Castleton...again!

21st to 23rd August 2016

Our third...yes third...visit of the year to the Castleton CC site!

Sunday

With most sites full or almost full at the weekend, we thought we would try a Sunday/Monday trip for a change.

Not a great start.  As we travelled along the B6049 we noticed a couple of road closed signs, but ignored them thinking it was the side roads that were closed.  But it wasn't, it was the road we were on, and we were stopped in our tracks just before the village of Bradwell!  As was a caravan behind us, and another behind that.  The diversion was no good because it was along a very narrow road through the village.

Luckily, a local driver came along and told us about an alternative route, via Hathersage.

It's not easy turning around with a caravan attached, but luckily there was a side road to reverse into, and after a couple of false starts D just about managed it.  The rest of the journey was uneventful and we had a good moan about it in reception with the occupants of the other caravans.

There were a lot of empty pitches to choose from, and we settled for a quiet part of the site, off the main road.  It stayed pretty quiet while we were there.

We had lunch sitting outside the caravan and then walked into Castleton and had a couple of drinks sitting outside the Castle Inn to get over the ordeal of the road closure.

Then it was back to the site for a barbecue, which we just about managed to finish before the rain came. Well, the nice weather had to end sometime!

It rained so hard we didn't venture out again that night, missing the pub quiz in the Cheshire Cheese Inn which we had been looking forward to.

Monday

It wasn't raining when we woke up, but that didn't last long.  What to do in Castleton in the rain? Nothing.

We could have sat in the pubs all day, but instead we drove to not too far away Lyme Park.  It belongs to the National Trust, and we are members, so it was all free.

The plan was to have a look around the house, then go for a walk in the gardens and extensive grounds.  We declined the "dressing up" option!

The house finished, we had to venture out.  We sheltered in a porch area for a while, waiting for the rain to at least ease a bit, fascinated as bee after bee crawled in and out of a crack in the paving slabs.

We eventually managed to get a yellow NT umbrella from a member of staff and headed out into the rain, which is when D found out his goretex walking shoes were no longer waterproof!  The gardens were nice, and it did eventually stop raining.

In the evening we had dinner in the Castle Inn, and then a drink in another of the pubs before making friends with a local resident...

Tuesday

After the drama of the outward journey, the homeward one was uneventful, although there was quite a lot of traffic in the Stockport area.

Coming soon...

Nothing booked, we probably won't go anywhere until mid September.

Windermere

21st to 24th July 2016

Our second visit of the year to the Windermere C&CC site, primarily for the Hawkshead Brewery summer beer festival.

Thursday

A Thursday start for the beer festival, so a Thursday start for us, which meant very little in the way of traffic.  When we arrived we asked for a pitch on a part of the quiet part of the site known as "the mound" and we were delighted when we were shown to a pitch overlooking fields.  One of the best pitches on the site.  We very rarely get a pitch with a view.  An excellent start.

The view from our pitch

After sitting outside the caravan for a while, taking in the view and enjoying the mid week peace and quiet, the lure of the beer festival became to great and we set off across the fields to Staveley.

So many beers!  And a couple of lagers for J, who isn't really a real ale fan.

D sampled about a dozen, half's not pints, but paced himself well and was ok when we decided we had had enough at about 9.30pm.  It was the first day and mid week, so quite quiet, and we had no trouble finding somewhere to sit.  We think there were a lot of locals today and we even recognised a few people from last time.  Size and features do make some people more memorable than others!

Friday

A very warm day today, although lots of grey cloud around.

Ok, the thermometer was in direct sunlight, so it probably wasn't 34 degrees, but we thought it was too hot for serious walking, and we wanted to go back to the beer festival later, so we decided to head for a nearby hill we could see from our pitch.  Just a slight detour on the way into Staveley.

Kerris hill from our pitch 

Our pitch from Kerris hill

We made it to the beer festival and had a few drinks and lunch.  Dressed crab for D, which was excellent.

How beer is made

In the evening we decided to chance a barbecue despite ominous looking clouds.  It did rain for a bit, but we just about made it.  The fishy theme continued, with haddock skewers.

The site was pretty much full today, so not as peaceful as yesterday, but it didn't really bother us and it all quietened down at 11pm.

Saturday

Some serious walking today to burn off the calories caused by excessive drinking!  Seat Sandal, 736 metres, from just north of Grasmere.

A long trudge uphill to start with, on a hot and humid day, followed by a steep climb to the summit.  We made it, just about!  Excellent views of pretty much all of the big hills in Cumbria.

A dragonfly we came across on the way 

Grizedale tarn, with Ullswater just about visible in the distance 

It doesn't look it in the pic, but this was a really steep path to the summit!

In the afternoon we had a stroll around Grasmere and got back to the site around 6pm.  All "beered out", we decided to give the last night of the beer festival a miss.  Instead we had pizza and tea sitting outside the caravan.

We did go for a short walk to check on our geo-cache...

Sunday

A slight negative this weekend was a complete lack of interest in our bird feeder.  Except this morning, when we had about half a dozen at a time.  It must have taken them a few days to find it.

Despite checking everything twice D forgot to raise the jockey wheel, but a horrible noise soon alerted us to this fact even before we had left the pitch.  A bit embarrassing, but could have been worse!

All in all, a great trip, maybe the best so far this year.  Who needs a static caravan.....

Coming up...

Nothing booked.  It's high season now so it depends where there are vacancies in a couple of weeks.

Skelwith Fold

7th to 10th June 2016

It's getting busy, all of the places we wanted to go to this weekend were full so we had to settle for Skelwith Fold.  It's an ok site, handy for Ambleside, but not one of our favourites.

Thursday

A Thursday start, so not much traffic, but we'd been travelling for about an hour when we realised we'd left all of our bedding and towels at home!  Not a good start.

We managed to get a really good pitch.  One of the things that we don't like about Skelwith Fold is that it is a bit car parky, with caravans lined up next to each other, but not our pitch.  A caravan on one side and a tree on the other, so not at all cramped.

Then it was off to Kendal for a bit of shopping.  We got everything we needed, designer towels from TK Max and bedding from Argos.

Got back to the site around 5pm and just sat around enjoying the peace and quiet, followed by a BBQ and a stroll around and just outside the site.

Friday

Not very nice weather when we woke up, so we waited for it to brighten up a bit before tackling Cold Pike from the not too far away Wrynose pass (701 metres).  Our 100th of 214 Wainwrights.  Our goal this year is to get to 107, halfway.

Crinkle Crags and Bowfell looked very tempting in the distance, but we stuck to our original plan.

Not much in the way of blue sky.

The site was much fuller when we got back mid afternoon, and the Crazie Caravan Krew had arrived, complete with 6 metre flashing LED flagpoles and flags.  So much for peace and quiet.  Two caravans - I bet they were really annoyed when they couldn't get a pitch next to each other, as, probably, was the unfortunate caravan stuck between them.  The occupants of the 'vans were pretty much what you would expect from the flags - noisy, hysterical laughter and loud voices late into the night.  No children, just childlike adults.  They did shut up at 11pm, though.

We went for a stroll to the Drunken Duck pub, just over a mile away.  It's a really nice pub to sit outside, with a canopy to shelter you from the elements, although not at first today...

Luckily it moved after about 15 minutes.

Had a drink or three, beer for D, gin and tonic for J...

The site was full to bursting when we got back!

Saturday

Heavy rain all day.  We went for a walk in it to nearby Wray Castle but didn't go in, having read reviews saying that it was more suited to children.

The look on the cows face just about sums up the day...

In the evening we drove into Ambleside and had dinner in Zeffirelli's.  We got a good table at the back, but after dinner as we waited for a jazz band to start playing a party of four adults and four children turned up and sat next to us.  On went the gameboys and phones, unmuted, so we couldn't really enjoy the live music.  It didn't help that some of the set was pretty quiet.  We only stayed for the first half.

Sunday

Not a great journey home, there is a nasty hill start at a junction near the site which D made a mess of, but we made it in one piece.  The search is on for a better, more powerful towcar.

Coming soon...

The Hawkshead Brewery summer beer festival.