23 Apr 2017

Buxton

21st to 23rd April 2017

Somewhere other than Cumbria.



Our choice of sites in Derbyshire are a bit limited at the moment, our favourite at Castleton is shut and Chatsworth is always busy.  We thought this one would be busy too, with only a couple of available pitches on late availability, but it turns out is only operating at 75% at the moment due to electrical problems.  Our last visit was over a year ago.  Not sure why, because it is a site we like.

Friday

Lots of traffic in the Stockport area, so the journey took longer than it should have, but plenty of free pitches when we arrived.  We got a good one.



A bit of a panic when the water pump wouldn't turn off, but soon fixed by adjusting the pressure switch.  Then it was off to Buxton, downhill almost all of the way.


The Buxton brewery tap room was our favourite pub of the weekend, but we ended up eating in the Cheshire Cheese, which is also nice.  A tiny 4oz steak for D.  Couldn't face the uphill walk back to the site, so we got a taxi instead.

Saturday

A walk in the Goyt valley today, a place we haven't been to before, after a slight detour on the way, to the Works, so that J could buy some storage boxes (she sells them on ebay).

Our destination...Shining Tor (559 metres) from Errwood reservoir.




We have been pretty lucky with the weather this year, and this weekend was no exception.  Blue skies and light cloud all the way, and not too hot.  A bit deceptive really, we ended up a bit red.  The sun was stronger that it seemed!



Hang gliders in action 

We like this pic of J...not sure what she is looking at.


Remains of Errwood hall.

J delighted when we got back to the car and found an ice cream van parked right next to it!

We got back to the site early afternoon and it was nice and quiet, so we sat outside watching the birds (and a cheeky squirrel) on our feeder and getting more and more sunburnt!

Then we drove into Buxton for a walk around the park.

Got back to the site just in time for the arrival of the fish and chip van.  Or we would have, if it had turned up. There was definitely a sign when we arrived saying it would be there at 6pm on Saturday, but at some point over the weekend the sign disappeared,unnoticed by us!  Luckily we had some food in the caravan.

After dinner we walked up to Solomon's temple, but it was very cold and we didn't stay long.  We should have because when we got back to the caravan the sky turned a lovely colour. A sunset missed.


Looking down on our caravan.

Sunday

Got away early and traffic was very light, so we were home in the house before midday.

Coming soon...

Two nights in Skipton.

4 Apr 2017

Coniston

1st to 4th April 2017

Cumbria again, and another familiar site - the Caravan Club site at Coniston.  Or to be exact the Caravan and Motorhome Club site, following its recent name change.

Saturday


Another Saturday start, but we weren't worried about finding a good pitch as there were over 100 free on late availability.  Too much choice is a bad thing for us and we ended up driving around the site a few times before somewhere we liked, near the bottom of the site. We usually go for the top of the site, but it was closed on this occasion.  A lot of trees have been cut down over the winter and the site seems more open now, although it might just be that there are no leaves on the trees yet.



Our bird feeder was an instant success this weekend, and we spotted a new bird...a willow tit.  No pic to prove it.

Coniston is just under two miles away, but it is a nice walk through a campsite and fields.  Lots of groups in the campsite, the only rule they seem to have is no gazebos, although we did see what looked like one!

There are three nice pubs in Coniston and we frequented them all, with dinner in the Black Bull.

Sunday

A lovely day today, blue sky, hardly any wind, but not too warm.  Perfect for walking.

One of the first proper walks we did when we started walking was Coniston Old Man, but we can't remember much about it so it seemed like a good idea to do it again. We are running out of new places to go in this area anyway!


The Walna Scar "car park" is a great place to start, it saves having to walk up from Coniston.  We got there early, knowing it would fill up quickly on a day like today.  Didn't see many people until we got to Low water, but it was quite busy after that.  The summit was quite crowded and we were passed by lots of runners on the way down.  Here are some pics from the walk.

Coniston's mining heritage


Low water reflections




Looking down on Goats water

An early start meant an early finish, so we lounged around the caravan in the afternoon.  Lots of birds to watch, the site was very peaceful.

After dinner we headed back into Coniston for more drinks in the same three pubs.  None of them were overly busy, but at least we weren't the only ones there...we have been in the past on a Sunday night!

Monday

A bit more cloud about today, and rain forecast in the evening. We drove to not too far away Blawith Knott, a smallish hill near...you guessed it...Blawith.  We pass these hills on the A5092 whenever we go to Ravenglass and keep meaning to visit them.  Actually you can't see Blawith Knott from the A5092, it's behind Great Burney, but there aren't any geocaches there and we wanted to do a bit of geocaching.

 J looking for a geocache


Then we drove to Ulverston for a look around the shops and lunch, before heading back to the site.  Sat outside the caravan until it started to rain, then retreated inside for a quiet night in.  It was too wet to go anywhere.  We hadn't really noticed that our pitch was under a tree, but we noticed it in the night!

Tuesday

Up early, away early and home before midday.

Coming soon...

Easter is looming, sites are getting full.  We will probably stay at home until the end of the month and avoid the crowds.  Somewhere other that Cumbria next.