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!

The weather started to improve from Monday but still not nice enough to be described as summer.  One cottage out on Monday and one cleaner up at our peak district cottages.  With no cottages back in a chance to catch up on paying this months bills.  The post brought the paperwork for next years Peak District and Derbyshire Visitor Guide so we need to work on that and think about next years prices.  It’s one of those milestones in the year.  I have also agreed to place an advert in the next issue of Country Walking as it has a feature on the area.  We don’t do much paper advertising theses days but I always consider each approach on its merits.  I do feel sorry for some of the telesales staff who phone trying to sell advertising space but it is the same with all the approaches we get from Web Sites ‘inviting’ us to advertise with them.  Tuesday was spent doing things around the house including some housework.  On Wednesday I popped down to Bakewell to get some provisions and in the afternoon there was a lot of cow movement which meant Blue hasn’t go the run of the front field anymore.  We also had one cottage arrive.  In the evening we went to The Derwentwater Arms in Calver for a meal which was good as usual.

Monday was a nice warm day at our peak district cottages.  Said goodbye to the family from Austria and hello to two more cottages.  I have been letting some cottages on Monday to Monday basis. One cleaner up and cleaning soon completed.  As it was such a nice day I thought we could go for a picnic in the evening so we decided to head to Chatsworth Farm Shop to to get some bits and pieces.  We thought we would stop there for lunch but it was very busy so we went to the Hassop Station Cafe where we were able to get a table outside.  Pity we didn’t have the dogs with us.  The bike hire seems to be going well at the old Station as most of the bikes were out.  Even for a Monday we saw a number of bikes pass by.  Back in time for the guests arrival.  Unfortunately by the evening I was feeling a bit poorly so we cancelled the picnic and ate alfresco instead.  On Tuesday I was feeling better so we opted for a trip to Sheffield.  It’s been a long time since we have done ‘the rounds’ in Sheffield and in one warehouse our membership had expired as it had been so long since we last went there.  We went to JTF (good for gardening furniture) and Decco (good for general items and tools) B&Q and Makro to stock up on items.  Popped into the Sheffield Dunelm on the way home for my Dunelm fix!

Sunday was quite warm despite the predicted showers which never materialised until later in the day.  As usual a chance to catch up on things and for Chris to cut the grass.  He was suffering a little with a cold.  At lunch time one of the cottages went off for the afternoon but a few minutes later their car came up into the courtyard and it was obvious they had forgotten something.  The wife got back into the car and started to reverse except I could see that she wasn’t going to stop and in the next instant the car reversed in the area between Dove and Derwent where there are a number of potted plants and a bench and two trellis fences.  When the car came to a stop it looked as if it had been parked perfectly.  We rushed out expecting the worst but found a very shaken lady whose foot had slipped off the brake when reversing.  Apart from a couple of scratches to the bumper there was no damage to the car and oddly enough the car had literally swept up the bench and a number of pots with none broken!  Admittedly most of the pots are plastic but one had wedged itself under the car and the husband had to jack the car up to release it.  Relieved no damage done the guests eventually drove off to try and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.  Every season brings its delight with views from our peak district cottages.  At this time of year the late evening sun means we can make out Curbar and Froggatt Edges.  A lovely sunset lit up Stanton on the opposite hillside our peak district cottages so here is a photo.

Sunday 3rd July was another pleasantly warm day at our peak district cottages.  As usual time to catch up from Saturday and have a chat to guests. In the evening we managed to eat al fresco again.  Monday was another  warm day with two cottages out and three cottages back in, one has been before.  One cleaner up and everything ready for guests arrivals.  As it was nice Chris decided to do some strimming except the strimmer caught a stone which then shattered a window.  Luckily just the outer part of the window shattered but Chris had to knock it out.  I was panicking because we had guests coming in later and with no spare cottages I thought we might have to board the window up.  The inner pane wasn’t damaged at all and it will be repaired as soon as the replacement outer pane arrives.  Two cottages arrived between 3 & 4pm with the final one at 6pm.  They had travelled from Austria.  In the evening I attended an Over Haddon Village Hall Committee meeting.

As we are now into July here are the weather statistics for June. 12th had record for wettest (.56in) and coldest day.  total rain 1.77 in (June 2010 1.66 in) Warmest day and night was 26th with warmest temp 25.4 on 25th.  coldest night was 10th and lowest temp was 5.3 on 1st.  Highest UV was 8.6.  Get the suntan lotion out!