Yes, we are finally on our way ‘up north’, excited to be back on our campervan travels. Our first stop was Peterborough, for lunch with stepmother Val and then an overnight stop at a campsite at Newark. The next morning, the thirteenth, didn’t start too well. The grey water tap lever snapped off as Rodney was shutting it and it now needs replacing. We set off up the A1 and then remembered that we had passed a large caravan and camping company back at Newark, so we turned off at the next exit and drove back down south to find it. After an hour of checking out other campervans (no we still love Eileen), the purchase of a new portable grey waste tank, some disinfectant tablets and a bit of plastic hosing, we still had no tap, so we joined the A1 and headed north again. We’re now searching for a homebrew shop because they apparently use exactly the sort of tap we are looking for…..?!
We stopped to walk up the Cow and Calf overlooking Ilkley in Yorkshire. The weather was foul with rain and a cold wind, a shame because it is a very beautiful area. We’ve marvelled at the miles upon miles of dry stone walls that line the roads and cross the fields and hills all over Yorkshire.
That night was spent in a campsite near Bolton Abbey, after finding that our chosen campsite near Grassington was already fully booked, so we had to drive back south a bit…..again. Silly us, we really thought everyone would be back at school and work and campsites would be fairly empty by now. So the next day, we made sure we phoned ahead before arriving at the site and managed to get the last hard-standing spot; we’re not keen on getting bogged again, like we did in France. It was a beautifully situated campsite in Ribbledale, a few miles north of Settle with views of craggy cliffs, stone walls and of course, sheep. The next morning, we went for a wonderful, but fairly long at four plus hours, walk up to Malham Tarn, Malham Cove, the limestone pavement above, Gordale Scar and Janet’s Foss.
We were very lucky with the weather, but the next day was very miserable so we decided to “rest up” and catch up on ‘stuff’ including lots of overdue emails. We had hoped to walk across the valley to find a pub, but the rain just wouldn’t let up for even five minutes. After three nights there and an early morning stroll in the rain, to see the River Ribble and the Stainforth Force at the bottom of the campsite, we checked out and drove across the scenic Yorkshire Dales to the Ribblehead Viaduct, which really is quite an impressive sight, even for a non-train spotter.
We continued on up to Hawes, a rather nice little town, even in the rain, and we popped in to the Hawes Ropemakers centre to see how it’s all done. We also indulged in some major cheese tasting at the Wensleydale Creamery which was smashing. I was rather taken with the clotted cream and strawberry Wensleydale cheese, but Rodney wasn’t so keen. So after trying about 20 different varieties of yummy cheese, we came away with a delicious Wensleydale with cranberries and a rather tasty Bishopsgate.
From Hawes, we drove the narrow and winding A684 to Kendal. We didn’t stop for mint cake, but pushed on through Windermere, Ambleside and Coniston to the Park Coppice Campsite just before Torver in the Lake District. We picked a plot for the night and tucked ourselves in as the rain poured down outside and we wondered what the weather would do tomorrow.
Tuesday turned out to be a day full of weather typical in the Lake District; we had sunshine, showers, rain, white clouds, grey clouds, wind, a little warmth and also quite a bit of chilly stuff. The only thing missing was any snow……
We cycled down to the lake and followed the path in to Coniston. Rodney got his hair cut and is in a buoyant mood because every woman he meets calls him “luv”. I bought some thick socks and gloves; I’m going to need them tomorrow because the weather forecast is the same as today and we’ve made a big plan to take on the Old Man of Coniston. No, no, we’re not wrestling a local, it’s a mountain.
We’ll let you know how we went in the next blog………
That’s a lot of mountains, we’re exhausted after one!!! As for wellies, we really are seriously considering them. We need them, but there’s not much room to store them in a small campervan……
Hi Guys
Look forward to hearing how your ascent of the Old Man went. I was campimg in the Langdales in August and did Bowfell, the Langdale Pikes, the Old Man and Hellvellyn (up Striding Edge and down Swirral Edge). Sunny one day, pouring the next! It was a bit sad watching all the locals, on their summer hols at the Langdale campsite, wearing, as their footwear of choice, wellies! Have fun, cheers Paul
Not until November…..meanwhile we’ll just keeping hoping that an Indian summer might arrive next week, or the week after that, or……
Malham Cove, childhood memories.
Are you heading south soon to escape winter?