28 Jun 2015

Whitchurch

26th to 28th June 2015

Our fourth new site of the year, and a new site in general…Sunny Oak, Whitchurch.  It’s only been open a couple of months.

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Smaller than most sites we usually go to, we were swayed by pics of their excellent toilet/shower facilities and close proximity to The Willeymoor Lock Inn, a pub we have been to before and liked.

Friday

On arrival we were met by the very friendly owner who explained all about the site.  Apparently he spent most of last year building the facilities block, and a very good job he made of it.  Adults only and no camping, although there were a couple of tents on the Saturday.  Negatives about the site…it is on the busy A49, so road noise was ever present, although it didn’t really bother us…we live on a bus route!  The grey water waste drain wasn’t working, so we had to use the chemical waste drain, and there is nowhere to sit in the showers.  Aren’t we picky!

Plenty of pitches to choose from.

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After setting everything up we went for a walk along the nearby Llangollen canal and did a bit of geo-caching.  Walked as far a Grindley Brook staircase locks.

Back to the site for a barbecue, then off to the pub for a couple of drinks.  We were hoping we would be able to sit outside and watch boats go through the lock, but we probably got there a bit late and didn’t see any. Still, a nice place for a couple of drinks on a summers evening.

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Saturday

Lots to do today.  First we walked along the canal to Wrenbury, about 4.5 miles, and had lunch in The Cotton Arms, another nice canal-side pub.

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From there we got a bus into Whitchurch. Jus wanted to visit a church where the heart of the Earl of Salop was buried, and we did manage to find it.

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We stopped off at a couple of pubs in the town, and then had to walk back to the site along the canal…hard work in extreme heat after a couple of pints.

We just about made it, had a bit of quiche and salad sitting outside the caravan, and then went back to the pub.

Sunday

It rained a bit in the night but luckily it stopped just as we started packing up.  This site is only an hour from home, so we were home before midday.

We liked this site and will visit again when we want to go somewhere not too far from home.

Coming soon…

Three nights at the C&CC site in Coniston.

9 Jun 2015

Skelwith Fold

5th to 8th June 2015

Skelwith Fold is on the short list when we decide to stop touring (having won the lottery) and get a static caravan.  It’s handy for Ambleside and there are a couple of pubs within walking distance.  But we haven’t won the lottery yet…

Friday

For tourers this site is a bit car park like, with no grass between pitches, and this makes finding a pitch more difficult (for us).  The first pitch we chose sloped from left to right, not usually a problem now that we have the motor mover and a levelling block, but today the motor mover decided to stop working.  One side stopped working, to be exact, which meant all we could do was go round in a circle!  We moved to a different pitch, which was okay but right next to another caravan in an otherwise empty area.  We thought the site would be full later, but it wasn’t, so there were loads of other pitches we could have had.  The couple next door were nice and friendly but probably thought we were a bit odd being right next to them!  Their car had broken down after pitching up but didn't seem fazed at all – D would have been in a right state!

First port of call was the Drunken Duck Inn, a really nice pub to sit outside.  We didn’t stay long because we were eager to get back and try out a barbecue recipe from the book we bought on our last trip.

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After a highly successful barbecue, we walked to Skelwith Bridge for a drink in the Talbot Bar, another nice pub, although it was just a bit too quiet tonight.

Nice sunset on the way back…

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Saturday

High winds forecast, and they weren’t wrong!  Too windy for walking, so we drove into Ambleside and had a look around the shops.

The main thing we needed was a dry bag to put our new waterproof jackets in.  We walked around several shops, and one assistant told us not to buy from them as Field and Trek had them half price – hope his boss wasn’t listening!   Off we went and there they were at just £3.49 each.

Then on to the not very impressive Galava Roman fort.  Not as good as the fort at the foot of the Hardknott pass, which we visited on our last trip.

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In the evening we got a bus back into Ambleside and watched the John Bailey Quintet at Zeffirellis.  A traditional jazz band with saxophone and trumpet, very enjoyable.  In the past we have had trouble getting a taxi in Ambleside, so this time we pre booked one for 9.45, the only time we could get, which turned out to be way too early and we had to miss the second half of the set.

It was still light, too early to go back to the caravan, so we got the driver to take us to Skelwith Bridge instead.  The Talbot Bar was quiet the night before and tonight it was empty apart from us!  Had we not turned up we think they would have closed, so we gulped down a drink, and trudged up the hill to the caravan.

Sunday

Much better weather today, perfect walking weather in fact.  Steel Fell (555 metres) was the object of today’s walk, and a couple of other summits we have already done in the Grasmere area.

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It rained a bit to begin with, but we didn’t mind because it meant we could try out our newly purchased Marmot Precip waterproof coats.  Very lightweight, packable, breathable, for around £50 we are very impressed. Check out the review here

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J at the summit of Steel fell, in her colourful new coat

 

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A selfie at the summit

 

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Thirlmere from the summit

 

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The weather was so good we decided to have another barbecue, so we rushed to Booths on the way back and spent a small fortune (it would have been cheaper to eat out).  Our first attempt at prawns, and very successful it was too.  Next time…monk fish, squid, crab, lobster…who knows!  J stuck to chicken and pigs in blankets  - a new one from the book - much nicer than a plain sausage in a bun and quicker to cook.

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We now use disposable foil bbq trays to contain the coal and its a lot easier to clean afterwards!

 

Sat outside the caravan for a while.  Not a sound, except for the birds…moments like this are few and far between but is why we choose caravanning instead of hotels (well, cost has something to do with it too).  As it started to get dark we went for a short walk and managed to find a nearby geo-cache we have failed to find in the past.

Monday

We got away early and got back to the storage site before midday.  Decided to try the motor mover again before booking the caravan in to get it fixed, and it worked perfectly…hurrah.

Coming soon…

We are trying to find somewhere to go in a couple of weeks, but the weekend of 19th/20th June seems to be a very busy one and everywhere we want to go is full!