Martha has arrived at the dealership in Portsmouth - so we were sent a few photographs to show us what she looks like! The vehicle now has to be registered and duties paid, as well as having a few jobs carried out by the dealer so we have arranged collection on 4 September (which is the same date we collected Zeb three years ago).
18 July 2023
This is our longest trip of the year, and the longest we've ever been away from home - 38 nights.
As we were travelling north we started with visits to our families. On Thursday we travelled to Stanmore Hall Touring Park, which is the site we use when visiting Steve's family. After setting up on site we walked around the Country Park for a couple of hours before returning to site.
It was Steve's birthday on Friday and we headed off to see his family. We went to collect his mother and drove to the nursing home where his father lives, his brother also joined us for lunch. We drove back to site late afternoon and had a long journey with the Friday evening traffic through Wolverhampton.
On Saturday we picked Steve's mother up and took her to the nursing home, staying a couple of hours before driving to Spring Paddock CL. After setting up we had a walk through the lanes to Bednall before stopping at the Chetwnd Arms for a drink and returning to the site.
On Monday we headed north and stopped at Poolsbrook Country Park Club Campsite which we had planned as a stopover for a couple of nights. After setting up we had a short walk around the Country Park but returned to the site after a couple of miles as it was too hot to walk. We sat in the shade for a while before the storm arrived and we retreated indoors.
Tuesday was another hot start to the day. We walked from the site towards, through the Country Park to the Chesterfield Canal. We walked along the canal for a short distance before returning to Staveley and back to the site. It was even hotter by the afternoon so we stayed in the shade outside the van.
We enjoyed the site and as it's not too far from the motorway it's an ideal site for stopping over on long journeys, although we found the Country Park rather disappointing.
On Wednesday it was time to move to our next site - York Rowntree Park Club Campsite. The site is only a short distance from the centre of York and is between the river and Rowntree Park. We found a lovely large pitch in the centre of the site and after setting up went for a walk to York.
We decided to have a treat on Thursday and booked breakfast at The Cosy Club. After breakfast we visited Clifford's Tower, climbing to the top of the tower for some spectacular views. We spent the rest of the day pottering around the city and walking along some of the city trails before returning to the site when the heat became too intense.
Friday was another hot day and we started with a walk to The Cold War Bunker as we had booked a tour. The hour long tour was very interesting and after it finished we walked back towards York, stopping at Goddards to walk around the garden and have a pot of tea. After leaving the gardens we visited the Treasurer's House before returning to the site through Rowntree Park.
Saturday was our final day in York and we spent it walking around the City Walls and along the river to the Millenium Bridge before returning to site to sit in the sun with a G&T.
We both enjoyed staying at the York site and would like to have stayed longer, I'm sure we'll return in the future.
On Sunday we drove to Dalby Forest Campsite, a small farm site on the edge of Dalby Forest. After setting up on site we walked to Lower Dalby and the Visitor Centre. We walked the Ellerbeck Red Trail and part of the Dalby Beck Yellow Trail back to the site, walking further than planned but we wanted to make the most of the fine weather as rain was forecast the following day.
We had a lot of rain overnight and woke to a cool, cloudy morning on Monday. More rain was forecast early afternoon so we walked the Pexton Moor Blue Trail, not venturing too far from the site in case it started raining. The sky seemed settled so we walked to the Visitor centre and then the Sneverdale Rigg Rabbit Run, whether there were several sculptures, before heading back to the site. The forecast storm never arrived so we sat outside the van until early evening.
We enjoyed walking the trails and although the site was ideally situated at the entrance to the Forest, it's too far away from the northern trails so it's unlikely we would visit again.
On Tuesday we headed to Beckside Campsite in Pickering. The weather was awful with torrential rain for our journey. We had planned on visiting somewhere on the way, but as it was raining so hard we stopped at the Cedarbarn Farm Shop for a pot of tea. It was still raining heavily when we arrived on site, which didn't help our first impression as it seemed very crowded. Fortunately the rain eased by late afternoon so we walked into Pickering before returning to site.
Wednesday was a lovely day, especially after the heavy rain the previous day. We walked to Pickering Castle and then walked through Lowther Woods before returning to site and sitting in the sun until late evening.
On Thursday we walked into Pickering to catch the bus to Whitby. The journey took about an hour as it visited several villages over the Moors, including Goathland. After visiting Whitby Abbey, having a potter around the harbour and town we had lunch at Abbey Wharf before catching the bus back to Pickering and walking back to site.
The forecast was a little mixed for Friday so we decided to catch the bus to Goathland. There were a couple of short walks we wanted to do but we decided we could also pop into a cafe if it started raining. Our first walk was to Mallyan Spout, the walk towards the waterfall was challenging as it was a scramble over wet rocks but worth it to see the waterfall. We went back to Goathland for lunch before walking over the Moors in the afternoon and then catching the bus back to Pickering.
Saturday was a lovely day so we caught the bus again, this time we got off at the Hole of Horcum. We did a circular walk across Levisham Moor and through the bottom of the valley. It was one of our favourite walks as the scenery was stunning, but as it was a very hot day and we were both feeling tired we decided to catch an earlier bus back to Pickering.
We enjoyed all the walking from this site and Pickering is also a lovely town, but the site was the worst one of our trip. The pitches were cramped, facilities were limited and grubby - definitely not a site for us to use again.
On Sunday we moved to Teesdale Barnard Castle Club Campsite. The site was fairly quiet so we had a good choice of pitches, choosing one on the lower section of the site as it was furthest from the road and also sheltered by a hedge. Rain was forecast in the afternoon so we decided to stay on site.
Monday was another day with a mixed weather forecast. In the morning we walked to Barnard Castle, pottered around the shops and had a coffee at Moments Café before returning to site for lunch. There was still no sign of the rain so we walked through the Deepdale Nature Reserve, across the aquaduct and along the river before returning to site.
The forecast was for a wet day on Tuesday and for once it was right so we stayed on site all day, just having a short walk around the site when the rain eased
We enjoyed staying on this site and hope to return one day as there is so much more for us to see and do in the area.
On Wednesday it was time to travel to our next site - Lower Wensleydale Club Campsite. The site is in an old quarry with an unusual layout and we found a lovely sunny pitch on the lower section. After lunch we decided to have a walk to Leyburn, fortunately we had taken our waterproofs with us as it started to rain heavily. We stopped at the Leyburn Station Cafe for a pot of tea and waited for the rain to stop before continuing our walk into Leyburn.
Thursday was a fine day, but cool and windy. We walked from the site to Leyburn and then did a circular walk across the top of Leyburn Shawl. Although the walk was lovely a lot of the trees had grown so tall that the views were obscured, but there were a few gaps in the trees to admire the views. We made our way back to Leyburn and the site, stopping at the Inspired Chocolate factory on our way back. We sat outside for a while before it became too cold and we retreated inside.
Friday was a day with mixed weather so we had a short walk to Leyburn in the morning, returning to site when it started to rain. In the afternoon we had another short walk to Harmby to find the start of the footpath to Middleham for our walk on Saturday. We also had a slight detour to Harmby Waterfall, a lovely waterfall tucked behind some houses.
On Sunday we drove to Old Station Holiday Park at Masham. We decided to visit Jervlaux Abbey on the way and although it was interesting to walk round it was very overgrown so it was difficult to see some of the ruins. We got to the site early afternoon and after setting up we had a walk into Masham.
Monday was forecast as another wet day so we caught the bus to Richmond. The journey took about an hour as it went through several small villages enabling us to see a lot more of the area. We both liked the town and after pottering around the shops we walked along the river as well as visiting Richmond Castle.
Whilst in Masham we decided to do a brewery tour. The town has two breweries but only Theakstons had a tour on Tuesday, so that's the one we booked. We started the day with breakfast as the The King's Head before the tour, which was very interesting and we enjoyed the samples after the tour! As the weather was fine we did a short circular walk around the town before returning to site.
On Wednesday it was time to move to our next site. We stopped in Ripon for a few hours to look around another town. We then drove to the The Cud Life near Harrogate and were given a pitch with fabulous views across the valley. After setting up we had a lazy afternoon on site.
One of the main reason to stay at this site was to visit Harrogate and on Thursday we caught the bus to the town. Our first stop was Betty's Tea Room for a pot of tea and Fat Rascal. We walked around the town before heading to Valley Gardens which are Grade II listed gardens and were one of the best gardens we've visited for a while.
Friday was forecast as a lovely hot day so we caught the bus to Summerfield and walked to Brimham Rocks. We spent several hours walking around the rocks and across the Moors before catching the bus back to site.
On Sunday it was time for our next site - Castleton Club Campsite. We had a long journey due to roadworks on the motorway and diversions outside Chesterfield. We arrived on site mid afternoon and after setting up had a short walk to Castleton, heading back to site when the sky started to get very dark. We timed it well as we were back before the rain started.
Monday was forecast as a dry morning and wet afternoon so we decided to walk to Blue John Cavern one of the reasons we decided to stay at the site. We walked through Castleton and up Winnatts Pass to the Caverns to meet George, our tour guide. The Caverns were very impressive and we enjoyed the tour, although Steve was beginning to get chilled (the Caverns are a regular temperature of 6°) by the end of the tour. After a cup of tea to warm us up when we returned to the surface we walked back to site, getting back just as it started to rain again.
Tuesday's forecast was for a dry morning and another wet afternoon. We walked from the site into Castleton and explored some of the backstreets and visited a few of the Blue John jewellery shops, before heading back to site before it started raining.
The forecast for Wednesday was similar to the previous couple of days. We walked to Hope and then Castleton before returning to site when we had another wet afternoon.
We last visited this site in 1997 when we had our caravan, so it was a trip down memory lane for us. We enjoyed the site and the walking in the area, but it's probably not somewhere we would visit again.
On Thursday it was time to start heading home. We stopped at Warwick Racecourse Club Campsite for a few nights. After setting up we walked into Warwick for a walk around the town.
On Saturday we walked to Warwick for breakfast at the Two Brothers Cafe before picking up the paper and heading back to site. It was still dry, but very windy, so we walked around the racecourse - the site is sited in the middle of the racecourse along with a small park and golf course. We stayed on site in the afternoon as we had another very heavy downpour.
We enjoyed staying on this site as it's the first racecourse site we've visited. I'm not sure we would return to Warwick, but if we did then we would be happy to stay on this site agan.
On Sunday it was time for our final journey home. Neither of us felt ready to go home but as we've a busy month ahead it was time to put our travels on hold for a few weeks.
8 June-16 July 2023
