Month: April 2014

Easter at Englethwaite Hall, Eden Valley

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Mr Pip appearing not to allow the responsibility of house-sitting to phase him.

Mr Pip appearing not to allow the responsibility of house-sitting to phase him.

Bri, Armathwaite

Christ & St Mary Chapel, Armathwaite

Christ & St Mary Chapel, Armathwaite

River Eden, Armathwaite

River Eden, Armathwaite

Fox & Pheasant Inn

Fox & Pheasant Inn

Low House Crossing signal box on the Settle-Carlisle line

Low House Crossing signal box on the Settle-Carlisle line

Suzie & Jolly enjoying every last second of the evening sunshine!

Suzie & Jolly enjoying every last second of the evening sunshine!

Welcome to Englethwaite Hall Caravan Club Site

Welcome to Englethwaite Hall Caravan Club Site

Perfect tranquility on site

Perfect tranquility on site

Jolly basking in the evening sun

Jolly basking in the evening sun

What a great weekend of cloudless skies & unbroken sunshine for our latest trip in Jolly.  The weather started turning today but no worries as we were on the road home by lunch time, ready to see Mr Pip who had been house-sitting for us …

We think Englethwaite Hall Caravan Club site is the prettiest one we’ve stayed at so far.  It is situated on the edge of the Lake District, set in the grounds of a now long gone stately home with the beautiful backdrop of the High Stand Forest.   The site is a popular stop-over point due to its location not far off the M6, and we noticed several people pitching up just for one night.  It is open to members and non-members but there are no toilet/shower blocks, so you need your onboard facilities.  It is fair to say that this site and the quiet, unspoilt beauty of this area might not appeal to everybody, especially those with families seeking activity, visitor centres, etc. but for us it ticked all the boxes. Perfect tranquility.

The evening skies were clear leaving it quite chilly but we wrapped up warm, stargazing and were lucky enough to see the International Space Station passing over.  Amazing to think of that man made object so far away in space being visible to the naked eye.  Awesome stuff!  We braved the chill a little longer afterwards, listening to the owls before settling down for the night in Jolly.

We did quite a bit of relaxing on site, enjoying the sunshine while we could this weekend, but also biked into nearby Armathwaite village one day.  It is only an approx. 7 mile round trip but with the steep hills that you would expect in a valley, it felt more like 10! It involved crossing the Settle-Carlisle railway line, reputedly the most scenic railway in England.  Actually, when the level crossing barriers came down as a train came through, we were quite relieved because it gave us a chance to get our breath back!

Armathwaite is a lovely village lying on the River Eden, and you pass the Church of Christ & St Mary as you enter the village, a pretty little 17th century chapel & graveyard.   There are two good village pubs that we sampled (be rude not to contribute to the local economy …).   The Dukes Head Inn with a variety of real cask ales, where Bri enjoyed a couple of pints of one of the guest ales and me an ice cold lager.  We then enjoyed a bar snack lunch at the Fox & Pheasant Inn on the opposite side of the bridge before burning off the calories on the bike ride back to site.

Other walks/rides in the area would include Wetheral,  Coombe Wood, and walks along the bank of the River Eden, also reported to be excellent for fly and coarse fishing.

Back home now and our next jaunt isn’t for about 3 weeks.  Eek, that’s a long wait!   Oh well, roll on 10th May.

ONWARD!

Suzie & Bri.

Clitheroe, Ribble Valley

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One of my own shots of Clitheroe Castle against the backdrop of Pendle Hill (c) Polka Shot Photography

One of my own shots of Clitheroe Castle against the backdrop of Pendle Hill
(c) Suzie Coulburn

Clitheroe town centre

Back from a 2-night stay in the beautiful market town of Clitheroe in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire.  It nestles between Pendle Hill (famous for its witches) and Waddington Fell.  In my totally unbiased opinion this is the most beautiful town in the world … although I was born there and only moved away in 2012!

We stayed at the Edisford Caravan site down by Edisford Bridge through which the River Ribble flows.   The site was clean, almost full yet quite quiet, and sloping in areas but we got a flat grass pitch (No.30) so no chocks required.  No choosing your own pitch though, the warden instructed us where to pitch up.

Edisford Bridge Campsite  Have wheels, will travel!

The site has a miniature steam railway and a 9-hole pitch n putt course but availability depends on whether or not the ice cream van is parked up(!) because that’s where you hire your clubs and balls, and he visits intermittently throughout the day.  Failing that, there is a swimming pool, gym and tennis courts across the main road at the top of the site.

Hungry/greedy ducks

Also, there are nice walks along the river bank or a steady 2 mile walk to the nearby village of Waddington.  We cycled there and sampled a few bevvies at The Lower Buck Inn & The Waddington Arms.  It’s a pretty village well worth a visit.

Warming our tootsies beside a log fire at Lower Buck Inn, Waddington

Clitheroe town centre is about a 25 minute walk from the campsite, and places of interest would include the Norman castle keep & museum, town centre shops particularly the award-winning Victorian Byrnes Wine Shop, Cowman’s Famous Sausage Shop, coffee shops, wine bars, gift shops and designer clothing shops.

For us though, this weekend was about catching up with family and involved plenty of food and drink.  On Saturday night we took a taxi into the town centre for a meal with sister, brother-in-law, niece & nephew at La Vespa, an authentic family run Italian Restaurant.  Good food and service.

On Sunday afternoon we had four generations of my family drop in on us to have a look around Jolly.  Surprisingly, at one point all ten of us were inside Jolly, proving how spacious he is!  We then headed out to the Edisford Bridge Pub just a 5-10 minute walk from the campsite, for a late Sunday lunch.  Good pub grub.

Edisford Bridge Pub

Afterwards, the two of us just chilled out and played cards for the remainder of the day then cabined up as the rain set in.

We will return again and again to Clitheroe because of the personal connection, and Edisford Bridge Campsite is a perfectly good place to stay.  Great weekend!

Next stop Englethwaite, Cumbria next weekend.  Can’t wait.

ONWARD!

Suzie & Bri