For our first long adventure of the year we planned a month in The Lake District. We visited The Lakes many times when we lived in Staffordshire but hadn't visited for over 20 years since moving to Devon.
We decided to have an early start on Saturday to visit Slimbridge Wetlands Centre to see if we could see the kingfishers. On our last visit we were told that May would be a good time to see them so we headed for the Kingfisher Hide. We didn't see any in the morning but went back to the Hide before leaving in the afternoon and were so pleased to see two kingfishers. After leaving Slimbridge we went to Chapel Lane Club Campsite and set up on site for our overnight stay.
The following day we visited Steve's family and then drove to Cannock Chase Camping & Caravanning Club Site, intending to stay for three nights. The site was very busy and noisy, very different from the last time we visited in November. We had a pitch near to the children’s play area which was okay as it had some grass around the pitch.
On Monday we visited my family and were shocked when we returned to the site to see a large tent squeezed into the space behind Zeb. My niece and her new partner visited for a few hours in the evening which was a lovely end to the day.
As we weren't enjoying staying on the site we decided to leave a day early and have a stop on the way to the Lake District. We booked a pitch at Blackpool South Club Campsite on Tuesday night. We had a horrid journey as the traffic was heavy on the motorway and we also had torrential rain. By the time we reached the site the sun had come out so after pitching we sat out in the sun for a while before showers and tea. It felt like our adventure was about to start.
On Wednesday we left Blackpool and travelled to Ravenglass Camping & Caravanning Club Site, stopping for shopping on the way. It was a long journey and we were glad we hadn’t travelled all the way from Cannock. Our first impression of the site was good - it's set amongst trees and we were given a choice of pitches. After setting up we had a walk to the seafront and then to the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway to buy our tickets for the following day. We then returned to site to sit in the sun with a G&T.
Thursday was a lovely sunny day - perfect for our trip on the railway. We travelled in an open carriage all the way to Dalegarth, which is the end of the line. After a cup of tea we started to walk to Dalegarth Falls, which looked lovely in the leaflets. Unfortunately Storm Arwen had caused a lot of damage to the side of the ghyll and the path was blocked from the middle bridge. We retraced our steps past Gill Force and St Catherine’s Church before returning to Dalegarth Station. After lunch we followed the Eskdale Trail back to the site.
We had a lot of rain overnight and it rained on and off all Friday morning so we stayed in Zeb and did some planning for the following days of our adventure. In the afternoon we visited the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Museum and had a short walk along the coast path.
On Saturday we visited Muncaster Castle to visit the gardens and see the bird displays. The gardens are lovely and there are many footpaths and trails around the site. We watched the Owl Display, which was very good, but our favourite was the Birds of Prey Display. The day ended with us watching the wild herons being fed before walking back to site.
On Sunday we travelled to Coniston Park Coppice Club Site which is a very large site set amongst woodlands. We found a pitch in one of the small clearings which wasn't under lots of trees as rain was forecast mid week. After setting up we walked from the site into Coniston for a drink at the Yewdale Inn before returning to site.
Monday saw a cool start to the day, with sun forecast later in the day. We walked along the edge of the lake to Coniston and then took the path towards Torver before returning to the site by the path along the old railway line.
On Tuesday we did our big challenge - walking to the summit of The Old Man of Coniston. This was a challenge Steve had set himself after his heart attack. The day was forecast as being dry but cool, perfect for the climb. It turned out to be a hot and sunny day with very little cloud, which made the walk more challenging. Steve was fine with the walk, although I struggled towards the summit, but the views were amazing. After returning to site we had showers before fetching a pizza from the van on site.
We had torrential rain overnight and into Wednesday morning. This was fine as we had always said it would be our rest day after the challenging walk the previous day. We stayed in Zeb in the morning and when the rain cleared went for a few short walks around the site to stretch our tired legs.
Thursday was Steve's birthday so after a lazy start to the day with him opening his cards and presents we walked into Coniston. We had a pot of tea at the Bluebird Cafe which is on the edge of Coniston Water and then a potter around the shops before lunch at the Yewdale Inn. We walked back to site in the afternoon arriving just before it started to pour with rain again.
On Friday we travelled to Meathop Fell Club Campsite stopping at Ulverston to top up on shopping and also have a walk around the town. After arriving on site we set up on a sunny pitch at the bottom of the site and spend the rest of the day sitting out in the sun.
Saturday started with a sunny morning so we walked from the site to Grange-over-Sands. As we had not previously visited the town we had a walk around some of the shops and a coffee at Thyme Out before sitting on the promenade for our lunch. We walked back to the site mid afternoon when it started to get very windy and a lot cooler.
We had a lot more rain overnight, but Sunday saw another sunny start to the day so walked from site to the estuary. We had intended to walk to a nearby nature reserve but it started to rain so we headed back to site for our mid-adventure clean of Zeb. We had heavy rain on and off for the rest of the day and evening so stayed in Zeb.
On Monday we travelled to Braithwaite Village Camping & Caravanning Club Site. We were allocated a pitch next to the barrier by the entrance – not one that we would have chosen but we were able to pitch looking away from the entrance, which was fine. After setting up we had a walk to the village and looked around the site. Whilst our pitch wasn't the best one on the site, it wasn't the worse either.
We had a cool start to the day on Tuesday and caught the bus to Whinlatter
Forest. After a cup of tea we walked the
trail to Lord’s Seat and another trail to the Seat How viewpoint. The sun came out mid morning and it became a lovely warm day, except when were on
the summit of Lord’s Seat as there was a cold wind. We caught the mid afternoon bus back to the
site and enjoyed sitting in the afternoon sun with a G&T.
On Wednesday we walked from the site to Force Crag mine and then continued on the path to High Force to see the disused dam and more derelict mine workings. It was a very hot day so we stopped at the village shop on our way back to the site to pick up some cold drinks for our return.
Thursday started very warm and sunny so we sat outside Zeb for breakfast. The site staff told us there was a power cut - it was restored quickly so we thought it was just the site without power. On leaving the site we drove to Keswick to do our shopping only to find the power cut had affected the whole area and all the shops were closed. Time for Plan B, so we drove to Penrith for our shopping and then arrived at Troutbeck Head Club Campsite. Most of the pitches seemed to be cramped and overlooked but we found a pitch on Lower Beck with a lovely view across the fields. We had a walk around the site to see where the footpath led to the forest and then spent the afternoon outside Zeb.
The forecast on Friday was for a dry morning but rain
due in the afternoon. We decided to walk
through the forest trails to Dockray and after a pot of tea at the Royal Hotel
we returned to the site arriving just as it started to rain. It rained on and off all afternoon and
evening so we stayed on site.
On Saturday we had a cloudy day with a cold wind, but at least it was dry. We walked to Aira Force and then to
the pier on the edge of Ullswater. It
was very cold by the water as there was a strong wind so we returned to the
Force hoping to get some good views of the waterfalls. Unfortunately the viewing
platforms were closed as there were several trees down, but we walked the paths
on both sides of the water to try and get a good view before returning to Zeb late afternoon.
After the previous day’s long walk we decided
to walk the forest trails from the site on Sunday.
There were a few paths, but all were dead ends - the only one that led out of the forest was the one to Dockray which we had already walked twice so we returned to site
for the rest of the day.
On Monday we travelled to Derwentwater Camping & Caravanning Club Site - our final Lakeland site. We stopped for our food shopping in Keswick and walked to the site to see the access before our arrival time. We had a warm welcome on site and were allocated a lovely pitch in the centre of the site. After setting up and checking the facilities we walked to Keswick to look at the walking shops and have a drink at the Dog & Gun We sat out until early evening when the sun set behind the trees and it started to get cooler.
The forecast for Tuesday looked good so we bought 'Hop On & Off' tickets for the Keswick Launch. We got off at Hawse End landing stage so we could walk across Catbells - it was a busy path as several other walkers were doing the same walk. The path was quite steep in places with a scramble near the summit but the views were stunning. After lunch near the summit we walked back to Hawse End for the ferry back to Keswick.
On Wednesday we walked around Derwentwater. It's a ten mile walk on a level path, but we made a couple of detours to Ashness Bridge and Surprise View as well as the Loder Falls. Although it had been an easy walk, it was a very hot day so we were glad to get back to site.
After our two walking days we decided to have an easier day on Thursday. We spent the morning pottering around Keswick before having a pub lunch at The Wainwright and then going to the Theatre by the Lake to see 'The Climbers'. We both love going to the theatre and the production was very good. After returning to site we sat out for a while to enjoy our last evening in The Lakes.
On Friday we started to make our way home and stopped for one night at Royal Vale Caravan Park at Knutsford, a private site that's affiliated to the C&MC. We both hated the site and were glad we were only there for one night. Our pitch was next to the entrance, between the carpark and a part of the site that was being developed and resembled a building site.
On Saturday we got up early to leave the Knutsford site and travelled further south to Broadway Club Site, stopping for breakfast on our journey. We like this site and despite arriving on a Saturday we found a lovely sunny pitch. After setting up we walked into Broadway for a drink at Number 32 and then walked back to site for the evening.
We woke to a cloudy start on Sunday and walked to Broadway Tower and Snowshill Manor - a walk we've previously done but one we enjoy. We had a few short showers during the day but were able to take shelter. We returned to site late afternoon and sat outside Zeb for a G&T before having showers and our final evening meal
On Monday is was time to travel back home.
Over the month we stopped at 11 sites - our favourite was Derwentwater and we plan to return for at least a week on our next trip to the Lakes. We also liked Ravenglass and would like another visit as there is still a lot we want to do in the area. Troutbeck Head would be a good site if we needed an overnight stop on a journey as it's not too far from the M6, but there's no good walking in the area. We also liked Meathop Fell site but have walked all the paths that are near to the site. The only site we hated was Royal Vale - it's certainly nothing like its description on its website and it's definitely not one to use again.
28 May-27 June 2022
