It has been an awful wet miserable day today and the rain has not eased at all, to think it is the 1st of July tomorrow. The only saving grace is it is the same all over the country, there is nothing worse than watching the rain fall and hearing the commentators at Wimbledon say how hot it is on center court.
We received an email from Judy and her mum Dorothy saying they arrived home safe and well and we also got a nice message from an Australian couple who stayed with us a couple of weeks ago, Liz & John, they said how much they enjoyed their stay and hope to return one day.



This is a picture taken on Liz's camera of the two of them and Helen and yours truly, I promised if they sent me it I would put it on the blog, so I have.

Mr McGregor has been a very popular attraction in the last few days - collecting over £20 for the Tarn Hill playground in the last two days.



This is a chaffinch taking a break at the ferry landing, we thought it was in trouble but all of a sudden it was away.

The weather has held up ok today after torrential rain overnight.

We had a visit at home by a woodpecker feeding on the bird feeder, and when I was at Buckle Yeat this morning I spotted a juvenile lesser spotted woodpecker on the feeder, in the Westmorland Gazette there is a picture of an albino woodpecker.

Judy and Dorothy left this morning after their 11 day holiday,tears were shed and I hope they arrived home safe and well, I am sure we will hear from Judy in due course.
They left this balloon and a nice bottle of wine.








After the drama of people arriving a day too soon, today some American guests have had to delay their arrival due to storms. Not sure whether the storms were in America or in this country. We let their room this evening to a young girl and her grandma, again everyone is happy.



Tonight it was the Hawkshead 10K run, a perfect night for a 10K run (if such a thing exists).

The day started with a problem, ie no lights in half of Buckle Yeat, soon rectified by the flick of a switch.
We had a steady day with teas and the weather was kind enabling us to use the garden all afternoon.

The day ended with a foursome arriving a day early, panic set in but it all ended well, we found them alternative accommodation next door at the Tower Bank Arms, they had booked by email this time 12 months ago and had got their dates all wrong, they are quite happy because they will check in with us tomorrow and have a 3 day break instead of 2. Everyone wins.





We set of a walk down to Ees Bridge and met Heather with her dog Chloe.

Never let anyone say to me "it always rains in the Lakes" the news is full of chaos in a large part of the the country due to torrential rain. We have had a cool day but it has been dry for the best part of the day.

Peter one of the New Year gang rang tonight for a chat, they are booked in for a couple of days in August.



We had a walk up to Moss Eccles tonight, it was pretty cold and it had fooled a lot of the stock into thinking it was bedding down time, the cows, sheep and a horse were all lying down for the night.


An autumnal view of Moss Eccles, in June.


This rabbit was unaware we were taking its picture and all of a sudden it ran off.

Today was the Hawkshead Rose Queen Gala and they where lucky to have a dry day.
We sold a number of raffle tickets at Buckle Yeat and are waiting to see if we sold any winners.


Hill Top farm gate.





On our walk tonight we found a bottle in a wall in Castle wood it was a brown bottle and it had the inscription "Alexanders Mineral Waters Kendal" it was not a very old bottle but it is in good condition, Alexanders was bought out in the 40s by Duttons of Blackburn.
On the way back along Dub lane we met Gordon from Eel House and Trevor his mate who was a former licensee of the Tower Bank Arms, over 20 years ago.

Derek & Vicky arrived today for visit number 4 of the year.

Off to Kendal today, we went round by Ambleside to avoid the ferry queue and back across the ferry to avoid the roadworks and it all went according to plan.
We met Carol on the ferry her better half Peter is the usual driver and we had not seen him for a while Carol tells us he has a poorly back, get well soon Peter.



Fresh fruit and Greek Yoghurt, a favorite breakfast starter at Buckle Yeat. Fruit as supplied by our local store Sawrey Stores in Far Sawrey, click on Sawrey Stores link on the right of this page.




Ay oop Judy has pulled.

The rain stayed away till the evening which was great because we could have all the tea customers outside where they all seem to want to be.

Helen's mum spotted a kingfisher at Ees Bridge last night so we had a stroll down there tonight and of course we never spotted a thing, we will keep having a look but I think we will be very lucky to see one.







Some thundery showers are rumbling around tonight, last night we had a loud and spectacular thunderstorm but I have to admit we never heard a thing.

Dry all day but a heavy showers as I type this.
Chaos in Far Sawrey, the road between Newby Bridge and Hawkshead is closed during the day due to telegraph pole replacement work ( we are hi-tech in the lakes ) and the traffic is diverted through the Sawreys, this is OK for cars but when it comes to buses and wagons well as I say chaos, just click on the Sawrey Stores link on the right to see some evidence.


Pigling Bland corner complete with diversions.


Menu board, but where?




This craft must have been going a hell of a lick.


A new construction taking shape below Ees Bridge

We had a good night out with guests Rob & Pat from Anstey, it was their Ruby wedding yesterday and it was Robs birthday today, they went home this morning.
A group of 8 checked in today they are celebrating a birthday, one of the party is 80 years old.

Despite the weatherman's predictions we only had a short sharp shower.

The things people say!! During a busy spell in the tea room we had a couple waiting patiently for a table and I suggested they might like to share with a couple who were sat at large table, no the lady replied we are on our honeymoon so want to be alone, it was only a table I suggested they share!!!







A walk to Moss Eccles before tea, we met Jane from Belle Green farm and a couple of her kids, they had all been a walk.

A busy breakfast and morning with some guest Brian & Joyce (and Benjy) leaving after a two week stay with us they are a great couple and will be back for another two weeks in October.
It was a dry start and in fact the sun came out in the afternoon so I dried some tables and chairs off outside, then the heavens opened.I had to bring Mr McGregor in as he was getting a soaking, lately a lot of people are calling him a womble which is a bit unfair, you would think they would get a clue as to his name from the village we are in.
He made the Westmorland Gazette this week in recognition of his fund raising efforts.
It was a quieter day on the tea front so we took the chance to shut up shop a little bit early.
We have been invited out for a meal by a couple of guests who are celebrating their Ruby wedding, it is not always possible to make it but we will be able to tonight.

Denis & Margaret arrived home safe and sound in the early hours of the morning.
Judy and her mum Dorothy arrived at Buckle Yeat today for their annual holiday, they are with us for 11 days.






This is Castle Cottage the house Beatrix Potter lived in after she married Mr Heelis

Another wet start, although looking at the news the rest of the country seems to be in a state of chaos with floods everywhere.

I took Tony & Lorna through to the railway station at Oxenholme tonight to catch their train back home and then called in at Morrison's for some shopping.

I arrived back at the ferry to discover it was not operating so started to drive round and then overtook a guy out of the village who was about to start his trip round to Sawrey on his bike!!. I offered him a lift which he gratefully accepted, I managed to get his bike in the vehicle and then gave him a ride home.

Denis & Margaret are due home in the early hours of the morning, they have been in the French and Spanish Pyrenees for 11 days.

The oil tank men arrived just after breakfast and started to pump out the oil from the outgoing tank.
I was blocked in so had to delay my trip to Sawrey Stores till the tank work was finished.
When I got there to pick up my fruit order from Maureen and Annie who had been down to the fruit market early this morning, I met Tony & Lorna out with dog Kerry for a walk in the rain.







We had a couple of rooms free tonight due to a late cancellation, we let one to a couple from Canada.
It has gone a lot cooler and we have lit the fire at Buckle Yeat and even put the central heating on for a couple of hours

Not a great day on the weather front, lots of heavy showers and thick cloud all day
The local news is full of floods in West Cumbria, we had a bit of a dull day but nothing like that.
I did go and check out the drains at Buckle Yeat tonight during a downpour and found a blocked drain on the path, fortunately no damage done.







The BT man came and decided there is a problem on the line serving the computer,they hope to sort it out tomorrow, apparently they are very busy due to a lightning strike somewhere close by

Mr McGregor got a thank-you card from the Tarn Hill Trust today showing their appreciation for the money he has collected for the children's playground.

Matthew and Sarah have gone to the gym at Langdale and then on to cinema at Ambleside to watch Oceans 13.

The oil men are here in the morning to replace the oil tank at Buckle Yeat

Oh!! computer problems again, thankfully the lap top is still online,
it has been a bit cloudy and misty today, yesterday was a scorcher.

Sarah is here for a couple of nights and we are all just about to go for a drink to the Tower Bank and introduce Sarah to Tony And Lorna who are staying next door.

We had a late night last night, four American ladies who planned to arrive at 5pm sort of lost all sense of time along with their bearings and did not turn up till after 11pm, they left straight after breakfast on the rest of their tour so it was a really brief stay at Buckle Yeat, they were a nice family and are determined to visit us again.

Yet another dry sunny day with the temperature touching the high 70s


Our young guest Helen was highly delighted with her Benjamin Bunny which her dad won for her at yesterdays event on Tarn Hill playground.


This morning when I arrived at work the film crew from yesterday were back with “Sally from the Street” still no idea what they are filming for but I guess it is some sort of travelogue.







We closed early today and placed our tea board across the road at Gillian’s, she and a few ladies from the village were serving cream teas to raise money for the Braithwaite Hall.
We headed up for one our favorite walks to Moss Eccles before tea. Our way back was barred by these beasts, we took a slight detour as you have to be wary of cows with calves.

It all happens in Sawrey, first thing this morning a film crew turned up on the car park at Hill Top. Then a guest was out having a walk before breakfast and being a Coronation Street fan she spotted “Sally” from the show.
She was again spotted on the car park. Time will tell what she was filming and although we do not watch the “street" it is hard to imagine a story line ending up at Sawrey, I am sure it will all come out soon.

We also had a visit from a Japanese journalist who is doing a feature in a Japanese magazine, she left us a guide book she wrote a couple of years ago with pictures of me and Helen, there was also shots of many other residents and different houses in the village.

It was the Sawrey Extravaganza today and these are some pictures from what turned out to be a great success,
The guess how much was in Mr McGregor's jar was won by some Buckle Yeat regulars who are here with their daughter Helen who is a big soft toy fan. The running total so far that has been raised by donations to Mr McGregor is £415.22p. with still more to come.