Day 141 – Friday 27th July 2018
Today is supposed to be Furnace Friday but we have plenty of cloud in Santon Bridge so everything is just fine here. After walking up Scafell Pike on Wednesday for some reason my legs ache more today than they did yesterday.
We took Zippy out for a ride around the countryside and came across The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.
After lunch we went to Ravenglass itself.
Ravenglass is of course the home of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway and it has a really boring railway museum. It was free with a suggested donation of £1 so it was free.
The one redeeming feature of the Ravenglass station and museum… they made excellent chips in the cafe.
Day 142 – Saturday 28th July 2018
It didn’t half rain last night and it’s overcast and windy this morning. Packed up early and set off for Borrowdale which is a few miles south of Keswick; not too far from here as the crow flies but an hour and a half by road.
Had some fun and games getting to the site. The campsite is down a narrow lane
I think in the BMW owners’ manual it says that in any situation BMW drivers always have right of way so this one really didn’t want to reverse…
While he was dithering a van and a bus appeared behind him.
Almost the moment we arrived at the site it started to rain. Brilliant.
The good thing is on our pitch we have a bird table a couple of feet from the windscreen. It’s fabulous watching birds so close up.
Day 143 – Sunday 29th July 2018
Rained all day until 5pm so I spent the day reading, playing Free Cell and snacking. The Lake District is a fuckin’ miserable place when it rains. When the rain stopped I went out for a walk to Derwent Water. I found a lovely bench to sit at and contemplate the world.
The forecast is for the rain to start again at 9am tomorrow.
Day 144 – Monday 30th July 2018
Up early and after putting some seed out for the birds I set off to explore the valley. My legs have recovered from Scafell Pike which is good because I want to go up Catbells tomorrow.
It was a lovely early morning walk.
The rain duly came about 10am but it was sporadic and only light so we jumped on Zippy and headed for Keswick.
The first thing to greet us when we got off Zippy in Keswick town was two armed police officers with machine guns! I asked them why the need for such weaponry in Keswick… a Christian convention apparently.
Keswick is the focal point round here for walkers and it is stuffed with outdoor clothing shops and cafes and places to carb up.
Lunch over with we had a walk around town and I bought a new pair of walking shoes for Catbells.
After dinner the skies were clear blue so Julie and I went for a stroll down to Derwent Water.
Day 145 – Tuesday 31st July 2018
Beautiful dry morning so once we’d made our butties we set off for Catbells.
Julie has this thing, she thinks she can’t walk up hill. She gets all breathless. The doctors have told her there is nothing wrong with her. I have told her it is all psychosomatic and that all she needs to do is forget about it. Today we will see.
The sign may say only 1 mile and that might sound easy but Catbells involves some scrambling.
We took it easy and stopped every couple of minutes, letting people pass. A very large lady and a couple with a 3½ boy passed us; we had our pacemakers!
The views soon became beautiful
Julie was doing okay, no sign of breathlessness.
You have to cling on to rocks while you navigate some narrow steps. Julie made the mistake of looking down. The 3½ year old’s Dad carried him over this section; I thought I was going to have to do the same with Julie.
Once we’d eaten our butties it was time to go down.
Well done Julie!
Day 146 – Wednesday 1st August 2018
Up early and everything packed away.
We are headed to Lytham St Annes via my Auntie Trica and Uncle Peter’s place in Stalmine. My Auntie Tricia could talk for England and she did. They also drink more tea than A watch. We had a great time and were well fed with cherry scones and fancy biscuits from Booths.
My Uncle Peter suggested we parked up on the front at Cleveleys but there are newly erected no overnight camping signs there. Technically if you have nothing outside the van you are parked not camping but the last thing you need is some over zealous copper knocking on your door at 1 am telling you to move on so we headed for Lytham.
We had to travel via the front at Blackpool and it is pretty grim viewing.
By the time we made it to Lytham the council aire was full so we had to park on the promenade right by the pier. I had greasy chips and curry for me tea, fabulous.
Day 147 – Thursday 2nd August 2018
We are headed to Wilcoxs Farm Caravan Park near Rivington today because I have seen Rivington Pike hundreds of times from the M6 but never been up it. It was an uneventful journey and we easily handled the narrow roads on the West Pennine Moors.
Wilcox Farm is a nice little site.
Once settled in we went for a ride around the locality and I visited Liverpool Castle…
Tomorrow it’s Rivington Pike then Winter Hill via Two Lads. I might need my waterproofs.