Ravenglass

8th to 11th June 2018

After a couple of average trips we were hoping for a really great one at our favorite site - the C&CC site at Ravenglass.  As usual, it didn't disappoint.

Friday

We arrived after a three and a bit hour journey (with a stop for tea) and were given a great pitch overlooking adjacent fields, but no pic of the caravan or view this time...we forgot to take one!

Our bird feeder was a great success, including a couple of woodpeckers.

As usual, we headed straight for the nearest pub, which was the Inn at Ravenglass and had a drink sitting outside, with great views of the estuary.  Going to Ravenglass is like going back in time...so quiet and peaceful, today at least.

We popped into the Pennington hotel and the Ratty Arms, too, then headed back to the site for a very successful barbecue.

Afterwards we headed back to the Inn at Ravenglass for the first of three great sunsets.

Saturday

We thought a 7 mile walk around Ennerdale water would be easier than hiking up a mountain on a hot, sunny day, and it was probably was...although it didn't seem it towards the end.  The sunshine was a bit hazy all day and at one point the clouds were quite dark, but it didn't rain.  It would have been quite refreshing if it had!

We didn't stop off anywhere on the way back and had a relaxing afternoon sitting outside the caravan, then another barbecue.

Then another pretty good sunset.

We popped into the Ratty Arms afterwards and it looked like it was about to close, with chairs on tables and only two people in, and they left more or less straight away.  Fortunately the landlord said we were just in time and we had a pint and chatted to him for about half an hour.

Sunday

We got a train to Boot on the Ravenglass and Eskdale railway.

The Brook House Inn, our favorite pub in Boot, Eskdale

We went for a short walk to a nearby waterfall, fortunately most of the time we were amongst trees and in shade because it was another hot, hot day.

A very scruffy sheep!

It was the last day of the Boot beer festival, but it was over in all but name.  There was some entertainment, though, in the form of the Cockermouth ukelele band.

We got back to the site late afternoon and then had dinner in the Ratty Arms, having booked a table the night before, followed by the best of the three sunsets.

Not exactly quiet, though, thanks to a mother and daughter from St Helens who were staying nearby and had been drinking all day, and a very posh father and son (we think) from somewhere down south.  All very entertaining.

Monday

The long journey home was pretty uneventful.

Just couple of slight negatives - D being eaten alive by midges, and other caravanners!  This time the people in the caravan next to us who had a tv in the awning (we think) and watched it until gone midnight on two of the nights.  It didn't spoil the trip though, we were out most of the time.

Coming soon...

We both have a week off work, so we are off to Barmouth after a day of rest.  Hope the good weather lasts.

Grassington

1st to 3rd June 2018

We thought this weekend wouldn't be too busy after the bank holiday weekend, but no, a quick look on late availability showed there were no vacancies on the Friday at least.  We'd booked this trip a while ago, but don't like going to completely full sites and thought about cancelling, but the weather is so nice at the moment...

Friday

Several reviews of the site complaining about people taking shortcuts across pitches made us choose a pitch on the edge, up against a wall.  There weren't many to choose from and after driving around for a bit we chose one as far away from the toilets as it was possible to be, with a public footpath behind the wall.  We only noticed how close it was to the children's play area when it was too late to move!  Not a great start.  Reviews were right, most people were walking across other people's pitches without a care in the world, which we think is not on!  Loud televisions and radios were a problem, too, but fortunately not near us.  Enough moaning, our pitch turned out to be ok.

We got a bus into Grassington and had a look around and a couple of drinks, then got the last bus back to the site and had a barbecue, along with most other people on the site.  Despite being completely full, our part of the site was pretty quiet in the evening.

Saturday

So much for the nice weather, today started off grey and overcast and got worse.  Undaunted, we went for a 7 mile walk around nearby Buckden.

It rained most of the day, so the pics didn't turn out too well. We did manage to find a few geocaches along the way, which is something we have been neglecting recently.

We came across a nice pub towards the end of the walk and then stopped off in Kettlewell on the way back, but couldn't enjoy the great selection of beers too much because we were driving.  Should have got the bus!

Back on site the weather cheered up a bit.  We walked over to the onsite pub but didn't like the look of it so we didn't even venture in.  Instead we sat outside the caravan until it got too cold, then retreated inside.

Sunday

A mass exodus.  We left quite late for us, around 10.30, and there were loads of vacant pitches and people still packing away.

Like our last trip, this one was ok rather than great...due to the weather and the site being so full and other people!  We need a great trip to even things up.

Coming soon...

A week off work for both of us, with trips to Ravenglass (our favorite site) and Barmouth.

Bridgnorth

18th to 20th May 2018

We've been meaning to visit the Morris Leisure site, Stanmore Hall, near Bridgnorth, for a while now.  We've been to all of their other sites except Llanberis and like them.  With no availability anywhere else (which is becoming normal) we thought we would give it a go.

Friday

Not a particularly good journey, a crash on the A49 held us up for about half an hour.  We'd booked a standard hard-standing pitch, which turned out to be in a car park like part of the site, with smallish pitches and only a couple of potted plants on paving stones to separate them...no grass borders.  Not a good start, but we let it go.  Our fault - we should have paid a bit extra for a super pitch!

The delay on the A49 meant that we really had to rush to get a bus into Bridgnorth at 3.21, but we just about made it.

Bridgnorth is a nice town, two towns to be exact - Low Town and High Town.  A good way to get from one to the other is by using the funicular railway.

We stayed mostly in High Town, where most of the shops are, and lots of nice pubs. Our favorites were the Shakespeare and the White Lion, which is home to the Hop and Stagger brewery and has a resident cat, albeit not a very friendly one!

What's left of the castle

We got a taxi back to the site around 10.00.

We haven't had a moan in a blog for while...but some things just need to be moaned about.  What is worse than a small pitch with nothing separating it from the next pitch?  A small pitch with nothing separating it from the next pitch...which has a continental caravan with the door on the "wrong" side on it...and occupants who (lets be generous) are hard of hearing and need to watch tv with the volume turned up!

They didn't bother us much that night, because after a quick shower we just went to bed.

Saturday

Lots of buses today.  First, a bus into Bridgnorth, then another to Much Wenlock, then a 5 mile walk to Ironbridge, and finally another bus back to the site.  We got our money's worth out of the day saver tickets.

Much of the walk from Much Wenlock to Ironbridge was through woodland and we were glad of the shade on a hot, sunny day.

The magnificent ironbridge...

Oh well, I'm sure it will look great when all the maintenance work is finished.  There are lots of museums in Ironbridge but we didn't really have time to go in them, instead we had tea and a pint in one of the pubs before getting a bus back to the site.

The plan was to have a barbecue and the weather was great, but we didn't fancy being watched by the people next door and having to listen to the sound of their tv, so instead we drove into Bridgnorth and had dinner in the Shakespeare.

The tv was still booming when we got back so we went and sat on a bench by the lake for a while, until they closed their door and it was just a muffled drone in the background.  J read somewhere that they were selling outdoor tv's at a recent caravan show...hope they don't catch on!  We go away to get away from the tv!

Sunday

We went home a different way, mostly on the A5, and it was a much better journey.

Not one of our most enjoyable trips.  If we return to Stanmore Hall we will make sure we book a super pitch and hopefully we will get decent neighbours.  Bridgnorth is a nice town and we would like to go back sometime

Coming soon...

We will stay at home and avoid the crowds over the bank holiday weekend, then lots of trips planned for June and July.