Skelwith Fold, Torver and Ribblehead

We’ve had our campervan for two months now, and we’ve been away another three times, and each time we learn more about it and what works best, and what doesn’t work at all.

Skelwith Fold

It was another day filled with rain. Our initial plan was to head to the Langdales and go for a walk, possibly to the top of Lingmoor Fell. However, with the rain we opted for Wray Castle, a National Trust property on the northern banks of Windermere. The Castle was closed, but we had a mostly dry walk along the quieter side of the lake and then heated up some soup in our van.

The Castle did look quite impressive, and even though it wasn’t open, the toilets were. Also, one of the best things about the National Trust is that I’m a life member, bought for me by my grandmother when I was only five years old. There aren’t too many National Trust properties in the Lake District, but there loads of car parks, which are free for members. It’s the little things.

In the cold and rain we drove to Skelwith Fold Caravan Park, which had only just opened after their winter break. It was huge, mostly filled with private static caravans, but also with a number of large areas for caravans, campervans and motorhomes, all within a short walk of toilets and showers, and all with electric hookup.

This was our first time using a hook up, and it seemed easy enough. However, the leisure battery didn’t seem to be charging. Despite that, Helen cooked an amazing meal in the van and we snuggled down with a couple of beers and the diesel heater blasting away. That night we were cozy on the fold out bed with an additional layer beneath us to make it more comfortable.

The next morning the rain had cleared. I ran into Ambleside for parkrun and then ran back. Gordon was enjoying being able to sit outside. He is definitely a fair weather dog.

We were still worried about the leisure battery not charging, so I had a look at the hook up again. There was a switch inside the box that we hooked up to that I hadn’t turned on. As I said, we’re still in the learning phase.

We walked into Ambleside, had a coffee and some lunch in a busy cafe and then in the icy rain walked back to the campsite. When we arrived, the campsite was in darkness with a site-wide power failure. All three of us were cold and wet, but our van should be fine without a hook up. The diesel heater refused to work. We now know that these things can be temperamental, but we reset it and checked that we had over half a tank of fuel, but it still wouldn’t work. We were left with no option but to head home as the temperature had dropped to almost freezing.

Our second weekend away in our van hadn’t gone as planned, but we were more confident than our first weekend away. With our van still under warranty, we had the key mechanism changed, which was the reason for the engine not starting every now and again. We also had a new Sat Nav/Radio unit on order, along with new wing mirrors. A specialist in Preston also serviced the diesel heater, which reported a number of error messages, but didn’t state when. Anyway, the diesel heater should be fine for many years to come, fingers crossed.

Torver

A last minute decision to book a spot behind the Wilson’s Arms in Torver. The popular pub has six hook up berths behind the pub, and once again it chucked it down. We could hear the wind blowing down the hills all night.

We parked up and connected the electric cable, which worked. Inside the van in one of the cupboards where a fuse box is located, there was also a light which came on when the hook up was working. We hadn’t known about that when we’d been at Skelwith Fold a couple of weeks earlier. That was a revelation and put our minds at ease knowing that we had power and didn’t have to turn off the fridge. We could also fill up the water tank, which lead to another revelation. Our van has piping hot water, but only when connected as the water heater uses too much electricity for the leisure battery to cope with on its own. The salesman who we’d bought the van from had erroneously informed us that our van didn’t have hot water.

With everything sorted in the van, we took Gordon for a short walk. It pelted it down, but he was a good lad and didn’t make a fuss. He’s beginning to realise that going for a walk or a run in the rain is preferable to not going out.

Back at the van we changed out of our wet clothes and Helen cooked an amazing tea, before we headed into the pub for a drink. It was incredibly busy and stressful for our tired little pooch. The second we returned to the van he curled up in his bed. We set up our bed and rolled out a new thin mattress and settled down to read for a bit, all snuggly. Naturally, Gordon climbed into our bed during the night, but me and Helen had a much better sleep than we’d had the previous two nights away.

The following morning the wind had dropped, the rain had stopped and the sun had come out. We had thought about walking a couple of Wainwright’s close to Coniston Old Man, but our legs said “no”. Instead, we walked into Coniston and had a coffee and a sausage bap. Inside the dog friendly cafe we met a man who used to work on a farm which had 20 Pointers. That must have been a crazy place.

The village felt alive, probably in part due to the return of Bluebird. Unfortunately, the museum where the iconic boat is housed doesn’t allow dogs in. We will visit another time.

With the sun shining, we took the advice from the cafe to head back to Torver along the lake. Gordon had a little play in the water. Our previous pointer wasn’t overly keen on water and only swam on one occasion, so we’re interested to see what Gordon does in the summer when we visit Loughrigg Tarn.

As you can see from the photo, Gordon now wears a GPS tracker. We don’t let him off the lead very often as being off the lead is far more exciting than returning to us. Everyone we meet who has or has had pointers has a tale to tell about the time their dog ran off and only returned when they felt like it.

Back at the van, we opened up the awning to allow it to dry and had another brew before heading home. Our best night away yet.

Ribblehead

We had looked at going away for Easter, but everything appeared to be fully booked, and any campsite that wasn’t fully booked probably wasn’t somewhere we wanted to stay. Two of Helen’s schoolfriends who she follows on Facebook were spending a couple of nights at Ribblehead in their van. Apparently it was rammed with people enjoying a rare sunny Easter weekend. We loaded up the van with essentials and headed out there for 5 pm. By that time, almost all of the day visitors had left, leaving plenty of space to park.

We took Gordon for a short walk to the viaduct and back, complained about the number of full discarded poo bags and returned to the van. Rice with lemon and coriander with fried slices of haloumi, washed down with wine and beer, all while enjoying amazing views.

We also tried something different with the sleeping arrangement. Me and Helen decided to sleep in the pop-up top with our new mattress, leaving Gordon with the backseat, and also not having to fold out the bed. Helen climbed up first and made herself comfortable and then I followed. Almost as soon as I was lying down, Gordon was on the front seat wondering where we were. Helen told him to go to bed, and he did. He knew where we were and he appeared quite happy with the backseat. We didn’t hear a peep out of him all night. It also meant that we don’t need to bring his bed with us, which took up too much space.

It was a cold night, but with a winter duvet we were fine. There was also very little traffic at night along the Ingleton to Hawes road, which is notorious for speeding motorbikes during the day.

The next morning, after a brew and cereal, we went for a walk up Whernside, one of the famous Yorkshire Three Peaks. We walked under the famous viaduct and along a track through a few farms before we turned sharply to head up the climb to the top. We were going in the opposite direction to the classic route as it meant that we would have a steeper climb but an easier walk back down.

The paths are very well maintained due to the sheer number of visitors each year as we headed up. A few people passed us in the other direction, but not too many as it was still quite early. However, as we climbed the wind picked up and at the top it was wild. Helen tried unsuccessfully to take a selfie with all three of us in it, but Gordon was too excited, so we quickly headed on down.

I have to say that Gordon was incredibly excited on the whole walk. It was a new experience for him with bird noises everywhere. He was bordering on being a pest.

As we headed down the wind eased off and loads of people passed us in the other direction, some of whom didn’t look like they were prepared for the wind at the top. We crossed over the railway line and admired the empty and almost derelict Blea Moor Cottage next to the signal box. The house was on the market for a long time before being withdrawn. It needs a lot of work, has almost no facilities and would require a sturdy four wheel drive vehicle to access the house for many months of the year. I can’t understand why no one’s bought it!

When the viaduct came back into view, we marveled at the number of cars and vans parked where we were. It was to be expected as it was a sunny Easter Sunday. Back at the van we brewed up and relaxed, before packing away and heading home. It was our best night away so far and I think we’re getting the hang of it. Next weekend we’re away for three nights to enjoy the Catbells light walk, which we’re both excited about. I can see us enjoying our campervan for many, many years.