4th to 7th August 2023
Our third visit of the year to Castlerigg Hall. We like this site and we like Keswick at the moment.
Friday
We arrived aound 1.30 and were shown to pitch no. 24 by the warden. We think this is just about the best pitch on the site, tucked away in a quiet corner with a nice view of Keswick and Bassenthwaite in the distance.
As is customary here we walked down the hill into Keswick, which was much busier than usual. We can usually only get in to Castlerigg Hall out of season. Best pubs are the Wainwright and the Dog and Gun and we managed to get in to both. By chance we discovered that we could hi-jack the Spotify playlist in the Wainwright so we had our choice of music, which would have been great except the pub was quite noisy and the music too low. Not sure if it was deliberate or not.
We didn't stay out late and got a bus back to the site for a lateish barbecue which was very successful apart from our attempt to toast marhmallows!
Saturday
Weatherwise, the worst day according to the forecast, but it turned out to be ok. We walked back down into Keswick and had a look around the market and lunch in the Inn on the Square and more drinks.
Then another bus back to the site for dinner in the caravan and a quick pint in the nearby Crag bar, which was pretty dead as usual. It does have Loweswater Gold so not all bad.
Sunday
Again, not a great weather forecast but again it turned out to be ok with plenty of blue sky. We drove to Buttermere and got a bus back up to the Honister slate mine, then walked back to the car. It was gridlock in Buttermere and we were lucky to get a parking space in the NT car park. The very helpful attendant opened an overflow area just as we got there.
Three Wainwrights today - Dale Head (753m), Hindscarth (727m) and Robinson (737m). We've already done Dale Head but the other two were new.
Rain in the distance in Keswick
A late start because the earliest bus from Buttermere was 11.18, so we didn't start walking until 11.30ish.
In the evening we got a bus down into Keswick and had dinner in the Wainwright inn. Then a quick drink sitting outside Craft Beer Keswick, which is more like a shop selling cans and bottles, but it also has a few excellent beers on tap.
View from Craft Beer Keswick
We would have stayed longer but it shuts early on Sunday. Instead we went back to the Wainwright for one last drink and then got a pre booked taxi back to the site at 9, just in time to catch the tail end of a pretty good sunset.
No problems getting home.
All in all another excellent trip, our good luck continues in 2023.
Coming soon...
Nothing booked but hopefully we will get away again in a couple of weeks.