Shrewsbury

22nd to 24th October 2017

Undeterred by storm Brian, it's off to Oxon Hall touring park, just outside Shrewsbury.  We've been here before, but not for a couple of years, so we thought it was about time for a return visit...and it makes a change from Cumbria!

Sunday

The Mersey Gateway bridge has just opened and journey time from our house to the M56 is much reduced.  It's just a pity it is a toll bridge...£2 a go.  The old bridge is closed for a year now and when it re-opens it will be tolled too.

We arrived just before 1pm and settled into a pretty good pitch in the adults only section.

Shrewsbury is too far to walk from the site and there aren't many buses on a Sunday!  We managed to find one, at 3.15, which turned out to be a mini-bus from Manchester airport!

In town we had a nice walk along the river, then tried a couple of pubs.  In the second one, which was more of a wine bar, the barman recommended the Coach and Horses for real ales and a traditional pub atmosphere and it turned out to be great.  Nice beers and a two course dinner for £10.  Not just ordinary pub grub, but fine food from a Masterchef runner up.  Excellent value.  Our pub of choice for this trip.

Monday

It was a drizzly sort of day, but at least the wind had died down.  We drove to Church Stretton for a walk up Caer Caradoc.

We had to shelter from the rain for a bit in Church Stretton, which has a really good antiques shop.  We were going to go in again after the walk but we were too muddy and tired!  J wouldn't let D buy a gruesome mounted wild boars head!  It was a drizzly day and visibility was mostly not good.

In the evening we got a taxi into Shrewsbury, which was only a little bit more that the bus fare would have been...had there been any buses!  We had dinner in the Coach and Horses again, and  few drinks in a couple of other pubs.  Part of the dining area in the Coach and Horses was being used for an Open Britain meeting, but it didn't put us off our food as much as a closed Britain one probably would have!  They were very considerate and spoke very quietly...we could hardly eavesdrop at times!

Tuesday

We weren't in a hurry to get home so we had breakfast in a nearby Toby carvery before setting off.  Got home around 1pm.

Coming soon...

Nothing booked, it depends on the weather.  We would really like to go to the recently re-furbished  Caravan Club site at Castleton but it seems to be fully booked forever!

Keswick

7th to 10th October 2017

Second visit of the year to Castlerigg Hall, our favorite site in the Keswick area.

Saturday

A good thing about this site is that you can book a specific pitch online, so no nasty surprises on arrival.  We've been on pitch 20 before, and like it.  Nice view and lots of rabbits.

What's missing from this pic?

In the afternoon we drove into Keswick and had a look around the outdoor shops and the market and Booths (bought cheese and biscuits as usual).  Then back to the site for dinner in the caravan, followed by a couple of drinks in the bar of nearby Heights hotel. Got talking to some people who were on a rally at Castlerigg Farm, which is another site just up the road.

We were the only ones there when they left, so we headed back to the caravan for the cheese and biscuits we'd bought earlier.

Sunday

D up early, for a short but steep walk up Raven Crag (461 metres).  J stayed in bed.  It nearly didn't happen because a road was closed, then the parking area was closed, but he made it. 

Viewing platform at the top of Raven Crag

Thirlmere 

In the afternoon we walked into Keswick and spent a few hours in The Wainwright, our favorite pub in the town.  Roast beef for D, roast pork for J.  We tried to get into the Dog and Gun after dinner, but it was full to bursting so we went back to The Wainwright instead.  Got a taxi back to the site about 9pm.

Monday

We drove to Grange, then got a bus to the Honister slate mine and walked back to the car via Dale Head (753 metres) and High Spy (653 metres).

The weather was ok in the morning, but drizzly in the afternoon.  Oh well, it is autumn.  Starting half way up was good, but there was lots of hard descent on this walk, plus a route finding problem towards the end when the path didn't match what was on the OS app.  It was good to get up in the clouds, we haven't been there for a while.

Dale Head 

High Spy 

A dead sheep we saw on the way down.

A happy rock!

In the evening we drove into Keswick, the plan being to have Hungarian goulash in the Dog and Gun, but once again it was full to bursting.  We had a quick drink in The Wainwright, then took fish and chips back to the caravan and had a night in.

Tuesday

It was wet and windy in the night, but ok in the morning and we made it back to the storage site around 1pm.

Coming soon...

Nothing booked.  The caravan is being serviced next weekend, so we are going to wait and see how that goes!

Coniston

16th to 18th September 2017

Another weekend, another trip to Cumbria.  This time a two night trip to the Caravan & Motorhome Club site just outside Coniston.

Saturday

A Saturday start, partly due to work commitments but more to take advantage of a better weather forecast for the second part of the weekend.

Earliest arrival time at this site is 10am.  We couldn't get there that early, but we arrived around midday to find the site quite full.  This is a big site and we always end up driving around for a bit, then panicking and settling for a really shady pitch as far away from the toilets and showers as possible!  This was no exception.

Actually the pitch was ok, nice and quiet with no immediate neighbours.

We sat around the caravan for a bit, then walked into Coniston, which is about a 2 mile walk going the scenic way.

There are four pubs in Coniston, the Sun Inn, the Black Bull and the Yewdale Inn.  The Yewdale Inn was probably our favourite this weekend.

We didn't stay out late, returning to the caravan for dinner.

Later we came to the aid of a damsel in distress.  The site is very dark at night and on our way to get showers we found a lady wandering around, hopelessly lost.  D walked back to the caravan to get the site map and we were able to return her to her pitch. Our good deed for the day.  J took a wrong turn on the way back, but managed to retrace her steps!

Sunday

Last week it was Blea tarn, Eskdale. This week we headed for Blea tarn above Langdale.  Gridlock on the way, with about a dozen cars trying to squeeze past each on the approach to the Wrynose pass.  At one point our tyre touched the tyre of the car trying to pass us.  It took ages to get past, with cars going backwards and forwards to free up space, and more cars arriving from each direction.  Pretty nerve wracking!

We made it to the car park near Blea tarn, and set off on a walk up Side pike and Lingmoor fell.

We've done this walk before, but it is a nice walk and would be high in our top ten...if we had a top ten.  Yewbarrow, Helvellyn, and the fells around Haweswater spring to mind.

A feature of the walk is a narrow gap that you have to go through, a crack in the rock.

Made it! 

Too many pies!

We made it...just! Excellent views of the Langdale pikes, Crinkle crag and Bowfell, especially from Side pike.

 Blea tarn

We toyed with the idea of a barbecue, but decided against it and instead had dinner in the Yewdale Inn.  A pork chop for J and a superb duck leg for D.  J's pork chop was served on a wooden board, which must have had a crack in it because the table was a bit slimy when they took it away!

Then a quick drink in the Sun Inn and the Black Bull.  The Sun Inn was very quiet tonight, at one point we were the only ones in there.  Still, there are very few villages that can boast three excellent pubs.

Monday

Very light rain when we woke up, but it soon turned into white cloud.  We didn't leave until 11am, which is very late for us.

Coming soon...

Nothing booked until early October, but we might squeeze another trip in before then if the weather is nice.