Touring

We are travelling South, with the caravan, with an extra body on-board! Yes, this weekend away sees the return of the daughter, it has been many years since she first travelled with us, this will be strange!

We are heading for Thirsk this time, on the outskirts there is a little CS called Venus Campsite. The journey there is swift and easy, the site is located along the A61 just off the A1, so very easy to access. We pulled in to an empty site, and chose pitch #2. We duly set-up and relaxed in the rain. Nothing to do today apart from chill. Sunday, we headed for Thirsk following breakfast. It’s a beautiful little town, as most of the towns are that we are blessed with here in the North of England. We wandered around, had a coffee and then headed for some Sunday lunch. We found a gem of a place called ‘Woodland Lakes Lodges’. This is a superb looking holiday home site with a restaurant which does a superb carvery. Highly recommend here if in the area. Following this, back to the ‘van and chill again!

Venus Campsite is a great CS campsite. Pitches are hardstanding and fully serviced with fresh water and grey water drain. EHU is 10A. A toilet, sink and shower are available in a portacabin style building. At the rear of this is an outdoor sink, with CDP and bins alongside. A better site than the racecourse site along the road in my opinion, although we haven’t been there. The facilities here tick more boxes for us. Sarah the owner made a brief appearance to check everything was okay for us, a very pleasant person.

• Date: 8th September 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 2
• GPS: 54.199292, -1.459796

Saturday:
A good start to the holiday, we were trucking down and across the UK to Cheshire. I chose to use the A69 and M6 to get us there. This would involve a new service station for us, namely Southwaite. I decided to stop here rather than Tebay a little further down, as Tebay has limited parking spaces for caravans whereas Southwaite has masses of room! There’s nothing to say about it other than it does the job. There’s a Greggs here as well, so a bacon breakfast was the order of the day. From here it was easy going, down the M6 and then into Cheshire.

We arrived at the site and swiftly booked in. The site was pretty full, but we found a nice pitch and set-up there. All the pitches are fully serviced with hard-standing for caravan and awning, with car parking in-front of the caravan. We soon had everything sorted and relaxed for the rest of the day. TV reception is poor, so I set the satellite up.

Sunday:
A trip to Crewe Heritage Railway was the plan for today. We headed there following breakfast. There’s quite a lot to see and do, so definitely a worthwhile visit. Conveniently located next to Tesco, we popped in there afterwards to pick up a few extras.

Monday:
You can’t visit Cheshire without visiting Chester Zoo. We headed there today, not too far away with plenty of parking available. The place is massive, we spent 4 hours there, but you could honestly spend 2 days here in order to cover everything at a relaxed pace. It’s very well run and a great day out.

Tuesday:
A visit to Liverpool today. Our plan was to park at Seacombe Ferry port, see Spaceport there. Take the ferry to Woodside and see the U-Boat. Take ferry again across to Liverpool, see the dockside, Cavern Club and then return via ferry back to Seacombe and return home. This all went to plan. Spaceport is okay, but even as an avid Star Wars fan, there wasn’t much Star Wars there and more general ‘space’ information. The U-Boat was very interesting, worth a visit. Liverpool itself was better than expected. The dockside was alive with gift, foods and entertainment and rides. The atmosphere at the Cavern Club was excellent. We could have spent longer here in Liverpool, but the last ferry ride home was 4pm, which seems a little early during the Summer Holidays. All in all, a great day out.

Wednesday:
The Anderton Boat Lift was the attraction for today. We parked up and paid our parking fee (£3 all day). We headed to the visitor’s centre and enquired about a boat trip. The next one was over a 2 hours wait, so we decided to skip that experience. We made our way down to the base of the lift where we soon watched a lift in operation. It’s a fantastic bit of engineering and a superb solution to a business problem that needed a solution! Worth viewing as the only working boat lift in England.

Thursday:
A trip into Chester itself. It’s a beautiful city with many Tudor style buildings. The cathedral was worth visiting as well. Shopping isn’t really our thing, but there’s plenty of them there if that’s your cup of tea! Plenty of cafes for refreshments, street music and generally a good buzz about the place.

Friday:
Chill day, going nowhere! Just as well really, it’s raining. In between showers we managed to get the awning down.

Saturday:
More rain to contend with whilst packing up, we’re used to it though. We were soon on our way, now in glorious sunshine. A quick bacon butty stop at Southwaite again, and then back at storage. The rain started again as we put the ‘van away. It’s been a great trip, really enjoyed the sights of the North West.

Lamb Cottage Caravan Park:

• Adults only
• Easy journey from motorway
• Fully serviced pitches
• Hard-standing pitches
• Excellent wash block, although push button showers – a bit more time per push please :/
• Wash cubicles – toilet, shower and sink
• CDP has heated rinse water – now that’s another first!
• Dog walk
• 16A EHU
• TV signal poor – satellite signal accessible from most pitches
• Mobile signals good

All in all a great site, well worth a visit.

• Date: 18th August 2018
• Nights: 7
• Pitch #: 19
• GPS: 53.217795, -2.581240

A favourite local site was chosen for this weekend, namely ‘The Granary’. We were warmly greeted by Maureen as usual, caught up with a bit of a chat and then proceeded to our pitch, which Maureen had saved for us, #1. This, along with pitch #2 are the best in my opinion, the views you get from here are simply stunning, you could be miles away!

Weather was fantastic, as we are continuing our heatwave here in the UK (and across Europe). So we soon set-up and were out with lunch soaking up the sunshine. Following this I washed the roof of the ‘van, which wasn’t too bad surprisingly. The rest of the weekend took on its usual shape and we left on Monday, having had another great stay at this top site.

The Granary campsite is really one of the best smaller sites we’ve ever been on. It is a CS site, so holds 5 ‘vans:

• Toilet and sink building, with Information leaflets and magazines/books
• Outdoor picnic tables
• 16A EHU
• CDP, grey waste
• Water point
• Flat, pothole-less concrete access road
• Grass and hardstanding pitches
• Outdoor railway!
• Pub across the road
• Adults only and no dogs

Thanks again Maureen & Dixon, we’ll be back next year as usual.

• Date: 4th August 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 1
• GPS: 55.206640, -1.593726

Another local weekend trip away, so Woodside Ridge was chosen for this trip. The start a little different this time, we collected the ‘van from the service department, as it had been in for some work doing, and headed to the site from here. All went smoothly and we were soon at the campsite.

The site was full when we arrived, including our pitch, although we were a little early at 11.45am. Our pitch soon vacated and we began our usual set-up routines. Weather was glorious, in fact too hot, it felt like France again! Our usual weekend routine ensued and we left on Monday back to storage.

The site is easily accessible from the A1 and A19. All pitches are grass combined with a gravel oval access road. Most pitches are delimited by plants and are of a good size for ‘van, car & awning. 16A EHU, two fresh water points, CDP and small waste water disposal (wastemasters in the hedge!). There’s a toilet block for both men and women, each comprising: toilet, shower (20p) and sinks. Music is piped in here as well, nice touch! Bins by the entrance along with a woodland walk. Nice site owners, warmly greeted as usual. There’s a kids playground in the centre field, along with a goal post and football. TV reception is fine and most pitches can see the Astra birds for satellite.

Thanks again Grahame, we’ll be back next year.

• Date: 14th July 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 15
• GPS: 54.725276, -1.436675

Saturday:
Another early start. The car was all packed last weekend, so that made matters a lot easier. We’d managed to get everything in the car and tied down with bungee cords, apart from the wardrobe and clothes airer, which went in the ‘van. All that was left was to put Frodo in and away we went. We picked up the ‘van and headed South. First pit-stop was Wetherby, which we duly pulled into. Lo-and-behold we bumped into the daughter there. What were the chances? She was heading to Liverpool for the weekend and head decided to pit-stop there as well! From here we did Grantham (quickly) and then ran into the joys of the A1 being closed and all traffic siphoned off onto the A14. This caused a massive tailback. We fought through it with a few lane changes and eventually got onto the A14. At this point I decided it was pointless trying to get back onto the A1 and decided to continue on the A14 through to the M11 and Birchanger. Had things there changed at all, would it be quieter, would the caravan bays be empty of cars and vans? No, nothing has changed. I didn’t even attempt to get to the caravan bays, opting for the HGV parking where I knew I’d get a spot. We didn’t stay long, pleased to leave I tell you. We then got to the tunnel without any further delays. Things were looking quiet here, indeed we were ushered through onto an earlier train even though we’d opted for our booked one. Through to France and we soon found ourselves settling down for the night at our favourite Aire. This was quiet too, not the usual amount of traffic coming and going.

Sunday:
We left at 5.00am and made our way South. The journey went smoothly and following a number of hours, we found ourselves at the campsite. We were warmly greeted and quickly thrown onto a buggy where we were shown the option of three pitches to chose from. The first one was big but a little enclosed, the second was good but had long grass, the third was like a cave, no sunshine at all! We opted for the first one, booked in accordingly and paid the balance. We then drove to the pitch but made a wrong turn. We ended up passing the pitch with the long grass, which was now being cut! This was a game changer, we headed back to reception and requested this pitch instead. Once finalised, we headed back and began setting up. It didn’t take long and we were soon enjoying our first evening in France, albeit a little tired!

Monday:
Time to wash the ‘van and erect the awning. This we did without any problems and then headed off to the supermarket. We picked up our usual ingredients for the meals we’d be enjoying in the sunshine and then paid for them. Or at least tried to, the card terminal was a little awkward asking many questions, and if you selected the wrong option, card retirez! After four attempts we sussed it and paid! Back at camp we enjoyed some al fresco delights of the remaining food used for the journey down, a few drinks and then decided it was time to see whether or not the Astra birds can be seen from this far down South! I’m pleased to report that I got a signal, not the strongest, but enough to get most channels. Importantly, it was good enough to watch England play in the World Cup! We watched this and then enjoyed some more TV for the rest of the evening.

Tuesday:
A day spent on camp, nothing but relaxing. Weather is glorious (a little too hot at 30!). The best news to report is that there are cicadas on site, yeah :). Spent last night listening to one sing away…

Wednesday:
The hottest day so far, reaching 32! Despite this we decided to have a walk into the town of La Romieu, which is literally just down the road. We wandered about a little, executed some excellent French and bought our thimble! We then decided to take a tour of the church there, the ‘Collegiate Church Saint Pierre’, and hopefully unravel the mystery of the ‘cats’.

When you enter, you first watch a film which explains the history of the church and town and also explains why the town is cat mad! Following this you are free to explore the church and indeed climb the towers to the top, which we did, and also wander the gardens surrounding. The building is quite stunning and well worth a visit, just mind the steps, they are a little on the small side. Following this we headed back to camp and hid from the sun.

Thursday:
A trip out today, to the local town of Condom (pronounced without the ‘m’). This is one of many medieval villages in the area, steeped in history and containing beautiful churches/cathedrals along with may quaint houses and shops. The cathedral here is quite stunning, not steps or towers in this one, but still magnificent. We managed to purchase another thimble and our glass from a shop here as well. One thing we didn’t know was that the Gers is the home region of D’Artagnan, from the infamous musketeers. Indeed our glass reflects this, along with a statue of the four musketeers just outside the cathedral. We enjoyed a little wander about and then returned to the site via the supermarket. Here we restocked and refuelled and then headed back. Weather not quite so hot today so a BBQ is in order! The air cleared later with a brief thunderstorm as we relaxed indoors for the rest of the evening.

Friday:
First things first, I booked the tickets for Les Miserables at the Theatre Royal, which is showing next year. Bookings have just opened and already it was nearly fully booked. Following this, we stayed on the campsite all day and enjoyed (hid from) the superb weather!

Saturday:
The shower was on the agenda today, to fix or not to fix. I managed to get into the pipework but alas, the pipes were cable tied and would not move. I couldn’t thread any additional pipework through either, so it’s up to the service center to fix that one now. Following this we had a bite to eat and then headed for the bar, to enjoy a drink in the small buzz of it all. We decided also, that tomorrow we would have an excursion out to the town of Lourdes, to have a mini pilgrimage of our own!

Sunday:
An early start, or at least 8am, as that is when the barriers open! We headed for Lourdes, our epic Christian pilgrimage to the place where Bernadette Soubirous had 18 visions of the Virgin Mary in 1858. The journey there is hard work, no autoroutes, just the N21 and various D roads to keep you happy. It didn’t help that part of the N21 was closed on our way down, meaning more D roads! We got there eventually and wormed our way through the streets of shops looking for somewhere to park. We eventually found the parking areas, parked up and then headed for the tourist spots. We took the walk up in the hills around the church, which has large statues depicting the stations of the cross. Then we took a stroll inside the church itself, the ‘Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes’. Following this was headed for the spring water from the grotto, which you can still see and touch. We filled our bottles, which we had just bought, from one of the many taps which feed from the spring and then returned back to the car following a bite to eat from the sandwiches we had brought. A stunning place to visit, I didn’t quite expect it to be so popular. There were masses of people around and the amount of shops that were selling gifts was quite unbelievable. There is also the one-hundred-year-old funicular, ‘Funiculaire du Pic du Jer’. This links the pilgrimage town of Lourdes with the summit of the nearby Pic du Jer. We didn’t have time to explore this, but it looks good. You could easily spend a whole day hear if you had the time. Well worth a visit. Upon returning back to camp, I hear that England have won their next round (6-1), so that’s good. But for the rest of the evening we need to relax, as it’s been quite a day.

Monday:
We stayed on site all day, taking things easy after yesterday’s outing. Weather still glorious (too hot).

Tuesday:
We did an outing today which consisted of visiting the various villages in the area. First up was Larressingle, a very pretty fortified village, the smallest in France, consisting of a church and various shops/cafes within. Following this we headed for Montreal, not much here I have to say, other than another impressive church. From here we weaved our way into Lagraulet-du-Gers, nothing really here either. Our final destination was Eauze, this is a much larger town, with a church (ex cathedral) centered on the square, to which everything else surrounds. Plenty of shops and cafes to pass some time here. We stopped for a final top-up at the supermarket and filled with fuel, ready for our departure on Friday. The Gers region is very beautiful, this little journey today felt and was very rural. The buildings are rustic, the roads are sometimes nothing but tracks and the people are very relaxed. And the sun just keeps on shining…

Wednesday:
Stayed on-site all day.

Thursday:
We started packing the awning away in the morning, before the sun became too fierce. The car and caravan were packed by the afternoon, we watched some DVD’s for the rest of the evening, as the dish was packed away too!

Friday:
Left the campsite at 8.00am, as this is when the barriers open. We made our way North without any problems. Arrived at our Aire and settled down for the night.

Saturday:
Another early start and we made our way to the tunnel. The queues weren’t too bad this year, we got through check-in fairly swiftly. Although security has beefed up again. They now have soldiers there with rifles and indeed our ‘van was checked! Strangely, we weren’t offered any alternative times for the train other than the one we booked, that was a first. So we parked up and headed for the duty free. The parking was quite full at this stage, again never seen this on previous journeys. When our time came, we headed for the train. From here it was trucking time North through England. We did use Baldock services this time, although it is undergoing some development, it still provides a good stop. From here we did Grantham and then Weatherby and then finally home. It’s been a long journey, but worth it, despite the weather being too hot.

• Date: 16th June 2018
• Nights: 12
• Pitch #: P73
• GPS: 43.982805, 0.501851

Our final weekend away before the haul to France! It needs to be a local one, so we returned to a firm favourite, namely The Croft. The journey was smooth and uneventful and we soon arrived at the campsite and were once again warmly greeted by Beverley. She herself was heading off for the week in her motorhome, so following a little natter we were told to simply pitch anywhere on the left. This we did and began setting up. The weather was very warm and humid, so lunch was ‘al fresco’, which made a nice change. Saturday came and went. Sunday followed our usual routine, with a main focus on preparing a list of requirements for France. We enjoyed the rest of our stay and then left on Monday morning.

The campsite is really one of the best smaller sites we’ve ever been on. It holds around 15 pitches, along with a comprehensive list of amenities:

• Male & Famale toilet and shower block
• New separate toilet and walk in shower/wet room
• Washing machines
• Washing up sinks
• Information room and seating
• Outdoor picnic tables
• 16A EHU
• CDP, grey waste
• Water point every two pitches
• Flat, pothole-less gravel access road
• Manicured gardens
• Bus stop outside

It doesn’t get any better than this. What can I say, a firm favourite. We’ll be back many times again.

• Date: 2nd June 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 2
• GPS: 54.843524, -1.429069

A newly opened site, just at the back end of last year was my choice for this weekend, namely Bonners Lodge. We enjoyed some fine weather as we made our way Westward past Consett, down the A68 and then onto the single lane track that is Longedge Lane. This is about 1.5 miles long, you can’t see far ahead, but it does mostly have places where two vehicles can (squeeze) past each other. We got to the end of the lane and then headed for the caravan park. This is located at the side of a B+B, again at the end of a single track lane, but you can see all the way up this, so you can spot any oncoming traffic.

We arrived and were warmly greeted by Ken and Michelle. We could take any pitch we wanted and once set up, Ken offered to take me on a ‘tour’ of the site to see where all the facilities are. We took a pitch which backed onto a field opposite, so was very open and spacious. There is hardstanding for the ‘van, and enough to get in and out, so a plus when it’s a bit wet! We duly set-up and then I was shown around the site. Following this we enjoyed some glorious weather and relaxed for the rest of the day. There was one caravan already on-site when we arrived. This housed ‘treeman’, namely Tommy Craggs who was working on some commissions for the site in return for some camping space. He was busy working on a fantastic Red Kite sculpture in the middle of the field, check out the pictures below! Another two units arrived later on, one a small camper van and the other a converted horse box, or at least it looked like one! This housed a family with 4 kids, who made short work of playing around and using the playground. The animals around the site also were viable entertainment.

Sunday and following breakfast we headed out to stretch the legs a little. There is plenty of walking to be done here, the Waskerley Way Route is accessible by a public footpath, running from the B+B itself, so perfect if you want to use that. We opted for a more minor route around the farm itself and then back to base. We caught Ken again and stopped for a chat. Back on site, 2 other units were departing leaving us and ‘treeman’. Sunday came and went and before we knew it, it was Monday morning and time to pack up.

We were just about to hitch up when Michelle came for a chat. Firstly apologising about the boiler (and lack of hot water). They had offered the use of another building and its shower unit, which was very generous. Following our chat we departed and headed back to storage. A great site, deserves to do well and has very friendly owners, the kind of people you remember and want to return to see.

The site has hardstanding pitches, EHU is 10A. The washblock is excellent, very well done. Each separate male/female section has a toilet, 2 sinks and a shower. There’s a hair dryer in the female section along with electric hand dryers in both. A games room is also provided which has seating, a pool table, microwave and sink. Very useful for campers on a rainy day. Bins, CDP all very tidy. Horses are held in the fields and to top it all a rather great looking playground for the kids, although we didn’t test this obviously!

• Date: 12th May 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: Barker’s Bay
• GPS: 54.801119, -1.896905

A super early start saw us heading up the lush Northumberland coastline in good time, arriving at our chosen site slightly before 12pm. Potland Farm, we’ve been here a few times before as one of our chosen local sites. We were warmly greeted by Mike as usual and began setting up on pitch 3, a new one for us! The weather was doing well, some sunshine breaking through. We initiated our set-up routines and were soon enjoying a rather long Saturday due to the early start.

Sunday, and heading out for church we discovered something new, namely the padlocked gate at the entrance! Recently installed since last year, the site now has a height restriction barrier along with padlocked gates. The padlock is accessed via a number, which Mike forgot to give us, so we had to disturb him early doors, although a fellow caravanner came to give me the number. After accessing the gates, we soon made haste on our travels. Upon return our only fellow caravanner had gone, leaving the site to ourselves! I washed the ‘van as the weather was still very good and then settled for the evening. Another smashing little weekend away. To note, there is now toilet roll in the wash block, another first!

The site has big pitches and EHU is 10A. A toilet is provided along with fresh water, waste water disposal, bins and CDP point. Arrival is via a height barrier and gates, so check this before entering. There is enough room to pull off the road before you meet the barrier, so just take care. A great CL and one we will continue to return to.

• Date: 28th April 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 3
• GPS: 55.206640, -1.593726

With the weather finally improving, we had high hopes for some sunshine this weekend, so a trip to Northumberland was booked in. The site I’d chosen this time was a CL in Powburn, very close to the River Breamish CC site we’d visited back in 2012.

The journey there was smooth and straight forward. The entrance to the site can easily be missed, but I made sure we didn’t miss this one! Access to the farm is via a single track lane, which is well maintained with no potholes. The CL is accessed via the back of the farm buildings, well sign posted. We duly arrived to find 4 of the 5 pitches taken, so we began to pitch up on the remaining pitch. Just as we were about to put legs down the owner, Harry made an appearance. He told us that this pitch was reserved for another client arriving and that we would be put in the ‘top’ field, as we were only here for 2 days! So, avoiding the grass we swung the ‘van around with the mover, hitched up, drove back to the entrance and then had to reverse all the way back up the sloping site, through a gate and park in the top ‘private’ field. Not really a manoeuvre a client should be expected to do, which resulted in a bit of clutch abuse. Never-the-less, we pitched up and enjoyed our evening.

Sunday, weather very nice – hooray! We had a relaxed morning with breakfast and then headed out for a walk. I was planning on going to the river, accessed via a public footpath from the site, but it was still water logged, so we retreated. There is an old railway route running past the farm, I though we could walk a bit of this, but this seems to have been commandeered by a quarry company, so no luck there. Returning back to the ‘van, we sat outside a little and then enjoyed some lunch inside. We noted a few cars running over the grass which won’t impress Harry, but the gravel road is simply not wide enough to avoid this, bad weather is going to bring this problem – and as this site is open all year, some work needs done here to avoid this.

Overall this site is very nice, pitches are mostly hardstanding (5), but access involves driving your vehicle on the grass, like most small CL’s, so it can get muddy. EHU (16A) and water points are plentiful, bins and CDP are also neat, located by the toilet. Talking of the toilet, this is a very nice space, located in a farm building. It is nicely tiled, very clean and contains a sink, toilet, mirror and waste bin. Grey waster is in the ‘hedge’, or as we were told, in the woods access via the back of our field! That is a bit much in my books, a couple of appropriately placed drains would help this situation. We enjoyed our stay, and it has a cosier feel than the CC site located just down the road. Price is very reasonable as well.

• Date: 14th April 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 55.454548, -1.907636
• GPS: 55.454637, -1.907132

Saturday:
A relaxed start, not too early – we picked up the ‘van and headed West. We’re off to Blackpool today so we used the A69 to get to the West side and then picked up the M6 to take us South. We used a new service station for this journey, namely ‘Tebay Services’ on the M6. This is a nice services, we enjoyed some hot food (no Greggs here!) and a coffee. There aren’t any dedicated caravan parking bays, but there were enough HGV spaces to take one of these. Following this we soon arrived at Pipers Height, it’s very easy to find being just a stone’s throw from the M55. This is the first time we’ve ever turned up at a campsite without booking it prior. With the weather being so poor the week previous, I didn’t want to book anything and lose money should we have to cancel. We booked in without any issues, although they don’t take credit cards and then were assigned to pitch 18. Most of the pitches on the site are a good size, but 18 is a little small. We aren’t using the awning this trip, so it wasn’t a problem, the pitch is just fine for the ‘van and car. The rest of Saturday was food, TV and relax!

Sunday:
Weather was nice, clear sky and sunshine. We didn’t venture far apart from a trip to Tesco’s to pick up a couple of items we needed. The site started to empty quite a bit today as most of the tourers left. There are quite a few seasonal caravans here as well, so a lot of cars and kids left today as well.

Monday:
Rain and more rain. No chance of getting anywhere today, so we relaxed indoors!

Tuesday:
Glorious weather, woohoo! Off to Blackpool promenade we go. I was going to use the bus to get us there, but there’s plenty of parking in the town centre and would be cheaper than the £5 return ticket per adult. So off we went and parked in the central car park off central drive. This places you right by the tower in-between the North and Central piers. We had a good walk about, took in a Gregg’s breakfast and also discovered that thimbles have disappeared from Blackpool! We spent 3 hours there and then returned back to the site. Weather still great, I washed the ‘van and then we explored the site, mainly via the dog walk, it really is a very nice site.

Wednesday:
Weather still good, not as much sunshine but fine for exploring. So on the agenda today was Stanley Park and Blackpool Zoo. Firstly Stanley Park, which we soon found and parked there. I wasn’t sure if there was any parking there but there is, along the road into the park and coupled with a small car park at the visitor centre. We explored the park and coupled it with memories from visits earlier in our life. We enjoyed a good breakfast at the cafe there. There’s plenty of grounds to walk through and on a warm day, would provide an excellent day out. With the wind biting a little however, we left the park and headed for the zoo. The zoo is only a couple of minutes drive from the park, so we were soon there and parked up, this time at £2.50 per day. We headed into the zoo and spent a good couple of hours looking around. There’s an excellent range of animals and facilities, again in warmer weather a good day can be spent here. Once we’d covered all the animals we left and collected our photo on the way out. Blackpool promenade, zoo and Stanley Park are essential to visit if coming to Blackpool. With further time and better weather we’d have liked to have covered Blackpool South and Lytham St Annes, there’s certainly plenty to do here. Back at base, we relaxed and waited for the forecast rain to descend!

Thursday:
The rain came through the night but the actual day wasn’t too bad. Regardless, we usually like to stay on site on the penultimate day, do a spot of cleaning etc. This is what we did, whilst watching a few new arrivals.

Friday:
Smooth journey home.

The site is very new and so has excellent facilities. All pitches are hard-standing and fully serviced with own water tap, 16A EHU and grey waste disposal. The washblock is superb, underfloor heating and kept spotlessly clean. Showers are large but utilise the push button valve, which only lasts a few seconds. Surely there is something better in this day and age for such a modern washblock? The lighting could also be improved as the toilet cubicles were very dark, although I did see one spot wasn’t working so this probably the cause. Pitches are separated by small hedges so are well defined. There is a children’s play park and a dog walk on site as well. Reception sells some basic food items as well as providing plenty of information on the surrounding area and activities to do. There is a clubhouse on site as well, but this is located over on the static site, so doesn’t impact on the touring area. Entrance is via an ANPR barrier, so no key fobs here! For Blackpool, it’s an excellent site.

• Date: 10th March 2018
• Nights: 6
• Pitch #: 18
• GPS: 53.784935, -2.979533