Wednesday was quite a sunny and mild day at our peak district cottages but clouded over in the afternoon.  The ground is not as soggy as it has been but paw washing is still required.  One cottage out with two arriving back in later in the day.  One cleaner up.  Chris spent the morning putting together some bedroom furniture that we were able to put in the cottage before guests arrived.  Both cottages arrived by 3.30 giving me the rest of the afternoon to keep up with accounts.  One has been before. Thursday morning saw me wishing I had taken the camera out on my walk with the dogs.  First Smudge decided he wanted to play, which is unusual, then I heard a quad bike and when I went to investigate discovered that the sheep were being rounded up to go home.  So we said goodbye to the sheep.  Later in the morning we made our annual trip to the vets so Smudge and Blue could have their booster jabs and be weighed as well as be checked over by the vet.  (They have both put on weight). They behaved very well (the dog in before them barked all the time) and Smudge got quite excited when the vet opened the fridge (obviously thinking he was going to get something to eat) but he was rewarded with a treat after their jabs.  Had expected a quiet afternoon with one arrival but a phone call resulted in a last minute booking so a full house on Thursday night.  This also means the next  empty night in all the cottages is 4 August and I don’t expect it to be that way by then.  Gave both cottages their final check before going down to Bakewell about 4pm to collect first arrivals as they have no car and when got back took a couple more bookings.  Final cottage arrived about 10.30 so my quiet afternoon had been quite busy!

Sunday was dull but at least a bit milder and a thaw set in at our peak district cottages.  One cottage out with two back in and one cottage for us to turn round.  That saw the morning off and after lunch some accounts before guests arrived between 4 and 5 pm.  One has been before.  Monday morning went the usual way with laundry and rubbish collection and with no guests in we spent a few hours in the afternoon in Buxton.  In the evening I left Chris dog sitting whilst I went to Over Haddon for indoor bowls.  First time in nearly two weeks that I have driven my car.  Woke on Tuesday with hardly any snow or ice visible and with another day of no arrivals or departures we set off to Sheffield to tackle the cash and carry’s.  JTF and Makro to start with and a few specialist shops with the final stop, Dunelm, and then home.  A busy evening for bookings which was encouraging.

Tuesday was bright but cold and work carried on in our peak district cottages.  In the morning Sally from Peak District Online, who we advertise with called in for coffee and arrange renewal of our advert.  Had a chat about our respective businesses and as she lives locally, any local gossip too!  It was Sally who introduced the Beautiful South to us, if you were not aware they recorded their last album here, we are mentioned in the credits if you look.  Although most snow in the sun is thawing where the snow is in the shade and is compacted then it is becoming quite icy.  In the evening we went to the Buxton Opera House to see an evening of Irish dancing and singing.  I went togged up for icy pavements but luckily they were clear with snow in piles at the side.  A very cold night with temperature down to -6C. On Wednesday I had initially planned to go to Chesterfield but with sub zero temperatures and risk of icy side roads I decided not to. So more work in the cottages and in the afternoon Chris took me down to Bakewell to get some provisions for the next few days.  In the evening Joanna kindly collected me in her 4×4 so we could go to the Over Haddon Village Hall for the monthly WI meeting.  A good turnout on a cold evening for a very interesting presentation on a safari in the Kruger National Park.  I gave the vote of thanks and have to add I have put a safari in South Africa on my list of places to go.  The forecast is looking a bit ominous again but initially the snow was forecast to bypass us but by Thursday morning it had appeared to change course and we weren’t going to escape it.  More jobs in the morning and in the afternoon we stocked up on logs and as it had been milder had a go at breaking up some of the icy patches.  By mid afternoon it was drizzling but no snow materialised.  We had thought about  having a meal out in the evening and decided to go and after a nice meal at Felicini’s in Bakewell returned home to an icy drive.  Luckily no freezing rain.

Woke up Monday to the sound of rain at our peak district cottages which I worried might turn the drive into an ice rink but somehow with the temperature just above freezing a thaw was setting in.  Three cottages departed leaving us empty for a few days and with time for a final push of jobs in the cottages. Oil was delivered although the driver had two attempts at getting into the courtyard. I then worried that the dustcart wouldn’t make it up the drive, but it did, as did the laundry van and post van as by late morning the sun came out and the thaw continued.  One cleaner up and Chris had some jobs to do including fixing a dislodged down pipe.  I spent the afternoon around the cottages before phoning a friend.  After dinner Chris went off to the Bakewell Photographic Society where the guest speaker was a well known local photographer and Chris bought one of her books which has some good shots.  I should have gone to the Village Hall Committee meeting but cried off because the lane to the hall could be icy (it does not get salted) so paid this months bills instead!

Before I forget here are January’s weather stats.
Highest temp 9.5 deg C on 3/1, lowest -2.1 deg C on 15/1
Warmest day 11th Jan, and that night the warmest too
Coldest day 31st  with night of 14th the coldest (windchill of -5.9 on 31/1)
Rain 4.51 in with 3/1 wettest with 1.11 in. (Jan 2011 2.28 in)

Someone in Bakewell has a sense of humour!

No further snow fell over night and Chris measured 3 inches at our peak district cottages.  Took the dogs for their usual morning walk but couldn’t find much to photo that I hadn’t done last winter and Chris cleared pathways and the bottom of the drive so guests could get out and about.  Went down to Bakewell to get the paper and took the cameras which was just as well as there was more snow in Bakewell than we anticipated so we had a walk around town with the dogs taking some pictures.  We thought we would go to Chatsworth for coffee at the House as they have opened the restaurants ahead of the House opening in March.  We stopped near Edensor where families were already making use of the slopes before heading to the House.  As they wanted £2 to park we turned round and went to the Farm Shop where we could park for free and have the same coffee!  From here we took a round about way home via Over Haddon, Magpie Mine and Monyash so there are some pictures of quiet lanes, snowy scenes and the entrance to Lathkill Dale as well as sheep ad lambs.  To see the gallery of pictures follow this link. When we got back home the sheep had moved to the front fields and the sun was melting the snow on the drive where Chris had put the salt.  Some bookings in the afternoon from previous guests who were taking advantage of snow in their areas to plan their holidays.  Hopefully we will get some more bookings this way too in the next few days.

Friday started bright and sunny and stayed below zero all day at our peak district cottages.  Two cottages due to arrive so plenty to do and one cleaner up.  Spent some time in the afternoon on accounts, no sooner finish one months then it starts all over again, and also ordered some more oil to see us through the next couple of months.  Both cottages due in late, one has been before.  First arrived 7pm and second one about 45 minutes later when I had popped down to Over Haddon for a specially convened Hall committee meeting but I wasn’t late back.  It looks like we will get snow on Saturday so we have primed all the guests about what to expect.  Saturday also started bright but soon clouded over.  One cottage out but no arrivals so spent most of day doing jobs around the house, I have sorted out some boxes for a jumble sale and some bits to take to the charity shops.  Chris salted the drive and it started to flurry just after 1pm.  For a few hours it continued to snow lightly with the wind drifting what was around but by about 7pm it was snowing more heavily and by 9pm it had stopped.  Pictures to follow.

Tuesday was another very cold and dreary day at our peak district cottages.  I carried on doing bits in the cottages as did Chris and I also went down town to get some provisions for the next few days.  More curtains washed, more curtains ironed. At least Wednesday was sunny although still bitterly cold.  The ground is getting really hard.  One cottage out and one back in later in the day with one cleaner up.  Apart from getting the cottage ready I also did some more work on inventories and curtains.  Amazing how much time this takes.  There is also talk about snow this weekend depending on the outcome of the clash between two weather systems so we will have to keep an eye on the forecasts.  Cottage arrived about 3pm.  On Wednesday evening I collected Joanna and we went over to Bakewell for our monthly WI committee meeting. Thursday was again a sunny but cold day.  More jobs around the cottages.  No departures but one arrival about 4pm after which I did a quick trip down to Bakewell to do the banking and get the last bits for the weekend.   They are still not sure about the snow over the weekend so it is a matter of waiting.

going…going…gone!

Friday started cold and sunny at our peak district cottages and after usual chores I headed off to the Over Haddon Village Hall where as a Trustee and User Rep I took part in a meeting to see if the Village Hall could qualify for a Hallmark Award (confirms the Hall is complying to the requirements of its charitable status and looks at the management and administration of the hall ).  The assessors seemed happy with the way it is being run but we will have to wait for confirmation.  Back home before lunch to do final checks on cottages due to arrive in the afternoon.  Three arrivals, two have been before.  Two arrived around 3pm and with final cottage not due until late in the evening time to catch up on paper work.  Well that was the plan but a number of phone calls and emails saw the afternoon disappear but that’s how it goes.  There had been talk of wintry showers but nothing materialised until late evening when a very heavy snow storm left a good covering. One of the cleaners phoned to say there was a whiteout in Baslow and one of our cottages cancelled their meal out.  Luckily one of the Bakewell takeaways delivered a meal for them. Most of it had gone by the rime the final cottage arrived at 11pm saving Chris the duty of getting up early to salt the drive.  We went down to Bakewell for the Farmers Market on Saturday morning and stopped for coffee and a wander round the shops too.  Again thought would catch up with accounts but one of our cleaners was having trouble with her car, she is usually very self reliant, so we went over but Chris dropped me off at the the Peak Outlet while he helped.  Back home for a cup of tea then off to Buxton for an early meal at the Thai and a Eric Clapton tribute show at the the Opera House.  There was still a covering of snow in the fields on the way to Buxton but little in town itself but listening to chatter it sounds like we would not have made it to the Opera House on Friday evening.   Had a little panic when got back to the car as the lock had frozen but after a couple of minutes we were able to open the car up. Phew!