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
PS Should have said it was a caravan club cl rather than camping & caravan one. Oh & Thunder & Lightening ice cream is something I buy from their factory shop here!!
Posted by: Sue | August 17, 2011 at 06:33 PM
Oh so close, I live in Kendal & when I was growing up our caravan holidays were spent at another CL, Crosslands Farm in the Rusland valley. P 325 of the handbook. Just a bit further on than the turning for Grange off the A590. The family that live there now are the son in law (I think) of the family that lived there way back when, I think they now live across the road with a holiday cottage. Oh I just found a web page, wow have they made some changes.
http://www.crosslandsfarm.co.uk/caravans.php
You have brought back so many happy memories, reading & playing board games by gaslight, no electric hook up then, stand up wash at the "kitchen" sink. We used to sit out & watch the deer come down from the woods every evening & watch the buzzards & other birds overhead. I used to walk miles around the area. Loved it. When we get our own van we will be spending time there, though my youngest is now 13 & addicted to video games I'm fortunate he will accept a few days back to basics occasionally. I plan on going over for the day soon as we scattered my dad's ashes at Rusland church some 10 years ago.
Hawkshead has indeed changed, it was always a bit twee & false but even more so it seems now. Grange I do sometimes go to, good local butcher for one thing, & a distant elderly aunt who lives up a really steep hill - why do they retire to such daft places? Thank you so much for your tales of Connievan, takes me back.
Posted by: Sue | August 17, 2011 at 06:23 PM
Thanks for sharing this lovely trip.
Posted by: Leanne | August 17, 2011 at 04:17 PM
Lucy, this sounds heavenly, you pictures have captured the magic of it all as usual. I remember going over Hardknot Pass as a teenager, nad my brother (who must have been about five at the time) being really rather sick. cheese sandwich all over the car...
Posted by: Kath | August 17, 2011 at 03:49 PM
Oh no, this is by no means too long or boring. I loved reading every bit of it ! We are also travellers who would rather get away from it all and avoid the crowded, touristy places. It was nice to read about life and habits, routines settling in and yes, sure, they will be wonderful memories for the children.
We went to England this summer but had to stick with the urbanised areas, since we attended my sister's wedding, but I would love to come back one day and discover the heart of the countryside. Love the gardens, so well tended (not like mine at the moment...)
Posted by: Carole68 | August 17, 2011 at 12:31 PM
Lovely!
Those 'ducks' sure do look like geese though!
Special country-bred giant ducks, perhaps...all that healthy country air... ;-)
Posted by: fudgesunday | August 17, 2011 at 11:26 AM
I have been secretly yearning for a caravan for a long time and your pictures confirm that it can be a very lovely holiday indeed. On our way to visit Nana in N Yorks we saw an Airstream. It was so extremely very shiny and beautiful. Even my caravan-cynical Mr was enamoured.
My favourites of your happy images are : jamjar flowers, lobster pots, noodly little legs.
Posted by: Emma (silverpebble) | August 17, 2011 at 11:02 AM
Great area isn't it? Last year we realised we had a flat tire when we got to the top of Hardknott Pass and had to change the tire up there with the wind whistling around us. The only people who stopped to ask if we were ok was a lovely car full of women!
Posted by: pennyb | August 17, 2011 at 10:42 AM
Whata smashing, fmaily filled, delightful trip Lucy! This is just the sort of sort we're looking to stay at. The last place we stayed was a very, super organised club site (flat screen tvs the works! I can't understand caravanning like this, you're supposed to rough it a bit aren't you!)
Sounds like your Lake District experience was just like ours, phew how busy does it get? And feels very artificial too. Where do real people livign there shop I wonder? I sympathise with your J, Woody can't bear places that are too twee and busy. Thanks goodness you discovered that beach, much more our sort of place too.
Love that picture of Little B gazing at the hens, bless him.
Have a lovely week.
Stephxx
Posted by: Steph | August 17, 2011 at 09:19 AM
What fantastic photo's, Lucy... Lovely to share your Connivacation! I'm about to start blogging myself and remember ages ago, you told us what your new (then) camera was, and how pleased you were with it. I'd like my photo's to be as good in all conditions as yours are; would you be kind and remind me again the name of your camera - and are you still happy with it? Many thanks for this, if you could, and for the always-cheering blog entries, too... AC
Posted by: Anna Clements | August 17, 2011 at 08:10 AM
The pictures...the words...what a great vacation you are having!
Thank you for taking us along with you....I feel very blessed to be included :)
Blessings,
Maria
Posted by: Maria | August 17, 2011 at 01:59 AM
A lovely post, and not too long at all. I was transported to a heavenly place. I've tried persuading Hubby that it would be lovely to have our own campervan but he isn't convinced. Men can be so unimaginative!! Sue x
Posted by: Sue McIndoe | August 16, 2011 at 11:18 PM
Lovely, wish I were there right now........
Posted by: Darlene | August 16, 2011 at 10:16 PM
What a lovely cafe with its flower-wallpaper! Thank you so much to show us your beautyful holiday pictures. Nicole
Posted by: Nicole | August 16, 2011 at 09:30 PM
Oh how I agree with you about some of the towns in the Lakes! We are now able to caravan outwith the school holidays and everywhere is so much quieter and less frantic.(After 40 years of working with children it seemed very strange at first) Enjoy the caravan as often as you can-we just love going even a short way from home and life seems so much less hurried in the 'van.
Posted by: Catriona | August 16, 2011 at 08:38 PM
I read and enjoyed right through to the end. What a lovely trip you had - and also I'm glad to read that although your life appears to be flawlessly cheerful your family does have the occasional Picnic Basket moment as well, just like the rest of us. Thanks for sharing all this with us!
Posted by: Christine Laennec | August 16, 2011 at 08:13 PM
Gorgeous photos and great descriptions, I felt like I had been on a holiday too! Nearly choked with laughter at the male reaction to the over-priced cafe, and the incident of leaving the picnic behind...are we married to the same man???Tee hee -- thanks for the sharing and the fun.
Posted by: Valerie | August 16, 2011 at 06:56 PM
We live 30 minutes away from Grange over Sands, it really is a lovely place and we all love Ravenglass especially L'all Ratty!!
Very wise of you to avoid the touristy areas!
San
Posted by: San | August 16, 2011 at 06:18 PM
We took the minature steam train to Ravenglass from our campsite when we were in the Lakes in May - we loved it so much more than Windermere - which sounds just like Hawkshead.
Posted by: Rachel | August 16, 2011 at 05:13 PM
What wonderful places you visited. Thanks for sharing them with all of us.
Posted by: Ann | August 16, 2011 at 05:09 PM
Ahhh Lucy! What a wonderful entry. Your photos give us all a mini vacation. Places that I would love to travel to someday. I never yawn at things you share. Only give a contented sigh! Thank you so much for sharing. Enjoy these days with your family.
Sending you Orlando Blue Skies & Sunshine,
Donna
Posted by: Donna Kuhn | August 16, 2011 at 03:50 PM
I loved every bit of this ramble! Felt like I had gone with you. My favourite picture is of your little people playing with the tub of water AND the gorgeous bowls and cups. So satisfying.
Posted by: Jan Morrison | August 16, 2011 at 02:12 PM
You holiday in so many of the places we do! Last year we were in Burton-in-Kendal and spent a fair amount of time at Grange-over-sands, happy memories. Also, we have spent many lovely holidays at Christon Bank and Fleetham, near Alnwick. Trips to Robin Hoods Bay when our teenagers were littlies were what prompted our move the North Yorkshire Coast. It's always a delight to read your blog and feast my eyes on the scrummy photos. Thanks
Posted by: Lemanie | August 16, 2011 at 01:30 PM
Now that’s some nice vacation, too! Lovely countryside, looks so peaceful (a lot like I remember the region from the James Herriot series and am happy that it STILL looks like that!) I need to remember to check your blog for great sites if I’ll ever go to England again (a bit difficult with four doggies and a loved house that you don’t really want to leave as you are so happy to have time to really be there when you are off work instead of leaving at six in the morning and come back at five in the evening). Thanks for sharing, and I didn’t mind it is so long because I enjoyed it.
Posted by: Tina | August 16, 2011 at 12:53 PM
Loved the journey! Thanks for letting us tag along. :)
Posted by: Seaweedandraine | August 16, 2011 at 12:43 PM