Day in the life of running Peak District Holiday Cottages

A walk at Chatsworth

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:13:00 +0000

Sunday was a cold and sunny day and one of the first opportunities for a while to go for a walk. As usual we had a debate on where to go and I fancied Chatsworth as I thought with most holiday makers gone (one more cottage departed) it would not be too busy. Wrong! Carlton Lees car park was quite full by the time we got there just after 10.30. Kitted up we set off long the road to Beeley, crossing the river then taking the minor road up to Beeley Hilltop. In the sun we spotted a copse of very old trees that we don't recall seeing before. Further up the lane we took a path that headed up to Stand Wood where the reservoirs that feed Chatsworth are situated. On the climb up we had some lovely views of the area and stopped and chatted with another local couple who were enjoying the views. We could make out Stanton Church and even the Bolehill plantation but not our peak district cottages. Into the woods the track was wide enough to be in the sun and we were able to see the lakes and also the Swiss Cottage, which we cannot remember seeing before. Soon enough we were at the Hunting Tower where we had planned to have lunch but I think half of Derbyshire were already having lunch there so we walked down to the parkland. The closer we got to the house the busier it became, although the house isn't open again for a few weeks the restaurants and shops have been open and the farmyard was also open for half term (although we noticed none of the toilets were open despite the £2 car park charge). As we headed to walk along the river we noticed most of the scaffolding had come down and a we caught our first glimpse of the restored facade. Have never seen it so bright, the sun really picked out the features. Stopped by the river to have lunch before the final stretch through the parkland back to the car. As we were close to the Garden Centre I thought it would be nice to have a quick peek as I must start thinking about my hanging baskets! On the way home we called into our neighbours at Green Cowden Farm to see how the early lambing has gone. They had about three dozens lambs in the pens making a lot of noise! The main lambing starts in a few weeks time so we shall call in again then. After an early tea we picked up Andrew and Joanna and went to the Village Hall at Over Haddon for this months film which was The Adjustment Bureau. An interesting film which we all enjoyed and as it was not a long film we were home in time to watch the new series of Upstairs Downstairs, except I found a number of emails waiting for me so I didnt get to see it after all!

Departures

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:17:00 +0000

Friday morning saw one departure at our peak district cottages and one cleaner up. I went down to Bakewell to get provisions for the weekend and found Bakewell very busy. You get used to seeing empty spaces in the car park and then all of a sudden its busy again. Another sign of it being busy is the people who try to cross the road with moving traffic when there are plenty of pedestrian crossings available. There was one fatality last summer when someone dashed out and got knocked over. Caught up on some accounts in the afternoon and some odd jobs around the house. One cottage left late evening to avoid the predicted wet weather and on Saturday morning a further four cottages left. Felt really strange wandering around empty cottages checking them after the guests had gone. By this time the rain had set in and a sudden hail shower meant I got quite wet. Two cleaners up today to start turning round cottages for next week. By lunchtime the sun had come out and you could feel the drop in temperature. Sat down with Chris and looked at what jobs still needed doing in the cottages before we start the outside jobs. Stocked up on logs and a few more odd jobs and that was the day gone and a late wintry shower left a dusting of snow!

More arrivals

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:09:00 +0000

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!

Shopping and Sheffield

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:23:00 +0000

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.

Half Term begins

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:27:00 +0000

Friday was very cold, barely reaching 0C with not only the drive a little icy but the courtyard and car park were too so out went Chris with his salt spreader. One cleaner up ahead of a busier weekend. Spent the day finalising cottages for Saturday's arrivals and had hoped to tick off a few more jobs on my list but I found the icy conditions slowed me down a little so I didn't get as much done as I hoped. In the afternoon found some sheep in the guests garden and discovered they had breached one of the walls and although when they saw me they leaped back, with green grass in short supply due to snow and ice I expect they'll be back. Had a last minute cancellation for Saturday but have had a few enquiries for vacancies, just have to hope some convert to bookings. One cottage in for a couple of nights arriving about 6pm, they have been before but many years ago. A very cold night followed but not as cold as Tuesday night and Saturday dawned sunny but cold. The sun made it feel warmer than it was but the ground had iced up again so Chris took the dogs for a walk. With cottages almost finished everything ready by coffee time when Chris's friend (who was here a few weeks ago) arrived with her brother to pick up some furniture. We still have stuff to sort out from our parents but we are slowly getting there. Three cottages arriving today and all have been before. Two arrived between 3.30 and 4.30 pm with final one about 6.30 pm. All have dogs and we will have a number of collies here too this week at our dog friendly peak district cottages. Tried taking a picture of the evening sky but it has not come out well but the colours were good. Also took a couple earlier in the day of icicles so enjoy them.

cold,cold,cold.

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:27:00 +0000

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 4x4 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.

keeping an eye on the weather

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:28:00 +0000

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)

Sunday's Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:43:00 +0000


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.

ready and waiting...

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:19:00 +0000

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.

back to business

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:54:00 +0000

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.

sheep and trees

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:25:00 +0000

Sunday stayed a cold and dreary day at our peak district cottages and finally I caught up with the accounts. Chris has been doing some work on the web site. Apart from going down town to get the paper it was a quiet day although at times we felt surrounded by the sheep who enjoyed using the fence as a scratching post. Monday started dull but brightened up although it remained cold. The tree surgeon came back with his team and finished the felling work including one of the trees behind the cottages, it is strange to have a gap there. Otherwise it was more like a usual Monday morning, two cottages out, laundry man, bin collection and cleaner up to start getting ready for arrivals later in the week. In the evening we abandoned the dogs as Chris went off to the Bakewell Photographic Society and I went off to Over Haddon for another evening of indoor bowls.

going...going...gone!

a bit of variety

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:42:00 +0000

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!

more of the same

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:15:00 +0000

Most of Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday continued in the same vein at our peak district cottages with cleaning, jobs around the cottages and new curtains starting to go up. Forgot to mention that Sally Mosley who organises local walks (I did the chocolate walk with her) came up on Monday to see Chris. She is going to provide some more information for our website. Wednesday provided a little break from the cottages with me popping down to Bakewell to get my hair cut and get some provisions for the next few days. Also found time to start researching prices for linen as I will replace my linen again this year. Will probably keep with existing supplier but always look around. Also my bedding plant brochure has arrived so something else to plan. In the evening I went with Joanna to the Lathkil Hotel for the Over Haddon WI annual dinner. We enjoyed the meal and the chatting afterwards. Unfortunately we haven't had any sightings of the Aurora Borealis yet but who knows.

no rest for the busy ones

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:57:00 +0000

Sunday was mainly bright and breezy with some showers at our peak district cottages. First thing down to Bakewell to get the paper and called into the farm on the way back to see the latest arrivals. Twins are more unusual in cows but this week a healthy pair of heifers were born, although one is missing a full tail! (There is just a small fuzz where the tail should be). The vet thought they might be identical twins, which would have been very rare, but they weren't. They did look cute, as did the other recent arrivals. We had to remind ourselves that next year, in spring 2013, these could be the troublesome hooligans! Back home Chris got round to laying the lino in a cottage without mishap and I caught up on jobs around the house as well as topping up the log stock. I also scheduled work for the week ahead although it will probably change by Monday. Monday was pleasant weather wise with more of a chilly feel in the air. One cottage out. One cleaner up and work continued on spring cleaning the cottages with some carpets being cleaned. More of my curtains arrived so I will be busy over the next few days. Chris and the handyman were working their way through their outstanding list of jobs. As we have a number of arrivals next weekend they want to get as much done as they can before the end of the week. Despite all this I went down to the Village Hall for a little relaxation and another enjoyable evening of indoor bowls.

deliveries and collections

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:40:00 +0000

Friday was a bit wetter than the previous days. During the day we had a number of deliveries including the first lot of curtains, a microwave oven, and towel rails. Sounds more like the Generation Game conveyor belt. Spent some time on housework as had a friend arrive to stay the night. The dogs had a temporary new best friend as she bought them some dog biscuits so they kept following her around just in case she had some more! After our guests arrived at 3pm I took her down to Bakewell as I needed to get provisions for the weekend. In the evening we went to the Bulls Head in Ashford in the Water for a nice meal. Saturday was a bright and breezy day and a number of things I had freecycled over the last few weeks were collected so Chris has an empty garage. Friend left after lunch and as it was dry Chris wanted to cut the lino for a cottage. The only problem was the wind had picked up and as we had to cut it outside the lino was difficult to hold down. I must have looked very elegant sprawled out on the lino to stop it flapping about! Have started to notice that the daylight is lasting longer at our peak district cottages which is a nice sign although winter is not over yet and you never know, there may be a sting in the tail.

More of the same

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:32:00 +0000

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday followed a similar pattern at our peak district cottages. Washing and ironing of soft furnishings and other jobs around the cottages. We are getting there with the list of jobs to do. Found some curtains on the Internet so bought those and with buying ceramic hobs have discovered you need a special scraper for burnt on bits so bought that too. Chris has been doing some on line shopping too so there will be a few deliveries arriving over the next couple of days. Thursday also saw work start on some trees but the wind was too strong to work on one particular tree as the branches needed to be lowered by rope rather than dropped. Chris's presentation last Thursday went well and as the usual presenter could not make it this Thursday Chris took the session even though he was a bit croaky. Although it has stayed cold the hard ground has gone from crunchy to squelchy and its back to paw washing for the dogs.

Bookings!

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:38:00 +0000

Sunday was another cold day, a little cloudier than Saturday so glad did walk on Saturday. Ground still very solid at our peak district cottages so at least not having to continually wash dogs paws. A quiet day at home but found time to plan the week ahead. In the evening you could still see the frost on the hillsides where the sun hadn't reached. Monday was a busy day for emails, phone calls and bookings which was good although I didn't get as much done round the cottages as planned. Another cold day finished off by a trip to Over Haddon Village Hall in the evening for me as it was a taster evening for Indoor Bowls and I thought it would be enjoyable, which it was. Chris went to Bakewell to the Photographic Society so the dogs had a quiet evening in!

Baslow Edge

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:14:00 +0000

Woke up to a sunny and frosty start at our pet friendly cottages. Temperature was just above freezing but I thought it would be a nice day for a short walk. We set off for Baslow as I thought a walk in the sun with views would be be best. As we drove to Baslow the temperature dropped and it was still minus 4 when we parked in Baslow. There was still a lot of frost around as we set off on one of the footpaths below Baslow Edge. I waved to home at one of the spots I can see from our office but it was too hazy to make out anything in the distance. I guess because it was such a nice day there were a lot more walkers around than I expected. Despite the cold it was a lovely walk but each time I stopped to take a picture my glasses steamed up. There is a part of the walk that can be quite boggy but the cold of the last couple of nights had frozen the ground and there was only one spot where I got wet boots. There were some highland cattle in one field which Blue spotted but they were more interested in munching. One though came very close to find some water so got some nice clos up shots. Up on to the edge we continued to admire the views as we headed back to Baslow. Found a nice spot for lunch where we observed a number of planes at high level in the blue sky and used Chris's phone app to identify them and waved at the plane en route to Washington at 35000 feet. How sad! Set off for the car and should have been able to see Chatsworth House but could only make out the outline of the house in the haze. After passing the Eagle Stone and on reaching Wellington's Monument we picked up the track back to the car. Felt like a trip to the Peak Village Outlet Centre at Rowsley before going home and getting the fire on. Enjoy the pictures.

Mother Nature up to her tricks

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:50:00 +0000

So here we are almost half way though January and it has been very mild in comparison for the time of year and also when you think about what the past two January's have been like. On Wednesday I spotted the first snowdrops at our peak district cottages as well as noticing the hellebores are out. Wednesday started off drizzly but brightened up in the afternoon when I went to Matlock to get some bits from Wilkinson and do a food shop at Sainsbury's. In the evening I went to the Over Haddon Village Hall with Joanna for the first WI meeting of the year. A busy evening for me as I collected the annual subscriptions, refreshment money and the pennies used to decide the winner of our competition. A full house this evening to listen to our speaker from Chatsworth House talk about Georgiana. We all enjoyed it and as I have not yet seen the film I learnt a lot about the story of the early Devonshires. Thursday was a repeat performance of Monday and Tuesday with Chris doing his presentation at Over Haddon Village Hall in the afternoon. He will be doing another one next week. A lovely sunset so an excuse for a walk to the top of our fields to take some photos. Friday was a lot colder with an early frost. Down to Bakewell first thing to get provisions for the weekend then the rest of the morning was spent in ironing and hanging curtains back up. Chris and the handyman are replacing the lino in one of the cottages but felt it would be best to level the floor first. The afternoon disappeared in a plethora of odd jobs and for the first time in ages we don't have any cottages occupied for the weekend.

Curtains and inventories

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:29:00 +0000

I have discovered just how many Internet sites there are on ready made curtains. Too many. I am sure there are many home owners out there that have the same problem as me as often older houses have lower ceilings so standard lengths sold by most retailers are either too short or two long. I usually have to buy the longer lengths and shorten them myself. I mention this now as I am looking to replace some curtains in some of our peak district cottages and have not found anything suitable at my favourite shop. So I have resorted to the Internet and gone boggle eyed in the process. Talking of curtains I have started to take them down in the cottages as a part of the annual spring clean and wash them. This also means I will have to iron them before they go back up. So a lot of time on Monday and Tuesday went on curtains and also checking inventories and making a list of items to replace. More shopping! Chris and the handyman are keeping busy too as we have decided to replace some of the electric hobs with ceramic hobs. The cleaners are being kept busy as we pull out appliances and empty cupboards to spring clean. This is all possible as we only had one cottage occupied which arrived late Tuesday afternoon. For a break from all this cleaning I went to the Over Haddon Village Hall committee meeting on Monday Evening.

Getting jobs done

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:40:00 +0000

Friday was the least windy day of the week and mainly sunny and dry. One cottage arriving later in the day so one cleaner up. Chris and the handyman took down the Christmas lights and I took down the final cottage Christmas tree as well as some housework. Cottage arrived about 5pm. Saturday was another fine day although it clouded over a bit in the afternoon. Handyman up for a few hours in the morning and he and Chris did a number of jobs in the cottages including starting some more insulation work. I dealt with some bookings and paper work. We took a few hours off and went to Hathersage stopping first at the Riverside Cafe for lunch where we were able to get a table seat and watch the birds at the feeding table. We then went into Hathersage and had a walk round, I had thought of walking up to the church as we have never yet been to see the supposed grave of Little John but it was getting windier. Never mind, another day. Sunday was catch up day with jobs around the house and some planning for the week ahead. Chris is doing an informal presentation at the digital workshop in Over Haddon next week so he spent a lot of the day preparing for that. A quiet evening in with a busy week ahead at our peak district cottages.

Chesterfield

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:33:00 +0000

At last, the day I have been planning since before Christmas, in fact I should have gone before Christmas, but never mind, the day had arrived when armed with a long shopping list I set forth for Chesterfield. In the town centre I visited the regulars such as Instore and Wilkinson where I managed to get some Xmas decorations for next Xmas as well as some general items for the cottages, and in the Co-Op, usually a good source of bath goods, I managed to pick up a kitchen mat I have not been able to find at Dunelm. I found a nice skirt for me at M&S in the sales before heading to the retail park where I had a look around Currys and purchased a kettle and toaster. Then of course onto Dunelm where I had a lovely time wandering round before I made my purchases. Back home I had time to pack away my purchases at our peak district cottages before tea then down to Joanna's for our first WI committee meeting of the year. Thursday was another bright and breezy day with one cottage out and one cleaner up. We have started our annual deep cleaning programme as we are quiet for the next couple of weeks. After lunch when Chris went down to Over Haddon for the digital workshop, I took down some more cottage trees and decorations an also the ones in the house. Only one more cottage to go!

New Year departures

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:06:00 +0000

Woke up to a dusting of snow on Monday at our peak district cottages. Not what was expected and not what was needed with all bar two cottages departing. Luckily as soon as the sun got on it it started to melt. A busy couple of hours dealing with departures and one cleaner up as two cottages back in later in the day. Made a start with taking down a couple of Xmas trees at our peak district cottages and some of the decorations elsewhere. After cottages cleaned did final checks and both cottages here by 3.30 pm, both have been here before. Time to do more accounts before sitting down for a quiet evening. The wind and rain kept me awake most of Monday night and the wind and rain continued during Tuesday although a brief respite meant I was able to take the dogs for their early morning walk in the dry. My main job for the day was to take more cottage Christmas trees down and finalise accounts for 2011 which I achieved. We also stocked up on logs and I phoned our friends from Yorkshire to catch up on the week. Bookings are starting to come in for the year which is encouraging and January is usually one of the busiest months for bookings so lets hope it carries on.

A quiet New Year and weather stats

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:22:00 +0000

Had hoped either Saturday or Sunday would be dry enough to go for a walk from our peak district cottages but it was not to be. So both days were spent doing some work (paperwork, accounts, bookings, and housework) and a bit of leisure, for me another jigsaw which I will have to do without the help of friends (did I mention that we always do a jigsaw when our friends are here at Christmas). On New Years Eve evening we popped round to my friend in one of the cottages and had a couple of drinks although we were back before midnight.

Wish I was there! I love Salzburg. Home of 'Sound of Music' and Mozart.

Decembers weather stats. We had 7.29" rain!!! In Dec 10 we had only .72" rain. Just to put this in focus we had 30.75" rain during 2011 so nearly a quarter of that fell in the last month of the year. Wettest day was 29th with 1.05". Highest temp 11.1 on Boxing Day which was the warmest day of the month with Xmas Day night being the warmest. 16th was the coldest day and the night of the 17th the coldest night with the lowest temperature of -1.8 on the 18th. Unfortuantely forgot to record the stats for 2011 as all the data started again from 1st January but can tell you this:

hottest day was 27 June with temperature of 25.4 coldest day was 21 January with a temperature of -4.3
wettest day was 29th December!

With regards to rainfall we had 30.75" in 2011 as opposed to 26.48 in 2010. If December had been as dry as other months we may have had a record dry year but December had as much rain as January, February and March put together. For further comparison we had 37.16" in 2009 and 44.16" in 2008.

Final New Year Arrivals

noreply@blogger.com (Shirley) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:37:00 +0000

The forecast for Thursday was for showers at our peak district cottages but it rained most of the day which wasn't nice for the guests who had planned to go out walking. Time to catch my breath from Wednesday and prepare for Friday. With it approaching the end of the month, quarter and financial year I spent most of the afternoon on accounts. First thing Friday I popped down town to get some provisions for the weekend. At least Friday morning was quite dry although overcast but by the afternoon it was drizzling again. One cleaner up and final cottages arrived between 3pm and 6pm. Two have been before. A quiet evening in and a quiet couple of days to look forward to.