2011 the adventures begin - trip 19

24th April -28th April Waterside House campsite Ullswater




Waterside House is a great site. It's big, a working farm providing the sound of lambs and calves at the moment (and the odd farm smell too!), it's right on the shore of Ullswater and only a 15minute stroll into Pooley Bridge on a lakeside path. The only downside is the limited showers, though they are building more ready for the
summer.
Our first day mostly involved dozing in the sun. But the highlight was the young couple in the tent next to us, they creatively made a campfire from the disposable BBQ and some sticks - brilliant idea, well until they decided to take it into their tent when it got dark!! Thankfully the next morning both they and their tent were still in one piece!
The second day of our stay and the sun was still shining, so we went on a walk up above Ullswater. The walk took us through Cross Dormont up the fell towards Barton Park, along the top to the cockpit( a stone circle) and then back down into Pooley Bridge. It was a beautiful walk, giving great views of Ullswater. We stopped off in the sun pub for lunch and a pint of Cumberland ale before heading back to the campsite.
I promptly fell asleep and woke only in time to eat tea! It's great escaping and living in the fresh air for a few days.
The third day and it was a lot cooler, so we went on an Ullswater steamer boat to Glenridding. It was a great way of seeing the lake and surrounding hills. Once in Glenriddng we wandered about for a bit and had lunch in Fellbites before getting the boat back.
The fourth day was my birthday so we started the day with sausage sandwiches for breakfast! We also spent quite alot of time watching the farm move a herd of cows up the road! The weather was amazing, clear blue skies, so we walked into Pooley Bridge and hired a rowing boat. It was a great way to spend an hour and we rowed as far as our campsite and back. We then treated ourselves to a birthday ice-cream before sitting in the sun reading the paper all afternoon. bliss. we decided to eat out in the evening as a birthday treat. We went to The Sun in Pooley Bridge. A great find. The food was lovely (especially the sticky toffee pudding) and there is a good choice of local beer. a great way to spend our final evening at Waterside farm.




Details for those who are interested!
Cost: £20 per night with electric hook up (high season)
Website: http://www.watersidefarm-campsite.co.uk/
The Sun Inn: http://www.suninnpooleybridge.co.uk/
Ullswater steamers: http://www.ullswater-steamers.co.uk/index.shtml


28th April-1st May Eskdale camping and caravanning club site Boot




We packed up at Ullswater and headed to Boot, but decided to have a quick explore of Keswick along the way. We haven't been to Keswick for years and thought it would be nice to see what had changed. In short not a great deal. We did however find a fantastic little tearoom and shop called The Temporary Measure. A fantastic mix of retro furniture, canvas prints and artwork and knitting. Everything designed and made by the lady who runs the shop. We stopped and had teacake and a drink. I think we'll be back!
We made the rest of the journey to Boot in glorious sunshine. We set up and sat all afternoon in the sun. In fact it was so warm I had lots of suncream and a sun hat on. It's a first for us at Boot. Though no matter the weather Boot never loses it's appeal. The scenery is simply stunning, the campsite is unspoilt and well looked after and the local pub the Boot Inn serves really tasty food and great local ale. In fact the Boot Inn is the perfect retreat if the weather turns. We've played many a game of scrabble at the Boot Inn!
On day 2 we went on the ravenglass-eskdale railway and then did a 7 mile walk. Pathfinder guides did it again and fooled us into thinking the walk would be not too bad and then confronting us with a hill that went on forever! Still the views back towards Ravenglass made it worthwhile. We even caught 10 minutes of the royal wedding as we walked through Muncaster estate. We celebrated finishing the walk with a cuppa and some cake at the newly built railway cafe before heading back to Boot. We treated ourselves to scrabble a pint and boot pie at the Boot Inn in the evening. A perfect way to end the day!
Day 3 and we did a favourite walk up to Eel tarn, stopping as usual at the woolpack for a pint and some lunch. It's recently been done up by the new owners and I have to say I much prefer the old bar to the new 'trendy' leather seated bar they've created. It just doesn't seem to suit the surroundings!
Day 4 and it was time to head home, but not without a fry up at the Boot Inn for breakfast.

Details for those who are interested!
Cost: £19.47 per night with electric hook up and awning (high season)
Website: www.siteseeker.co.uk/aspx/details.aspx?id=9030
Temporary Measure, Keswick: http://www.temporarymeasure.co.uk/
The Boot Inn: http://www.bootinn.co.uk
The Woolpack: http://www.woolpack.co.uk/
Eskdale railway: http://www.ravenglass-railway.co.uk/

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another year of campervan capers (I just forgot to write about it)

Well last year I was a little bit (translate that as a whole lot) rubbish with the blog. I have to confess I was having too much fun and relaxing on holiday in the campervan to remember to make notes on what we'd done and where we had been. So here is a quick run down of where we went and the details:

Trip 13 30 April-4th May Beadnell Bay
We've been a few times to this site. It's a little basic but kept well and always with fantastic hosts. It's a great base for cycling to Seahouses and exploring the Farne islands. This time we were fortunate enough to see baby birds being born and lots of puffins.

Trip 14 29th and 30 May Blackmore campsite malvern hills
We used this site as a stop off on our way to Cornwall but it's a fantastic site. Really well set out with lots of walks nearby. There is also. Great pub in the village which has a lovely beer garden. We cycled to Great Malvern. It's highly worth a visit, especially if you make the climb up the hills behind the town, stunning stunning views. However I wouldn't recommend cycling there, oh my word the hills nearly kill you!!

1st-6th June Dennis Cove campsite Padstow
This was the highlight of our year. This little campsite is just on the edge of Padstow right next to the camel trail. Perfect for exploring lots of places without having to drive anywhere. The weather was amazing and we crammed in cycling to camel valley vineyards for a tour (and buying lots of wine) visiting Prideaux place, visiting rock, exploring Padstow, more cycling of the Camel trail, a Rick Stein cookery course, Rick Stein's restaurant and plenty of fish and chips. Now can you see why I neglected the blog!!

Trip 15 2nd-4th July Dent

We've been to Dent before. It's another great site in a much quieter part of Cumbria. There is stunning scenery all around the site and plenty of great walks. This time my cousin and her family were staying nearby so we had a lovely evening in one of the local pubs enjoying good food and spending quality time with them.
On the Sunday we all went to the forbidden corner at Leyburn. A fantastic folly play park ( that's the only way I can think to describe it)

Trip 16 23rd-25th July Dunstan Hill
This is another one of our favourite places to go. Its staggering distance to embleton sands and dunstanburgh castle. There are plenty of places to cycle and walk, our favourite being the ship inn at low Newton on Sea for crab stotties and a pint.

Trip 17 20th-22nd August Rosedale Abbey
This was our first time at Rosedale. The village is beautiful, there is a great pub to eat in and we had the added fun of the Rosedale show. Though we weren't so enamoured by the campsite. We will probably use it again but it was so busy with both statics and tourers that it was noisy and the facilities were constantly in a mess. It very well could be because of the show but teenagers drinking and shouting from the top of climbing frames doesn't seem to go with sleepy village in Yorkshire!

Trip 18 28th-31st August Boot
And again one of our favourites. A bit tricky to get to but well worth the slow and hilly drive. This campsite is so well run and brilliantly placed. The boot inn is great for a pint, dinner or even breakfast. The walks are spectacular and if you do the walk to eel tarn, the newly taken over woolpack inn is a treat half way round. I definitely recommend at least one trip on the eskdale to ravenglass railway and an explore of Muncaster castle.

Thanks to mobile technology I'll be blogging much more often this year when we go on our adventures.



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