Pooley Bridge

14-17 June 2026

A week off work for J, so a Sunday start to a site we haven't been to for a few years - Hillcroft Park, Pooley Bridge.

This was already a huge site but they have crammed more pitches into the part of the site we usually go to, turning a view of a green field into a view of cramped, hard standing pitches.  We definitely dont't approve, so paid extra for a super pitch in another part of the site with better views.

Not sure we approve of this addition either...

We would never come here in high season, but midweek or mid winter we have always found it pretty quiet.

Sunday

The pitch turned out to be just about perfect, with no immediate neighbours and nobody in front of us.

Pooley Bridge is only a short walk away and that is where we headed after setting everything up.  We are not huge fans of Pooley Bridge, it is always very busy and only has chain pubs (Robinsons, Thwaites and Jennings).

There is also the Secret Garden, which has a range of bottled beers but nothing nice on tap.  We had a drink sitting outside.  Curiously, a young DJ was just finishing his set.  Loud dance type music which would have been great elsewhere, but not in a lakeland village on a Sunday afternoon.  Then we went to the Crown (Thwaites), which is probably the pick of the pubs with excellent outside seating.

Then it was back to the caravan or the first of two very successful barbecues.

After dinner we walked back down to the village to get a few pics but didn't go into any of the pubs.

Monday

A pretty strenuous walk today, taking in three Wainwrights - The Knott, Rest Dodd and Brock Crags.

Mostly grey cloud and hazy sunshine, so not a great day for pics.

Back at site we had another barbecue and a night in and around the caravan.

Tuesday

We got up late and in the afternoon got a bus into Penrith for a look around the shops and dinner.  There isn't really much to do in Penrith, it is not a tourist town.  We had a drink sitting outside Dockray Hall, which apparently has just re-opened after being closed for a while.  It was ok until the resident (huge) dog decided to relieve itself right by out table!  The barmaid was very apologetic.

Then we headed to the Fell Bar, which we really liked.  A game of cards, a couple of games of backgammon and then a pork and mixed gyro from the nearby Greek takeaway.  Food and drink for £12 each.

We got an earlyish bus back to Pooley Bridge and thought about popping into one of the pubs but didn't.  Instead another night in and around the caravan, when we noticed this in a barn behind our pitch...

Wednesday

No problems getting home.

All in all a pretty good trip, without spending too much money for a change.

Coming soon...

That's it for June, we will go somewhere early in July but not sure where yet.

Kendal

29-31 May 2026

Our first trip to the Kendal CAMC site since the closure of the nearby Strickland Arms.

Friday

On arrival all of our first choice pitches were taken but the one we got was ok, albeit a bit shady.  In the past we would have headed for the nearby farm shop and then the Strickland Arms for a pint sitting in their beer garden.  We did go to the farm shop but then it was straight back to the site for a lazy afternoon and then a very successful barbecue in the evening.

Saturday

We walked along the river into Kendal.

Sunday

Home.

Without the attraction of a nearby pub this is not a site we will come back to much.  There are some great pitches (especially pitch 21) but there is no gaurantee of getting one of them and with nothing to do within walking distance...

Coming soon 

J has a week off work mid June so we might go somewhere for four or five nights.

Ingleton

 8 - 11 May 2026

The plan was to go to Hawes this weekend but just in time we read that the B6255 from Ingleton to Hawes is closed, and the alternative route via Sedbergh isn't suitable for caravans according to the CAMC website!  Oh well, we'll try again later in the year maybe.

Thornbrook Barn, Ingleton, is becoming an old favourite, so was an obvious altrenative.

Friday

It's very easy to get to from our storage site and we arrived shortly after the earliest arrival time of 1pm.  No pic of the caravan this time, but we got a good pitch (a bit too) near the facilities.

Should have got a pic because we put the canopy up for the first time in a while.  It's getting a bit tatty and provides very litte shelter so it might be the last time we bother with it.

After lunch we headed for the nearby (10 min walk) Marton  Arms and it was just about warm enough to sit outside until it started to rain.  We retreated inside and gave up on the idea of having a barbecue.  Instead we had a fabulous fish and chips in the pub.  A bit expensive at £19.50 each but you get what you pay for I guess.

We didn't go into Ingleton and got back to the site quite early, for a night in listening to music.

Saturday

The forecast for today was showers but it hardy rained at all.  We walked into Ingleton and got a bus to Kirkby Lonsdale, taking a packed lunch with us to keep costs down.

Devil's Bridge

We had lunch in the churchyard and then a couple of drinks in a couple of the pubs, the best being the Sun Inn.  We didn't like the Kirkby Lonsdale brewery tap much, it was very busy.

Back in Ingleton we popped into the Old Post Office which we have liked on previous visits.  It has changed a bit under new management/ownership, still ok just not as good as it used to be in our opinion.

Then dinner in the caraven and another night in.

Sunday

The best day weatherwise, so we headed to Dent for a walk up Great Knoutberry hill.  We had to take an indirect route due to the road closure and it turned out to be quite a long drive, but we got there.

Excellent views of Ingleborough, Pen y Ghent and Whernisde throughout much of the route and the weather was excellent.

J looking for but not finding a geocache at the summit

Back at the site it was just about warm enough for our first barbecue of the year, then another night in.

Monday

No problems getting home.

Coming soon...

A trip at the end of the month, maybe, but no idea where yet.

Keswick

17-20 April 2026

We always visit Castlerigg Hall around this time of year, and this year is no exception.  It is probably our (well, D's) favourite site at the moment.

Friday

We arrived just after the earliest arrival time of 1pm and settled into pre booked pitch 24, which we have been on several times before.

After lunch D had a look at the damp we discovered last trip but it is not obvious where water is getting in.  The seal around the front window, maybe?  Will try adding some sealant on the next trip and see what happens.

Then we headed down the hill into Keswick passing goats and sheep on the way.

Traditional cute lamb pics

We had dinner in the Dog and Gun - Hungarian goulash for D and hunters chicken for J.  Amazingly (given the great selection of beers on tap) this is a Greene King (urgh) pub and we took advantage of their buy one get one free offer on their app.  We were surprised to discover we got the more expensive one free!

We also had a drink in the Wainwright Inn and the Keswick Craft Beer.

On the way back to the caravan we stopped off in the site campers lounge, which is almost always empty.  Not sure why - nice and warm, comfy seats and lots of books and games.  It used to be a restaurant and we had a really nice steak there a long time ago.

Saturday

The forecast today was for showers but we managed to miss them as we headed back in to Keswick, taking the longer, more scenic route via Castlehead wood this time.

The view from Castlehead

We did pretty much the same as the day before, except dinner, which we had in the caravan - a very nice hotdog from a visiting van at the site. followed by a night in listening to music and playing scrabble (J won!) We picked up a really cool bag for life from Booths and it cost £6!  Too expensive to use?

Sunday

The best day, weatherwise.

D got up very early and went for a walk, taking in White Side, Raise and Stybarrow Dodd.  J thought it might be a bit too strenuous so she had a leisurely morning in and around the caravan.

In the afternoon  we headed back down into Keswick, taking the easy route along the road this time, but we didn't stay out late.

Not sure where this came from, it was waiting for us when we got back to the caravan...

Sunset from our pitch

Monday

Quite a long journey home due to an accident (we think) on the M6 near Preston.

Coming soon...

Next trip will be early in May but not sure where yet.

Coniston

27-30 March 2026

Our third trip of the year, but first blog of the year.  No excuse, just laziness.  Our aim this year is to go away in the caravan at least once in every month and with this late March trip we are just about still on target to do this.  We couldn't get away any earlier in March due to other commitments.

Friday

We last visited the Coniston CAMC site  about two years ago.  We have had many good trips here but a problem with the site is that we often have trouble selecting a pitch without arguing - there are too many to choose from.  No arguments this time, though, we could see our favourite pitch 64 was free as we checked in.

A bit of a break with tradition after setting everything up.  Instead of heading straight to the nearest pub after lunch we had a hot dinner in the caravan...and then headed straight to the nearest pub!

There are three in  Coniston that we like and we had a pint in each of them.  The Black Bull, the Sun and the Yewdale.  There is now a fourth, but more of that later.

We didn't stay out late.

Saturday

The plan today was to get the launch from Coniston to Brantwood, then walk over the hill into Hawkshead and get a bus back.

We knew there were no buses running from Hawkshead to Coniston due to a road closure, so we would have to get a bus from Hawkshead into Ambleside and then another back to Coniston, but we went ahead anyay.  Only to find when we turned up at the jetty that the launch wasn't stopping at Brantwood as the jetty was underwater.  Undaunted, we walked around the end of the lake and found another route into Hawkshead, passing the new to us Coniston Inn on the way.

In Hawkshead we had an eye wateringly expensive sandwich in the newly refurbished Kings Arms, which we liked in spite of the expensiveness, and then had a couple of drinks in Kittchen, which is the only cat pub we know of.  It stinks of cats and  has more than its fair share of one star reviews but we really like it.  Friendly cats, great beer and great music (think 60s garage rock)...what is not to like.  We especially like the bar rules.

We would have stayed longer if we could have got a direct bus back to Coniston.  We ended up with an  hour and a half to kill in Ambleside, which is a bit too touristy for us, although the Lakes Brew taproom is a nice new addition.

We didn't stay out in Coniston and headed straight back to the caravan. After walking 10 miles that day we needed a quiet night in! 

Sunday

The worst day, weatherwise.  It rained all morning but we managed to get out in the afternoon and had a roast dinner in the Yewdale Inn.

Secret DJ is an app that allows you to control the music that is playing in some pubs, and we were quite excited to find that the Coniston Inn is one of them, so we decided to pay it a visit.  It's a nice pub and we will return in the future, but we didn't get to select any music because it was too noisy and the app wouldn't work anyway!

A couple of pics for Half Man Half Biscuit fans.

CSI Ambleside

No crime here, thanks to McAlliog

Monday

We gave the caravan a clean before heading for home and discovered some dreaded damp around the front window.  There is a crack near the corner of the window which we are hoping won't be too difficult to seal, it just depends how much damage has been done.  We will have a look next trip.

Coming soon...

Castlerigg Hall, Keswick mid April.