Kendal

21-24 June 2024

Back after a break of two months and our first trip of the year to an old favourite - the Kendal CAMC site.  We came here three times last year and four times in 2022.

Friday

On arrival we were hoping to see the key to pitch 21 hanging up on the wall in reception, but it wasn't to be.  Nor pitch 22.  Oh dear!

We drove around the site a few times but most of the available pitches looked dark and uninviting.  This is quite a shady site.  Eventually we settled on pitch 16, much to one of the wardens surprise.  Apparently it is not a very popular pitch and when the site is full it is one of the last to be taken.  We did struggle to level the caravan but apart from that we think it is an ok pitch.

We had to lower the caravan so much at the front we then found we couldn't  close the locker, because the jockey wheel was sticking up too much, so had to start again.  Doh!  Then a problem with the EHU.  We started to think it was a jinxed pitch.

After lunch we headed into Kendal and had dinner in  Pizza Express and drinks in a couple of pubs.

Saturday

We set off quite late for a walk around nearby Scout Scar.  We have been here a few time and it is a great place for an easy walk on a hot day.

In the afternoon we walked to the Strickland Arms for a couple of pints of Swan Blonde before heading back to the site for our first barbecue of the year.

It was just about warm enough to sit outside afterwards...even for J!

Sunday

We got a bus into Kendal and a car boot sale just outside the town centre caught our eye, so we got off early.  We didn't buy anything, of course.  Then we walked the rest of the way into town.

Kendal on a Sunday is very quiet and all of the pubs we like didn't open until 4pm or not at all in the case of the Bowness Bay brewery tap.  We didn't hang around and retreated to the site after a bit of a picnic by the river.  J found some sun in the afternoon at the front of our otherwise shady pitch.

In the evening we had another barbecue and were able to sit outisde until quite late again.

Monday

We thought we would have trouble hitching the caravan up due to the slopiness of the pitch, but it turned out to be easier that we thought it would be and we got away early.

Coming soon...

Another trip in a couple of weeks, probably to Coniston.

 

Keswick

 19th to 22nd April 2024

We went to Castlerigg Hall four times last year.  We probably won't go that many times this year  but it has definitley become one of our favourite sites, with pitch 24 one of our favourite pitches anywhere.

Friday

The journey could easily have been much worse.  We hit traffic around Lancatser on the M6 and it turned out to be an overturned caravan!  It must have just happened because the police hadn't arrived and it didn't hold us up much but the tailbacks later will have been horrendous.  No idea what caused it.  A badly loaded caravan, going too fast downhill, or not the caravanners fault at all...

No pic of the caravan this time, we forgot to take one.

Without a motor mover pitch 24 would be almost impossible to get into and ours is a bit temperamental at the moment but afer a bit of fiddling with the wires it worked.

As is customeary here we walked down the hill into Keswick and had a look around the town and far to much to drink.  Dinner in a Thai restaurant.

Saturday

Our first Wainwright of the year and 149th overall (out of 214).  Bessyboot, or Rosthwaite fell if you prefer...we did both.

Quite steep going up and coming down.  Excellent weather throughout.

In the afternoon we sat outsude the caravan and then had a night in.

A pretty good sunset...

No northern lights, though, which was a bit disappointing as they have been visible in the area in recent times.

Sunday

A lazy start to the day which included a sausage sandwich for a very late breakfast, then we headed into Keswick again, this time taking a more scenic, longer route.

We had a roast dinner in the Wainwright Inn and then got a bus back to the site.  Excellent self control today, unlike Friday.

Monday

No problems getting home.

Coming soon...

An eagerly awaited return to the C&CC site in Ravenglass, which was a bit disappointing just after covid in 2022 but now has refurbished facilities and the Ratty Arms under new management.  We just hope the ginger cat is still there.

Coniston

 15th to 18th March 2024

Our first real trip of the year, the last one was really just to make sure the caravan was ok after the winter.  Destination - the Coniston CAMC site.

Friday

Earliest arrival time her is 10am but we didn't get close to that.  We didn't leave home until 9.30 and arrived just before midday.

We have had many arguments over the years about pitch selection here, but not today.  First day open, it was almost empty when we arrived and we chose pitch no. 64 which we think is just about the best pitch on the site, so a really good start.

Lots of interest in our bird feeder this weekend, some not so welcome.

Oh well, squirrels have to eat too.

We headed into the village after lunch and had drinks in the Black Bull and the Sun Hotel.  The meatloaf special in the Black Bull caught our eye and we couldn't resist it.  It beat a mutton special in the Yewdale Hotel, partly because of disappointing beers in the latter.  Surprising, because the Yewdale Hotel has been our pub of choice in the past.  Then the long walk home in the pitch black, thank goodness for torch app!

Saturday

The best day weatherwise, so we set off early for a walk to Tom Heights and Holme Fell.

We didn't go right to the summit of Holme Fell, we have been there before, but the rest of the walk was new ground for us.

Waterfalls at the start, then Tarn Hows, the the summit of Tom Heights and a fabulous, secluded reservoir (dis-used) where we had lunch.  All that and great weather too.

The good weather didn't last and it started raining just after we got back to the caravan, but it didn't matter because the plan was to have a night in anyway.  Dinner was pizza from the on site van.

Sunday

In the morning we drove to Ambleside and had a look around the shops but didn't buy anything...as usual!

We have just invested in an air fryer for the caravan and wanted to try it out, so we had bacon topped chips for lunch/dinner.  We were very pleased with the results.

In the afternoon it stopped raining for a bit so we walked into Coniston and had a couple of drinks in the same pubs as on Friday.  No beers at all in the Yewdale Hotel so we gave that one a miss.  We'd eaten, so resisted the temptation to have a rost dinner!

Got soaked walking home, but it's all part of the fun isn't it!

Monday

No problems getting home, where it was blue sky and sunshine all day!

All in all a very good trip...9/10 maybe...only the weather let it down a bit.  And not seeing Donald Campbell's newly restored Bluebird in the Ruskin museum which didn't open until the 19th!

Coming soon...

We are going on a cruise to Spain and France early in April, so no more caravan trips for a few weeks.

Bolton-le-Sands

 1st to 3rd March 2024

Back on the road after a three month break, this was really just a fact finding trip to see if the caravan had survived the winter.  Outside we know it would be ok because it has just been serviced and washed, but inside...

Friday

Bay View is only a short drive from our storage site, so perfect for a first trip of the year.  We arrived dead on 1pm and didn't need to use the mover after an excellent display of reversing from D.

Our allocated pitch was a bit further than we would have liked from the facilites, but ok.  We were pleased to see a new facilites block under construction, which will make this a truly five start site.  The old facilities were ok but the new ones look much better.  We will be back later in the year to check it out.

Everything inside the caravan was ok, apart from a problem with the pump which was easily sorted.

This site is handy for getting a bus into Lancaster and that is what we did after lunch.  

After a look around the shops we had an excellent dinner in a Thai restaurant araya thai 

followed by drinks in the Stonewall Tap, our favourite pub in Lancaster.

Saturday

Bad weather was forecast for today, but undaunted we set off for a walk along the canal to Carnforth.  Once there the weather seemed ok so we decided to get a train to Grange-over-Sands and had a walk along the promenade.  It did rain a bit!  Not many pics. D found a 'Happy Bench' but managed to get off it before anybody came to talk to him

We got back to the site about 4pm and the weather had improved, so D went for a walk from the site.  No beach, just mudflats, but pretty good views.

Then a night in, drinking wine and listening to the radio.  Meatballs for dinner.

Sunday

We tried the mover and it worked...after a while  The journey home was uneventful.

Coming soon...

Looks like the caravan is good to go for another year so a trip further afield in a couple of weeks...Coniston or Keswick, maybe.