Wheels Around Europe . . . . . . . : February 2023

Lake district trip - day four

Saturday 11th February

The parkup in the Lakeside carpark in Keswick was pretty good until about 8pm when the place filled with rowdy youngsters in loud cars gathering for who knows what purpose.

Then just as I was thinking about whether to stay or move somewhere else, they dispersed as quickly as they had gathered.

By 8.40 it was all quiet again. Phew

Speaking to one of the guys in another motorhome, he said they left a pile of litter behind which he cleared up in the morning so locals wouldn't think it was the motorhomers littering the place.

The morning brought another mostly cloudy sky, again with a bit of drizzle in the air.

After a walk along the lake I moved on stopping at Thirlmere for a cuppa and to enjoy the views, such as they were through the mist.

It's surprising how quickly the weather changes though, all of a sudden the clouds will part and the sun lights up the hills and the scenery is spectacular.

So it's important to time things correctly to make the most of these breaks.

I've yet to master this though. I usually find myself walking in rain.

Next it was onto Coniston for a parkup at a school, John Ruskin School, who open their carpark at weekend and school holidays for a donation to the school fund.

They have a large parking area next to the field and there are about six other motorhomes here for the night. Eight here by morning.

We had a walk around the town and a wander along the path that leads up to The Old Man of Coniston. I didn't go far up as I don't really have the correct gear for winter walking on the fells.

Maybe in summer ?

I'll head home tomorrow having enjoyed a few days away in this wonderful part of the country.

I've had some rain and blustery days which limited the walks we could do but for the time of year it has been better than I'd expected.

John Ruskin School carpark

Coniston town

Lake district trip - day three

Friday 10th February

After enjoying beautiful sunshine yesterday, today dawn broke with more of a damp feeling to it.

It's cloudy, that is very low cloud with all the surrounding peaks shrouded and a hint of drizzle blowing in the air.

After a morning walk along a shortish stretch of Ullswater, we set off for Buttermere

Ullswater

Ullswater - out of focus

I knew it wasn't going to be an easy route to Buttermere as I'd already read about Honister Pass and the cautionary tales advising motorhomes to avoid it, so I decided to follow this advice.

The longer alternative route also had warning signs of narrow lanes at 6'6" where's I'm 7' ah well, what's the worst that can happen ?

In the event it wasn't that bad and I managed to get there without any scrapes down the sides, lol.

It is indeed a very beautiful little village, set between two very scenic lakes, unfortunately, the drizzle had turned to a horizontal downpour at this point so my plans to walk the circumference of the lake, or more correctly mere, were well and truly thwarted.

After lunch overlooking Crummock Water, I decided to head back towards civilisation in Keswick and I've found a carpark overlooking Derwent Water where overnighting is allowed.

This afternoon I took Louis for a walk around Keswick town center.

Most of the shops seem to be outdoor wear stores or tourist gift shops, not surprising I suppose.

It is a nice little place to visit and I've made a note of the best route back to Buttermere, so I'm definitely going to be back in the future to explore when the weather is less likely to result in severe exposure and hypothermia.

Crummock Water Lunch stop

Lake District - day two

Thursday 9th February

After a morning walk along the cycle path and a quick visit to Aldi, I set off for the Lakes.

I had considered calling at Formby in the hope of seeing the red squirrels, but as wherever I got to see the reds, they always scarper when they see me coming and I'm left disappointed, so I'll save that for another time.

Firstly I called at Fell Foot carpark on Windermere for lunch and then had a walk along the Windermere path.

Windermere

Windermere with hills in the distance

Next it was onto Aira Force National Trust carpark where they allow motorhomes to overnight adjacent to spectacular Ullswater, so that'll be me sorted for tonight hopefully.

We walked up the path alongside Aira Beck and enjoyed photographing the falls and Louis had a paddle in the beck.

It's a lovely woodland setting with good paths and some great views of the surrounding countryside.

Unfortunately my camera decided to go into portrait mode for some reason known only to the camera, so if you look carefully some of the edges are all out of focus.

Aira Force

Aira Beck

Late Winter Lake District Trip

Wednesday 8th February 2023

First trip of the year takes me up to the frozen north and the beautiful lake district national park.

The weather is actually pretty good for February it's settled now with little rain for a couple of weeks and not much in the forecast, so that'll do me for a few days away.

It's cold at night but I can keep warm in Ed with the heating on.

First stop is Crosby Beach on Merseyside.

I've wanted to take a look at Anthony Gormleys "Another Place" iron men for a while.

These are 100 iron statues along a two mile stretch of the sands at Crosby.

They're actually made from a cast of his own body and are quite erie, standing looking out into the Mersey estuary and the Irish sea beyond.

There's pay and display parking here which doesn't exclude overnight, it feels safe so it'll do for me.

There is actually free parking nearby close to the leisure center, but it's a bit overlooked by some flats so I think I prefer it here.

It did prove to be a good parkup, I was joined by another motorhome and it was very quiet all night, just the sound of the waves at high tide to send me to sleep.

There is a great cycle path here, national route 810 which stretches 19.5 miles from Liverpool to Southport.