Tuesday was another day of arrivals and departures at our peak district cottages with one cottage out and three back in.  A complete contrast weather wise as it was much cooler and cloudy.  Still better is forecast again.  One cleaner up and with Monday being a bank holiday the laundry and rubbish were also collected Tuesday, as it will do next Tuesday.  One cleaner up and no problems.  All three cottages here by 3.30 so had the rest of the afternoon to do some more accounts and paper work.Chris was down at the village hall helping set up the TV for Friday. Residents are invited to bring something along for the buffet.  I phoned my sister who is working Thursday night so she will be sleeping Friday!  Swallows are back so that’s something else to keep the dogs occupied and the cows should be over on Wednesday.

Thursday promised to be another fine day although the haze persisted.  Two cottages out and two back in with two cleaners up.  No problems encountered.  With such nice weather I have been doing extra washing which has been, on the whole, allowed to dry outside.  The number of change overs as well as a higher towel usage due to towel hire and overseas guests has added to the volume.  One of the cottages arriving on Thursday was from Australia.  Both cottages in by 4pm so I did a little bit of housework.  In the evening I abandoned Chris and went with Joanna to the Ashford Arms in Ashford for the WI annual dinner.  Normally held in February it was nice to go out for the meal in summer attire rather than winter woollies!  The other thing I enjoy about these evenings is the local knowledge I pick up like one of our members is a direct descendant of the lady responsible for creating the Bakewell Pudding!  Friday carried on the warm trend at our peak district cottages and another two cottages out with two back in and two cleaners up.  First cottage arrived about 3pm and second one about 4.30, they had hoped to be here about 3pm but were held up by traffic.  Found a little time before dinner to do some bits around the house.  I’ve had a bad couple of days with hoovers.  The other day one of the bagless hoovers left some scratches on my hand when I reached in to pull the last bit of fluff out and on Friday I was investigating a hoover that was not sucking well when I knelt on the cord in such a way that I pulled the cable out of the hoover.  Oops!  Another item to replace!  One of those hidden costs guests never see!  One thing that never ceases to amaze me, and I am sure I have mentioned it before, is the number of oven gloves we go through.  We now consider them as  consumable items we go through so many.  I know guests deliberately don’t destroy the gloves, most of the times I am sure it is because they aren’t used to using electric hobs.  To a lesser extent I lose tea towels this way too, with curry and bolognese sauces being other culprits. Just thought you would like to know this. 

Wednesday was our designated day off and I had planned a walk from our peak district cottages but Chris pointed out we haven’t been over to the Roaches for a while so I settled on a walk that included Luds Church as we have not yet seen it.  We drove over to Gradbach just the other side of the Buxton – Leek road where we parked in the small public car park.  From here we walked down past the old mill, now a youth hostel, and down to the Rive Dane.  From here we started a steady ascent through Back Forest to reach the path that led to Luds Church.  Although steeped in myth it is natural deep cleft formed following a rock fall and was used as a church in the early 15th century. We retraced our steps a short way then carried on along the path that was signed to Swythamley.  On leaving the woods we had some nice views over the countryside and we found a spot for lunch where we could make out Shutlingsloe in the distance, also known as the Cheshire Matterhorn.  From here we carried on the long descent to Danebridge passing Swythamley and the hanging stone before we dropped down into a gladed area.  We were just checking the map when we heard some rustling in the undergrowth and were surprised when a small group of deer bolted up the hillside. We didn’t even have time to get the cameras out!  Very shortly we were at Danebridge where there was an impressive bridge over the River Dane.  We didn’t need to go into the village and were able to pick up the Dane Valley Way which goes all the way to Buxton but for us would take us back to Gradbach.  I thought this part of the walk would be a gentle stroll along the river but it was quite undulating (up and down in other words) and at times moved away from the river.  We came across a bluebell wood that was already in bloom, much earlier than usual.  Eventually we found ourselves back at the car.  We decided we would head for the tea room at Upper Hulme not far away as there are nice views towards Leek and Titesworth Reservoir.  Luckily we were able to get an outside table so the dogs could sit with us.  It was quite hazy though and as we left we drove a little further along the lane so we could take some shots of the Roaches.  Back home and was just about to feed the dogs when I saw a Virgin hot air balloon heading this way.  Now we get to see lots of balloons in the distance but it is not often we have one pass over, let alone three.  The Virgin one went straight over and a lot of the guests came out to wave, the second balloon passed to the front but it was too high for any pictures and a third passed just to the back of us a lot lower down.  I should have gone to the back of the cottages to get some better pictures but never mind.  The dogs wore themselves out running back and forth and woofing at the balloons!

Here are the pictures of our lovely walk taking in Lud’s Church near the Roaches as well as our evening of balloons at our peak district cottages.  Words to follow.

Over the next few weeks there will only be a few days when we have no arrivals or departures.  Sunday wasn’t one of those days.  One departure, and one arrival but cottage already prepared.  Another fine day and a day of grabbing some time to relax reading the Sunday paper as well as pay VAT and do a bit of housework.  Guests arrived about 4pm, they have been before.  In the evening we went to the Village Hall for the first film night there.  Our film tonight was ‘Made in Dagenham’ which looked at the strike of the women at Fords in the 1960’s which led to the Equal Pay Act.  It was quite thought provoking and showed how much things have changed in the last 40 years.  Another chance to have a look at the hall and all the work that has been done.  The official opening is next Saturday and we hope to be there.  Monday started nice again and I felt adventurous to wear a t shirt! Two cottages out and two back into our peak district cottages and two cleaners up.  Handyman also up but with outside work almost finished and cottages now filling up for the summer he will only be here for odd days until the autumn.  (He does gardening work in the summer so he has work to keep him occupied).  Both cottages arrived between 4 & 5 pm.  One has been here before.  Spent some time on accounts during the afternoon and after dinner Chris went off to the AGM of the Bakewell Photographic Circle.  I did some housework.  With warm weather forecast into the Easter weekend it’s nice for us but the farmers are obviously worried. Even here there is talk of water shortages and the ground is already showing cracks.

Friday was yet another dry day although mainly cloudy at our peak district cottages.  Four cottages out with three back in and two cleaners up during the morning.  No problems encountered and everything ready in time for guests arrival.  First cottage arrived about 3pm with the remaining two between 4&5 pm, both have been before.  At least Saturday was sunnier.  Got the phone call I have been waiting for just before 9am when Joana phoned to say the cows were about to be let out so rushed down the field with my camera and although I took a few pics it was still quite hazy.  So now our green landscape is dotted with black and white!  Three cottages out with three back in and two cleaners up.  A couple of problems for Chris to sort out but hopefully he has fixed them.  He also cut the grass again.  Two cottages here between 3&4 pm, one has been before, with final cottage arriving about 5pm.  One of the existing cottages had a balloon ride booked for this afternoon from Tissington and not long after their planned take off we could see two balloons in that direction.  There was also two taking off from Rowsly so the dogs had something to bark at!  After dinner I took the dogs out for a walk.  Spring seems to have truly sprung this week.  Leaves are out on the trees, the hedgerows are green and there is the sound of baaing on the wind.  (Green Cowden has finished lambing and most are now out in the fields).  It was a lovely sunset, forgot to take the camera of course, and there was a full moon.  Also could hear a curlew and a pheasant, our resident pheasant was in the front field earlier on.  The forecast is for a few pleasant days so that’s nice for the guests who are here this week.

At least I was feeling better on Wednesday which for most part was a five minute job day doing all those jobs that only take five minutes but seem to accumulate.  In the evening I picked up Joanna a bit earlier than usual and we made our way to the new Village Hall in Over Haddon for our monthly WI meeting.  We got there early so we could be shown all the procedures with arrival and departure.  We are one of the first groups to use it.  The hall is really nice and has a lot of green features (air source heat pump, solar panels and rainwater used for flushing loos).  Our main concern was how warm it would be bearing in mind the old hall was always difficult to heat but luckily it was warm enough for us despite being a cooler day.  Our evening was to be a craft evening and after the business was out of the way the lady who came last October and gave us a beading demonstration helped us make Easter cards using the ‘iris folding technique’.  Basically this is a craft of folding coloured strips of paper to make a design with a template in such a way that you are left with an iris in the middle.  I made a lamb and despite the fact we all said ‘I cant do that’ at the start we were all pleased with our efforts in the end.  I was much more energetic on Thursday with trips to Bakewell and Chesterfield to get provisions for the weekend and stock up at Morrisons. A busy few days ahead at our peak district cottages with improving weather too!

Tuesday was our day off and although Chris was feeling better I wasn’t feeling so good but desperate for a break I opted for a short walk from Longshaw that took in the cafe at Grindleford Station.  We took a packed lunch just in case the cafe was closed and we set off from a windy Longshaw Estate with views back towards Carl Wark and Higger Tor.  As we walked along the tack we had good views toward Mam Tor and then Lose Hill and Win Hill.  The dogs enjoyed being off the leads for a while but with it being lambing and nesting times we were conscious of when they had to be put back on the lead.  From the estate path we then headed across the fields and down a rather steep wooded track to cross the Grindleford Road before a little lane took us down to the station.  Luckily it was open and we found a nice sunny spot outside overlooking the entrance to Totley Tunnel which is nearly 7000 yards long.  It was quite busy with as many dogs as people!  Being beside the station there were also a number of families, some of which took the train back to Sheffield ( 20 minutes) so no wonder Grindleford is a popular commuting village.  On the other hand the train going the other way deposits travellers in Manchester in an hour!  After our bacon butties (one of the best value butties in the area) we then took a path up beside Padley Gorge to head back to the Longshaw Estate.  Last time we took the path to he left of the Gorge which is more distinct but we thought we would try the right hand side.  Remembering to look back as well as forward I think we got some lovely shots of the gorge even if we did have to do a bit of scrabbling at times!  Eventually Carl Wark and Higger Tor  came back into view before we crossed back over the Grindleford Road and took the estate path back to Longshaw.  We looked at having tea at the Cafe there but there was hardly any cake left so instead headed towards Hathersage down the road and stopped at the Riverside cafe where we indulged in a bit of bird watching as well as being amused by the squirrel taking advantage of the bird feeding table.  From here we stopped at the agricultural supplies plant at Brough and picked up some weed and feed for the grass at our peak district cottages and some other gardening supplies.  An early bath and bed for me as not feeling too good and there is plenty to do in the next few days.