25 Sept 2016

Kendal

22nd to 25th September 2016

Hot on the heels of our trip to Skipton, a three night trip to the Kendal CC site.

Thursday


D still of work, so a Thursday start.  Despite a bit of traffic,we arrived close to the 1pm earliest arrival time, and quickly chose pitch no. 21, probably the best pitch on the site.  A bit difficult to reverse into, but it is a pitch on its own with no other caravans visible from it.


After setting everything up we drove to Booths to pick up some supplies, including some barbecue food.

After a fairly successful barbecue we walked to the nearby Strickland Arms pub, but they didn't have any nice beers so we only stayed for one pint.

Friday


An introduction to the howgills.  A walk from Sedbergh to Arant Haw and Winder hill to be precise.  We've never walked in this area before and we weren't overly impressed.  Nowhere near as dramatic as fells the other side of the M6, just a collection of rolling, grassy hills.  Good views, but not a great day for pics.  At least it didn't rain.





In the evening we had a couple of drinks sitting outside the Strickland Arms (much better beers tonight), then fish and chips from the visiting van.

Saturday

Not a great weather forecast for today, but it actually turned out to be ok.  In the morning we went for a stroll from the site to Levens Hall, only to find it shut!  Quite a nice walk through the grounds and deer park, though, and we managed to find our 99th geocache.  The aim is to get to 100 this year, which should be possible, although we are very lazy 'cachers and give up very easily.

Not sure what the cause of death was! 

J finding our 99th geocache 

Interesting funghi

The plan for the rest of the day was to go to Ambleside, have a look around the shops, have dinner in Zeffirellis and stay to watch the live music.

En route we noticed signs advertising the festival of the fells, which turned out to be a series of talks and lectures, which meant the upstairs part of Zeffirellis was closed and downstairs was fully booked.  We retreated to Booths, picked up some pasta for dinner and had another night in.  It rained quite a bit in the night!

Sunday

An uneventful journey home.  Back to reality (work) on Monday!

Coming soon...

Nothing booked, but we really want to go back to Ravenglass soon.

20 Sept 2016

Skipton

18th to 20th September 2016

Tarn House Leisure Park and Country Inn


A new site for us.  It kept cropping up over the years but we have always been put off by reviews of the toilet and shower (singular)!  However, recent reviews are full of praise for the new facilities block, so we thought we would give it a go.  It's main attraction is its nearness to Skipton and Malham Cove.

Sunday

A week off work for D so a Sunday start.

We arrived just before 1pm and parked in the touring section, then walked up a hill to reception to find out what pitch we were on.  Number 13!  Uh oh.

It was actually quite a good pitch overlooking fields, albeit a bit shady.



The touring section is 15 pitches near the entrance to the site, about half of which appeared to be seasonal and were unoccupied while we were there.  Probably quite a hard site to get into at weekends.

The main reason for coming here was to see what Skipton pubs have to offer, so we headed into town after a quick lunch.  Had a quick look around the town and shops before a drink in The Boathouse, The Narrowboat, The Woolly Sheep,The Fleece, The Black Horse and The Yorkshire Rose.  £5 for a taxi back to the site.  A good night.

Best pub?  We liked The Boathouse because it is right on the canal and had a good selection of local beers.  The Narrowboat and the Woolly Sheep were nice too.

View from The Boathouse

Monday

A longish walk (for us) to Malham Cove, via Janet's Foss waterfall, Gordale Scar and Malham tarn.  Quite a cloudy day, but just about perfect for walking.


Janet's Foss...


Gordale Scar...



J is still recovering from falling off her bike a few weeks ago and didn't fancy scrambling up the waterfall (see route below)!  So we retraced our steps and found an easier way to the top.  We watched another couple scramble to the top, so it is possible, but most people just turned around, like us.


Malham tarn...



Malham Cove...



We spotted this little chap at the top of Malham Cove

Had tea and cake in a cafe in Malham.  J didn't enjoy her Yorkshire curd tart and left most of it, but D enjoyed his bakewell slice.

Back at site we thought about having a barbecue, but our pitch was very shady we thought it would be just a bit too cold so we cooked the barbecue food inside the caravan.

Then it was back to Skipton for drinks in The Boathouse and The Woolly Sheep.

Tuesday

We didn't rush, but still ended up leaving about 10.30.

No interest in out bird feeder this weekend, but we never really had a chance...


We liked Tarn House and will be back when we want to visit Skipton again...if we can get in!

Coming soon...

A day or two at home, then we will be away again, although nothing booked yet.  The weather forecast for Saturday is not looking good!

11 Sept 2016

Coniston

9th to 11th September 2016

After a pretty quiet summer, we are going to cram in as many trips as possible in September and October, work and weather permitting.

To start with,a two night trip to the CC site just outside Coniston.  It should/would have been a three night trip, but D couldn't get the Monday off work.

Friday


Earliest arrival time at this site is 10am.  We couldn't get there that early, we arrived just after midday, and headed for a quiet area at the top of the site.  We got a good pitch with very little arguing, which is what usually happens at this site!



We knew the rain was coming, so we thought we would sit outside the caravan for a bit, and then we drove into Coniston.  Had a look around the shops, then a solitary drink in the Black Bull, then back to the caravan for a night in.

It was a pretty wet and windy night, the sound of the rain drowning out the sound of our radio most of the time.  A bottle of red wine made it bearable!

Saturday


The rain rained itself out overnight and Saturday was a much better day.  Not much in the way of sunshine to start, but it gradually brightened up throughout the day.

The plan was to go for a walk in the Dunnerdale fells, taking in Caw on the way.  We've been to the top of Caw before and thought we would retrace our steps, but the way we went last time was overgrown with bracken and we soon gave up.  Instead we added a couple of miles to the walk and headed for Stickle Pike, another hill we have done before, albeit from a different direction.  Good views of the estuary from the top, but it wasn't a good day for pics.






Stopped off at Torver on the way back and had a drink watching some saddleback pigs outside the Wilson Arms, before being driven inside by a very persistent wasp!



We thought about having a barbecue, but instead decided to eat in Coniston.  It was blue skies all the way now, but the temperature started to plummet and it felt a bit autumnal, too cold to eat outisde.  We had dinner in the Crown Inn, then a drink in each of the other three pubs.  The Sun Hotel was pretty much empty after the dinner rush had died down, the other two were a bit busier.  We got back to the site just before midnight!

Sunday


Got held up a bit by the tour de Furness on the way home, but apart from that a very uneventful journey, mostly spent listening to Helen's trial in the Archers.  Guilty or not guilty?  We'll have to listen to the next episode to find out.

Coming soon...


Nothing booked, but the plan is to get away as much as possible before winter sets in.  We are hoping to go to Pooley Bridge, Hawes, Ravenglass, Grassington and Hawkshead, not necessarily in that order.