Coniston

19th to 21st October 2018

Our second visit this year to the Coniston C&MC site, which was originally going to be a three night trip but was shortened to two due to work commitments.  Just as well, as it turned out!

Friday

Plenty of pitches to choose from when we arrived and we chose a part of the site we haven't been on before.  Pitches here are amongst trees in little clearings and some are quite secluded, much better than a line of caravans separated by a thin strip of grass, we wish all sites were like this.  We like pitch no. 180, although it is a bit of a walk to the facilities.

Blue skies and sunshine when we arrived but it didn't last long and we had to don waterproof coats for the almost two mile walk into Coniston.

Dinner in the Sun hotel and drinks in a couple of the other excellent pubs.  Of course we forgot to take torches but a torch app on J's phone came to the rescue.  It's brighter than a torch anyway.  Is there anything a phone can't do these days?

Saturday

Woke up to the sound of rain hammering on the roof.  It was really only light, drizzly rain but we were under a tree and rain always seems worse under a tree!

By 11am were were going a bit stir crazy and had to get out.  We drove to nearby misty, murky Tarn Hows and walked around the lake.

First outing for our new camera, a Panasonic Lumix TZ100.  Less zoom than the old one but a larger sensor, so in theory better image quality.

Not a great day for pics, so the jury is still out, but initial results are promising.  It rained continuously throughout the two mile walk, but at least we managed to prove that our waterproof coats are still waterproof.  D wishes he could say the same about his boots!

On the way back the rain eased off a bit and we had a wander around Coniston lakeside, and tea and cake in the cafe there.  Not many boats out today.

Later in the afternoon it almost brightened up, so we went for a stroll along the lake before having dinner in the caravan.

The plan was to walk back into Coniston for the night and we did set out walking but drizzly rain made us turn back and instead we had a night in.  It is quite a long walk!

Sunday

Deja vu.  Woke to the sound of rain hammering on the roof.  The forecast for today was rain all day, so we weren't too disappointed that the three night trip had to be cut to two nights.  No trouble getting home.

Coming soon...

Nothing booked, it's all about the weather at this time of year.

Ravenglass

5th to 8th October 2018

Our second visit this year to our favorite site - the excellent C&CC site at Ravenglass.

Friday

Just about the only negative about this site is how long it takes to get there, but this time the journey was pretty good and we arrived around 2pm and were shown to pitch no. 2, which has a pretty good view overlooking fields.

We had a wander around the village and along the "beach" before dinner in the Pennington hotel and drinks in the other two pubs.  Not much of a sunset tonight, too much cloud around.

Saturday

By far the best day weather-wise, although it started off a bit overcast.  We headed to Loweswater to tackle Burnbank fell (475 metres).

It turned out to be quite a clear day, with the Isle of Mann and Scotland visible in the distance, and nice views of Loweswater itself.  A good day for walking and another Wainwright ticked off.

The summit of Burnbank fell

Hangliders at the top of Burnbank fell

On the way back we stopped off in Gosforth and visited the Gosforth Hall Inn, a CAMRA award winning real ale pub.  It was ok, but not as nice as any of the pubs in Ravenglass.

In the evening we had a couple of drinks sitting outside the Inn at Ravenglass.  A great sunset tonight, but cold, we were the only ones who stayed outside to the end.

Afterwards we retreated to the caravan for dinner and spent the rest of the night in.

Sunday

A wet and windy day.  No rain in the morning, though, so we thought we would go for a walk along the beach at Ravenglass.  It wasn't to be, the tide was in and it was inaccessible!  We got some pics of what is left of a Roman bath-house on the way.

Plan B was to drive to Drigg and walk along the coastal path to Seascale, but we only made it half way before rain stopped play.

Rain meant we had to stay inside the caravan all afternoon, then we had a steak each in the Ratty Arms and a final drink in the Inn at Ravenglass.  When we left the Ratty Arms it was empty, the Pennington hotel bar was empty too, and there were only three people in the Inn.

Monday

Up and away early because D had to work in the afternoon.

Coming soon...

Nothing booked, we will wait and see what the weather does.

Castleton

26th to 28th September 2018

The Castleton C&MC site used to be one of our favorite sites and we have been trying to book it following its refurbishment without success - it's almost impossible to get into at weekends unless you book months in advance, which we don't like doing.  We only just managed to get in mid week, all that was available was a single serviced pitch which we snapped up.

Wednesday

There are 12 serviced pitches and when we arrived all that was available was one of the not so good ones, so not a great start.

Lots of friendly ducks around, although there is no pond or stream on site...

The newly refurbished facilities were excellent, but we don't remember them being that bad before.

What is worse...the sound of other people's music/tv when you are sitting outside trying to relax, or people walking across your pitch?  We were treated to both this trip!  We have noticed a lot of what we would call antisocial behaviour at club sites recently, with people showing no respect for others and just doing what they want.  It seems to be worse on serviced pitches. 

For a bit of peace and quiet we headed into Castleton and had drinks in a couple of pubs.  All the pubs in Castleton are excellent and it's hard to pick a favorite, but the Cheshire Cheese probably came out on top this trip.  We had dinner in Ye Olde Nags Head.

Thursday

A short drive to Hathersage and then a nice walk along Burbage Rocks.

We got back to the site quite early and it was surprisingly quiet, so maybe the moaning earlier in this blog is a bit unjustified.  Sat outside until it got too cold and then had dinner in the caravan.

Later we walked back into the village, which was really quiet, and had more to drink.  We always end up drinking loads in Castleton!  We had a go at a pub quiz in the Peak hotel but the questions were far too hard so we gave up and left half way through.  A bit of googling afterwards revealed that we might have got 1 or 2 out of 20!  Maybe all the locals are geniuses.

Friday

Homeward bound, the traffic on the A6 was horrendous but we still managed to get home just after midday.

Coming soon...

Ravenglass, Cumbria.