3 May 2012

Castleton

27th to 29th April 2012

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The CC site at Castleton is one of our favourite sites but it’s usually fully booked, so we were pleased to find a vacancy when looking at the last minute for somewhere to go this weekend.

Friday

Undeterred by the weather forecast, we set off and arrived early afternoon.  The best pitches here, we think, are in a small cul-de-sac off the main site and we managed to get one.  Not too far from the facilities and no passing traffic.

No awning…again!

Every time we come here we end up drinking too much, so we spent a bit of time lounging around the caravan and doing a few odd jobs before heading to the pubs.

We ended up in the Cheshire Cheese Inn and couldn’t resist the wild boar casserole on their early bird menu.  Two meals for £10. No contest when all you’ve got is sausages in the fridge!

Then we popped back to the caravan for a bit, the plan being to return to Ye Olde Nags Head for their Friday night pub quiz.  But, “plans can fall through, as so often they do” and we couldn’t get in…it was packed.  A bit disappointing, but we probably wouldn’t have done very well anyway, so we headed back to the caravan with our tails between our legs.  After a quick drink in another pub by way of consolation.

Saturday

The original plan for today was an exploration of Kinder Low and Kinder Downfall, but the Kinder plateau is probably not a good place to be in bad weather and the forecast was not good.  Oh, and D had a bit of a cold!

So we opted for something more gentle, a stroll around the Derwent and Howden reservoirs.  Too far to walk all the way around, so we parked at the Fairholme visitor centre and got a bus to the top of Howden reservoir.

The weather was nowhere near as bad as expected, so we decided to take a detour up into the hills, to Margery Hill (546 metres) and Howden Edge.  A bit breezy at the top, but the reward was excellent views of the surrounding moors.  We somehow managed to miss the summit trig point of Margery Hill (didn’t even know there was one), but we were winging it and hadn’t prepared for this walk at all.

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Howden Edge

Like many places around here, some interesting rock formations.

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J sheltering from the wind…it may not look it but it was actually quite cosy here!

A bit of excitement too, as we watched a yellow helicopter hover lower and lower before disappearing out of view.  By the time we got to where it was, the rescue (if it was that) was over and the helicopter was gone.  It’s nice to know they are there if we ever need them. 

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About 7 miles in total and a lot more strenuous than intended.  Kinder Downfall would have probably been easier!

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Looking up at the Derwent reservoir dam.

Dinner in the caravan, with chips from the visiting fish and chip van and home cooked sausages.

Not much to listen to on the radio, we couldn’t get any stations at all on DAB and only one on FM…High Peak radio!  Instead we returned to Ye Olde Nags Head, which was much quieter tonight.

Sunday

At last, the bad weather that had been threatening all weekend.  Rainy, windy, cold…hardly ideal conditions for putting everything away.  D donned waterproofs and did the outside bits while J took care of the inside.  Oops, D forgot to put the jockey wheel up but luckily a eagle-eyed fellow caravanner stopped us before we got off the site!

Not a very pleasant journey home, and it was still raining when we got to the caravan storage place so another soaking for D!  J stayed in the car, no point in us both getting wet!

The first trip for ages where we (well, D) couldn’t sit outside the caravan, even for a few minutes.  Not so long ago we were barbecuing!

Not a great weekend for pics…

 Coming soon…

A bit of time at home, then a three (or maybe four if the weather is okay) night stay at Park Coppice, Coniston.

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