Monday was a sunny and warm day at our peak district cottages with one departure and one cleaner up to keep up with cleaning.  Some jobs around the house and cottages and preparation for the meetings in the evening. In the afternoon the fields that had a second cut on Saturday were rowed up and baled.  Its the first time we’ve seen the grass baled so it was interesting to watch.  After an early tea I went to the village hall in Over Haddon, first for a short meeting about the Hallmark 2 scheme then the village hall committee meeting.  It was dark when I got home and I could hear activity in the fields and just to be safe we phoned Andrew to make sure no-one was rustling the bales!  Tuesday started a bit dull but brightened up in the afternoon.  One cottage departed and one cleaner up.  Some housework and in the afternoon got the WI accounts up to date as the year end is shortly and I need to prepare them for auditing.  Also prepared for Wednesdays WI committee meeting.  Wednesday was a fine but cool day, autumnal coolness appearing in the morning and evening.  Went to Matlock in the morning via the Peak outlet centre  Main purpose of trip was Sainsbury’s but popped into Matlock itself.  When I was loading up the car a steam train from Peak Rail came into Matlock Station.  Not many supermarket car parks where you can watch steam trains from!  The afternoon disappeared in tidying up and housework but I took the dogs for a walk so we could see the bales being collected and transported down to Andrew’s.  As Andrew was away for the day I went down with Smudge to help bring the cows in.  As they were spread over two fields we had our work cut out and an ASBO was given to 445 who decided to stay in the furthest corner until we got there.  After dinner it was my turn to host the monthly WI committee meeting which was quite long as we had a lot to discuss after the summer break including our entry in the Bakewell Show and the programme for 2013.  I was going to title this blog ‘a quiet couple of days’ but it has been anything but!  Here are some pictures from the last few days.

So we decided we had enough time to pack a picnic and get to Chatsworth to see the Red Arrows!  We parked in the old Bakewell Station car park and walked a little along the Monsal Trail then over the golf course and through Carlton Pastures to the top of Chatsworth.  As we got to the end of New Piece Wood we could see Chatsworth House below with the Country Fair in progress.  There were a dozen or so other people there too and the first people we saw were our friends from Chelmorton which was quite a coincidence.  We got there with a few minutes to spare and we kept our eyes peeled and then there they were.  We were treated to a 25 minute display and 25 minutes of Smudge barking!  Sure the whole of Chatsworth could hear him too!  After the display we had a little picnic before walking back to the car getting back just before it got dark.  I had been thinking of doing a car boot sale on Sunday so Chris helped load up the car.  Sunday morning looked fine when I set off early from Bakewell but by the time I got to Bamford the roads were wet as was the playing field but luckily it stayed dry until the sale was winding down and then it was a quick dash to get the car packed during a heavy shower.  Enjoyed the views of Win Hill and Hope Church whilst the sale was on.  Back home had a few hours to catch up with things before we left the dogs behind and walked into the fields at our peak district cottages to watch Sunday’s Red Arrows display.  It was different watching it from a distance as you had a better view of the high level display.  A number of cars stopped at the roadside to watch – hope they noted our sign at the bottom of the drive!  After the display there was time for a quick tea before heading to Buxton Opera House to see Elkie Brooks. For a 67 year old her voice and her stage presence are still good.

It was difficult to slim down all the pictures but here are Saturdays and Sundays sets.

Thursday was a quiet day at our peak district cottages.  Cool and cloudy in the morning with a few light showers but brightening up with sunny spells in the afternoon. With no arrivals or departure I dedicated Thursday as a housework day as well as finishing off this months accounts.  Friday was a pleasant day, a lot warmer than the previous few days.  Two cottages out and two back in (should have been three) and one cleaner up. Went down to Bakewell to get provisions for the weekend. it was quite busy and there were lots of dogs around, probably here for the Country Fair at Chatsworth.  Have checked the times for the Red Arrows displays over the weekend.  Back home I did the final checks on the cottages before a late lunch.  Spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on some paperwork and odd jobs and chatting to guests when they came back from the Country Fair.  By late afternoon it was raining lightly but the forecast is good for the rest of the weekend.  Saturday started dull but soon the sun came out and it felt quit warm.  Chris went off to Buxton leaving me to say goodbye to four cottages.  Two cleaners up to keep up with cleaning – just in case!  One cottage due in (should have been two) and they arrived at 3pm, they have been before.  With Chris arriving back early from Buxton it meant we could do something for the rest of the afternoon.  To find out what we did, you’ll have to wait for the next blog!

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.