Bolton-le-Sands

11-13 March

Our first trip for more than three months - it seems we are not the hardy winter caravanners we thought we once were!  This trip was primarily to find out if the caravan had survived the ravages of winter, and it has.  The only thing not working was the display on our DAB radio, but we have managed to fix even that now.

Bay View is a huge site full of statics and seasonal tourers that we tend to go to at the beginning or end of the year, when it is quiet.  The new toilet/shower block  is excellent and we asked for and got a pitch not too far from it.

Tuesday

J off work for a week so a Tuesday start and we arrived dead on the earliest arrival time of 1pm.

We spent some time cleaning the inside of the caravan before lunch (without tea, we forgot to bring tea bags) and then got a bus into Lancaster.  Fares capped at £3 here instead of £2 in the Mersey travel area, so not as cheap as it used to be going, but coming back after 7pm the cap is £1 which we thing is a great idea.

We started off wih the two pubs on the canal and then headed into town.  Everywhere was very quiet.  We had dinner in Ayaya Thai restaurant, which we have been to before, and got a bus back to the site around 9pm after picking up some supplies (including tea bags) from Sainsburys.

It was pretty cold in the caravan, we should have put the heating on low before we set of for Lancaster, and it took a while to warm up.

Wednesday

We drove to Arnside for a walk mostly along the coast.

The weather was ok apart from a shower of hailstones just as we were getting back to the car.  It was quite warm at times in the sun.

We had dinner in the caravan and thought about heading back into Lancaster but instead walked along the canal to Carnforth just as it was getting dark.  We have been to the Snug micropub at Carnforth station before and whilst it was a bit lacking in atmosphere mid week D was delighted to see Hawkshead Taranaki on tap.  A beer sampled at the last Hawkshead brewery beer festival that he hasn't seen since and a great end to the trip.

Thursday

A very uneventful journey home.

Coming soon...

A three night trip to Castlerigg Hall, Keswick.

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.