Once again the lure of a few nights away in our campervan proved too strong. This weekend we managed three nights at the National Trust campsite in Eskdale. In short, an absolutely amazing place to camp and visit.
We arrived in the rain on the Thursday and quickly filled up the water tank, set up the van, took Gordon for a short walk in the rain and settled down for the night. Everything appeared to be working as it should and we managed a great night’s sleep.
The following morning the rain had stopped so we headed out for a good walk up the two closest Wainwright’s; Harter Fell at 653m and Green Crag at 489m. We set off down the road towards the infamous Hardknott Pass. The website for the campsite had three different warnings about checking your Sat Nav to make sure that it didn’t send you over the Pass. I cycled it once almost 12 years ago, and that was enough.
We followed a pleasant little track past Penny Hill Farm before the uphill began. There’s no easy route up Harter Fell, and it was a long slog up a very steep path. We also only saw one other person, but the views from the top were worth it.
I’m not very good at knowing which fell is which, but I am fairly sure that behind Helen, my beautiful wife, it is the Old Man Coniston range of fells along with Seathwaite Tarn.
Back down a different route, which was equally as steep, we came to Hardknott Forest, which is being replanted with trees native to the area instead of conifers. The next section was boggy, and even in the height of summer it is boggy. Fortunately, we didn’t have too much to climb to reach the summit of Green Crag. Once again, the views were amazing as we could see all the way from Seascale nuclear power plant in one direction to Heysham nuclear power plant in the other.
Coming back down from Green Crag to Boot was tricky. There are probably dozens of different footpaths and none of them are easy to follow. Added to this, young Gordon had lost his mind with all of the birds. We bumped into a farmer building fences who seemed to think that Gordon was a character. He certainly is. And then before we knew it, we were back at the campsite. The sun was also out, so we swapped pitches so that we were completely on grass.
Gordon likes the sun.
The lack of cloud did mean that the temperature dropped significantly overnight, with frost on the front windscreen. We survived much better than we had a couple of months earlier. We then noticed a problem. The sink wasn’t draining away. Also, after a look under the van, we realised that the water tank also wouldn’t drain. A quick look online and the sink drain was a common problem and a flexible stick poked up the pipe would solve it, which it did, thank you Helen. We’ll probably have to have someone look at the water tank drain. Campervan forums suggest that you should fill up on arrival and then drain it when you leave, and never drink the water from the tank. Good advice.
The next morning we drove to Muncaster Castle for a fairly new parkrun, which I will write about separately. It was one of the friendliest and best parkuns that I’ve done.
That afternoon we went for a random walk towards Burnmoor Tarn in the sun. I had forgotten to bring my cap with me and had to buy one from the campsite shop. No hair equals a sunburnt head if I’m not careful.
We didn’t reach the Tarn as it was further than expected, but we spotted three people walking on the other side of a small stream on what looked like an easy to follow footpath. We crossed over the stream and decided to head back a slightly different route. Easy footpath soon disappeared. We headed towards a gate in a stone wall, figuring that we could follow the track through the farm. There was a sign on the gate saying no entry, but Helen spotted on her watch where the footpath was, which was only a couple of minutes walk away.
As we reached the campsite we came to Eskdale Mill, complete with waterwheel. It might have been nice to visit, except that Gordon probably wouldn’t behave himself. He’s never been to a museum.
The three nights away were the best so far with our campervan, and I think we’re just about getting the hang of it. It makes us realise just how little we actually knew about campervans on our first weekend away.
On the drive home we started to think about where our next mini-adventure should take us, and when.
Another weekend and another adventure in our campervan. It was our longest weekend away as we stayed at Castlerigg Hall campsite Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. We also tried out our new posh inflatable tent awning, which amazingly stayed up through the winds of storm Kathleen.
Castlerigg Hall campsite was very friendly with immaculate toilets and showers. Definitely a popular spot, with views across Derwentwater and onto Catbells. The Catbells light festival was the main reason for our trip. Unfortunately, it was cancelled due to the storm, which was the right decision. It has been rescheduled for the summer and we’ve booked a spot at Castlerigg Farm campsite, as Castlerigg Hall campsite was already fully booked.
Anyway, Friday morning the weather was mostly rain free, so we walked into Keswick. Gordon wanted to make friends with some cows.
Keswick wasn’t too busy, but with a break in the weather we opted to walk up to the top of the nearest Wainwright, namely Latrigg, one of the smaller fells. Being an idiot, I mapped the shortest route to the top, which appeared to be almost vertical. The view from the top wasn’t too bad, as we were just below the clouds.
We took the easier route back down, sensibly, returning to the campsite to dry off. The campsite had a mobile pizza van on a Friday night, which was a good alternative to cooking. That evening was wild in the van, with the wind and rain howling. We survived, albeit with very little sleep. The people in the campervan nearest to us had decided to take down their awning, we probably should have done the same as we had to dry it out when we were home.
Saturday morning was dry and sunny. The forecast wasn’t great. However, it was pleasant enough for me to run into Keswick to join in with Keswick parkrun, which was celebrating their tenth anniversary. The run director also mentioned that the previous weekend, Easter Saturday, there had been over 500 runners and walkers. Hats off the volunteers. My advice would be to avoid the Lake District at Easter, if you can.
After a shower the three of us returned to Keswick, which was far busier. We bought some snacks for Gordon and had a coffee and cake in a very pleasant little dog friendly cafe. Gordon was too friendly and far too excited, so we sat outside, just as it started raining.
That evening, the weather was even wilder, if possible. The funny thing was that down in Keswick you wouldn’t have known that there was a storm at all it was so calm. After another restless night worrying if the whole van was going to blow away, we packed up and headed home.
This was our first three nighter and once again we learned a lot. We learned that we needed better tent pegs to hammer the awning into the hard standing pitch. We also learnt that the awning wasn’t too difficult to put up or take down, even in the wind, although we will probably won’t use it every time.
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.
My lovely wife, Helen, has always wanted a campervan. We’ve looked at various makes and models for a number of years, even taking an old Peugeot for a test drive. However, earlier this year I was left some money, which we decided to put towards a VW Campervan. A 2017 model with less than 45,000 miles. Bright yellow.
Friday 16/2/2024
We’ve named him Custard. Northern custard not southern custard. He’s amazing. We were supposed to pick him up at 1 pm, but phoned the dealer to see if we could pick him up early as we were so excited. There was a squeak in the engine that the dealer assured us they will sort out when the garage has time.
We drove home and found that the mirror on the driver’s side doesn’t push in. With Gordon in tow we returned to the dealer. After a lot of faff, and being ignored, the offending wing mirror was gaffer taped up and we were told that a replacement would be ordered and fitted the following week.
We drove to Morecambe, via a petrol station as the tank was almost empty. We parked up and went for a walk. Custard looked great.
Saturday 17/2/2024
I created three walking routes from the Great Langdales as Helen had booked us into a National Trust campsite. We all went to Lancaster parkrun, me to run and Helen walking around the park with Gordon. On the way back, Gordon was more than happy to sit on his own on the back seat. Also on the way home, Custard decided to mess about. The engine shut off when I was stopped at some lights, and I didn’t stall. Custard did it again when we arrived at the barrier for the campsite. Also, only half of the touch screen for the Sat Nav/radio worked. We’ll add them to the list.
At the campsite we raised the roof and set up the awning before heading off for a walk up Lingmoor Fell. Heavy rain stopped the walk early. Back in Custard, and there was a small leak at the back and the larger gas ring doesn’t work.
As we dried off, Helen cooked fried haloumi with fruity couscous. Delicious, washed down with a beer, or two. The fold out table had grass on it. Shoddy cleaning from the dealer, and the water tank hadn’t been filled up either.
Gordon needed a poo and Helen fell over hurting her back when she took him out. Not funny. I then bashed my head reaching behind the back seat. Helen suggested that I know looked like Mikhail Gorbachev.
Feeling a little annoyed at the dealer we headed to bed fairly early. Helen climbed into the top and I followed, but we weren’t sure if the roof was strong enough for our combined weight. Also, Gordon didn’t like that we’d left him. We returned to the main bed, which was fairly hard and Gordon decided to sleep in between our sleeping bags. Not a great night’s sleep. We’ll need a mattress.
Sunday 18/2/2024
Early coffee sat in the van enjoying the lack of rain. We then went for an eight mile walk up Rossett Pike and back.
Obligatory selfie with the beautiful Mrs B.
We were both feeling a little sad about Custard and his various problems, and we almost quit the walk. We were both very pleased that we hadn’t as the views from the top were stunning. It was also an easy route to follow with no scrambling. Gordon’s second Wainwright.
The sun had dried out the awning and the pop-up top, which we stowed away just before it started raining again. Gordon enjoyed looking out of the window from “his” seat.
The campsite was excellent and we will definitely be visiting it again in the summer. As for Custard, his list of ailments are:
Squeaky engine
Broken wing mirror
Engine randomly stopping
Only one key
Sat Nav/radio touchscreen
Small leak
Gas ring
We will be visiting the dealer during the week to move forward with the various problems. I’ll keep you informed of how we get on.
Apart from the minor or major problems, we absolutely love having a campervan and we should have bought one years ago. We are incredibly excited about heading off on adventures at least every other week.
Beards and Triathlons 
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