Touring

Sat: An easy 8am start, pick the ‘van up and head onwards to Weatherby for a bacon buttie and coffee! Following this, we continued on towards our destination and arrived there without any issues. The A615 is a bit bendy and neat, but manageable. I chose not to use Lickpenny Lane and go via the more suitable B6014, a very minor detour saving the close shavings we would have got involved in on the lane. We arrived and booked in, with a bit of a tepid response and then toured the site to find a pitch! The site was quite full but fortunately we found a good pitch at the top of the site, with the views. A tight swing in and the mover to adjust, we were pitched for our holiday.

Sun: No railways to go to as they are all closed, so a relax on site – very nice!

Mon: Weather good, so a trip to Carsington Water for a walk around the reservoir. After an eventful journey there – roads closed due to Remembrance Day, we eventually found our way there, via some interesting single track roads 🙂 We parked up and took in the visitor centre and then some walks around the reservoir. It was very pleasant and worth a trip, the walk around the reservoir would have been some 7.5 miles, so we declined that and did a much shorter tour of the site! Back at the site, more units were arriving, a good thing to see that this pastime is still healthy even in the more dormant months.

Tue: Washed the ‘van in the morning and then had planned a trip into Matlock. However, whilst washing the ‘van, I noticed that the dinette window was letting some water ingress inside as I washed it. Upon further investigation, I found that the window had popped out of its track on the left hand side. So, time to remove the window and see where the water was getting in. The track needs resealing and the window back on its track. This is where the problem was, we couldn’t get the window back on its track, it was constantly popping out of the left hand side. After trying very hard we had to admit to defeat and call an engineer out. Thankfully we found someone who could get to the site within an hour. Ben from Smith’s Caravans turned up and struggled with the window like we did but did eventually manage to get it back on its track. He also sealed up the top of the track with some mastic to prevent any immediate water ingress. So once that ordeal had finished, it was tea time – so no trip out today!

Wed: A trip to Matlock today instead! We walked down to the bus stop, which is it at the end of Lickpenny Lane. This is a busy road for what seems such a remote area. There is no path here, so you have to walk the road which is a little neat for two vehicles and has some twists and bends, so need care and attention. The buses only run every couple of hours or so, so timing your visit needs to be done. We arrived a little early, as we were due to walk the site, but my camera was fogged up, so we decided to do this on our return instead. After a wait, we caught the 143 and were soon in Matlock, after the bus had taken out some roadworks along the way! Matlock isn’t large, but has a nice park to walk through along with war memorial to visit. The usual complement of small shops, a Costa which we visited for a coffee and hot chocolate. Bus back to site and then we did the walk around. After all of that, the darkness fell and it was time for tea again. BBQ in the dark 🙂

Thu: A visit to Matlock Bath today. A short drive away, this is where you’ll find ‘The Heights of Abraham”. A cable car ride from the village to a hilltop park on top of Masson Hill, which resembles the ‘Plains of Abraham’ in Quebec, Canada. We didn’t get to ride it though, as it had just closed for the season. Still, we enjoyed a stroll through the village, being tempted by the very many fish & chip shops!

Fri: A short stroll to the garden centre, to view the ‘Christmas Shop’. A nice display with a lot of unique products.

The site is quite large with pitches arranged on terraces as you approach the top of the site. A little bit random in nature, quite continental in this respect. Pitches are large and generally flat, with only back to front levelling required. Trees are everywhere, but don’t invade the pitches, so quite pleasant. There are numerous service points, the most I’ve seen on any site I think. We had one literally just in front of our pitch. There are a couple of large grass areas where children can play and burn energy, along with a playground. There is a large dog walking area, although not off lead it seems. Reception has a small shop, along with local area information. Bins are centralised like all CAMC sites now, with large commercial bins available by the two toilet blocks. Talking of these, they are clean and functional but seem a little small for the size of the site. Showers are push button, 15 seconds. Thankfully no shower curtains though! TV reception and mobile signal seem fine. A good site, especially as it is one of the few now which are open all year.

• Date: 9th November 2024
• Nights: 7
• Pitch #: 82
• GPS: 53.133244, -1.489850

Arriva: A38 > A615 > B6014 > Lickpenny Lane

Sat: A good start to the holiday. Weather dry but cold! The journey down to Wetherby was fine, where we enjoyed a coffee and a relaxed stop. The journey following this wasn’t the best, as road works and an abnormal load ahead of us caused some stop-starting of traffic pretty much all the way to the A46. From here however, we arrived at the campsite with just a little rain. We haven’t been to a C&CC site for some years, so things are a little different. Firstly, you don’t pick your own pitch, instead we were taken to our pitch, which wouldn’t have been our first choice, but there you go. We were sited in a rather woody area with many tall trees, not much chance of sunshine here. I don’t know if the whole site is like this, something we’ll check out later. The pitches are rather small width wise, so much so that I don’t know where you are supposed to put your car when you have an awning. Luckily, a small hardstanding space was available next to our pitch, which the warden said we could use to park our car, bonus indeed!

Sun: A trip to the Great Central Railway was on the cards for today. I’ve been looking forward to going here for some time, but campsites in the area are few and far between, so this was one of the main reasons for choosing this campsite. We headed for Leicester North to start our journey. This was a good choice, as parking is free here and enables us to spend a little time at the main station in Loughborough. Leicester North is a very pretty station, complete with cafe, we arrived just in time for the first train, so jumped straight onboard. Half an hour later we arrived at Loughborough, where we looked around and enjoyed the delights of this heritage railway. They have some good stock here at the GCR. Our visit noted a 9F, Tornado, class 20, class 08’s, class 37’s and many more! This coupled with being the only double line heritage railway in England, makes it a great day out. From here we were due to go to the Space Centre, but the carpark was full, so we’ll save that for another day.

Mon: A day onsite, due to being busy yesterday. We took a walk around the site to see what it was like. Not many hardstanding pitches, far more grass, probably due to the previous campsite owners. Whether the C&CC will change this remains to be seen. I hope they do, as there are not enough ‘good’ pitches for the larger outfits, or indeed those using awnings. Most of the hardstanding pitches will only take small outfits without awnings. The current pitches are thin and only allow a small caravan and car. If you have a large 8ft wide twin axle and want to use an awning, pitches are very limited. Parking ‘Infront’ of the pitch like you do on many sites, is not really an option here. There are many water points about the site, although these are behind pitches, so not the best for intrusion declarations! The Elsan point however is excellent, the best I have seen. Undercover, good position to avoid ‘spillback’ and the rinse water pipe in the best position to avoid faffing about. However, waste water is by the sinks and is not well signed. Many a camper has wandered by lost, looking for this holy grail 🙂

Tue: A trip into Nottingham was on the cards today. The site is serviced by a bus just a short walk away from the site, ideal for us campers! The bus you are looking for is the Cotgrave, just remember this when you want the return journey from Nottingham, not too easy to find! We visited the castle and the cave. The cave was a very interesting tour, well worth doing. The castle itself is well, not a castle! It was ‘demolished’ in the centuries ago and is now in fact a museum/art gallery. There is still a lot of history here to be learnt, but without Robin Hood and the caves, there is really not much to see! After eventually finding the correct bus stop, we returned back to the site, where we enjoyed a restful evening with still some good weather! The bus driver was a little vocal during the trip, exploiting the virtues of getting some good footwear to limit his broken driving shoes – interesting indeed 🙂

Wed: Poor weather, so another trip to the National Space Centre in Leicester, hopefully to get parked this time! This is a pleasant drive down the A46, so very easy to get to. Thankfully this time, the car park was quite empty. Good news we thought and then we heard them, screaming children 🙁 Bus loads of the little blighters were there, it was like being back at school again, in the bloody playground. We paid our dues and entered, but were just overwhelmed with them, you couldn’t get to anything or relax and take it in. I have to say, that during school visits, the entrance fee should be somewhat reduced, or have public days with no schools. It really detracted from the experience. Don’t get me wrong, the place is excellent and very interesting – just not when the schools are there. The planetarium is excellent, we watched a show there and it was very impressive. We returned back to site and recovered from the ‘experience’. Showers onsite as I found out that morning are very nice, large with a sink – but they are button press, quite long, but still button press – really? No curtains at least. The smell is still there however, I hear they are addressing this, but it isn’t very pleasant!

Thu: Relax onsite day. Weather good, sunny and dry. Enjoyed breakfast and a BBQ outside.

Fri: A cold misty start but turned very pleasant again later on. Following breakfast, we decided on a walk along the old railway line that ran from the Nottingham to Grantham line to serve the colliery in Cotgrave. This was a pleasant walk which we picked up from the road bridge right outside the campsite and then followed this down to the Grantham Canal, or what is left of it! The canal is disused presently, but may hopefully reopen one day. Along the track bed of the railway, you can still see signs of its use, including ballast and signal wire posts. The line hasn’t been closed all that long surprisingly, only since 1993 and the track lifted in 2012. Back at base, the site has filled up again ready for the weekend.

Sat: It rained all night and through to the morning. The site was water logged. Never mind, it gave us chance to practise our ‘wet pack-up routine’ chops, and very well they went as well! A few delays on the journey back home, but soon back to storage and in good weather. It’s been a great week, so much to see and do in the area. The campsite was very nice with friendly staff, but the small pitches aren’t for us and a bit too gloomy under the trees as well. Maybe the club will develop the site a little in the future, who knows. The cafe was a nice touch though, really enjoyed my flat whites with my breakfasts 🙂

• Date: 12th October 2024
• Nights: 7
• Pitch #: 31
• GPS: 52.932839, -1.053015

Arrival: A46 > Stragglethorpe Road

Following a few days of rough weather, we were blessed with a journey of sunshine, albeit with some strongish winds! The journey to the site was not too bad, a bit of a holdup on the A66, but nothing drastic. We arrived at the site in good time behind a couple of other campers. I decided to try for the new pitches this stay and with the site fairly empty, this was not a problem. The usual set-up routine began, followed by replacing the smoke alarm battery to stop the ‘chirping’ 🙂

A nice walk into ‘Barney’ on Saturday. This route from the campsite takes you through Deepdale Beck and then across the river Tees into the town centre. The town itself is still looking healthy with plenty of shops and cafes, buzzing with activity, which is really good to see. Following a stop at Costa, we perused a hardware shop and then headed back to the campsite. A journey of around 3 miles in total. Weather has been fantastic, enjoying a BBQ for tea as well. Topped off with a couple of movies for the night time.

Sunday and a lot colder. Nothing planned for today, so we stayed inside and relaxed. Monday and the rain returned, although only the drizzly stuff, so not too bad! We’ve had a great weekend, not sure why Barney has not been on our regular weekend sites list, but it certainly will from now on.

• Date: 27th September 2024
• Nights: 3
• Pitch #: 81
• GPS: 54.546167, -1.941226

Another weekend away at a our local favourite site. Weather looking good and it’s also my birthday on Saturday – can’t beat a Saturday birthday in the ‘van 🙂

On Saturday we explored ‘Hopetown’ in Darlington. This used to be the old railway museum, but has now been upgraded thanks to multi-million pound funding, to create a much larger offering, with children’s playground (wagon woods), cafes, gift shop, exhibition hall along with all of the railway history with old engines and rolling stock to discover. There is also a viewing gallery to watch over the construction of a new P2 class engine currently being built there. It was a good trip out, although I was expecting some parking facilities there, but alas there didn’t seem to be any. It does seem there is a car-park near by, just not dedicated to the attraction.

We enjoyed some films on each night, meaning we didn’t get to bed until after midnight on each occasion, quite a change from the norm! We’ll soon be back and as always, looking forward to it.

• Date: 13th September 2024
• Nights: 3
• Pitch #: 52
• GPS: 54.568506, -1.286260

Sat: Holiday starts, no problems! First stop on the journey was Gretna Green on the M6. Plenty of spaces thanksfully, so chilled out here for a while. The final leg of the journey was fine as well and we arrived at the ‘The Woods’ just gone 12pm. We booked in and then found a good pitch in the upper section of the site, which gave a geat vista of the mountains begind us. Pitches are spacious and level, despite the site being on a slope. First impresssions are mixed, there are statics and seasonal pitches here, so the ‘feel’ is somewhat different.

Sun: A designated ‘stay on site day’. Weather good and it’s always nice to relax on the first ‘complete’ day of the holiday. No railway this visit! TV signal is not the best, so I deployed the satellite, only to find a tree right in the way of the Atstra birds :(. Nevermind, we watched movies all day, which was great actually!

Mon: A trip to the Falkirk Wheel & the The Kelpies was the order of the day. Weather is looking poor for the rest of the week, so I decided to do this journey today. The wheel is quite stunning. We arrived and parked up, quite busy! We watched the boats traverse the lift which is quite a site. There is quite a lot to do here: archery, boats, paddleboarding, playground, bike hire, segway tours, waterzorbing – very good for a day out. Following this we headed for the Kelpies, which is only a short drive away. We parked up and enjoyed the horse display, which you can see from the M9 briefly as you drive by. There’s lots of food outlets and gift shops here, also the Queen Elizabeth II canal. Again it makes for a nice visit. The rain was coming though, so we didn’t stay too long. Back at base, we stayed inside due to the Scottish rain 🙂

Tue: Stirling Castle was the outing for today. Following breakfast, dodging the rain we headed for the Park & Ride at Castleview. We picked up the bus and were dropped off at the foot of the castle pretty much, very convenient. We bought our tickets and opted for a guided tour, which was very good, the guide was excellent. We learnt a lot about the castle and the battles of Scots against the British, very good indeed. Following this, we headed back to base and enjoyed a relaxing night, in the rain again!

Wednesday: A stay-on-site day. Just wished we could be outside, but the rain!

Thursday: The Battle of Bannockburn, time to learn all about it. On the site of this historic battle is a visitors centre, which has a guided tour which we booked in for 11am. So following breakfast, we headed out and discovered ‘Robert the Bruce’. The tour really was a lecture in front of projection screens, but it was effective. There are no artefacts or museum type displays as such, as a lot of visitors coming into the centre were asking about. But outside, you can view the areas of the battle and put a little reality to it all. Worth visiting. No rain today, but boy the winds were blowing!

Friday: A stay-on-site date as is usual on the last day. As it turns out, it is a very nice day – still a little windy, but dry and bright. We took a tour of the site following breakfast, to take some photographs which would include some blue sky! The first opportunity this holiday 🙁 . Following this we took the awning down, in anticipation of storm Lilian which was due today. The site is filling up for the bank holiday weekend, should be full again like last weekend.

Sat: Good journey home, traffic was fine despite being a bank holiday.

My conclusion of the site is somewhat mixed. I don’t like the residential nature of the site, with all the people driving relentlessly up and down the roads. The first part of the site is very gloomy and dark under trees and feels a little industrial in places. The further part of the site where we stayed was fully open and felt a lot better. The site slopes quite a bit, but the pitches have been cut in well and are level and of a good size. The toilet block was a little dated. Shower curtains were still in play here and generally the block could do with a make over, despite being clean most of the time. Water pressure is another issue here, very weak. Recycling is only in one place as well, which is next to Toilet block A, so a bit of a trek for this from our position. Reception looks very modern stocking a few essentials. The pub by the entrance looks pleasant, although we never went there. We were booked to go here in 2020 originally, at the start of the pandemic, so that booking went out of the window! So 4 years later, we made it. It’s a popular site and good for exploring the Sterling area.

• Date: 17th August 2024
• Nights: 7
• Pitch #: 29
• GPS: 56.141668, -3.782636

Arrival: M80 > A91 > A907 > B9140 > Road

Fri: Finally got struck by the covid bullet! It’s been a rough week, cancelling work on Thursday, so very pleased to be away this weekend to recover. Weather great, picked up the ‘van and got to the site with no problems at all. With increasing temperatures, the set-up was a little difficult coupled with covid. I took my time but Cath struggled with the heat, but we eventually got there! Spent some quality time outside and then retreated to the ‘van with all windows open!

Sat: The glorious weather continues, nothing planned for the weekend apart from to recover, so we stayed on-site and relaxed.

Sun: Weather a little cooler which was nice, but very pleasant. I went to exchange a gas bottle which I thought had run out, but as it turns out had not, due to its weight. So after a journey down to reception with it, I soon returned with it and plumbed it back it. And yes, it wasn’t empty. Not sure why the gas had failed on it last time, but there you go. Site not too full, probably due to it being the school holidays. Cath has tested +ve for covid, so more relaxing required!

• Date: 19th July 2024
• Nights: 3
• Pitch #: 52
• GPS: 54.568506, -1.286260

Sat: A good pack-up and journey as we begin the second leg of our summer tour! Weather still great, very pleasant. All went to plan bar a hold up on the M1 due to roadworks. We arrived at the site in good time, booked in and found our pre-booked pitch. We were soon set-up again as not everything had to be packed away. The sun was beating down and we retreated inside to cool off a little before tea.

Sun: A trip to Barrowhill Roundhouse was the order of the day. We arrived early at 10am, enjoyed the signal box tour and seeing the turntable in action. We then had a coffee in the cafe before returning to the site. It’s well worth a visit, nice way to spend a few hours. Lots of locos to keep you entertained. Weather still very hot!

Mon: Stay on site day, just relaxed with the heat. Although night time was getting a little uncomfortable with the humidity, we could literally have been in France!

Tue: A walk to Rother Valley Country Park today. On the map it looked straight forward, but alas, the undulations were not shown and it was quite a hike. Fine on the way down, but a steep climb back up. We nevertheless made it to the South lake, Cath was a little exhausted and sat down as I walked further around to the North lake and managed to take in the railway line that runs past. Disappointingly, no trains passed during my brief time there! Upon return we decided that I would go back to base and fetch the car, which I duly did. Returning with the car via the road to the park, I discovered that it was pay upon entry, so £1.70 later I collected Cath and we returned to the site. Weather scorthing again, all windows open in the caravan.

Wed: Peak Rail was on the cards today. About an hour’s drive from the site, we headed off to catch the 11.40am from Matlock. The journey there was pleasant, mostly good roads. The line itself isn’t too long, only 3 stations, with a nice 30min turnaround at Rowley South. There was an interesting delay on the way due to a token being stuck at the middle station, so the line couldn’t clear the bock, but it eventually got sorted. We completed the journey and then headed back to base.

Thu: Weather has turned cooler and windier, relax on-site day!

Fri: Usual last day routine, some packing down and away and then just staying in the ‘van. Site is filling up again for the weekend The site is very nice, very ‘French-esque’ with the higgledy-piggledy layout (all flat pitches though), burnt cut grass, low hedges, outdoor washing-up spaces and bar on-site. And with the extreme hot weather we’ve just had, this really made it feel like we were back on a French site. The pitch we were on was a very good large size, good size of gravel, so didn’t get everywhere and was fully serviced. We would certainly return.

• Date: 22nd June 2024
• Nights: 7
• Pitch #: 65
• GPS: 53.342418, -1.312985

Approach: M1 > A57 > A618 > Delves Lane

Sat: Early start, picked up the ‘van and headed over to our first stop, which was at Southwaite Services. Then a drive down the M6 to Keele Services, through some torrential downpours, but no traffic snarls! Then onward to our destination, Ludlow Touring Park. We were given a professional booking-in and then we made ourselves at home on our allocated pitch, 84.

Sun: No time to relax, we’re off to the Severn Valley Railway. It was a bit of a long twisty road to get there, but then enjoyed some glorious weather as we soaked up the trains. We did the full line, Kidderminster to Bridgnorth. But on the return journey, we took some time out at Arley, to reflect on the location as seen in a few famous films. Very relaxing, very peaceful, very much enjoyed it. Back at base it was BBQ time for tea and time to deploy the Satellite, as there is no TV signal here, although in fairness they do have a booster system.

Mon: Relax day, weather okay but not quite as good. Tried to get the satellite working again, but still no joy, a fix at home is required again. So instead we utilised the booster system, which was fairly good, so no complaints.

Tue: A trip into Shrewsbury today. We spent the first couple of hours in the town itself. Quite a large place, plenty of people about and lots of shops. Following this we headed to the prison, where you can get a guided tour most weekdays at 2.30pm. The prison itself closed in 2013 and has since become a visitor attaction. It was very intersting to listen to the history of the prison and other prisons in general over the centuries. You’re given access to pretty much all areas, including the excution room! I never knew Ricky Tomlinson was a prisoner here back in 1973. Also worthy of note, is the the train station which is just oposite the prison, it still uses semaphore signals to this day 🙂

Wed: Just up the road and we’re into Ludlow. We were thinking of walking or maybe the bus, but instead took the car, as we needed fuel and a little bit of shopping. Tesco’s first for the shopping, not a very large shop but we got what we needed. Then we headed into Ludlow via some very narrow streets, thanks satnav! Eventually found the carpark and then enjoyed a puruse around the market, St Laurence’s Church and the shops in general, with some splendid Tudor buildings. Following this we refuelled and headed back to the site, weather very hot today.

Thu: Relax on-site day! Breakfast, cleaning the ‘van and chilling. Good weather again, so managed a nice walk around the campsite for the first time this visit. It’s a very nice site, well laid out, good size pitches and plenty of greenery and wildlife. The view from our ‘back garden’ is quite simply stunning, the best we’ve had to date I would say. All the birds: bluetits, moorhens, robins all in abundance. There’s one little young bluetit I like to call ‘chirps’ as it never stops talking with its distinct call, I feel for his mother! BBQ for tea, this is what it’s all about, thoroughly relaxed!

Fri: Another relax on-site day.

Sat: A reasonable journey to our next site via Tamworth services. We got held up on the M1 de to roadworks, but nothing too severe. To reflect, the site is very nice, one we would come back to many times if we were in the area. Pitches are very nice, ours was fully serviced and of generous size, although the pitch gravel was of the small variety, which means you’ve got to keep sweeping it out of the awning! Views were to die for, best we’ve ever had. We enjoyed the wildlife so much, so relaxing. Facilities were excellent, very clean and spacious. Showers a little hot, but nothing to detract from the overall experience. Food vans seem to operate on various days if that is your thing. The onsite shop is very well stocked with all the essentials including many chairs and BBQ’s, which is a real bonus. If we were in the area again, we would not hesitate in stopping here again, loved it.

• Date: 15th June 2024
• Nights: 7
• Pitch #: 84
• GPS: 52.345584, -2.716910

Approach: M54 > A5 > A49 > B4361

Stunning weather all weekend, finally! We pitched up on the Friday, taking our time as it was very hot. The site was pretty full as usual. The computers were down in the office, so they couldn’t take payment upon arrival. They would telephone me when the system came back online.

We were entertaining a couple of our friends on Saturday afternoon, so we did a little shop at Asda in preparation Saturday morning and then enjoyed a walk and a BBQ with them, concluding with a game of ‘Uno’. Computers were back online, so I went to the office and paid the balance.

Relaxed all day Sunday, helped a neighbour out who was struggling with his awning. Monday morning pack-up, still in the heat. Great weekend, looking forward to our summer holiday now.

• Date: 10th May 2024
• Nights: 3
• Pitch #: 56
• GPS: 54.568506, -1.286260

A pitch by the playground this time, but still quite a nice spot – not too many kids around!

Saturday’s entertainment was a couple who couldn’t get their dog under control and into the car upon departure. This escalated into quite a few members of the campsite trying to round the dog up, but it was a small and sprightly thing which evaded them on every attempt. After a good hour, they eventually left, hopefully with the dog!

We had chatterbox neighbours near the service point, so we engaged in quite a few conversations during our stay, all very pleasant.

Still not too impressed with the redevelopent, looking at caravan storage is not the best. And now the site is not open all year, White Water will become our new ‘home’ site, as it outscores Durham in a few areas now.

Still enjoyed the stay however, it’s a very popular site as on Friday it was basically full. Queueing at 1.00pm seems the order of the day here!

• Date: 19th April 2024
• Nights: 3
• Pitch #: 23
• GPS: 54.795747, -1.530499