28th September to 1st October 2012
Our second visit of the year to the sleepy village of Ravenglass.
As has been usual this year, a not very good weather forecast with high winds and rain expected for much of the weekend.
Friday
Arrived about 2.30 to find the site about a quarter full, so plenty of pitches to choose from. We chose pitch number 3, which backs onto a field full of sheep, and looked on as the very helpful wardens spun the caravan around for us.
Everything set up, we decided to drive to Wasdale for a drink and dinner at one of our favourite pubs in the area – the wonderfully remote Wasdale Head Inn. It rained heavily on the way, but the reward was a magnificent rainbow.
Had a wander around the lake and took some pics.
Wastwater
Saturday
No summits today as we were both recovering from colds! Instead a walk following the river Esk upstream from the foot of the Hardknott Pass. About 7 miles in total.
Very muddy in places, which is hardly surprising after all the recent rain, but a pleasant enough walk with only a couple of showers!
No summits, so no pics of one or both of us posing at the top, instead here’s a pic of J atop Lingcove bridge.
Stopped off at the Eskdale show on the way back and, as is usual for us, spent loads of money on sweets and cakes. The highlight was probably the countryside version of Crufts.
Followed by ‘Best Stick’…
Popped into Ravenglass in the evening for a drink at the Holly House Hotel, the only other occupants being a group of men in the back room, the barmaid/owner, her young daughter and their dog. Didn’t stay long as the small child was allowed to climb on the windowsills and fireplace whilst her mother read her newspaper! The other pub in the village, the Ratty Arms, was full and we couldn’t find anywhere to sit, so it was back to the caravan for a bit of reading and music before bedtime. The site was incredibly quiet, unlike our last trip.
Sunday
Weatherwise, this was to be the worst day of the weekend, with lots of wind and rain until early evening. We needed something to do indoors, so we visited Muncaster Castle in the afternoon.
As we were looking in one of the bedrooms an elderly man appeared from a door in the corner, said hello and disappeared through a door in the opposite corner. Turns out it was Lord Pennington himself. Apparently his bedroom is next to the one we were looking at, which is where he came from, and his toilet is behind the door he disappeared through! So it seems the rooms the family live in are mixed in with the display rooms. Strange!
View of flooded Eskdale from the castle
The owl sanctuary is always worth a visit, although none were flying today due to the weather.
The weather cheered up in the evening and we (well, D) even managed to sit outside the caravan for a while.
A visitor to our pitch and the reason we had no bread left for toast the next day!
Dinner in the Ratty Arms after a few sunset pics…
The Ratty Arms was back to normal tonight, with only us and one other couple in! Just the way we like it.
Monday
Luckily it wasn’t raining when we put the awning away, although it did just after as we were scratching our heads and wondering how we could turn the caravan around. It was actually much easier that expected, so we needn’t have worried.
All in all a good trip, despite the bad weather, which has been a feature of pretty much all trips this year. There are some more pics in the gallery.
Coming soon…
Nothing planned, but hopefully a trip mid October if the weather is okay.
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