Mill Cottage Parbold

16/10/2026

It's been a busy week here at Mill Cottage!
We are just finishing off a few details before our next guests arrive later today.
Replacing door mats, bulb replacements, washing cushion covers, fixing the oven, washing the shower curtain, trunking that has come away from the wall, battery replacements, pictures frames that have fallen down, as well as adding our scarecrows in the front and back garden, getting built up moss off the outside light, and reuniting guests with their property that they accidentally left behind.
Phew!
We need a brew and a rest but there's more to do before our guests arrive so let's go!

15/10/2026

Good night from Mill Cottage 🌛

14/10/2026

Dropped in for a coffee and a pastry this morning at Common Ground in Parbold.
We have included the food and drinks menu in case you haven't visited yet.
Friendly welcome and enjoyable.
Our next visit we will try some of the food offerings.
A popular place with regular visitors especially at the weekend!

13/10/2026

Well after three successful years it was finally time to say goodbye to DA Celebrations Oh Crumbs Bakery.
They shut their doors at Parbold for the final time on Saturday 10th October.
We made one last visit to wish Darren and Allan well and thank them for all they've given to the community.
Clearly bitter sweet for them, they relocate their business to Haydock with hope and optimism. We think they will be a roaring success. Hpefully open on the 2nd November.
We enjoyed having several milkshakes and cakes....and yes the last image is indeed a full bag of sweets from their traditional sweet shop 🫣 Got a bit carried away 😊
You can still order online and have deliveries to Parbold or the surrounding area.
Thank you for the memories!

11/10/2026

09/10/2026

We finally managed to get our "Smart" NEST heating system working before our guests arrived!
Well this was such a headache that we thought it deserves it's own post, and hopefully may help those that have a similar system.
A few days ago we mentioned we weren't able to connect our NEST to the WiFi.
We tested the WIFi and that was fine. The fault code indicated it was a general fault and might be a hardware issue.
When companies add 'general fault code' to anything that essentially means they don't have a clue what the problem is.

Thankfully we had a spare but this time it couldn't connect wirelessly to the heat link!
After many failed attempts the only way it connected was manually via a code (located on the heat link itself), and thank goodness it did as the heat link itself has now been discontinued by Google.
Success we thought... wrong!

Now the replacement wouldn't connect to the WiFi. Thankfully the newer model had a battery status indicator and it told us it couldn't connect to the WiFi.
It was on a charging stand so we could only summise that it was either the cable charger, the plug or both! Quick trip to a supermarket and again thankfully they had a micro USB cable.
It finally worked...it was the charging cable all along. However we still couldn't access the device remotely via our app. So we had to remove the old device from the app and add a new and go through the whole set up process again.
We did charge our old device separately in the hope that the original issue was linked to it not charging but sadly not.
These sort of devices are amazing when they work....but when they don't 😡

08/10/2026

We love the new autumnal artificial hanging basket that Sharon Stanley has created for our back garden.

We wanted something to contrast the lovely summer basket she created for us at the front, so that guests whom arrive and commonly enter first by the back door have that lovely first impression even in the depths of winter.

The only problem is now, our summer basket in winter may look a little out of place so we have asked Sharon to create to be another basket for the front that is more in keeping for the winter time. We can't wait to see it!
https://www.facebook.com/share/1Dus2WtDgs/

07/10/2026

Its been a while since we tried Margot's breakfast so last weekend we made a visit.
Margot's always has a welcoming atmosphere. Calm and sophisticated.

The full english was absolutely delicious, quality produce cooked perfectly.

We must also comment on the coffee. So rich and velvety, the best coffee in Parbold in our opinion!

The service was also excellent, professional and friendly, we really couldn't find fault. ♥️

06/10/2026

As the saying goes problems come in three's. Well we previously posted recently that our television in the second bedroom threw a tantrum and had to be replaced.
Now the same thing has happened with our smart NEST heating system thats decided to stop being smart.
We are struggling to connect our replacement device too (such fun).
Our outdoor lights have also started to smoke 😳 and so need immediately replacing.
We are not normally superstitious but we are more than happy to be if the problems stop at three!
Some weeks are certainly easier than others 😅