Kendal

15-18 August 2025

Back after a break of about 8 weeks, we had to cancel a trip mid July.  Availability at this time of year is a problem but the Kendal CAMC never seems to get full and is one of our favourite sites anyway.  Nice and easy to get to, some excellent pitches to choose from and a nice pub a short walk away...what's not to like?

Friday

We timed the journey just right and arrived a few minutes aftert the earliest arrival time of 1pm.  Pitch 21 is the holy grail of pitches but we could see the barrier fob for it was missing from the others on display in reception, so no luck this time.  However, pitch 22 was free and is a pretty good alternative so no complaints from us.

The motor mover is getting more and more temperamental but worked eventually!  We might invest in a new lead for next time.

A rare outing for our canopy, we usually can't be bothered putting it up, but we wanted to see if recent repairs had worked and they had.

All in all a good start to the trip, so we headed to the local farm shop and then the Strickland Arms with smiles on our faces.  D has a new favourite brewery...

Not cheap, though, at £4.50 per can!

After a couple of pints (Loweswater Gold and Swan Blonde...in the same pub at the same time...heaven) in the Strickland Arms we headed back to the site for a barbecue and then sat outside the caravan until it got dark.

This butterfly kept coming back

A sporting theme in the gents toilets...to improve ones aim no doubt!

A bamboo tree tunnel on the way to the farm shop

Saturday

The plan today was to walk into Kendal, which we did, trying to stay in shade as much as possible.  It was a very warm day.

New shambles in Kendal, nice place for tea and a cake

We spent far too long in various pubs, the worst culprit being Indie Craft Beer, and then got a bus back to the site for dinner outside the caravan and scrabble into the evening, with D victorious.

Sunday

Even warmer that yesterday.  Too hot really for walking but we went for a relatively easy walk anyway, to Finsthwaite and Rusland Heights.

No summits, just a couple of tarns, the more seclued Boretree tarn being our pick of the two.

In the evening was had a second barbecue and then walked to the Strickland Arms.  Just one pint after the excesses of yesterday.

Monday

The motor mover played up a bit again, but apart from that packing away and the journey home were un eventful.

Not sure the blog does it justice but this was our best trip for a while and probably as close as it gets to perfect.  Definitely 9/10.  Trips like this are why we have a caravan and why we will try to carry on caravanning for as long as possible.

Coming soon...

After a near perfect trip it will be a while before we can get away again.  We are on holiday (a cruise) at the beginning of September and then in Gasgow a week later.  Hopefully we will be able to cram in a trip before the end of September.

Keswick

 16-19 June 2025

Keswick, but not as we know it.  We always go to Castlerigg Hall when we visit Keswick, but not this time.  No availability.  Instead we decided to take a chance on a site we have been meaning to give a try for a while - Threlkeld Hall.  Our first new site since June 2023.

Monday

A Monday start due to J having a week off work.

First impressions were good, all pitches are a good size and are separated by laurel hedging.  We got a pretty good one with an excellent view of Clough Head.

Clough Head from our pitch

Some reviews complained about noise from the nearby A66 but we hardly noticed it.  We were expecting the toilets and showers to be excellent based on reviews, and according to J they were.  The ladies, that is.  However, the mens were only just about ok according to D!

After setting everything up we strolled into nearby Threlkeld village to check out it's two pubs.  Only one was open on a Monday and it was a Jennings, so not a great selection of beers for D, but apart from that it was ok with a nice outside seating area.

In the evening we had a barbecue and then sat outside the caravan enjoying the peace and quiet, with a game of scrabble to round off the night (J won)

Tuesday

We awoke to the sound of rain and it didn't stop until around midday.

When it eased off a bit we set off for Keswick along an old railway track that has been turned into a cycle/footpath.  About 5 miles.

It rained a  bit on the way, but not much, and we didn't get soaked.

In Keswick we had a late lunch and a couple of drinks in a couple of pubs before gettinng the X5 back to Threlkeld and then another night sitting outside the caravan.

Wednesday

A much better day weatherwise and as we had been looking out at it for a couple of days we decided to tackle Clough Head, 726 metres.

We decided on  a direct ascent and it turned out to be a very long, steep slog!  Our route was about 6 miles in total. We were out for 4 hours and, as usual, forgot to apply suntan lotion, so quite red that evening!

Our caravan from the top of Clough Head

We'd set off early so we got back to the site quite early and after a rest we got a bus back into Keswick.  We had dinner in the Dog and Gunn and drinks in a couple of other pubs.

We didn't stay out particularly late and rounded the day off with a game of scrabble sitting outside the caravan (D thrashed again!)

Thursday

We toyed with the idea of asking if we could stay an extra night but decided against it and were home by midday.

Not sure if we will come back to this site, out favourite in the area is still Castlerigg Hall.

Coming soon...

A trip mid July, but no idea where yet.

Kendal

 30th May to 1st June

Ravenglass

9th -12th May 2025 

First visit of the year to the Ravenglass C&CC site - we will probably be back for more in the autumn.

Friday

The journey to Raveglass typically takes about three hours, with a short break, and that is how long it took this time.  We always ask for a range of pitches at the top of the site when booking here and we haven't been disappointed yet.  Pitch 23 this time.  Lots of space and nice and sunny.

We had a go at putting up our recently fixed (so we thought) canopy but had to give up when a part of one of the poles snapped off.  No shade this trip.  D has fixed it again, so we will have one last go on our next trip before throwing it away.

Then we headed off into the village, first to the Inn at Ravenglass and then the Ratty Arms.

In he evening we had a barbecue before heading back to the Inn at Ravenglass, which is a great pub to sit outside and watch the sunset.

Saturday

The plan had been to drive to Loweswater and go for a walk around there,  but we decided instead to stay local and head for the beach.

A gentle stroll along the beach turned into quite a long, tiring walk but worth it for a different view of the village and solitude - there was hardly anybody about.

More jellyfish than people.

After a rest and carbonara pasta sitting outside the caravan we headed back to the Inn at Ravenglass  for another excellent sunset.

Sunday

We haven't been on the Ravenglass and Eskdale railway for a while, so thought we would take advantage of the sunny weather and pre book an open carriage.

We got off at The Green, a couple of stops before the end, and walked the rest of the way.

An easy walk of about three miles, made much harder by the hot weather.

The Brook House Inn was a welcome sight at the end of the walk.  We had dinner there, and a couple of drinks.

Then it was back to the Inn at Ravenglass for another pretty good sunset.  Pics from a different viewpoint this time.

Monday

The long journey home!

A couple of things about Ravenglass and the surrouding area.  The Ratty Arms no longer does food and is pretty dead in the evening, but still has a good selection of local beers.  The Inn at Ravenglass seems to have gone Scottish, with a not very good selection of local beers.  The Brook House Inn always used to have a good lineup of beers from Cumbrian Ales, but none this time.  Oh, and the friendly ginger cat that used to live on site has disappeared.  Still a very nice place to visit, just not as nice as it used to be...in our opinion.

Coming soon...

Probably a return to Kendal at the end of the month.  Definitely last chance for the canopy.