at one of the lesser known ones. A circular walk of about six miles we started at the Haywood car park.  Crossing the Sheffield Road by the Grouse Inn we picked up a path that went up to White Edge and then turned left.  At the highest point we stopped for lunch with views towards Carl Wark, Higger Tor and the Hope Valley to the right and Sir William Hill ahead and Calver Sough and Coombe Dale to the right.  Being higher than Curbar and Froggatt Edges meant we had some marveloous views even if it was a little more hazier than I thought. From the trig point we could make out some of the tall buildings in Sheffield.  We were at the furthest point from the car and just about to reach the minor road up from Curbar when Chris’s mobile rung.  It was Ian wndering if Chris could come over and help with a cow having a difficult delivery.  Unfortunately he couldnt! We turned right on the Curbar road and after just a few yards were at the Curbar Edge car park and we turned right onto Curbar Edge as the sun finally emerged.  Along Curbar and Froggaatt Edges we had views along the Derwent Valley.  We also noted that the heather is starting to come out so we will have to have a heather walk in the next couple of weeks.  Back to the car and we headed to Hathersage for a browse around the outdoor shops.  One of the straps on my rucksack had broken, I have had it for years, so we found me a new rucksack.  A quiet evening in at our peak district cottages and watched the Restoration Home programme that featured the local Stoke Hall a few weeks ago.  I remember when it came up for sale a couple of years ago and though how nice it looked from the outside not realising just what a state it was internally!

Monday saw some activity with one cottage out and two back in with one cleaner up at our peak district cottages.  Usual Monday activities and a warm albeit cloudy day.  Both cottages in by 4pm, both have been before.  On Tuesday we decided to have a day off as we have not had one for a while.  I thought it about time we visited Lyme Park.  It is probably the nearest National Trust property to us but being the other side of Buxton in Cheshire, we don’t have any leaflets on it. Like many National Trust properties it allows dogs in the parkland but not the gardens so we left the mutts at home.  I’m sure Smudge enjoyed his duvet day.  As we drove through Bakewell noticed the road/parking signs are up for the Bakewell Show.  Although it was forecast to be cloudy it turned out to be quite sunny and warm. Once we had parked we headed for he the ‘Timber Yard’ where we had coffee and cake.  There were a lot of families around, but then the school holidays have started but the main attraction seemed to be the play area.  Then a short walk across to the house and gardens.  We opted for a walk around the gardens first.  They were very nice and of course with Lyme Park being the setting for the classic scene of Mr Darcy emerging from the Lake in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice I did invite Chris to do a Mr Darcy but he declined!  After a walk around the house we walked up to the Cage, which is the equivalent of Chatsworth’s Hunting Lodge.  From here we could make out the centre of Manchester, worked out where the airport is but on the other side looked back to the Kinder Massif.  Drove back via Hayfield from where you can start walks up to Kinder Scout, one of our guests had suggested trying one of the pubs and we thought it would be nice to walk around the village but couldn’t find somewhere to park! (Hayfield was the birthplace of Arthur Lowe aka Captain Mannering).  Home late afternoon and as we hadn’t had lunch we packed a picnic and headed to our picnic spot overlooking Kirkdale and the Magpie Mine with the dogs for a late lunch/early tea.  They enjoyed the walk! The fine weather also means that we are having plenty of hot air balloons in the evening.  Enjoy the day’s photos.

I love car boot sales, used to do a lot of them with my sister before we moved up here.  So with the weather conditions in our favour I was up at 6am and met up with my friend at 7am and by 7.15 we were setting up the table at the Hope Valley College. We had to laugh as one of my cleaners had planned to go there too and we found ourselves next to each other!  It was an ideal day for a car boot, not too hot, not too sunny and with the nearby campsite showing a ‘no vacancies’ sign business was brisk and by midday we had managed to sell quite a bit of stuff.  One of the other local car boots describes their site as one with some of the best views in the area, which it does have, but I enjoy this one in the shadow of Win and Lose Hills!  Enjoy the pictures.  Back in time for lunch at our peak district cottages and then with a couple more cottages due in did my final checks.  It was quite a pleasant afternoon so we found time to relax and read the Sunday paper.  First cottage arrived just after 3pm with a dog called Blue!  Second cottage didn’t arrive until nearly 10pm but as he has been before he let himself in.

Another month another Farmer’s Market.  July’s is a week earlier because of the preparations for the Bakewell Show.  Cleaning was already under way at our peak district cottages by the four cleaners when I left for the market and I was back in time to see the final cottage depart.  Two cottages have already booked further holidays.  Seven cottages out with four back in today so no excuse for not being ready!  Chris cut the grass for the first time in a couple of weeks and it was nice to feel some warm sunshine!  Usually we get the 3 o’clock rush of arrivals but by 3.30 there were still no arrivals.  First cottage did not arrive until 3.45 with two further arrivals during the next hour.  Two have been before.  Final cottage didn’t arrive until 8pm.  At least I had time to load up the car for a car boot sale and take a picture of the edges lit by the late evening sun.

Here are the photos I took before all the drama of the wasps at our peak district cottages.  They show a 270 degree panorama from the highest point of our peak district cottages.  It shows the view towards Monyash and along Lathkill Dale  and the trees (with Blue) behind the cottages.  Then down towards Baslow Edge and Curbar and Froggatt Edges and William Hill.  Should have completed it with the final shot of Bole Hill with the trig point unfortunately not visible but instead you have two dogs cow watching!

Friday was a bit of a day at our peak district cottages.  Weather wasn’t too bad either.  No movement in the cottages so in the morning popped down into Bakewell to get some provisions for the weekend.  In the afternoon did some work around the house and the next thing I knew it was time for dinner.  I had planned to have dinner early as we had tickets to the Peak District Artisans Art Fair being held at the Dome in Buxton that evening.  After dinner I thought I would take the dogs out but took my camera as I wanted to take some photos.  We were walking into the paddock when Blue suddenly went berserk and ran off.  I found him in the office in quite a state and it looked like he was trying to bite himself.  I called Chris and when he looked at where he was trying to ‘eat’ himself he found a wasp.  We then realised he must have been stung and when Chris carried on looking he found another one and about half a dozen stings.  We weren’t sure what to do so checked on the Internet which suggested Bicarbonate of Soda, which I had.  We applied some, but like most dogs, Blue didn’t like having anything strange put on his skin.  We also thought we had better check where we the wasps were and found their nest by the entrance to the paddock.  With so many other dogs around we also knocked on all the cottage doors to tell them where not to walk their dogs.  Blue seemed calmer but we took the dogs with us to Buxton and as we were able to park right outside the Dome Chris was able to pop back out to the car and check on him.  We knew where the vets were if needed.  It was an interesting showcase of  work, there are some very talented people in the Peak District, many of whom are inspired by the wonderful surroundings!  Sad to hear about the situation in Norway especially as we stopped at Oslo on the last cruise.

Thursday promised heavy showers at our peak district cottages but they never materialised and it turned into quite a pleasant day.  I had already arranged to go to Macclesfield with a friend.  In a recent survey Macclesfield had been placed in 8th position of high streets with a good mix of shops and few empty shops.  One of the reasons I like going to Macclesfield is because of the TJ Hughes store, but of course they have gone into administration so it was a bit of a farewell shopping trip.  We also visited one of the home stores where I was able to pick up some general cottage items.  One of the other highlights of Macclesfield is the deli, the Cheshire Gap, where we have lunch and I always buy a number of savoury and sweet items to bring home. The other highlight is negotiating the A537, one of Britain’s most dangerous roads, at least on Thursday the conditions were good.  When I looked up some information on the A537 on the internet I found there are some Youtube videos of the drive, one is from Macclesfield to Buxton from a car, the other is from the Cat and Fiddle to Macclesfield from a bike so if you want to see what all the fuss is about have a look at them!