5 Mar 2024

Bolton-le-Sands

 1st to 3rd March 2024

Back on the road after a three month break, this was really just a fact finding trip to see if the caravan had survived the winter.  Outside we know it would be ok because it has just been serviced and washed, but inside...

Friday

Bay View is only a short drive from our storage site, so perfect for a first trip of the year.  We arrived dead on 1pm and didn't need to use the mover after an excellent display of reversing from D.


Our allocated pitch was a bit further than we would have liked from the facilites, but ok.  We were pleased to see a new facilites block under construction, which will make this a truly five start site.  The old facilities were ok but the new ones look much better.  We will be back later in the year to check it out.

Everything inside the caravan was ok, apart from a problem with the pump which was easily sorted.

This site is handy for getting a bus into Lancaster and that is what we did after lunch.  

After a look around the shops we had an excellent dinner in a Thai restaurant araya thai 


followed by drinks in the Stonewall Tap, our favourite pub in Lancaster.

Saturday

Bad weather was forecast for today, but undaunted we set off for a walk along the canal to Carnforth.  Once there the weather seemed ok so we decided to get a train to Grange-over-Sands and had a walk along the promenade.  It did rain a bit!  Not many pics. D found a 'Happy Bench' but managed to get off it before anybody came to talk to him





We got back to the site about 4pm and the weather had improved, so D went for a walk from the site.  No beach, just mudflats, but pretty good views.



Then a night in, drinking wine and listening to the radio.  Meatballs for dinner.

Sunday

We tried the mover and it worked...after a while  The journey home was uneventful.

Coming soon...

Looks like the caravan is good to go for another year so a trip further afield in a couple of weeks...Coniston or Keswick, maybe.


18 Nov 2023

Pooley Bridge

 15th to 18th November

A few days off work so a mid week trip for a change, Wednesday to Friday.  Hillcroft Park is a good pick at this time of year because it is only a short walk into the village of Pooley Bridge and doesn't get too full.


Wednesday

Thankfully overnight winds of 40+ mph had died down by the time we collected the caravan from our storage site, but it was still a not very pleasant journey on the M6.

On arrival the site was almost empty, just one other caravan setting up on the pitch next to ours and a few motorhomes.  What are the chances?  They probably thought the same!  Pitches are well separated by mature hedges so it didn't really matter anyway.


It rained quite a bit in the afternoon so we waited for it to ease before walking down into Pooley Bridge for dinner in the Pooley Bridge Inn followed by their pub quiz.  We didn't come last and got the same score as the team we marked, so no shame.  Quite an expensive night, due in no small part to the second bottle of NZ sauvignon!  Excellent food and wine.

Thursday

No walking today because the weather forecast wasn't very good.  Instead we got a bus into Penrith and had a look around the castle and in the shops.



Penrith isn't really a toruist town and the only decent pub (in our opinion) didn't open until 4pm, so no drinking today.  Probably not a bad thing.  We had lunch in a cafe and got a bus back to the site before it got dark.

Entertainment on site courtesy of red squirrels.






Friday

We are loving the £2 bus fares and got the 508 to Patterdale for a walk up and down Arnison Crag, 433 metres.  Our 12th Wainwright of the year.



A mile there and a mile back.  We thought about carrying on to Birks and St Sunday Crag but decided against it as we were both recovering from colds.  We will tackle them another day.  Excellent weather for walking.








Lovely autumnal colours.

We also walked from Patterdale to Glenridding but neither village was particularly enchanting and we were glad to get the bus back to a much busier than yesterday Pooley Bridge.

In the evening we had dinner in the Crown Inn but didn't stay out late.

Saturday

No problems getting home.

Coming soon...

That's probably it for 2023, unless we can manage a weekend somewhere not too far from the storage site.  The weather forecast will have to be very good...

29 Oct 2023

Ingleton

27th to 29th October 2023

Last weekends planned trip to Coniston didn't happen thanks to storm Babet.  As it turned out the north west wasn't all that badly affected but we didn't fancy towing the caravan in 40-50 mph winds on the Friday.  Instead, a two night trip to Thornbrook Barn, Ingleton. 

Friday

A very late start.  We had to wait...and wait...and wait for the car, which was having a fault code diagnosed and fixed.  We didn't set off until 2ish and arrived on site just before 4, so not a bad journey.  No nasty surprises on arrival, pitches are pre allocated and we knew we had a good one.


Pitches here are huge and not too close together, and we got one not too far from the facilities.

After a very quick set up we headed into Ingleton but couldn't get into our first choice pub - the Old Post Office.  It was packed.  Fortunately all of the other pubs were pretty empty, just not as good.  The Wheatsheaf was the best of the two we tried.

We'd booked dinner at a place next to the Old Post Office called Peaks and Troughs and it turned out to be really good.  A fishy "Buddha bowl" for D and a meaty one for J.  A Buddha bowl in basically just a big bowl.

After dinner we had another look in the Old Post Office but it was even busier, so we headed for home.

Saturday

No summits today.  We walked into Ingleton and got a bus to Austwick, then walked to Settle.


Not the most picturesque of walks and not a good day for pics, so there aren't many, but it got us out in the fresh air.





In Settle we had a drink in the Talbot Arms and then Bar 13, both excellent.  The plan  was to get the 16.30 bus back to Ingleton but we only noticed the smallprint NS when we got to the bus stop.  Not on Saturdays.  The 15.30 would have been worse because it is NS and S - not on Saturdays and Saturday only!


No problem we thought, we'll get the 17.30, so we popped into the Royal Oak to wait.

At 17.30 a "not in service" bus appeared and the driver told us there would be no more buses that day!  Luckily the bus driver, a cheery scouser, was super helpful and organised a taxi for some people going the other way and took us back to Ingleton.  Plenty fo things for him and J to take about, one of his relatives went to school with her.  Next time around here we will stick with the car.

We had dinner in the Wheatsheaf and then tried to get in the Old Post Office one last time, but it was still packed.  A victim of its own success.  It was getting late anyway, so we went back to the caravan.

Sunday

An extra hour in bed but were were still quite late leaving.  A few problems this trip but still a good one.

Coming soon...

We have drained the water out of the caravan, just in case, but we are hoping to go to Pooley Bridge some time in November...