Back on the road

23rd to 26th March 2012

We’re back!

Our first outing in the caravan in 2012, much delayed due to bad weather and other unpleasant things.  Three nights at Castlerigg Hall, Keswick.

We’ve been here before, around the same time last year, when we had lots of problems with our new to us caravan.  No new caravan this time, and the only problem a loose connection in the water pump which seemed to fix itself after a bit of wiggling.  The caravan has survived the winter very well, probably better than us!

Friday

Arrived early afternoon and settled quickly into pitch no. 20.  Excellent reversing from D but nobody around to be impressed!  No awning this weekend, so not much setting up to do.

The walk into Keswick is ok going but not so good coming back, because it is up a steep hill, but we decided to give it a go anyway.  Had a look in the outdoor shops and bought some stuff we didn’t really need, as usual!  Had a couple of drinks, too.

Then back to the caravan for dinner and a quick drink in the adjacent Heights Hotel.  Not the nicest of bars, a bit pokey and dated, but ok for a quick drink as it serves Loweswater Gold.

Saturday

D’s birthday!

Up very early…presents to be opened.  Then off to Rosthwaite for a walk up Great Crag (456 metres).  Only about 4 miles in total, but we haven’t done much walking recently so we were a bit out of shape.

Lambs wearing waterproof coats in Rosthwaite?

Quite a steep climb to start with, through trees.

Ducks on Dock Tarn, just before the summit.

Made it to the summit.

Another Wainwright bagged!  All in all, a very nice walk in great weather.  J even got a bit sunburnt!

The weather was so nice we decided to have a barbecue instead of going out for dinner.  Very successful, after a bit of struggle to get it going!  Why do we always think we can light it and then start cooking after a few minutes?  You think we’d learn, but no!

Sunday

Lazed around the caravan in the morning, listening to the birds and enjoying the sunny weather.

A visitor to our pitch.

Then we drove into Keswick to get something for lunch.  Spent a while watching a street performer…A J James, I think his name was.  A mixture of juggling, acrobatics and escapology…quite entertaining.

Get out of this!  He did, very easily!

Late afternoon we decided to go and bag another Wainwright.  Latrigg, 368 metres, to the north of Keswick.  Very easy, because you can drive almost to the summit and there is an easy access path from the car parking area!  Excellent views of Keswick and Skiddaw, albeit a bit hazy.

In the evening we walked back into Keswick and ended up in an Italian restaurant.  Really good food but very poor service, so no recommendation here.  No tip, either!

Then  a couple of drinks in the Dog and Gun, our favourite pub of the weekend.  Lively, in a nice way, and lots of real ales for D to choose from.

Couldn’t face the walk up the hill in the dark so we got a surprisingly inexpensive taxi back to the site.

Monday

Packed up early and on the road by 10am.

All in all, a very good first trip of the year.  We went away a couple of times in December/January, staying in hotels, but you can’t beat the freedom of a caravan!?

Castlerigg Hall 032012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Coming soon…

Braithwaite Fold, Bowness...tanker drivers strike permitting!

We could never get in here when it was a CC site but now it is a C&CC one and seems to have vacancies all of a sudden.  Probably because you have to pay a deposit when you book with the C&CC!

Wet and windy in Wales!

25th to 27th November 2011

Riverside, Betws y Coed, a site we first visited back in June.  An excellent site in the centre (almost) of Betws y Coed.  We would have preferred Cumbria or Derbyshire but wanted somewhere with lots to do within easy walking distance and there’s not much else open at this time of year, at least not with vacancies

Friday

Arrived about 1.30 to find the site half empty, so we got a good pitch.

Had a quick look in the model railway shop on the way into the village and very nearly bought a starter set, but the cheapest one at £75 put us off.

There are plenty of pubs in Betws y Coed (none of them are particularly good, D has been spoilt by the Cumbrian real ales!) but we had a quick drink in one of them anyway and then went back to the caravan for dinner.

Back into the village after dinner and ended up drinking San Miguel in one of the hotels.

Saturday

A very half hearted attempt to get to the top of Moel Siabod (872 metres) today.  Apparently it’s a bit challenging even in good conditions with a section of prolonged scrambling to get to the summit.  And conditions were not good!

Out of the way sheep – the path to Moel Siabod

We made it to the lake at the start of the final climb, but by then the showers had turned into heavy rain and it was very, very windy!  Instead we walked around the lake, which wasn’t much fun as it was wet and boggy, and retraced our steps.  We weren’t the only ones who turned back, a group of half a dozen men did too, although we did see an elderly couple disappearing up into the mist.  We will re-visit Moel Siabod in better weather.

All the rain turned the paths into rivers, so we had to walk on the wet grass.  Very slippery and  J fell over several times and got covered in mud.  D did ask her to do it again so he could get a picture but she wouldn’t!

This was a path earlier!

First outing with our new camera, a Canon Powershot SX130, but we couldn’t really take many pictures because of the heavy rain, hence no gallery this time.  It does seem much better than the old one however.

D’s favourite pic of the day, making full use of the 12x optical zoom in glorious monochrome…

We were well and truly soaked by the time we got back to the car, despite wearing waterproof jackets and trousers.

No pub stop on way back this time, but straight back for showers and a hot drink, and a look on eBay for that train set (found it for £15 cheaper)  There may be another blog in the near future!

In the evening we headed into the village for something to eat,  but it was so busy we ended up having a fairly expensive dinner in one of the hotels, followed by drinks in another.

Sunday

Homeward bound, so of course a lovely day with clear blue sky and just a few clouds!  Still quite windy though.

D drove straight through a red light at some roadworks only to find a stream of cars coming towards us along a single carriageway!  Luckily they didn't include a caravan or a bus so we were able to get over onto the grass verge to allow them to pass, it could have been much worse.  Very embarrassing, though!

Bear Grylls on desert island discs.  He wouldn’t have given up halfway up Moel Siabod, he is the youngest person to have climbed Everest!!

Back at the storage site we discovered that we had bought the key to the toilet block home with us, so will have to post it back to them.  The new occupants of pitch no. 17 will have to cross their legs!

Coming soon…

That’s all for 2011, we wont be caravanning again until 2012.  That’s assuming it (and us) survives the winter!

We do have a couple of trips planned in December, to Cumbria and then Scotland for Twixmas, but we will be staying in hotels for the first time this year.  I wonder, will we be pining for the caravan or enjoying the luxury…?

Oh well, see you in 2012…have a great Christmas and New Year.

November sunshine

11th to 13th November 2011

Fallbarrow Park, Bowness-on-Windermere.

Another new one for us.  This is a very commercial site right on the lake with just a few minutes walk into Bowness.  It boasts an onsite pub, cafe, deli and private launch area.  It’s mostly for statics and lodges but there is a small touring area.  Not the sort of site we would normally go to, but as the days are much shorter now we wanted somewhere where we knew there would be plenty to do in the evening.

Some excellent (empty) pitches for caravans or lodges, but way out of our price range!

Friday

The worst thing about the site is the earliest arrival time…2pm.  We phoned and asked if we could get there a bit earlier, but was told not a chance.  We arrived 15 minutes too early due to the traffic being very good, so hung around in a lay-by till 2 eating sausage rolls!

The pitches are a good size and have their own water and waste water disposal, and we especially like the way they are all separated by hedges, albeit pretty bare ones at this time of year.

It’s right on the edge of lake Windermere…

Lots of hungry swans and ducks…

After a quick wander around the site we headed into Bowness and had a look around the shops and a quick drink in a couple of the pubs, our favourite the Old John Peel Inn.  Nothing to do with the much missed DJ of the same name.

Then we went to the Crown Carvery, which overlooks the lake, for a £3.89 dinner.  Not exactly busy, there were only half a dozen people in there after 9.30 0n both nights, but the food was very good and rivals the Toby carvery at more than twice the price. The Marston’s EPA was very good too (says D).

Saturday

Up earlyish for a low level walk in the hills around Windermere.  High points Brantfell (191 metres) and School Knott (232 metres), so nothing too strenuous.  Excellent views of Windermere and the surrounding area…

And some colourful sheep…

More pics in the gallery.

Bowness 112011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After about 3 hours, we ended up in the village of Ings, and had a late lunch in the Watermill Inn.  D had the Collywobbles – not caused by the salmon sandwich,  but a fine beer from the onsite brewery

The bus only comes once every hour, so we had to keep an eye on the time.  D a bit tipsy after his 2 pints, (one was quite strong), and  armed with a couple of pilfered beer mats to add to the collection and one of their own fridge magnets (bought, not pinched) we made it to the bus stop with minutes to spare.

After a rest and showers we went into Bowness and ended up back in the Crown Carvery, our (surprising) pub of choice for the weekend.  No food, just a few drinks, then chips and a giant sausage from the chippy next to the site.

Sunday

Left about 10.30.  Remembrance Sunday, so no Archers omnibus to listen to on the way home, just Nicholas Witchell describing the outfits of the wreath layers and lots of military music, would have been much better to see on TV

Fallbarrow Park

Pros

• A very short walk into Bowness, which has lots of pubs, restaurants etc.
• Easy to get to
• Onsite pub and cafe (both looked ok, although we didn’t venture in)
• Large pitches with own water/hookup, separated by hedges for added privacy.
• Large play area for kids
• Good toilets/showers (although the layout in the gents was a little strange)

Cons

• Earliest arrival time 2pm
• Site dominated by statics and lodges
• Very expensive, £35 per night plus extra for awning/pets in high season!

Overall a pretty good site which we will probably go back to around the same time next year, but not in high season.  Good for families.

Coming soon…

Nothing planned.  We’ve drained all of the water out of the caravan in case we don’t use it again until next year but if the weather stays nice we might try to get away again.

Or we might consider hiring a static here for three nights…only £128, so cheaper than a hotel.