24 Oct 2017

Shrewsbury

22nd to 24th October 2017

Undeterred by storm Brian, it's off to Oxon Hall touring park, just outside Shrewsbury.  We've been here before, but not for a couple of years, so we thought it was about time for a return visit...and it makes a change from Cumbria!

Sunday

The Mersey Gateway bridge has just opened and journey time from our house to the M56 is much reduced.  It's just a pity it is a toll bridge...£2 a go.  The old bridge is closed for a year now and when it re-opens it will be tolled too.


We arrived just before 1pm and settled into a pretty good pitch in the adults only section.


Shrewsbury is too far to walk from the site and there aren't many buses on a Sunday!  We managed to find one, at 3.15, which turned out to be a mini-bus from Manchester airport!

In town we had a nice walk along the river, then tried a couple of pubs.  In the second one, which was more of a wine bar, the barman recommended the Coach and Horses for real ales and a traditional pub atmosphere and it turned out to be great.  Nice beers and a two course dinner for £10.  Not just ordinary pub grub, but fine food from a Masterchef runner up.  Excellent value.  Our pub of choice for this trip.

Monday

It was a drizzly sort of day, but at least the wind had died down.  We drove to Church Stretton for a walk up Caer Caradoc.


We had to shelter from the rain for a bit in Church Stretton, which has a really good antiques shop.  We were going to go in again after the walk but we were too muddy and tired!  J wouldn't let D buy a gruesome mounted wild boars head!  It was a drizzly day and visibility was mostly not good.






In the evening we got a taxi into Shrewsbury, which was only a little bit more that the bus fare would have been...had there been any buses!  We had dinner in the Coach and Horses again, and  few drinks in a couple of other pubs.  Part of the dining area in the Coach and Horses was being used for an Open Britain meeting, but it didn't put us off our food as much as a closed Britain one probably would have!  They were very considerate and spoke very quietly...we could hardly eavesdrop at times!

Tuesday

We weren't in a hurry to get home so we had breakfast in a nearby Toby carvery before setting off.  Got home around 1pm.

Coming soon...

Nothing booked, it depends on the weather.  We would really like to go to the recently re-furbished  Caravan Club site at Castleton but it seems to be fully booked forever!

10 Oct 2017

Keswick

7th to 10th October 2017

Second visit of the year to Castlerigg Hall, our favorite site in the Keswick area.

Saturday

A good thing about this site is that you can book a specific pitch online, so no nasty surprises on arrival.  We've been on pitch 20 before, and like it.  Nice view and lots of rabbits.


What's missing from this pic?

In the afternoon we drove into Keswick and had a look around the outdoor shops and the market and Booths (bought cheese and biscuits as usual).  Then back to the site for dinner in the caravan, followed by a couple of drinks in the bar of nearby Heights hotel. Got talking to some people who were on a rally at Castlerigg Farm, which is another site just up the road.

We were the only ones there when they left, so we headed back to the caravan for the cheese and biscuits we'd bought earlier.


Sunday

D up early, for a short but steep walk up Raven Crag (461 metres).  J stayed in bed.  It nearly didn't happen because a road was closed, then the parking area was closed, but he made it. 


Viewing platform at the top of Raven Crag

Thirlmere 


In the afternoon we walked into Keswick and spent a few hours in The Wainwright, our favorite pub in the town.  Roast beef for D, roast pork for J.  We tried to get into the Dog and Gun after dinner, but it was full to bursting so we went back to The Wainwright instead.  Got a taxi back to the site about 9pm.

Monday

We drove to Grange, then got a bus to the Honister slate mine and walked back to the car via Dale Head (753 metres) and High Spy (653 metres).


The weather was ok in the morning, but drizzly in the afternoon.  Oh well, it is autumn.  Starting half way up was good, but there was lots of hard descent on this walk, plus a route finding problem towards the end when the path didn't match what was on the OS app.  It was good to get up in the clouds, we haven't been there for a while.



Dale Head 



High Spy 



A dead sheep we saw on the way down.

A happy rock!

In the evening we drove into Keswick, the plan being to have Hungarian goulash in the Dog and Gun, but once again it was full to bursting.  We had a quick drink in The Wainwright, then took fish and chips back to the caravan and had a night in.

Tuesday

It was wet and windy in the night, but ok in the morning and we made it back to the storage site around 1pm.

Coming soon...

Nothing booked.  The caravan is being serviced next weekend, so we are going to wait and see how that goes!