Do you remember us taking Connievan to stay at "Bunnyland" last year? After that wonderful holiday we became enchanted with this type of small, rural caravan site. Known as "Certificated Sites" they are limited to a maximum of five caravans, with a sprinkling of tents also allowed. They have to provide cold running water and waste water disposal facilities, and many also provide electricity, but that is usually the extent of the facilities on offer. The idea is that you experience a "get away from it all" feeling in a beautiful rural location.
There are more than 1200 CS sites in the UK, and choosing a Good One is tough work, it really is. The sites are listed in a comprehensive directory, in tiny print with no pictures. You have to basically have a rough idea of your destination/area, then spend some time scrutinising the listings to work out whether the place will suit. I delegate this job to J, place the directory firmly in his capable hands and instruct him to Choose a Good One.
So at the end of May/beginning of June we had a weeks holiday from school/work and took a little jolly up country with Connievan. J selected this site for us (and blow me, it took him all of two minutes to do it) and we had high hopes for it. After all, it had a lot to live up to after the Bunnyland experience.
It took us about 90 minutes to get there with Connievan, the roads getting smaller and more countrified the closer we got. Finally we turned off down this narrow track leading to Templands Farm, to see where we would be living for the next five days.
It was absolutely delightful. A down to earth, unpretentious working farm surrounded by glorious open countryside, with a spacious field for the caravans and an old stone outbuilding which contained a toilet and a rather rustic shower room. But more than anything else there was fresh air, expansive green views and the intoxicating feeling of open space. So different from the built-up, hemmed in Victorian Terrace living that we experience day to day.
And being a working farm there were animals in residence, oh the joy!! The Little People absolutely loved all the animals around and about in the surrounding fields, but in particular they completely adored the free range chickens. Every morning we would wake early and open Connievan's curtains to find them pecking around outside, it caused Little B to shriek with excitement at the sight of them so close by.
Ahh caravan life is just sooo warm and cosy and sweet, I continue to love love love it. A comfy, cosy bed to sleep in, crochet blankets to snuggle in and a red enamel mug of steaming hot tea :: pure delight.
My stack of Rice tumblers make me smile every time I open this cupboard, well all of Connievan's enamel and melamine does. The tumblers are a recent purchase, but the assortment of melamine plates and bowls have been gathered over many years. I think I've always secretly dreamt of owning a caravan or campervan.
A jam jar of freshly picked hederow flowers, what could be prettier? Connievan wouldn't be complete without them, I pick some to have inside on every trip.
As you have probably sussed by now, I am still completely bowled over by Connievan, I love her to bits. These sweet little family holidays that she's providing us with are such a dream come true. I'm very slowly beginning to add some decorative bits and bobs and am slowly making changes to her interior (I'll show you the curtain progress soon)...like I said once before, this is sure to be an ongoing and enduring love affair. And just whilst I'm on the subject of caravans and love affairs, if you've got a spare minute or two, click on "this link" Go on, you'll be transported into a world of complete loveliness on two wheels!!
But of course, the week wasn't all about sitting inside a 14 x 7 foot box on wheels, as cute and cosy and lovely as it is. It was also about exploring the local area and enjoying the great outdoors. The nearest town to Templands Farm was five miles away :: Grange-over-Sands. And what a lovely, simple, quirky and pretty place it is. Walking down the main shopping street (above) makes you feel almost as if you've stepped back in time, it's very English and decidedly traditional and old fashioned, but I liked it very much.
It's a bit of an oddity though, in that although it's labelled as a seaside town, there isn't actually a seaside. There's no beach. And you can't actually get to the water either, even though you can see it.
There's a super-duper long esplanade designed for the old fashioned pleasure of promenading. It's one mile long.
One side of the esplanade is planted with an inspiring mixture of trees, shrubs and flowers, and is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.
The other side of the esplanade looks out over the Sands to Morecombe Bay beyond. You can't actually go down and walk on the grass/sands as there are numerous signs with red writing in capital letters warning of dangerous quick sands and fast incoming tides. The Little People were hugely intrigued by this Potential Danger, they were fascinated by the idea of quick sand. Luckily we managed to divert their attention with this........
....a wonderful and imaginative play area (Little B adored this wooden train) with adjoining tea room serving local icecream. We were all suitably wowed by the thunder and lightening flavour, it was amazing. Described as "chocolate with an explosive cinder toffee crunch" trust me, it was a complete Taste Sensation.
On a couple of days we ventured further afield into the Lake District proper. Life at Templands Farm was so quiet and tranquil, it came as a bit of a shock to find ourselves suddenly amongst so many hoards of people. The car parks were jam packed, the cafe's and shops were heaving with tourists, I can't say it was very pleasant. On this particular day we had set out early to visit the home of Beatrix Potter, but on arriving at 10am (the house opens at 10.30am) we found the car park already full, with a possible four hour wait to tour the house. After getting over that disappointment, we decided to drive on a bit further and visit the village of Hawkshead instead. The cafe pictured above is in the centre of Hawkshead, and was a sweet spot in an altogether bonkers and over the top place. Walking around Hawkshead is like walking round an overcrowded, overrated, overpriced, twee, fake village. It wasn't our thing at all.
But this cafe was sweet.
A bit over the top, but I liked it. J, on the other hand did not like it. He hated it. He balked at the £14 it cost for our drinks and cake, he said the chairs were uncomfy, he said it was cramped, he said his coffee was not nice. He was in a Bad Mood. He walked out.
We winded up eating our picnic lunch by the amazing church which is high on a hill overlooking Hawkshead, and thankfully the views and peaceful atmosphere did help ease the tensions of earlier. We decided there and then that it would suit us better if we stayed clear of the Popular Destinations of the Lake District, and head to the more untrodden places in future......
.....such as Ravenglass. Now what a gem this little place is. Much more our thing. We arrived here early one morning and I was immediately captivated by the quiet, sleepy and unpretentious atmosphere of the place. The above picture shows the main street of Ravenglass, see how deserted it looks (hoorraaahh!)
You know how much I love little seasidey places, and this one really did make my heart skip. I just loved how there were boats parked up alongside the cars, isn't that something?
Many of the gardens were beautifully planted, such an abundance of colour spilling out over old stone walls.
Further on towards the end of the main street we passed this stack of lobster pots and realised the sea must be somewhere close by.....
....and sure enough the street suddenly ended and there we were on the beach. Kind of unusual to find grass and flowers growing right on the beach, it was lovely.
As you can see, the tide was way out when we arrived, the boats stranded and lopsided on the sand. We spent quite a long time just pootling about on the beach and in/near the water (aren't crocs great for just this sort of thing), breathing in the fresh salty sea air and enjoying the simple pleasure of hurling big fat pebbles into water with a satisfying plop.
As the morning moved on, the tide began to come in, lordy, it really does rip in at quite a pace here. Luckily we were safely off the beach and sat outside a wonderful little tea room having a spot of lunch with a sea view. Delicious homemade soup with generous hunks of homemade tomato bread. Just as well lunch was delicious as it made up for the huge barny J and I had earlier when we discovered we'd left the picnic behind. Correction....HE had left the picnic behind, although of course he swears that I never gave him the bag, that it was all my fault. But you and I know full well that of course I DID give him the picnic bag. That he took it from me and then absent mindedly put it down and left it behind. Nuff said.
Ravenglass is definitely somewhere I'd like to return to (with full picnic facilities next time, I love eating lunch on the beach). We'll be back one day I'm sure.
We drove away from the coast in the afternoon, J deciding that he'd like to take us up up up over this famously high piece of road called the Hardknott Pass. It's one of the steepest roads in the whole of England, with a gradient of 1 in 3. Not only that, the roads are narrow with some stomach-churning hairpin bends, this is not a road for the faint hearted or nervy driver. J is neither fainthearted or nervy, but cripes, I certainly am. I sat in the back seat and tried not to squeal with terror.
But the views from the top.....oh my. Breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking and I admit that yes it was worth the nail-biting and breath-holding.
We stopped a while up here, it was unbelievably quiet and peaceful. Felt like the top of the world.
Back at Connievan HQ, life was for the most part peaceful and relaxed. We did have a few minor issues with Little B intent on running off across the field and down the lane in search of the chickens, but then that's where the Little People were marvelous assets. They would happily go running after their wee brother, grab his hand and persuade him to stop harassing the chickens and come back to the van.
There were some very hot afternoons during that week. It was wonderful to return from our excursions to the cool green grass of Templands Farm and enjoy the hot summer sunshine. Blankets and chairs for sitting/lounging upon, cold juice/beer/wine to hand, and nothing whatsoever to do excepting for a little bit of light cooking and a smidge of lazy childcare. It was amazing how long a bowl of water and two cups kept a certain someone entertained for. Joyful.
We cook very simply when we're in Connievan. We eat a lot of pasta with pesto and salad. Sometimes it's a simple do of crusty bread,salami, cheese, fruit, crisps, chocolate. And sometimes I do decide to actually rustle up a little something more substantial...in this case it was noodles, peppers and chicken in a chow mein sauce. We ate it out of bowls, sitting outside on the grass, slurping and nomnomming the noodles. It was such fun!! Little B was so, so happy eating this meal, he was a complete messy delight.
Most evenings after dinner was all done and dusted, we would walk the mile or so into the local village to visit this lovely little childrens playground. It was a sweet way to round off the days.
I really enjoyed walking back to Templands Farm and Connievan each evening after our playground trips, it felt like coming home. The light at this time of day (between 7 and 8pm) was warm and golden and it made the grass look extra green and the views extra beautiful.
We would settle down in Connievan for the evening with books/radio/crochet and wait for the ducks to arrive. Every evening they would waddle up the field to come and take a drink from the old stone trough. And every evening the Little People would wait patiently for them to arrive. It was lovely to observe how these little routines of Caravan Life formed according to what was happening in the landscape around us. Chickens in the morning. Ducks in the evening. Lovely, happy memories.
It's been a great experience for me putting this together, I've enjoyed it so much! It means a lot to me that I'm able to use this patch of cyberspace to record these precious times. I hope that one day the Little Peeps will enjoy this peek back into their childhood. Hope so. xxxxxxxx
Edit to add :: I've been writing this post over the course of two or three days and hadn't quite realised how long it had become until I read it through just now! I hope you're not yawning and falling asleep over your kepboard. Thanks as ever for dropping by to share and indulge me in my memory-preserving. Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Aha caravan! I use UK Campsites for their reviews, it takes the guess work out of it! :)
Posted by: idiosyncratic eye | March 11, 2012 at 11:29 PM
I LOVE YOU ATTIC 24 SIMPLEMENTE SENSACIONAL ESPERO DIA A DIA PARA ABRIR Y VER ALGO NUEVO. DESDE PUEBLA MEXICO BENDICIONES Y ABRAZOS SIN CONOCERLE LE ADMIRO MUCHO. ATENTAMENTE:EMMY*
Posted by: EMMY | September 12, 2011 at 09:47 PM
Lovely photos! I remember a trip to the Lake District when I was about 6, and being quite spooked by Ravenglass - so quiet. I was an anxious little one, and also knew about the then nearby nuclear facilities... The world was a scary place!
I'm having a quiet weep over your blog - reminds me how much I miss my childhood home, especially with parents ailing now. Thank you for sharing your beautiful view of the world.
Posted by: Jen | September 07, 2011 at 02:26 PM
Haven't been on your website for a few weeks. what a surprise to see you were in my neighbourhood. my family and i live on the very edge of the lake district, the southern end. been to many of the places you have bloogeed about. yes, Ravenglass is otherworldy in the best sense of the world. hope you went on the miniature steam train?! thanks for the really lovely photography. almost better than your crochet - no your crochet is still the best. looking forward to many more blogs. iris
Posted by: Iris Gallagher | September 01, 2011 at 01:28 PM
Your blog is delightful!
I live in Connecticut, USA. It is a dream for my husband and I to visit the British Isles. I don't want to waste much time in London though I won't pass it by either. Where I really want to go is high into the moors and mountains, the Lake District and seaside towns; Scotland and Ireland!
Right now making an "armchair Holiday" on the old laptop is about the extent of what we can do. There are beautiful places here too but alas, it takes time and money. So I must be content and count myself blessed.
Posted by: Heather | August 30, 2011 at 03:57 AM
Hi there! I really really really love your blog! You always have nice pictures and beautiful crochet projects, I love it! I think you're holiday was awesome, when I see these pictures! xxx from Holland, Leonie
Posted by: Leonie | August 29, 2011 at 05:00 PM
Well I always love the way people travel in Camper Vans.. They are really exciting trips..with lovely memories..Especially the lake side places..
Posted by: caravan awnings | August 22, 2011 at 07:19 AM
We holiday in Silverdale (the other side of the bay to Grange-Over-Sands) and we have the sea over there at the moment. I was amazed when I rediscovered the place as an adult because when I stayed with my Great-Aunt there in childhood there was no sea... The sea moves from one side of the bay to the other. It takes a generation, so my children can walk down to Silverdale cove and paddle in-between the rocks, but when they bring their children Grange will be a seaside town again and Silverdale will be the side with the unsafe grassland.
If you feel like another trip to that part of the world Silverdale is worth a look. It's an AONB and we never tire of it. We stay on the edge of Eaves' Wood, a perfect little place for a day of exploring (I have three boys: seven, five and two), with a beech circle and ruined cottage to discover and beautiful views across the bay from the Pepperpot (our favourite picnic spot). We go 'fishing' in rock pools at Jenny Brown's Point, then wander up to the Wolf House for homemade cakes. There's a little outdoor play area for the children and an artist's studio and local crafts shop to explore.
On familiar ground for you - we take the train across the sands from Silverdale station to Grange-over-sands to visit the Hazelmere tea rooms (is that where you went? They have the most wonderful tea menu).
Arnside (nearby) is a sweet little seaside village and Arside Knott is renowned for its butterflies... Carnforth is the nearest town and the station was the location for Brief Encounter (it also has a wonderful secondhand bookshop)... A little further south and you're in Lancaster as well as the guidebook attractions, Lancaster is home to GB Antiques - a HUGE collection of antique and junk shop stalls (including one with beautiful embroidered linens and crochet pieces). I can easily lose an afternoon (and a fair bit of money ;-) in there...
I'm starting to worry that your comments may have a character limit so I'd better leave it there!
Posted by: Adele | August 21, 2011 at 10:39 PM
What lovely memories.... took me back too when we holidayed in the Lake District and visited Beatrix Potters house... it was all very touristy 30 years ago then as I remember... We also drove up Hardknott Pass and I freaked out too especially when other cars had to pass us. I distinctly felt I was in the coach with the back end over the cliff in the "Italian Job"! As much as it was awe inspiring and majestic its not something I felt I could repeat quickly. I would love to go on a "Connievan" experience.. how relaxing!
Posted by: Samm | August 21, 2011 at 09:16 AM
Beautiful photos and an ideallic family holiday. :)
Posted by: traceyr | August 21, 2011 at 01:24 AM
It was a delightful post! I had not noticed how long it was!!! The English countryside is beautiful. Thank you for the lovely pictures!
Posted by: Taylor | August 20, 2011 at 11:41 PM
Ah Bliss! I adore your holiday stories,so well written. Happy memories, you will cherish forever!
Posted by: july | August 20, 2011 at 04:00 PM
Too long??? No way!!! I feel like I've just been on vacation with you. I've loved every minute!!!
Posted by: Steph | August 20, 2011 at 01:45 PM
How lovely! Thank you for sharing such a beautiful area. It was so nice to have a brief getaway as I read this. Thank you, thank you!!
Posted by: Cynthia in NC | August 19, 2011 at 09:23 PM
Sitting here reading that post with a cuppa I feel like I've just been on a lovely holiday to the Lake District with you! Thank you for sharing! :-) x
Posted by: Mrs C | August 19, 2011 at 01:44 PM
What a lovely holiday! I loved your early morning photos - the light is full of the promise of the day ahead. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!
Posted by: Liz | August 18, 2011 at 07:51 PM
I so enjoy your holiday musings, thank you for sharing them
Posted by: Helen Stapleford | August 18, 2011 at 07:01 PM
Hi, Lucy!
It´s always so good to see your travelling pictures and to read your lovely posts!!
I´ve crocheted a crochet snake, totally inspired by yours, but following a free pattern from the net.
It´s here:
http://linhasimaginarias.blogspot.com/2011/08/matilda.html
Thanks a lot for inspiration! :)
Posted by: Claudia | August 18, 2011 at 04:30 PM
Aww.. lovely post...thanks! Just thought I would tell you that even my laptop likes your blog...I only have to type an 'a'a in the search box and it suggests Attic24! Also, it made me laugh to hear that you have a hubby who doesn't appreciate the aesthetics of shabby chic either...mine would have walked out with a deep frown on his face too ... poor things don't have that paticular bliss gene do they? :)x
Posted by: Jill | August 18, 2011 at 01:41 PM
We drove over the hardknott pass in May when we stayed at the Eskdale campsite, oh my! It was very scary in my little city car but I'm glad I did it just to say I could. We also visited Ravensglass then and it is lovely, they've got a C&CC site but it's not one of the certified sites, it's supposed to be lovely though. I must say though I'm not fond of the touristy bits of the Lake District, always too busy, always too expensive and always full of grumpy people, not fun at all! I prefer to head to the North West Lakes which are a little quieter.
On the looking into the certified sites thing, if you've not been on it have a look at www.ukcampsite.co.uk which has a reviews section, it has reviews of thousands upon thousands of campsites/caravan sites so always worth a look to see if anyone has left a review of the one you're thinking about :)
Thank you for sharing such lovely pictures of your holiday.
Posted by: Laura | August 18, 2011 at 07:38 AM
Nope, no yawning or falling asleep over the keyboard here!! Just delight in seeing your gorgeous photos and reading the delight in your 'voice' about your little getaway! So beautiful, thankyou!
Posted by: Evi | August 18, 2011 at 02:13 AM
I love your postings.
Posted by: Lisa | August 17, 2011 at 11:17 PM
Your post is too long? Are you kidding?:) I love reading about your adventures at my office desk. I completely forget where I am! Thanks for sharing with us. Your photos are amazing and your family is precious. The little ones are sure to enjoy reading your collection in the future.
Posted by: Catherine | August 17, 2011 at 10:45 PM
lovely lovely description of your holiday, sounds so relaxing and blissed out. Reminds me why camping is such fun, love being out of doors all day in the fresh air - just a shame when it rains!
Posted by: jo | August 17, 2011 at 08:52 PM
WOW! that campsite looks incredible. I have never camped, well not as an adult anyhow, and i hear rumblings that we may be planning a trip next year, i will remember this post..thank you
We are off to the lake district in a few weeks and my goodness it does get super busy, i feel the same that those places are best avoided! although i have visited Beatix potters house and it is BLOOMING FANTASTIC, just choose your time carefully.
jooles x
Posted by: jooles | August 17, 2011 at 06:53 PM