Holland 29 Mar - 9 Apr 17

Why not? It's somewhere different and it has to be drier than the Lake District, surely?

A quick trundle down the M20 passing through that awful concrete section between Maidstone and Ashford (which didn't help the suspension squeak (Fiat advise it is the suspension hangar. It's safe but annoying and the replacement part is on backorder)), an empty Eurotunnel Terminal and then straight into Carrefour to collect some wine, especially as they had a special offer on Alsatian Cremant. It is worth noting, however, that to make the best of the offer the wine has to be removed from the boxes otherwise the till will not recognise the deal. Why are French Supermarkets so antiquated? Coming out of Citie Europe we noticed quite a few Camping Cars parked in the aire. This was a no-go area when the illegals were in full flow but appears to be quite safe now, so we stayed. We'd forgotten how noisy it is there.

Citie Europe Aire

Up early the next day and the long drive to Delft in Holland. It was a fairly quiet drive but the roads were full of those bloody lorries and going around Antwerp is a nightmare. We arrived at the campsite, Delftse Hout, just outside the town, pitched up and wandered into Delft, where a market was in full flow.

Stroopwafels!

Builders smoking dodgy stuff outside the pub

On Friday 31st, we had thought about getting a train into Amsterdam, but the train fares in Holland seem to have shot up. Accordingly, we changed our plans and took the tram into Scheveningen, where we strolled along the promenade and pier in bright warm sunshine before stopping at a beach bar for lunch and a beer. On the horizon, the clouds started building and the staff started putting up awnings and umbrellas. We drank up and moved towards the tram stop just as the heavens opened. We took the tram back into The Hague but it was miserable walking around in the rain so we went home. 

The Beach at Scheveningen

Saturday saw us back into The Hague to finish touring around the city, but first we stopped off in the fantastic flea market in Delft where we bought mega stroopwafels, cheese, and a tool for cutting cheese into thin slices. Wandering around the Royal Palace we found an alley that turned out to be blocked by a door, walking back out, the police guarding the palace shouted at us. "Oh, oh" we thought "That's us nicked", but it turns out they were saying we had to press the call bell and they would let us through. Simple!

On Sunday we decided to try going Dutch and taking to the bikes. In Holland, the bike is king, the car is second and pedestrians are just fair game for both. We explored the many cycle tracks around the polders behind Delft. Of course, we got lost and went for miles and miles, but it was brilliant.

Leaving Delft we headed the 70 or so miles cross country towards Arnhem and our campsite, Vakantiepark Arnhem. A huge place with massive pitches scattered across heath and woodland, a pretty dour reception and not a lot else around there. We sort of dumped the van in the middle of the woods, unhitched the bikes and followed the trails across the very pretty heath into Oosterbeek. Unlike Delft and its environs, Arnhem is hilly! We found the Airborne Museum at the old Hartenstein hotel and had a very interesting couple of hours wandering around this brilliant museum. I was quite choked to see 10th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment's colours laid up in the museum.  A very fitting resting place for the colours of my old Battalion. Leaving the museum we cycled up to the Oosterbeek cemetery, as beautiful and well kept as any Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery, and paid our respects to the many brave men resting there, including Captain Lionel Queripel VC, from the 10th Battalion. We also met a very interesting Dutch gentleman who told us many stories of his time as a youth in Arnhem during the battle and his subsequent care of "his boys" (who he visits daily) in the cemetery.

10 PARA(V) colours

On Tuesday we mounted up again and headed into Arnhem, visiting the John Frost Bridge and small museum by the bridge. Arnhem is a modern city - quite pleasant to wander around with some lovely gardens on the outskirts. On the way back we stopped for pancakes in the pancake house. They were bloody expensive!

We could have spent more time in Arnhem, despite the campsite being rather limiting. The scenery around the area is stunning and there is quite a lot to do. Another time perhaps, as we had to head back home as our Eurotunnel frequent traveller tickets had expired. We crossed the border into Belgium and - Bam - the notoriously bad Belgian roads hit us. We suffered severe vibration and turbulence for about 20 miles on these appalling roads before finding some smooth tarmac. We were glad to cross the border into France and a vibration free night in the aire at Gravelines.

Gravelines

On Thursday there was time for a bit of shopping, nip back across the channel, and then parking in a small certified site in Bexley, South East London , in preparation for two days of visiting family in London before finally heading home on Sun 9th.

Bexley

Elland 19 - 20 Mar 17

The last stop on this trip was at Elland where we camped for a couple of nights whilst we visited some very dear friends in the area. It was a pleasure to finally leave the cold and wet of Lakeland to a bit of dry and warmth - and I never thought I'd say that about West Yorkshire!

This is a funny little site - very basic and you probably don't want to go anywhere near the showers, but it was handy and the owner very friendly and helpful. It's a sad indictment of our transport system that a taxi around here works out cheaper than the bus!

As ever, it was great to spend some time with our friends and it was an uneventful journey home on the Tuesday - but we must get that awful squeak on the rear suspension looked at!

Keswick16 - 19 Mar 17

One word describes Keswick: Wet! It rained. It poured. It didn't stop for a minute. It was awful. It was damp, dank, and miserable. The only bright spots were the Wetherspoons, which is a converted magistrates court, and Keswick Rugby Club, where we sat and watched Ireland's gamesmanship ensure a win over England in the 6 Nations.

On Saturday there was a knock on the door. The fantastic wardens at the Keswick Camping  and Caravanning Club site had come round to advise that Derwent Water would like to visit and it would be best if we evacuated as soon as possible, as not only was the lake rising, but the adjacent river was flooding and about to cut off the access road. We were very pleased to escape.

Windermere 13 - 16 Mar 17

The next stage of our journey took us around the north end of Coniston Water and through some narrow twisty roads heading towards Windermere. However, with our crazy system of camp sites in this country, we couldn't book into our next stop at Bowness on Windermere until 1300hrs so we had a bit of time to kill. Accordingly, we stopped in Ambleside to have a quick mooch around the many outdoor shops. After lunch we headed down more narrow roads to our next stop at Braithwaite Fold Camping and Caravanning Club site.  This is a small site that looks like a car park because the shed-draggers leave their tugs all over the place! Anyway, after settling in we wandered into the touristy spot of Bowness, had an ice cream, then sat in a pub overlooking Windermere. Suddenly we were plunged into darkness in a  power cut. Luckily the hand drawn ale pumps don't need electricity so we were able to continue supping in the dark.

On Tuesday the plan was to get a bus pass for the day and explore, but the fantastic bus service (one bus an hour) didn't work, so we took the boat to Ambleside, had a great lunch, even better hot cross buns, mooched about and came back by boat.

The following day we managed to get the bus, changed at Ambleside and then went on to Grasmere. We bought some gingerbread from the famous shop there, saw Wordsworth's tomb, wandered around and then got the bus back. The bus pass seems a good idea at first glance, but when there is only one bus an hour the distance that can be travelled is very limited, thus they are not particularly viable. Arriving back at Bowness we took the chain ferry across the water, visited the viewing platform and then set out towards Beatrix Potter's house, but ran out of daylight. We should have taken the scooter!

Wordsworth's grave

Coniston 10-13 Mar 17

On Friday we drove the 70 miles from Skipton to Coniston, albeit it was raining so the views of the Dales were somewhat obscured. We soon settled into the massive caravan club site and walked along the side of Coniston Water into Coniston village, where Debs, with an eye on the weather forecast, invested in some waterproof trousers. 

On Saturday it drizzled - and didn't stop. We walked into Torver and sat in the Church House - a splendid old pub, had lunch, watched Italy v France, then England beat Scotland, then walked back in the dark, slightly the worse for wear. It had rained all day so we were wise spending our time in the pub.

Sunday saw us walking into Coniston, where visited Campbell's and Ruskin's graves, victualed ourselves with doughnuts, water and chocolate and then climbed the Old Man of Coniston. There was no visibility with thick cloud and the occasional shower. It was freezing cold on the top, with no visibility whatsoever, so we didn't hang around, descended and walked back cross-country to the caravan site where we arrived wet and absolutely knackered. 

Ruskin's Grave

Campbell's grave