Windermere

24th to 26th March 2022

Our third trip of the year is to the Windermere C&CC site, which is actually in Staveley, about half way between Kendal and Windermere.

Normally a site we would come to for the Hawkshead brewery beer festivals but alas, no spring one this year, presumably thanks to the legacy of covid-19.

Thursday

A Thursday start so that J could be at home for mothers day.

The journey took less time than we thought and we arrived about 15 minutes early and had to park up in a layby near the entrance so that we didn't fall foul of their strict 1pm earliest arrival policy, only to watch several caravans and motorhomes sail past.  Even more annoying when we saw them setting up on our first choice pitches!

Our nearest neighbour was a massive tent, which is quite unusual, but they were no trouble.  The site was very busy.

Just phone pics this trip, we forgot the camera...again!

Nice weather so we sat outside the caravan for a while and then headed off across the fields to Staveley.  Stopped to check on  our geocache on the way and left a trackable in it, a laminated pic of our much missed cat. Sneaky the cat trackable

First a pint of Loweswater Gold sitting outside the Eagle and Child, by the river.

Then another pint in the Hawkshead brewery beer hall.  We didn't stay long because they close at 7pm on a Thursday, so we headed back to the Eagle and Child which we'd booked earlier.  We stayed for their quiz but didn't win anything!  Don't think we came last!

Then a long walk back across the fields in the dark, thank goodness for torch app.

Friday

Even better weather today, so we were up early for a walk from Sadgill to Skeggles Water, near Kentmere.

The tarn was teeming with frogs, doing what frogs do in the spring!

The phone pics are ok but would have been so much better with the camera.  What a day to forget it!

Lots of cute lambs near the end of the walk.  At one point we had to retrace our steps and take a detour of about half  mile because a mother sheep and her lambs would not budge from a gate we had to go through.  We didn't have the heart to move them!

Lounged around the caravan in the afternoon.  Despite being pretty much full the site was very quiet and peaceful.

Then we headed back to Staveley for a couple of drinks and food in the beer hall.  They are not doing hot food at the moment, so we had to make do with a massive cheese board and a scotch egg!

We got back to the caravan quite early for a game of Cluedo, which J had never played before!  A victory for D.

Saturday

We left early and were home before 11.

Coming soon...

Hopefully another trip next week, then we will stay at home until after the Easter madness!

Coniston

 13th to 16th March 2022

Our second trip of the year and our first three night trip for a very long time.  Our destination...Coniston.

Sunday

A Sunday start for a change.  We set off early and arrived just after midday to find the site almost empty...just how we like it!  Our favourite pitch was taken, so after a quick drive around the site we settled on pitch no. 180, which is a pitch we have been on before.  Nice and secluded but a bit of a trek to the facilities.

A break with tradition today, we had dinner (a chicken and leek bake) instead of sandwiches and didn't make a dash for the nearest pub!  The weather was nice enough for us to sit outside the caravan for a while. 

Then we made a belated dash for the nearest pub!  It's a good 45 minute walk into the village from the site, through a campsite which is normally quite noisy, but was empty on this occasion apart from some sorry looking sheep.  Probably not open yet, it is still quite early in the season.

Once in the village we had a beer in three of the four pubs.  First the Black Bull, then the Sun, then the Yewdale Inn, where we were hoping to take part in their Sunday night quiz...a bargain at £5 per team!  But it wasn't to be.  It was supposed to start at 8 but at 8.30 there was still no sign of a quiz master or any teams so we gave up and headed back to the site.

The way we came, through the campsite, is the long route and was quite muddy, so we walked back on paths which mostly follow the road.  We had to make a slight detour at one point but made it back to the bright lights of the site.

A strange sound in the night, after we had gone to bed, like someone walking around our pitch but by the time D had got dressed enough to have a look there was nothing to be seen!  It's a dark site at night, so maybe someone was lost and thought our caravan was theirs.  Luckily they didn't try the door!  More likely a fox or a badger, but if it was it was a big one!  Spooky!

Monday

A bit of sun in the morning but the forecast said it wouldn't last so we set off early for a walk up Loughrigg Fell from Skelwith Bridge.

Blue sky quickly gave way to cloud but it didn't start to rain until we got back to the car.

We popped into Ambleside but it was surprisingly busy and we didn't stay long.  It's something of a tradition to trudge around Ambleside in the rain if we are in the area!

It rained all afternoon and into the evening, so we were stuck inside the caravan for the rest of the day.

Another strange sound late at night, like part of a tree falling down, which is probably what it was!  Not sure why it chose that moment to do it because it wasn't particularly windy.  Couldn't tell which one it was in the morning because there were already plenty of fallen trees around as a result of the winter storms.  Luckily it didn't hit the car or caravan!

Tuesday

Our bonus day.  One of us got up quite late, so we had a sausage sandwich for brunch and then went for a stroll to nearby Torver, finding 6 out of 7 geocaches along the way which is a record for us.  We should have found the 7th but we are quite lazy geocachers and give up very quickly!

Had a pint sitting outside the Wilson Arms and would have had a second had the Loweswater Gold not run out!

We went past a "honesty shop" on the way back, but it was sold out of lemon drizzle cake so we had to make do with a bag of sweets instead!

We headed back into Coniston in the evening for chippy Tuesday in the Crown, our fifth pub of the trip.  Chippy Tuesday is  fish and chips for £7, so quite good value for the lakes.  The Crown is a Robinsons pub and is our least favourite in the village, but good for food.

Whilst having a pre dinner drink outside the Black Bull we saw sheep being herded along the main road.  They went the wrong way at first and had to be turned around!

No strange noises in the night tonight!

Wednesday

It started to rain as we were packing up but we didn't get too wet and it was an uneventful journey home.

Coming soon...

Nothing booked but we hope to get away again before Easter, before it get's too busy!  Probably Windermere or Kendal.

Garstang

4th to 6th March 2022

Our first trip of the year, and our first trip for about three and a half months.  We wanted somewhere quite close to our storage site and the Bridge House Marina and Caravan Park in Garstang seemed like the obvious choice.  Not a new site, we came here a few years ago, but it has changed dramatically, the main change being an excellent new facilities block, just about the best anywhere in our experience.

Friday

It's only a short drive from our storage site and we arrived around 1pm and settled in to pitch number 9.

Fortunately the motor mover worked, otherwise we would have been in trouble!  As did everything else in the caravan, so another winter survived! The moisture traps and bowls of salt did a great job.

Pitch number 9 is not the best pitch on the site, but okay for a two night stay.  Pitches are quite close together and the site was full, so it felt a bit cramped.  We were very excited to see another Venus opposite us. They are few and far between and this was even the same model

Garstang is only a short walk away, along the canal or by road.  We chose the more picturesque canal route.  It was a bit muddy in places but we made it and had a drink in one of the pubs in the high street and then dinner in Th'Owd Tithe Barn, which is right on the canal.

Saturday

A walk to the top of nearby Nicky Nook, in glorious weather for the time of year.  A bit breezy at the top but otherwise excellent.

Great views from the summit trig point and nice easy walking.

In the afternoon we drove to Glasson Dock, only to find that there isn't really much there!  We were expecting it to have more attractions. Plus it was freezing cold! 

We arrived back at the site and headed for the onsite cafe bar Bridge 64, armed with our free hot drinks vouchers given at check in.  After a pot of tea, a latte and 2 cakes for just £3.60 we headed back to the caravan for showers and a nap.

As mentioned earlier, these are fabulous facilities. With showers, toilet and sink in one cubicle.

We thought about going back in to Garstang in the evening but instead had dinner in the caravan and a bottle of wine listening to themed playlists we created over the winter.  Fruits, boys names and body parts (mostly heart related!)  More fun that it sounds!

Sunday

Breakfast in the on site cafe, then a very short drive back to our storage site.  We usually listen to The Archers omnibus on catchup, but its been a while since we did a long journey, so we missed about 6 weeks worth and had no idea what was going on!

We usually have to rush back on the last day to feed our cat, but sadly she passed away a few months ago. She was 18 and we had her longer than we have been caravanning.  It was very strange not to be setting up her automatic feeder before we set off, and seeing her run down the stairs to greet us when we got home!

All in all, a pretty good first trip of the year: excellent weather and no disasters in the caravan. We just need to keep repeating to ourselves...we don't want a narrowboat...we don't want a narrowboat...we can't afford a narrowboat!

Coming soon...

A three night trip to Coniston.