Life at Cote Bank Farm

Orphans, a new puppy and Buxworth events.

2009-07-27T19:36:00.014+01:00

After a jaunt to visit an old friend I am now determined to lick this gremlin and finish posting up to date!The three orphan lambs have done well and are in a nice little croft close by for ease of feeding and care.A huge sycamore tree demolished this wall and it will have to be built up, but at present Nic is busy coping with the dreaded Himalayan Balsam that has taken root in one field - and with shearing by hand three naughty sheep who evaded the round up for shearing. The saying "first catch your sheep" is very true - we gave up after over an hour of fruitless chasing around the fields after them.The shearing went very well this year thanks to a very quick and efficient local shearer - teabreaks like this were few and far between.Isn't the view over the farmstead beautiful? The house and cottages are on the right sheltered by the hill. We now have a badger set on the bank to the left. Not a welcome addition as there is so much TB in the local badgers and farms around us with cattle are in quarantine and unable to sell cattle. We are blessed with a wonderful Mountain rescue team in the Peak District aided when needed by helicopter support. This is actually a rock climbing friend of ours who was lifted off the Welsh hills by their rescue services - his first accident in many years of safe climbing - a badly sprained ankle was luckily the result and nothing more serious.The first week of July is always Buxworth Wells Dressing week and we opened St James' Church in Buxworth and served delicious homemede cakes to many visitors who came to see the two wells at the church and pub. Next year the church might try their hand at a well dressing board ourselves to be placed outside the church!

The flowers were kept simple this year with no theme as in past years but the church looked lovely.We will be re-painting it at long last in August as it has looked very sad and neglected. Its a very friendly church built in the 1870s with money raised by the locals and built using labour given free by the workers in Bugsworth Lime works.

Another excitement was the arrival of Lola, a lively and adorable Puggle - a cross between a pug and a beagle. Her proud owner with her. Our old collie Jess is not too sure what to make of this new baby.Also Jess at 11 has been in the wars and cut her back foot very badly on the mowing machine while "helping" Nic cut thistles. She is deaf now and was running behind the machine instead of in front, so must have misjudged her run. She has been to and fro to the local vets for 3 weeks at vast cost but the paw has been saved with only the loss of the 2 front digits and she is getting around very happily with a slight limp.

A mixed view of summer, lambs and Spring.

2009-07-27T10:33:00.018+01:00

Welcome to an upside down blog all out of date sequence! I always plan to do it in date order but it is taking too long today - so we are starting with wells dressings - that marvellous old Derbyshire traditional started in pagan times to worship the god of water and now a Christian thanksgiving for the gift of water and life. These were the wells at Ashford -in-the-Water near Bakewell - always a good village to see them at as they dress several wells. Ashford is such a pretty village with very traditional Derbyshire stone built houses.It was also the weekend when the Railway modelling society puts on a brilliant day out for model railway enthusiasts at the Agricultural Centre in Bakewell.We take our 2 grand children and this is one of their favourite layouts - specially done for children.After we'd seen enough for both children and, of course, Nic, we had a picnic by the river at Bakewell where the ducks and swans love to be fed and the icecream seller did a brisk trade on a lovely sunny day.The views all around the White Peak are so lovely and this tranquil rural scene below was very typical.In late May we took a break after lambing, which is always hard work for Nic, and flew to Atlanta to visit Alison and our American family.Alison with little Adison Rose - an absolute delight and such an easy child. She is wearing a dress my Mom made for Alison and which looks perfect still.We always have a treat at our favourite Longhorn Steakhouse which serves the most wonderful steaks and is full of atmosphere.Nicolas showing us how big our steaks will be!Adison and Nicolas behaved beautifully even though the service was slow that night.Our joy each morning was to have a little boy climb into our bed for special bonding time.Then on a blisteringly hot day we were taken to our first baseball game which was great fun. We wilted in the heat on the grass berm where all the families sat so, after an instruction on the finer points of the game from Adam, Nic and I went to the shade near the stands. There we got chatting to a retired Methodist minister who loves baseball and acts as an usher and was fascinated to hear that we lived in a house that had sheltered John Wesley, that great Methodist hymn writer.And then it was time for Adison's first birthday party - brought forward a month so that we could meet all Alison's friends from the various baby circles she belongs to. The birthday cake was a sandcastle cake made by our clever daughter. The birthday girl with her Grandpa Woodall.It was a pool party and the food was simple but just right for a hot day and all the older children swam and the babies had two paddling pools to enjoy.Some escaped the heat and joined Alison to open presents in the sitting room.And at the end of a perfect day, Adison and Grandpa relaxed together. The older stepchildren had swimming lessons each day and a swimming gala while we were over there which was wonderfully organised. They both improved over the weeks and really enjoyed it.But Nicolas was less than impressed! Life continues to gallop on here at Cote Bank now that we are back and the spare time I thought I'd have when I gave up B&B has been filled very quickly and my blog has been one of the things to suffer. It is raining - again! Where did the red hot summer they promised us go to? But spring was lovely! And while we were away in June it was very good weather.How I love spring when the blossom breaks out and all the trees green up overnight. My azaleas continue to thrive and brighten up the footpath each spring. Spring this year was clear and sunny and I don't remember any rain in the 6 weeks of lambing which helped the lambs to thrive. With all the rain we get these days, the rockery we made in 2000 has filled in so well that I am having to hack bits of it back ruthlessly - Nic hates gardening - says it is cruel to kill off the prolific plants just when they are doing their best!The next photos are a bit out of sequence but I can't struggle to get them to the start of the blog!

With no B&B guests arriving on Good Friday I could walk up Eccles Pike for the Easter service which is held at the specially erected cross on the summit. It was a misty,drizzly day so the view over to Cote Bank was obscured - perhaps it did rain during lambing but only very seldom! It is a Churches Together service and we met friends from all the local churches as we combine now for bible study and many other events - a far cry from the 1700s when the C of E's tried to knock down the work of the builders of the Chinley Independent Chapel and the Wesleys were hounded around the area and were very unwelcome. Our young families' horses continue to give much pleasure and Miracle and Magic are nice and easy to catch and shoe - here the farrier is hard at work. It is wonderful to see the old traditional skills continued.Spring brought a plague of jackdaws who made nests in every single chimney not capped and even in the supposedly birdproof H pots. Two squabbling birds even fell down the old blocked up flue behind our bed on the gable end visible in this picture and we had the awful sound of them squawking and dying behind our heads with no way of liberating them.One got all the way down into our best sitting room but mercifully took its soot-laden self over to the window where Nic manfully caught it up in a sheet and dispatched it.

At vast expense a team of fantastic men came and removed all the nests that had totally blocked every chimney in the house and cottages and capped them all.My heart was in my mouth while they scaled our very high roof to work - but then I get dizzy 5 foot off the ground on a ladder.

To each his own skills!I had the last laugh as one persistant freeloading jackdaw came back soon after with a twig in its mouth and you can almost see the annoyance in this picture as it surveys the blocked off chimney pot! Then we had lambing time and very successful it was too with only 3 orphans to care for and a willing helper to keep her Grandpa company - seems only yesterday that Alison and Will were on lamb bottling duty!And with no B&B to keep the house immaculate for, I took to the vegetable patch instead, aided by my grand daughter who is as keen a gardener as me and drives me on by pointing out things that need to be done!

Next year we will grow more as last nights meal of homegrown lamb with the mint sauce, courgettes, carrots and potaotes all coming out of the garden - well not the lamb! was followed by homegrown raspberries and blackcurrant and apple crumble. It tastes so much better when you've picked the things fresh and all the digging keeps me very fit!

The rest of the photos for this blog refused to load so the blog and I are tired! I promise not to leave it so long next time.

January and SNOW!

2009-02-03T16:14:00.017Z

January was a lovely month with beautiful soft winter sunlight. Gus Dermody - of "One Man & his Dog" fame came to scan the sheep for us. They were separated into their two groups - twins and singles - and we had Barnaby Bear from Nicole's school to look after for the week which interested the sheep!
And we started on the spring cleaning of the cottages.

And then the big snow hit the country!Cherry Tree cottage in the snow.

We had no more than we would usually expect - about 4 inches and the grand children revelled in it.Nicole and William built mini snowmen - the snow wouldn't stick for larger ones.The garden looked so beautiful and the Old House even more romantic. My gazebo and our fabulous views out across the hills towards Whaley Bridge.
Our farmhouse from the road.A blackbird waited patiently for Nic to thaw the bird bath but he has put seed on the bird table. Its patience was rewarded!
The Old House sheltered by our taller building.The sheep are fine in the snow with plenty to eat thanks to a careful farmer and thick woolly jackets!

Jess is always around when there is any work to be done and Nic was just about to feed his sheep and check on those in the further fields. A view from the Spring field across to the field barn where Nic has a few frail sheep inside needing extra care and shelter in this cold, snowey weather.
The Far Brow where the badger sett is and Stubbins Piece beyond it with Cracken Edge in the distance Sheep find grass even in the snow - they are amazing animals! Lench Field and Clatter Hill in the background - ancient names we still use.Another view of the sheep in the Spring Field- our wonderful spring comes out where you can see the hawthorn bush in the background.The hens didn't know what to make of the first snow they have ever seen and wouldn't come out of the usual pophole so Nic opened the main door for them.Sheep are so accepting of everything and this old pregnant ewe had eaten her fill of the hay and molasses put out for them and was perfectly comfortable in this sheltered corner.Jess and farmer Nic are safely back and the kettle is on to welcome them!And our grandchildren thawed out with a ride on our rocking horse. The end of a perfect day!

Thanksgiving and Christmas

2009-02-03T14:23:00.011Z

My last post just wouldn't behave, or perhaps I'm out of practise, but apologies for the slightly disjointed previous post!Alison's dog was ecstatic to see one of his many his best friends again.
Little Nicolas loved the singing birds sent by great-great aunt Anne and he kept us all on our toes - a real little live wire.Do forgive the personal photos here but our family also looks at our blog, not just our visitors, and I just don't get the time to do 2 separate blogs! Just doing one gives me a headache.Alison made thanksgiving dinner for all the Woodall clan and we had a marvellous meal with everyone bringing their speciality dish.

We were lucky to catch Santa at Barnes and Noble in Atlanta and Adison took it all in her stride whereas Nicolas was a bit unsure!

Then it was back to England and preparations for Christmas. We were relieved to see that our handsome derbyshire Redcap cockerel had survived any visits by the fox - he has become bolder with age and now brings his ladies into the farmyard.Our church Sunday school put on its usual excellent nativity play in which Nicole and William were non-speaking shepherds.William had great fun playing the electronic keyboardWe also went on the Cheddleton steam railway. They put on a special Santa express which is very well done with Father Christmas bringing presents and the adults having sherry and mince pies - a favourite in summer as well when Thomas the tank engine pays a visit.This was William's first day in the pre-school at Chinley Primary school with his sister - and he got a special badge from the head teacher for being so polite!Then it was all go getting the 2 cottages ready for the Christmas and New Year visitors.The Old House always looks so lovely with a little tree in the sitting room and a bit of tinsel to brighten things up. The log fires are always very popular, especially the fact that there are ample supplies of logs provided.

Cherry Tree has the tree in the dining room and a traditional swag over the mantlepiece.

Finally everything was ready to welcome our visitors with the wreaths on the doors and the lights on.

The weather was wonderful for brisk, invigorating walks over the hills or cosy evenings by the fire. Everyone had a wonderful time - just a pity the snow came in February - but see my next blog for that!

Autumn

2009-02-03T13:40:00.007Z

I can't believe I have neglected my blog so badly and so I will start with a lovely autumn sunshiney view of peacefully grazing sheep!
The sky above the cottage was just beautiful.

My only excuse is that we were particularly busy on the farm and with the cottages in autumn and then we made a last minute visit to America to visit Alison and Adam and catch up with baby Adison Rose and the children for Thanksgiving.
It was a wonderfully happy time as always and I make no apology for including a few pictures of our gorgeous American grandchildren and step grandchildren.

While Adison is just the happiest most cuddly beautiful little girl.

Nicolas Adam is a real little live wire and kept us all on our toes.

Kirsten is so sweet with Adison and loves to help look after her. I hope Adison is as artistic as Kirsten and Nicole.

Alison did the Thanksgiving dinner which was amazing with the rest of the family bringing their speciality dishes

More Chatsworth for Scots fans.

2008-09-13T16:33:00.007+01:00

It took so long last night to load the video of the first of the pipe bands to arrive in the ring that I gave up and went to bed! This is a video of all the bands present at the fair at Chatsworth marching together - no mean feat when they come from all over the UK and haven't practised together.

If you are not Scots bagpipe and drum fans you will just have to skip this blog! The poor things were caught in the most torrential downpour and in the second video you will see how black the sky is as the last of the bands leave the ring and in the background are the Household Cavalry horses waiting to do their last performance of the day.

We really felt for them and it was quite dangerous as the ground was saturated with water splashing up as the hooves hit the ground, but they carried on. They are used to worse in the army I suppose when on training exercises. At least they weren't being shot at.

Today is sunny and the leaves are turning and autumn is upon us. Nic is sorting his lambs who were weaned last week - to the relief of their mothers. There was a bit of bleating as darkness fell on the first night from the more clingy lambs but not a sound from the mothers - sheep are better than us humans at knowing when to kick their offspring out into the world alone.

A review of our year plus a special birth, a christening, a wedding and Chatsworth Country Fair.

2008-09-12T20:20:00.025+01:00

I keep finding photos I think our friends and visitors would love to see and this year, not only did we have a new grandaughter, but our neighbours in Cote Bank Cottage had a dear little boy born at home in June.
This was extra special as little Bryn Roberts is the first baby born at Cote Bank for over 100 years!! Nic and his siblings were born in hospital, as were our children, so it was very special to have this dear little boy born in the cottage. Moira and David are the proud parents and Bryn seems a perfect baby - except when he is tired and won't go to sleep and then Moira walks him up and down the lane to get him to drop off - the country air does the trick it seems.Poor old Tommy the cat is now a scrawny, deaf old cat with a very annoying loud yowl - he obviously can't hear how loud his calling for food is and he also doesn't hear cars approaching and we fear for him, as his favourite place is lying on the warm tar at the top of the farmyard's road. He is 17 now, which is marvellous for a farm cat, and the vet says only his teeth are a bit dodgy - he even caught a rabbit the other day and he spends a lot of time on our mat in the porch sleeping inbetween feed times.

Our visitors, those who are cat lovers, spoil him and he tries to get into the cottages at every opportunity but we encourage our visitors to be firm and keep him out.This is Tommy before old age got to him.This picture was taken in April but it is rather sweet of a devoted mum and her baby going out to fresh pasture.We had such a lovely spring when the colours were glorious and all the greenery so fresh - sadly the summer has been a washout in more ways than one but at least we can remember that not all the year was poor!Jess loves it when I'm out in the garden and is always on the lookout in case a walker on the footpath that goes through the garden strays into her vision and she can bark at them or welcome them, depending on her mood. Here is Jess keeping a beady eye on a sheep and her lamb beyond the garden fence - to her annoyance they were completely unconcerned and kept on eating placidly. I was especially pleased with my azaleas and rhododendrons this year. Ever since my cousin took me to Leonardslee in Suffolk back in 1971 I've always longed for azaleas and rhododendrons and at last mine are growing well.
My order of events is a bit crazy, I'm afraid, as this was July in Atlanta and Alison with her baby Adison Rose on her Christening day. I'd put some photos on a previous blog while we were over there and then found these to add.The christening robe is my King family one that generations of Kings wer baptised or christened in. My father and, I think, grandfather, as well as Alison wore it.Our little Woodall family on the christening day.
And the proud grandparents with Nicolas and Adison Rose. Nic had been hit in the eye the day before by a golf ball hidden in the grass that he was cutting for Alison and the eye was still angry looking. Mercifully his glasses took the full force and saved him from a worse accident.This was my last view of the glorious Crepe Myrtles that were everywhere in Atlanta while we were there. Having passed thousands of them and not taken a decent photo over the 3 weeks we were with Alison, I had to rush out of the airport building and take a last photo of them. The heat and humidity will mean we probably won't return in July for a visit and I will miss seeing these glorious plants. In South Africa we called them Pride of Indias, so I'm not sure where they originated.Then it was back to our lovely hills - this is the Hope ValleyOur potatoes were excellent - this was the first year we'd tried them - mainly because Nicole loves gardening. She and William helped dig them up and the little thing scrubbed every single one for me. Her corn has done well but the snails and slugs and the cabbage whites have wreaked havoc on our cauliflowers and other greens. She is very brave at picking off caterpillers and slugs for me and we have high hopes for our winter greens. There is nothing nicer than a wedding and in August our closest neighbours celebrated the wedding of Emma to Jason. I was asked to do the Church flowers as they got married in St James', Buxworth.

I did them in some trepidation as we wanted to pick up the colours in the bridesmaid, Naomi's dress.In the end they complemented her dress and Joyce, the brides mother's dress, very well and I could relax!Emma looked absolutely stunning, the rain held off till we were all safely in the marquee back at their family home and we all celebrated in style.It was very special for us as our Alison babysat for all three Stanton children - it has made her feel very old!Emma with the equally beautiful bridesmaid, her sister Naomi. This part of the blog is specially for Alison who would have loved to be here.Father and son Nicholas share a word.We all had the happiest time with good company, wonderful food and a plentiful supply of wine!
The bride's mother looked stunning, the father of the bride was equally happy and relieved to have everything going without a hitch and the guests enjoyed the day.The cake was delicious and each table had a smaller replica which the bride and groom came round to cut, so we all got a chance to chat to them - a lovely touch.Then on the Sunday in drizzly weather we celebrated the Ruby wedding of one of our church friends in their beautiful garden - again with good company and with even a live band to entertain us.
What would we do in England without portable marquees to shelter us when the inevitable rain starts?As a last trip for the summer holidays we took our grandchildren down to the wonderful Midland Railway Trust at Butterley which is an incredible day out for a family - especially when Grandpa and grandson are mad about steam trains.It is always the highlight of the year for me to go to the 3 day Chatsworth Country Fair which is held around the first weekend in September. It coincides with my birthday so Nic can always find me a present in the fabulous craft tents.The high standard of exhibits and country pursuits takes some beating and the events in the ring, which go on all day are wonderful.This year the Welsh Guards provided the music and we had the usual parade of vintage cars but sadly on the Sunday the cloudbase was too low for the free fall parachutists or the balloon ascension which normally rounds off the Sunday.But we had the Musical Ride by the Household Cavalry team which was fantastic. At 3pm we had a cloudburst but the events in the ring went on as though nothing was happening, although three of the horses very sensibly refused to lie down as they were meant to do and we all just put up our umbrellas, donned our raincoats or just got wet. The British are a stoical lot!We always go on the Sunday as my Scots ancestry demands that I see, and thrill to, the massed pipe bands who parade into the ring to receive their prizes from the Duchess of Devonshire. Because of the rain they sadly had their kilts protected by practical capes but the sound was still amazing. I've tried to capture it on the videos but it is a poor second to the real thing.These videos of the massed pipe bands are specially for my friend Anne, who shared the Edinburgh Tattoo with me on our memorable first year in Britain in 1966

Catching up, spring into summer, a new baby and retirement!

2008-07-26T18:56:00.013+01:00

Apologies to all of you who have asked why there has been no news!
I have no excuse except that life after lambing was just so very busy, as it always is, and I am still a slow blogger and typist. Also I am getting older so I fade after about 7pm and just don't feel like tackling more computer work then.

So- a brief catch up - lambing time was very good this year and the lambs are still frisking about in the meadows with their mums and we have lost very few, which is such a bonus.

The weather has been typically British but our guests are stoical and ventured out in all weathers to enjoy our glorious hills.

A cricket match at Buxworth as clouds threaten - we can see and hear the cricketers faintly from our front garden on a clear day.This is a far view of Cracken Edge from Western Lane, Buxworth with our farm to the upper right of the picture and with the sunlight falling on our lower Hollinwood fields.These are views across from Buxworth to the hills of the farm, which you can just see above the buildings in the foreground. Our house nestles in amongst the trees which is a perfect shelterd spot with a marvellous spring water supply which has never failed in living memory. There has been a settlement at Cote Bank since the iron age as they turned up arrow heads during the war when the spring field was ploughed for the first time.Another view of the farm with our son's swimming pool roof looking very new to the right of the farmhouse and Old House.The buttercups have been beautiful this year - a result of the rains we have "enjoyed' all too often! Chinley and Cracken Edge in the background. I couldn't resist the light falling on Chinley Churn and Cracken Edge.This is proof that, as Nic always tells the guests after a particularly rainy spell, the sky is always blue over Cote Bank!
And luckily on our safe hill any floods pass us by and just leave us with rainbows - these shots have Eccles Pike in the back ground. This is proof of what a hopeless blogger I am - there must be a way to turn this but I can't find it so you will just have to stand on your heads to appreciate the marvellous double rainbow and photography!

Our old friends the Hamsons and their 3 well behaved border collies came back for a second visit this year - the girls were waiting patiently to go home when this shot was taken but we hope to see them back next Easter with more winning rosettes to show us.On a personal note our son has finally roofed his swimming pool with a lot of help from father, friends and neighbours at times of need.

He had to hire a larger digger to swing the roof beams into place which was a nail biting operation to watch, but he is incredibly skilled now and at last the footpath looks down on an improving patio site.

Converting the old milking barns and shippons into their house has been hugely costly as the new environmental requirements are strict but the finished result is a triumph and he and Karen have such flair that their home is beautiful. I can't wait to help when needed with the layout of their patio and garden - they provide the ideas and I tell them what will do well there.

A source of great pleasure this year is the interest of our grandchildren in our fruit and vegetable garden - Nicole especially has gone in each day to watch over the corn, potatoes and carrots and, while we have been away, to pick the raspberries and strawberries.

We also had our Buxworth Wells Dessing and church flower festival in early July when the theme in the church was Celebrations. It was just a shame it rained almost all week but everyone who came enjoyed the flowers and the ploughman's lunches and homemade cakes - and, of couse, the welcome.

Weddings

Pentecost with the tongues of fire descending on the 12 apostles.

Harvest.

Baptism

After we had shorn the sheep - see June last years blog and detailed photos, as I didn't take new photos this year - we showered all the sheep and lambs to keep the flies off them. The muggy, warm spell we had in late June brought flies by the score and the poor sheep were constantly flicking them away.

To shower the sheep we have a contractor who comes with a portable shower unit - sorry no photos this year - the sheep go in 10 at a time and a revolving shower head drenches them from above while a similar one sprays them from below, they go into a second holding area on a slatted floor to drip a bit and are then released into the field.

All this is very noisy especially as they all smell the same for a while and the lambs have to rely on knowing the mother's bleat to team up again. The mothers are more interested in catching up on eating fresh grass to bother too much with their large lambs so only give occassional bleats

We were off to Atlanta USA on the 7th July to await the birth of our newest grandaughter so had to do them before we left. In fact there were so many last minute things to see to that we got on the plane and collapsed in relief.

We made it to Atlanta with 3 hours to spare and I was present at the birth of our second and very special grandaughter -Adison Rose Woodall. Her name was chosen by Adam to join his and Alison's names and Rose is for my Mother, whom Alison loved dearly and learned many skills from, and also for Adam's grandmother.This little pink dress was worn by Alison over 30 years ago and has been recycled most successfully.Grandmothers are biased but she is a very pretty baby and very good.

From the hectic farm and tourism life to the relaxation in our daughter and son-in-law's pool - what heaven, even though the summer temperatures and humidity have been hard to bear out of the pool.
We have enjoyed bonding again with little Nicolas who is a lively and lovely 18 months old now.
Every morning by 8am we walked to the local park a mile or so away with the step- grandchildren, Jaden and Kirsten, and Leo the dog, in an attempt to beat the heat and wear them all out a bit. Mostly we ended up wringing wet and exhausted while they were still full of life!Little Kirsten just adores Adison and couldn't wait to hold her each day.Alison with her 2 babies for those of our friends and visitors who remember her.

And after a visit to our favourite steakhouse The Longhorn it was back to the farm and life as we know it!

I was very busy with B&B guests and this year we have made the momentous decision that I will officially retire in August after 20 years of looking after B&B guests and just concentrate on our 2 holiday cottages, our grandchildren, our Church activities and of course my garden!

This is perhaps a good place to say a huge thank you to all our loyal B&B visitors who have given us such good memories and so few bad ones over the years. We have met so many interesting and amusing people in the course of earning a much needed income, which can't be given to many people in their careers and we are very grateful and a wee bit sad to be calling a halt to the flow of B&B guests.

However, the cottages are available for short breaks and we will be looking into providing starter breakfast packs for the self caterers of our own eggs, bread and preserves as well as the famous Fletcher sausages and Coleman's homecured British bacon, so watch this space.

More Lambs

2008-04-23T20:25:00.003+01:00

Easter fun, lambs and special birthdays

2008-04-23T14:08:00.007+01:00

I have been so busy with Easter B&B visitors that my blog has been a bit neglected and I have yet to master the art of adding a video but watch this space.I know we shouldn't brag but we do think our little Nicole is just beautiful and this Easter bonnet was almost entirely her own work. The bees and butterflies and eggs were all laboriously hand drawn by Nicole although her artistic aunt made the actual hen and Karen helped assemble it ready for the school parade.

Easter day brought another fall of snow which looked very pretty for a few hours but had all melted by the time we got back from Easter Sunday church, to the slight disappointment of the children.

They had had a wonderful time early in the morning collecting the chocolate eggs that our hens always lay on Easter morning. Miracles all round at Easter- one of them being the speed at which a chocolate egg will melt when a hen sits on it along with her own egg!

Karen and Will had also made an Easter egg hunt with clever clues placed around the garden and farmyard, which had the children running and shouting in great excitement. I've done a video of this but the blog doesn't seem to like it! Will try again later.
In the evening William and Karen had us round for a super lamb meal - their house always looks so lovely and welcoming.We loved this photo taken of our Jess with their dear old Gem taken by our regular visitors, the Hamsons. Gem is now sadly no more but was part of our Cote Bank scene for many years.
They came at Easter with their new dogs who won prizes just after Easter- the new pup, Freya, is showing real promise.What varied weather we have had thrown at us - just in time for lambing! Although it has been cold, we have been spared rain, for which Nic has been grateful.
He has kept his twin lambs safely in the warmth of the buildings down at Stubbins but the singles up here, which had to be born in the field, have fared a bit worse and quite a few have had to be put in the little field building to give them a bit of shelter and help.

Of course we hate having to bottle feed orphan lambs - luckily only two have been rejected by their mothers, who took to one twin and resolutely refused to accept the other- but little Tilly enjoyed feeding the greedy little lambs.She got the hang of it very well - perhaps having a baby sister helped her- most children can't master keeping the bottle tilted enough but she did very well with a bit of help from Mum.All finished and the second lamb is waiting for his turn! Jess, as always is in attendance! She just lives for lambing time and accompanies Nic down to Stubbins at dawn to check on the twins and then races along behind the car back here to keep an eagle eye on him as he walks around the singles in the fields around home. She won't be left behind and cries at the door to join him if we think she looks tired.

I'm not sure what will happen as she ages - probably will have to go down in the car with him! Next year we hope to lamb everything in the sheds as Nic is getting older and the 2hourly walk around the lambing fields is exhausting for him although he never complains. he just loves his sheep and is very proud of this year's crop of lambs which are particularly fine Gritstones and very healthy and lusty. The twins have all lambed in the first 18 days -unheard of for us but most welcome as most are now safely out at grass with their mothers.We do have fun with our guests! This is Harry who celebrated his 18th Birthday here last Sunday and to much hilarity we brought in the breakfast loaf of bread complete with candle for the birthday boy to make a wish on. Harry and Sam have been coming here on holiday with their parents since they were only about 4, so we felt very ancient on Sunday seeing this lovely young man at the grand old age of 18. His band had just won in a national competition in Manchester the previous day so it was celebrations all round.The Williams boys were particularly impressed with Nic's snazzy sawn off jeans - times is hard in the hills! As Nic wears a boiler suit over his jeans these are rather practical and I think he has rather good legs, so we are all happy!And not to be outdone, our friend Nick posed for this picture - not sure if his wife will be happy as it certainly does him no favours! It's the hat and the specs that do it!

Easter and our visitors enjoy the spring weather.

2008-03-30T18:20:00.006+01:00

The daffodils on the front are out and the ash is starting to put out buds - we always watch to see if the oak comes out before the ash because folklore says that, if it does, we will only "have a splash" whereas ash before the oak means we're in for a "soak!"
Last summer was so wet after a lovely dry spring that we certainly want a splash this year.
We have had such variable weather over Easter but that didn't deter our regular visitors who went off up the hills whenever the rain cleared.

Diamond and Sapphy and their new very pretty Border collie had a thoroughly relaxing holiday after the excitements of Crufts.

These two were great favourite of ours -Gem and Jess Hamson who are sadly now no longer with us but the latest addition to the family is a little star and had a wonderful holiday here over Easter with her older "sisters" Sapphy and Diamond.

Our doggie visitors love the exciting rabbit and sheep smells on their walks and always return exhausted and needing a good drink at the spout in the farmyard.

Snow, daffodils at last; the troops come home and we get a pony!

2008-03-15T21:37:00.010Z

I suppose we are complacent about winters now and are taken by surprise when we wake up to a snowfall.There wasn't much snow - just enough to look pretty - this is the view across the farmyard.

Nic always used to say that the farmyard looked best under 6 inches of snow but personally I prefer it so that I can walk without fear of falling over. This year we have only had a day of a light powdering and it went within hours - not even enough for a snowman to be built.Eccles Pike is always dramatic whatever the weather - if only we got blue skies with the snow! There was a bit of sun but I missed taking the photo in time, hence the rather gloomy view. The sheep were as always resilient and just scratched through the thin layer of snow to reach the grass and of course, as lambing is imminent, Nic is feeding them molasses with minerals and extra hay so they certainly don't go hungry.
The next day I was on my way across the hill to Chapel-en-le -Frith when I saw this beautifully dramatic sky over South head and Mount Famine .
You can just see the bypass in the bottom of this picture and some cars had stopped in the layby to admire the stunning view.

One of our favourite walks for our visitors is across Cracken Edge, over the A624 and round Mount Famine to South Head, back into Chinley and home. You can just see the edge of the village with Cracken Edge jutting out above it - the farm is out of sight to the left of the picture.

Chinley is quite a sprawling village now and in the last 15 years all the houses down to the right have been built.

In summer these hills will all be beautifully green. I always feel that spring is on the way when, in spite of gales and lashing rain my brave little daffodils start flowering in the narrow lane just before Windy Bend. Inevitably a ggiant gap has fallen in the narrow just after Nic had repaired another one close by - truly a hill farmer's work is never done as far as drystone walling is concerned.The gales didn't affect us much - we had a night of high wind but no trees or even branches came down. other parts of the country weren't as luckyBut it is not all work and last Friday we went over to St Helens to watch Nic's rugby league team snatch victory from Hull in the last 5 minutes of play.And we also enjoyed a belated birthday meal at our favourite Italian restaurant- the Vecchia Italia - in Chapel-en-le-Frith with our good friends Tony and Effie.
The place was packed and buzzing and the food and welcome was as good as ever. It makes us feel really old as Giovanni's son Salvi is now front of house and we remember when he was a toddler! Dad was on duty in the kitchenEarlier in the day we had braved a freezingly cold wind to go over to Buxton as the local Mercian Regiment - an amalgamation of the Cheshires and the Sherwood Foresters- was being given the freedom of the Borough and were marching through the town to a ceremony in the Pavilion Gardens. The lady Mayoress inspected the troops and Nic and I flew the flag. The lads have been in Afghanistan and it was good to see them back but they must have been chilled to the bone as the wind was icy. it was a moving and impressive ceremony and a good turnout to show our appreciation of their bravery.The big excitement for our grandchildren has been the arrival of Poppy, a sweet looking but difficult to catch pony!Karen has spent any spare moments in her busy day enticing the little beast into a smaller field so that she can get her used to being held and eventually ridden.
Nicole is very thrilled with her pony and William is thinking about it but is still much happier if he can sit in the digger when daddy is making the farmyard look tidy!His face says it all!And to round off a happy week, Karen had a birthday and little William decorated her cake with me while Daddy and Nicole went to the Trafford Centre to choose a special present

Scanning our pregnant sheep

2008-02-14T07:26:00.008Z

Our rams meet their selected 35 ewes on the 4th November and by January they should be in lamb and the embryos large enough to see on a scanner - just like we use for human pregnancies!All is ready to go and Gus Dermody -of "One Man and His Dog" TV fame - comes with his portable scanning equipment in a trailer behind his Landrover. He wheels it all into position while we pen our sheep in the shed with a tried and trusted system of gates to push them towards the race and ramp. The first sheep trot dociley up the ramp to be scanned - the older sheep have done this before so are quite happy to oblige but the young ones sometimes resist fiercely and one or two old hands are just by nature stroppy and make a fuss!More often than not Nic has to push them and sometimes he even has to climb in behind a particularly stubborn sheep and push her up to Gus!This is how it should proceed - all nice and orderly and peaceful. Gus marks each sheep with a special mark to show whether they are having twins or a single lamb or- worst case scenario- are barren. He puts the scanning paddle underneath their belllies as they stand above him on the platform and he is so skilled that it is done in a second, he pulls a handle, the gate in front of the sheep opens and out she bounds to join her friends.Amazing how quickly a sheep can move when liberation is at hand and her friends are waiting in sight. This is Gus Dermody in action with a sheep standing on the platform just above and next to him in his rather cramped control box with the scanner screen in front of him. We scan in a building but often he will be in a field with improvised gates and the rain coming down, so his little shelter is vital.Scanning the sheep is now an important part of our management as Nic separates the singles and feeds them some minerals with molasses but the twins get extra hay and molasses mix as they need the extra cossetting for healthy lambs. In the past we fed them all the same rations with the result that we got enormous single lambs who often had to be helped at birthing which is not good for the sheep. I'm in charge of keeping the vital front pen full of sheep so that they trot happily into the race and up the ramp onto Gus's platform next to the scanner -that's the theory anyway. The end is in sight with the last few to be scanned and the cup of tea soon to be enjoyed.

I hope you like the latest in farm fashion that I am wearing. The anorack was left by our first lodger, Jonathan, almost 20 years ago and it is still my trusty friend when working with the sheep or gardening and I even wash it occassionally! The beanie says South Africa on it and was a reject from our son who voted it "uncool" many years ago but I love it as it fits so snugly - it's drafty in the sheds.Poor Jess looks decidedly uncomfortable and a little embarrassed to be so overwhelmed by the sheep she is normally in control of!We have to tie Jess up while we are scanning as she would stop the sheep coming out of the scanning machine and make them nervous so, for all our nerves, she is tied in the adjacent bit of the sheep building where she can see the action but not interfere.

In this picture we have put all the sheep in with her ready to separate into singles and twins and we did liberate her just after this picture was taken.

All is back to normal and the trusty little Massey Ferguson red tractor of 1963 vintage is back under cover.

When I first visited the farm during haymaking way back in 1972, Nic put me on this little tractor in a field with a steep slope and with a hay turning machine on behind it and set me off rowing up the hay - I was absolutely petrified and convinced it would turn over on the steep bankside. It now has roll bars as a precaution but I leave tractor work to Nic as a car is much more to my liking!

Cherry Tree cottage gets a new look twin room and the crocuses are out

2008-02-13T20:38:00.007Z

This lovely spell of warm Spring-like weather has made everything look beautiful outside and, after clearing out the tractor shed and starting to spring clean the farmyard, it was time to get busy in the cottages.
This is still one of the best views in the world to me and changes with the seasons so that there is always something new to please me as I look out over the hills and valley.The wallpaper in Cherry Tree's twin bedded room was looking tired so we took the bull by the horns last week when the cottage was empty and pulled off the old wallpaper.It turned out to be much more of a job than we'd expected and we only just got it re-painted and with the new pictures up in time for the Saturday arrivals.We're pleased with it as it looks clean and pretty. We decided against more wallpaper even though the Tourist Board inspectors love it, as children have a nasty habit of picking at it or worse still , writing on it!We also repainted the bunk bed room - a dreadful job as we couldn't move the bunk beds out of the room, which is only small, and I ended up crawling through the bottom bunk to get out of the room - as well as squeezing past the footend of the bunks only remembering too late that I'd painted that wall. My painting outfit looks even more scruffy now.
It was lovely in Cherry Tree as I painted with the sun streaming in through the big picture window of the dining room and that beautiful view of the valley through the trees to lift the spirits.The weather has been glorious this last week - 9th February and this picture was taken with the early morning mist lying over the valley and the sun just beginning to warm us all.

I've been hard at work digging over the fruit garden as the wet winter has killed off my strawberries and some raspberries and I have a lot of new plants and canes on order. Nic nobly came to lend a hand and the roots of the dandelions were as big as parsnips thanks to a year of flourishing - I didn't get to that garden till late on last summer as my new hip was settling in. Now I can dig and weed like a spring chicken again!The Old House looks so lovely with the early morning sun on it and the birdsong is wonderful out in the front garden.

Little Nicole came running to find me yesterday saying that there was " something wonderful" in the front garden. When I went with her she led me to the patch of grass in front of the Old House which was a sea of purple crocuses. It's the first year that she has been old enough at 5 to really see and appreciate them. This time last year I was recovering from my hip operation so no-one was out in the garden and they flowered unseen and unappreciated.

I loved her excitement and pure pleasure in the wonder of it all. Children are such a joy! She and William picked some of them for their Mum with a sprig of pink heather from the rockery and it made a sweet posy - Nicole has a real eye for colour.

The sunsets during this last spell of good weather have been breathtaking and these pictures don't even do them justice.And so to bed - a little of this blogging goes along way and I need to answer some guests enquiries and sort out our new online booking facility - another huge learning curve for me!

Spring cleaning and other excitements!

2008-02-13T17:53:00.007Z

A bright clear day in February with no rain and so the family decided to tackle the farmyard for
a much needed spring clean with some repair of the walls around the yard.

This blogging is a fine art I'm afraid when the page suddenly shuts down when I am in full flow and haven't a clue how to rectify things!
So bear with me if this is a semi-repeat of the last posting.
Will and Karen, as his apprentice, have been repairing "nips" and gaps in the walls around the farm yard. Jobs like drystone walling just have to be done when the weather is better - there is nothing more depressing than walling in the teeth of the winter winds and with rain soaking through to the skin!

This corner of wall was knocked out by a clumsy delivery driver and took William the better part of an afternoon to repair - and he is a very good waller, like his Dad.
The small clean bit of wall lower down the picture is technically a "nip" but often takes longer than a large gap to rebuild- in this case Will had to pull quite a bit more of the wall out to repair the seemingly small nip.

He's done a grand job on the corner - always tricky to do.

Not to be outdone, Nic is finishing off and neatening a section of wall just through the gate at the top of the yard.

There is nothing like young enthusiasm and Will and Karen decided that the sad old well in the centre of the yard needed Nic to rebuild it and they would level out the ground around it.
So, to little Will's excitement, daddy got out the digger and dumper and set to, with Karen doing the fine levelling and stone picking.

Meanwhile I finally got the dreadful old tractor shed tidied and, although poor Nic was devastated to part with his"treasures and spares" to the scrapman, he had to admit that it was a vast improvement. In fact the tractor shed and garage are positively attractive now! Farmers always keep things that will "come in handy" which mostly looks - and is- junk - even bent nails had been kept for straightening. In fairness, times in the past were even harder than now for hill farmers and nails were a precious commodity.

Our lovely neat tractor shed.

A neat pile of scrap waiting to go to the scrapman- what would we do without him!

Behind is the lovely bit of walling that Will tackled with Karen as an apprentice.
Karen did the filling in of the middle which used to fall to the young apprentice waller.

Summer, Chatsworth, Mildred and rams! Also Wells Dressing week.

2008-01-08T20:27:00.000Z

We are so lucky to have a wonderful variety of things to see and do within a 30 mile radius of the farm and no visit is complete without a trip to Chatsworth with it's marvellous farm and adventure playground for children. These pictures were taken in the summer although it is a great day out right up until a few days before Christmas
Guinea pigs to play gently with. The enormous but gentle shire horses to get to know.A baby calf is always a draw. We reluctantly gave up milking when the quota system was introduced by Europe 10 years ago and we received a financially unviable quota, but we do miss the sweet nature of milk cows. They have such individual characters with a distinct pecking order so that the boss cow leads out the herd and the younger, more pliant cows bring up the rear.
The adventure playground is such fun for all the family even though it's a tight squeeze at times! A not-so-intrepid Nicole is encouraged to reach the top. Back to look at the new born kid.
Even large Dads are welcome to be young again.

Baby Will thinks that this is more what he likes - while the family relaxes in the picnic area.

I try to go to Chatsworth every year as they introduce something new each year and Christmas is magical with wonderful present ideas in the Orangery shop and also in the Stable block shops.

On my last visit in autumn, sadly before I had my digital camera, I was impressed to see that for those not too mobile you could get a buggy ride for a small sum which took visitors all round the grounds on a guided tour - a great idea.

Sorry if this sounded like a commercial but it is such a value for money day out and a full day is needed to enjoy the gardens and the walks and the sculptures and the childrens corner if you are bringing a young family.

Now that I have my digital camera I will be posting more in Spring, so watch this space!

Back home Nicole has to feed her pet rabbit who lives in a run out in the farmyard and is a favourite with visiting children being very docile and child friendly.
And Nic feeds his best ram a bit of extra corn so that he will be full of energy and ready to go out to join the selected 35 ewes on the 4th November. Jess is not allowed to "help" but is happy to wait patiently by the gate. Mildred, loved by all, died in September at a great age but she was always in attendance when Nic was out in the fields. We still miss her charactered presence and no dog ever got the better of her - she'd just sit there and fix them with her gaze and very seldom even had to hiss or scratch their noses. Now we only have Tommy left and we have discovered that he is 16 years old! Obviously the life at Cote Bank suits cats as well as us.

The first week of July is Buxworth wells Dressing week when the whole village comes alive.

On the 4th July we raise the American flag in honour of Joel Clayton from Buxworth who became Governor of California and has a town named after him there.

The Church is decorated for a flower festival and we serve lunches and delicious homemade cakes and a well is decorated by the scouts right at the Church as well as one down at historic Bugsworth Canal Basin

This is a rather jumbled posting as I am trying to catch up on a year of pictures and am still such a novice at it - I hope I'll get better and that our visitors will see how marvellous this area is all year round.

Children and hens

2007-12-22T18:21:00.000Z

This blog is about us - for family as well as anyone who is interested in what we consider a lovely life on a farm in the Peak Distict, so apologies if this proud grandmother puts rather too many pictures on of our grandchildren at times.Our first grandson, William Joseph Harry Broadhurst with his little cousin from America Nicolas Adam Woodall. William was absolutely lovely with Nicolas and even now goes all sweet and tender when we get up pictures from their visit on the computer. We can't have everything in life and feel very blessed that we have William and Nicole living at the farm but, of course, would love to see Alison, Adam and Nicolas more than once a year.
William is just 3 and he loves diggers, dumpers and trains so is perfect for his father and grandfather.
Nicolas and Alison visited Nic's Uncle Bill and Aunt Anne while they were over from Atlanta and this was such a cute moment - the 87 year old great-great uncle with the youngest member of the family. Anne and Bill have always been more like an older sister and brother to us and we keep in close touch. Mind you in this picture Nicolas had decided to get back to playing and was wriggling madly!
Nicole and William regressing with their cousin.
Nic opening the field gate to go and feed his hens. This new batch of hens have been a great success- they are very pretty and lay an egg each a day, which is good going for free range hens. We try to put 6 new laid eggs into each cottage as a treat for new arrivals and Nic gives away as many as he can to older Church friends who really love the freshness of them. The hens get very excited when they see liberation is at hand and cluck away madly. Nic keeps them in until about 10am when the fox danger has passed and when they have laid in the henhouse rather than in the nettles and rushes.Excitement as Farmer Nic opens the pop hole and the hens and cockerel tumble out.
Nic gives them hen corn in their hen house but they also love my left over bread crusts soaked and thrown out on the grass for them - I suppose it is akin to cake for them.

The front garden at Cote Bank farmhouse

2007-12-21T18:30:00.000Z

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love gardening and our milder winters have let me grow a lot of super plants.

The first view of the farmyard with Cherry Tree cottage and the Roberts family's Cote Bank Cottage on the left. It was our first holiday cottage conversion and we felt an initial sadness to sell it but our neighbours are a great addition to the Cote Bank hamlet - no wild parties (yet!) and a good "green" outlook.
General views of the front part of the farmhouse garden.
Our farmhouse from the footpath.
Honesty and catmint and the rather wild shrubbery - my new hip has allowed me to garden again which is real bliss after 2 years when the garden rather went to wrack and ruin.
The historic Old House - the Tudor wing of our house with a profusion of hydrangeas - the endless rain this year has really suited them. I was given a host of new plants from a Church friend with an incredible garden that he still maintains without help and so I am busy re-organising this area.
My rockery made in 2000 has really taken off this year.

Nicole - our grand daughter in the garden with my Cape Town thatched gazebo in the background -my 60th birthday present from the family which has the best view of all over the valley and hills.

There used to be a henhouse on the site of the gazebo but mercifully it blew down in a gale and was moved to a field at the back of the house and I took over the prime site.
The way through to the footpath.
The concessionary footpath down through the garden. Nicole and William love to come and select flowers for posies for their Mum - great care is always taken in their selection.

And of course we have to fly the flag!

Back up the lane to Cote Bank on a lovely summers day

2007-12-21T13:40:00.000Z

The walk up the lane always looks so different as you walk back and I love it as we round Windy Bend and see the far view over to the Goyt Valley.
The sheep sheds at Stubbins hamlet at the Chinley end of the farm lane.
Looking over towards Stubbins Piece on the skyline.
The hill in the distance is Little Eccles.
And here is Eccles Pike.
Past the hawthorns and hollies where the pheasants hide.
Jess and Nicole playing just beyond the cattle grid - Jess is passionate about sticks!
Looking down across the Big Meadow.
More peeps into the Big Meadow.
Jess patiently waiting for someone to throw her stick up Windy Bend for her.
The best view in the world?

And at last we are nearly home - Cote Bank farmhouse is just visible.

Even Jess is tired after the walk but the fresh Derbyshire air is so wonderful and the views just lift the spirits.

A walk down our farm lane towards Chinley village

2007-12-21T00:43:00.000Z

Chinley is such a friendly village with friendly people and good shops and the mile walk down is very pleasant with views to lift the spirits - coming back up Stubbins Lane hill is less pleasant!Jess, our farm dog, just loves a walk and so do our little grandchildren, especially if the horses come up to see them.

Round Windy Bend with Eccles Pike in view.
View of Buxworth from the stile leading down Splash Lane footpath - one of the many lovely footpath walks that criss-cross the farm.
Through the narrow where the trees overhang the walls - and cause poor farmer Nic great problems when the sap rises in Spring and the roots push up the drystone walls which then collapse and have to be rebuilt.

A well built wall on stable ground will last a hundred years or more -Nic's old aunt always said he was building his own memorial when he built a good gap and there is great satisfaction in building a good bit of wall.Over the cattle grid and past our neighbours at Tithe Barn and Yew Tree Cottage - there are a few houses along our farm lane which confuses our guests, who have been known to knock at Yew Tree and think that they have arrived at the farmhouse.

Past the Tea Pot WellAnd the hawthorns and holly trees where our secretive badgers cross the road at night and we pick holly at Christmas.The last part of our farm lane is at our buildings at Stubbins hamlet where we lamb the twins in Spring, shear the sheep and store our winter fodder. Our farm lane now becomes Stubbins Lane and goes downhill to Chinley.

Views from the top of our farm's hill

2007-12-21T00:11:00.000Z

Most of our visitors set off from the farmhouse or cottages and take the scenic route up Stubbins Piece, over Hare Holes and, if they still have breathe left and energy, go up the road a few hundred yards and onto the best footpath of all - over Scotland Pieces to the Big Stone and round the old slate quarries on Cracken Edge and back to the farm.

The view from Scotland Pieces over the heather to Kinder Scout is simply beautiful and worth the pull uphill from 800 feet at the farmhouse to 1400 feet at the top. Made it to Hare Holes - now we can enjoy the panoramic views and catch our breath!
On Hare Holes with Todd Brook reservoir in the distance. Todd Brook is the feeder for the historic Buxworth basin and the Peak Forest canal system. When the locks are open the water flows downstream all the way to Liverpool!
Eccles Pike in the centre of the picture is the hill that we see from the farm and which looks so high viewed from there but, as you climb the hill, it seems quite small.
Looking across to Chapel-en-le-Frith from the Lench field- such lovely names for the fields that go back hundreds of years.
Cote Bank Farm seen from Hare Holes with the Goyt Valley hills in the distance on the right - Hare Holes is above the snow line - not that we get that much snow now in winter.

June - Shearing the sheep

2007-09-17T19:49:00.000+01:00

Once a year our wonderful sheep shearer, John, arrives to clip the sheep.
This keeps the flies off them and they are so much happier and cooler!

The rams always look so naked and silly without their luxuriant fleeces!