From Gozo to Ravenglass

Our main caravan trip of the year, hot on the heels of a week in Gozo      

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Day 1…Wednesday

Travelling mid week is great…no traffic problems!  Still took just over three hours though, a lot of it on winding roads with only the sound of the creaky stabilizer for company.  Very poor radio reception in places.  Replies to a question about the stabilizer on UK campsite suggest that creaking is normal, but D remains unconvinced!

Four nights (instead of the usual two) at the Ravenglass C&CC site.  We’ve been here a few times and it is one of our favourite sites.  Quiet, lots of mature trees, a couple of pubs in easy walking distance.  In the past we have requested and been allocated a specific pitch, but not this time.  The pitch we were given was ok, although a bit near the owners house and the toilet block for our liking.  Although a couple of motor homes, obviously in last resort pitches got a raw deal, and were sited under the owner’s living room window and about 10 steps from the toilets!

Weather ok on arrival, so we thought a BBQ would be nice, and it probably would have been had we been able to light it!  All we had was an old disposable BBQ tray full of damp coals we found in the garden at home.  But no matter how many lighting cubes we threw on, it wouldn’t heat up properly.  After half an hour we gave up, threw a bottle of water over it and stalked off to the pub in search of a hot meal!

The Ratty Arms is nice but the selection of beers this time was disappointing.  Afterwards, a stroll around Ravenglass.  Nice sunset.

Ravenglass is a very quiet village, although it seems they were experiencing a crime wave.  A notice in the post office warned of a conman who was posing as a not very good artist and charging up to £50 for a poor biro portrait. The title of the notice was ‘CON ARTIST’ A bit of a play on words?!

Saw signs everywhere for a second hand book fair in the village hall for the following Saturday.  J very excited.

Day 2…Thursday

Weather not great, but undaunted we set off for Buttermere.  Nowhere near Ravenglass, about an hour’s drive away.

Haystacks (4.5 miles, 597 metres) was our objective, final resting place of Alfred Wainwright’s ashes.  Despite getting caught in a a shower of hailstones halfway up, we made it, and only got a bit lost coming down!  Views at the top weren’t great, with the bigger mountains obscured by cloud, but a nice walk nonetheless.

Then tea, cake and a pint of “Haystacks” in the Fish Hotel, Buttermere, followed by a long drive back to the caravan.  The hotel looks like a nice place to stay but for £92 a night, probably not (we paid less than that for 4 nights!)

Stopped off in Whitehaven and picked up a couple of disposable barbecues.  Slightly more successful this time, but still had to use the microwave a bit! Always a worry having a barbecue – you wouldn’t  want to be stuck up a mountain the next day with tummy trouble!

Where to go for a drink?  The poor selection of beers in the Ratty Arms made us look elsewhere and we found a bar (open to non residents) in the Pennington Hotel.  Better beer and nice, comfy sofas.

Day 3…Friday

Awoke to the sound of rain.  No major walk planned for today, so we got the Ravenglass and Eskdale steam train and got off a couple of stops before the end so that we could walk the rest of the way.

Ravenglass to Eskdale Railway

Only a couple of miles, but we got very wet!

Lunch in a pub in Boot and a couple of drinks, then got the train back to the site.

A night in tonight.  Lancashire hotpot for dinner, a bottle of wine and Absolute 80’s on the radio.  Very cosy (just ignore the dirty trainers under the table!).

 We know how to have fun!

Polished off the wine, then collapsed into bed.  J looking forward to tomorrows book fair at 10.30am

Day 4…Saturday

Weather forecast much better today, so off to Wasdale Head to climb Middle Fell (3.5 miles, 582 metres).  First stop though, the much anticipated book fair.

Got there at 10.31am (didn't want to appear too keen) Not a soul about and the doors closed.  Picked up some essentials at the shop (a Twix) and walked back.  This time a few people milling about.  Walked around the block again to find the small crowd had vanished but the doors still closed and no signs of life inside.  J very disappointed.  Ah well, Onwards to Wasdale

Not very popular with walkers, so not many people about.  A steep climb in places but excellent views of the big mountains around Wastwater and the sea from the top.  The pics below and in the gallery really don’t do it justice.

Steep coming down as well, the flock of sheep we came across made better time than we did.  They stayed ahead of us for ages, and we did think at one point we would have to buy them all a drink at the pub!

Lamb casserole in the Wasdale Head Inn, and three pints for D.  Ennerdale Blonde followed by the holy grail of beer (in D’s opinion), Loweswater Gold.  J drove back to the site…a first for her as she’s never driven on Lake District roads before.  A tipsy D offered plenty of helpful advice though!

Another nice sunset in Ravenglass and a drink in the Pennington Hotel, followed by a final drink in the Ratty Arms.  D a bit worse for wear, will sleep well tonight!

More pics…

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*It appears the book fair started a little later than planned, but they’d packed up and gone home by the time we came back!

Day 5…Sunday

Homeward bound.  An uneventful journey home.

 

Ravenglass C&CC Site

Pros

• Quiet, even when full.
• Good sized pitches with lots of trees.
• Excellent showers - no push button and adjustable temperature.
• Pubs within easy walking distance

Cons

• A bit hard to get to.
• Could do with more toilets and showers.

Coming soon…well, nothing planned at the moment but we will probably go somewhere in a couple of weeks.

Hosepipe ban…I don’t think so!

As the southern half of the country basks in a heatwave and a hosepipe ban is introduced in the drought hit North West, it’s off to Ambleside for us.

Skelwith Fold to be precise, which we’ve been to a few times before click here.  After a long journey due to traffic on the M6 we arrived.  Took us a while and a quick argument to find a good pitch as the first one we chose was too uneven.  Then had an early dinner inside the caravan.

A walk of about a mile and a half took us to the Drunken Duck Inn.  Sat outside under a canopy and had a few drinks...beer called Catnap or Catnip or something like that!  J wanted tea and cake, but alas we were too late.

Walked back to caravan about 9pm, just as it started to rain.  Rain was to become a feature of the weekend!  It rained all night…

Day 2

…and all morning, until we couldn’t take it any more. It was so loud, we couldn’t even hear the radio, so we set off in the direction of Grasmere, which is where we were intending to climb Fairfield.  But it was not a day to head into the hills so we carried on to Keswick, then decided to head to Buttermere, which we've not been to before because it is a bit of a trek.

After almost an hour’s drive we arrived mid afternoon.  Held up a bit by a sat nav that needed a sat nav, and a sheep jam

The weather was still pretty awful but we donned our waterproofs, gritted our teeth and set off to walk around the lake.

 

 No water shortage here!

A soggy moggy we befriended halfway round.

 Mind your head – a very low narrow tunnel

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After 2 hours and five and a half miles of easy walking, we arrived back at the Bridge Inn where we had a giant pot of tea (no cake unless you bought a main meal) We really couldn't face going back to the caravan to eat, so stayed for a delicious Lancashire hotpot, a pint then back to the van.

The sun was trying to come out after we got our showers, so we dashed to the Skelwith Bridge Hotel for a quick drink before it started up again. Then it really started to rain!!!

I’m a wet caravanner - get me out of here!

After a very disturbed night, we bolted down a cup of tea and a croissant and packed up before the heavens opened again.  As soon as we passed the ‘Welcome to Lancashire’ sign on the M6 the sun came out.  Arriving back in Liverpool, we discovered they hadn’t had a drop of rain all weekend – Hmmm.

Ah well, all good fun and beats being at home!

Coming next…a week in Gozo, followed by our main caravan trip of the year, Ravenglass for five days.

Watching the boats go by – Whitchurch

A new site for us, quite close to home.  Whitchurch is on the Shropshire / Cheshire border.  Good reviews on UK Campsite.

A bit of a scare on the way there as we encountered the dreaded low bridge sign! Was about six foot higher than the caravan but D didn’t want to take any chances! A quick diversion added about half an hour to our journey, but apart from that it was uneventful.  Stabilizer still squeaking!

On arrival we were towed on to our pitch by the owner as it was on a bit of a hill so no embarrassing display of reversing! Owners very friendly.

Very secure site, as they do caravan storage as well, but made it seem a bit like a compound!  No showers after 9.30pm and it’s the hottest weekend of the year!!!  Also, the showers cost 50p which we haven’t encountered since our camping days. After you put in the money you have 2 minutes to lock the door and get undressed.  Not good in the colder months if you have lots of layers on!  They’re timed too, so abruptly shut off after a few minutes – better rinse that soap off quick!  Was a bit of a pain making sure we had enough 50p coins.

They are very big on recycling here.  They don’t have a main rubbish bin, just a series of recycling ones.  Even food waste must be wrapped in newspaper and put in separately.  Anything else goes in a ‘burnable waste’ bin.  The low pitch fee (£14 a night) is because they don’t get charged to have massive bins of rubbish taken away.  It’s a shame other sites can’t do this as the fees for some are getting quite high.

Nice site in spite of the strict rules! Lots of ducks and rabbits about.  Threw a piece of bread to one duck, and the next thing about 10 of them came running over squawking!

 

A stroll of about 30 mins to the pub at Willeymoor Lock for the obligatory Friday afternoon drink, but it was shut!  Sat in the sun by the water for about 45 mins until it opened at 6pm

The pub is adjacent to a lock, so we watched a few boats go through.  D very impressed with the pub.  Ludlow Best a very nice beer.

D’s third pint. Don’t be fooled by the contented look on his face - he was starting to worry about getting back for his shower before the 9.30pm curfew

Day 2

A nice walk into Whitchurch along the canal tow path, but there isn’t much to do there, especially when the temperature is in the 80s.  A nice walk nonetheless. Got some treats in Tesco and had a picnic in the park under a large tree.

Wide enough for bikes – shame we left ours at home!

On the way back we sat outside a cafe at Grindley Lock with an ice cream and picked up the obligatory fridge magnet.  Here they have the famous ‘Staircase Lock’ – a series of locks very close to one another.  It’s looks quite complicated as you have to empty them in a certain order.  Was great fun watching people go in and out of them.  There is also a caravan site alongside it so will check that out for another visit, as the canal path is wide enough to ride a bike on.

Staircase Lock

Back to the pub at Willeymoor Lock in the evening for more drinks.  Had to leave at 9.30 because D was worried about being stranded in the dark on the tow path.  Passed many people sitting on their boats enjoying the evening air, felt a bit jealous so we are hoping to have a go ourselves next year!

Time to go

Left very early the next morning, not really much else to do.  A very short journey back to the storage place.

Pros

• Close to home so not a long journey
• Alongside the canal
• Only £14 per night

Cons

• No showers after 9.30pm and are charged for
• Near a busy road