Skipton

 26th to 28th November

Almost certainly our last trip of the year.  We wanted to go somewhere we haven't been to for a while, and it's been more than five years since we last visited Skipton.

Tarn House isn't one of our favourite sites.  The pitches are very close together and the facilities are only just ok, but it is pretty handy for Skipton.

Tuesday

A Tuesday start because J has a week off work.  On arrival there was only one other caravan in the touring bit, so nice and quiet.

We had a hot meal instead of the usual sandwiches and then headed into Skipton.  Drinks in the Boathouse, the Narrowboat and the Beer Engine.  We stayed for a pub quiz in the Beer Engine and came last!  Then a taxi back to the site.

Wednesday

We drove to nearby Ilkley for a walk on the moor.

It was sunny but cold, and not at all windy, great conditions for a not too strenuous walk in open coutryside.

The Twelve Apostles

We particularly liked the Stanza Stones poetry seat.

Ilkley looks like a nice town but we didn't hang around after the walk.  Definitley worth a visit sometime.

A bit of a surprise when we got back to the site and found a motorhome in the pitch next to ours!  Not their fault because pitches are allocated by reception.  It beggars belief that they would put two units next to each other in an otherwise empty site.  We were debating whether to stay an extra night but that made up our minds.  It is also a reason not to come back to this site.  We like a bit of space.

Oh well, we didn't stay in the caravan anyway.  Instead we headed into town and had dinner in the Wooley Sheep inn.  With partridge, duck and venison on the menu D was spoilt for choice.  He chose partridge.  J played it safe with beef.

We waked back to the site after dinner.

Thursday

It was bekiw freezing when we left and we were a bit worried about the local roads being icy but we didn't have any trouble and were soon on the A59 heading back to the storage site.

Coming soon...

Nothing booked, we probably won't go away in the caravan again until late Feb or early March next year.

Bolon-le-Sands

 1st to 4th November

We have been to Bay View holiday park a few times in recent years.  It is a massive site of mostly statics and seasonal tourers, but quiet at this time of year and they still have a few touring pitches.  And a new facilities block which is very impressive and makes this a true five star site.  The appeal for us is that there is a bus stop at the entrance to the park with regular buses into Lancaster.

Friday

Another plus point is that it is less than thirty minutes from our storage site, so no long journey this time and we arrived just after 1pm.

After setting everything up and a sandwich for lunch we got a bus into Lancaster before darkness descended.  We had a look around the town and then a drink in the two pubs on the canal - the Water Witch and the White Cross.  Both excellent.

Then we got a bus back to Bolton-le-Sands and had a great dinner in the Royal Hotel.  Just basic pub food but really well cooked and presented.

Saturday

The weather forecast for the weekend was for lots of grey cloud and it turned out to be very accurate.  Not a glimmer of sun all weekend.

Undaunted we set off for a walk up Clougha Pike but the paths we chose were really overgrown and after ploughing through waist high heather for about an hour we gave up and found an easy way down.  We will do this walk again sometime, from a different direction.

Not a good day for pics.

We had dinner at lunchtime in the caravan and then headed back into Lancaster which was busy but we didn't have any trouble getting into the places we wanted to go.

The Jailors Barrell was excellent, our pub of the weekend.

Sunday

No change in the weather but we went for a walk from Morecambe to Heysham anyway, easy walking along the promenade.

Afterwards we had a night in.

Monday

No problems getting home.

Coming soon...

We have drained the water out of the caravan, just in case, but we are hoping to get away again later in the month.

Keswick

 3rd to 6th October 2024

Our second visit of the year to one of our favourite sites - Castlerigg Hall.

Thursday

A Thursday start, in order to get a better pitch...pitch 21.

The motor mover worked first time (hurrah) and setting everything up went very smoothly.  We thought about putting up the newly repaired canopy but couldn't be bothered.

We trekked down the hill into Keswick after lunch and had drinks in a couple of pubs.  Managed to resist the temptation of a £12 a pint DIPA in the Craft Beer Keswick!

The plan had been to go back to the site for dinner but somehow we ended up in the Royal Oak and had not very nice pie and chips at £19 each.  So much for a cheap weekend away!

Friday

An easy Wainwright today - Ling Fell, 373 metres, about 3.5 miles.  As easy as it sounds.

J still recovering from cataract surgery, hence the sun glasses.

In the afternoon we drove into Cockermouth, where we discovered the Bitter End pub.  Just about the only pub that opens before 4pm and definitely somewhere we will come back to if in the area again.

We had dinner in the caravan (steak and chips and red wine) and a night in listening to music and playing cards (gin rummy mostly) which we had purchased the day before from a charity shop.

Saturday

In the morning a quick dash up Walla Crag from the site for D, while J relaxed by the caravan.

We had dinner early and then walked down into Keswick, which was incredibly busy, so we didn't stay out late.  Back at the site we thought about going to the nearby Crag bar but it was completely empty and looked like it didn't have any nice beers, so we gave it a miss.  It usually has Loweswater Gold, which makes up for any lack of atmosphere.  So another night in with another bottle of red wine from the site shop.  And an apple pie we'd bought from the market in Keswick.

Sunday

The pitch was easy to get in to but not so easy to get out of.  We had to manouvre the caravan quite a bit and of course, the motor mover played up a bit.  On the bright side, it has never let us down completely...yet!  It took ages and we were quite late leaving and getting home.

Coming soon...

We drained the water out before leaving, just in case, but hope to get away again later this month or early in November.  Pooley Bridge, maybe.

Ravenglass

6th to 9th September 2024

A much anticipated return to one of our favourite sites - the C&CC site at Ravenglass.

We were supposed to come here earlier in the year and had to cancel at the last minute, but we made it this time.

Friday

The only downside to this site is that it is a bit out of the way for us.  A long journey, a lot of it on winding country roads, it is the only site where we usually stop halfway for a rest!  We bought our own refreshments this time - a thermos of tea and sandwiches.

We finally arrived just after 1.30 and were pretty confident of getting a good pitch as we had listed about a dozen of the ones we wanted when booking.  We weren't disappointed.

We were looking forward to seeing the newly re-furbished facilitues block and it was even better than we hoped it might be.  What a transformation.  One of the best anywhere now.

We were also looking forward to visting the Ratty Arms, which is under new management, and that is where we headed for an afternoon drink.  It looks pretty much the same as before and is still a freehouse, so a great selection of local beers.  We even recognised the barmaid, who used to work in the other pub in the village.

Great weather for a barbecue, the first of two this trip.

Afterwards we walked back into the village to catch the sunset.  Not a cloud in  the sky.

Saturday

 A very hot, sunny day.  We thought about getting the steam train into Eskdale but it seems to be very expensive now, with pre booking required, and we have done it a few times already...

Instead we drove to Drigg and went for a walk along the beach and a picnic lunch, which was  completely free!  We are a bit more budget conscious than we used to be now that D has stopped working.

We had the beach almost to ourselves.

In the afternoon we sat around the caravan and had a wander around the village and more drinks in the Ratty Arms.  Definitley our pub of choice for the weekend.  The other pub, the Inn at Ravenglass, had no local beers which was a bit disappointing.  It seems to have a bit of a Scottish theme going on, based on this and our last visit.

In the evening we had another barbecue and then it was back to the front for another great sunset.

Sunday

J is still recovering from cataract surgery and the difference in vision between her two eyes means she can't really scramble up or downhill over rocky terrain, so no walking for her this trip.  The other eye is due to be done in the next couple of weeks and she will have near perfect vision after that.

D set off early to Loweswater, for a walk up Gavel Fell.

A pretty good day for walking after a bit of rain early on.

He got back to the site just after midday.

No barbecue today, instead pasta sitting outside the caravan  in the afternoon and then back to the Ratty Arms, which was surprisingly empty for a Sunday afternoon.  Hope it is not struggling.

Too cloudy for another great sunset tonight.

We didn't go back to either of the two pubs and retreated back to the caravan for a night in.

Monday

A long, tiring journey home, some of it stuck behind a pair of very slow moving lorries, but worth it.  Another great trip.  And quite a cheap one...realtively!

Coming soon...

Nothing else this month, but maybe a return to Keswick early in October.