Pooley Bridge

6th to 8th June 2021

With everyone staycationing this year and tents and camping equipment sold out it is proving impossible to arrange a Friday/Saturday trip without booking months in advance.  So instead it is another  Sunday/Monday trip, to a non club site.

We discovered Hillcroft Park a couple of years ago and this was to be our third visit.  We really liked it on previous occasions and the facilities are second to none.  We also like the online booking system which allows you to book a specific pitch so no nasty surprises on arrival.

Sunday

No nasty surprises on arrival except the motor move not working...again!  We had to hitch the caravan up again to position it, luckily there weren't many people around to watch in disbelief.  We think a new battery might be the answer...

We got there in the end...

All caravan pitches here are nice and spacious and the establisehed ones have mature hedges separating them.

It is only a short walk into Pooley Bridge and that is where we headed after setting everything up and a bite to eat.  It was incredibly busy, with people queuing to get into the pubs when we got there.  It did quieten down a bit and we managed to get into the Secret Garden, which is behind the shop/post office.

We just had ond drink and then went back to the site for a barbecue.

The plan was to sit outside the caravan afterwards, but the motorhomers next to us were  competing with the ones next to them to see who could be most annoying by playing easy listening music loudly.  There is a time and a place for Elvis!

For a bit of peace and quiet we headed back into the village and went for a walk along the river and to the Ullswater Steamers pier.

Back at the site the music continued until 10pm and the sound of screaming kids carried on until about 11pm.  Not a quiet site on this occasion!

Monday

We got the Ullswater Steamer to Howtown and walked back to the site from there.

Pre booked tickets only, reduced capacity, no walking around on the boat and face masks...a sign of the times.  It was a bit of a cloudy day, not very good for pics.

We got back to the site just after midday and after a rest we wandered down into the village for a late lunch in the Secret Garden.  It wasn't to be, they weren't serving food until 4pm.  The food looked really good so we decided to have a drink in the Crown and then go back.  We had to queue to get in to the Crown because we had to use the NHS track and trace app (which didn't work for J) and then download an app in order to be able to order drinks (which didn't work for D)!  No wonder there was a queue.

We went back to the Secret Garden just after 4pm only to be told they wouldn't be serving food for another couple of hours and were fully booked anyway!  We got some sandwiches and snacks and retreated to the caravan.

The motorhomers gone, music tonight was courtesy of a group of people in nearby glamping pods, accompanied by the sound of screaming children and shouting adults until 11pm.  It's not our idea of glamping and we felt sorry for the people in the other pods who were not part of the group.  There were some couples who  might have been looking forward to  nice quiet break.

To get away from it we walked into the village.  The view from the Ullswater Steamers pier is pretty dramatic in the evening.

It was a bit chillier than the previous night, so we were inside the caravan by about 9.30 and drowned the noise out with 6 Music.

Tuesday

We got away early and were home before midday.

Not one of our best trips, we definitley won't come back to this site except very early or late in the year when it should be much quieter.  The online booking system is good because it tells you how many pitches are available and you can gauge how busy the site might be.

Coming soon...

Nothing booked, we will check availability in a couple of weeks.