Plans for the year

January 
A lovely frosty sunny day. Yesterday I was reading blogs 'Europe by camper' and 'the world is our lobster' - good reading if you haven't read them and, inspired by them, we're looking at plans for the year. The annual if possible trip to Telendos is booked- not in the motorhome- the ferry from Italy to Greece is booked and now we're looking at places to go in the next month or so.....all very exciting. Even though it's minus 1 degrees, we're testing out the electric bikes this afternoon- mad isn't the word!

December 2011 The last trip of the year

Brown Moor Caravan Club Site , Hawes. North Yorkshire

Brown - or should that be grey? Moor 

We had a super Christmas and a lovely Boxing day walk around Digley and Bilberry reservoirs with friends, ending up at the Fleece at Holme for a drink. Then it was van packing time for the last trip of the year. 
We took my mam and dad back to Newcastle before heading south again to Hawes. It was dark and damp when we got there but two groups of friends were already there so we parked near them. After drinks with Katie and Stewart, we had an early, quiet night .
We got up in the night when howling winds threatened to tear off Stewart's awning round 5 am.

Egg and sprouts!

We helped him get the awning in as best we could then went inside and had a cup of tea before going back to sleep listening to the wind and rain whistling around the van. We had a lazy morning in the van then walked into Hawes. We had to check out the beers in the Fountain and later on, we walked back up there for something to eat with Karen,  Phil, Stewart and Katie. It seemed that every meal came with sprouts - except mine, thank goodness! Last year I had sausage ,egg and chips and that came with added sprouts.......I had to take a photo, it looked so strange. 


It rained again through the night and it was a grim day but we found the energy to  walk to the Green Dragon at Hardraw in the afternoon and managed to stay dry. Phil, Karen Emily Tom and baby Sophie came in just after us but they were pretty wet.  We had a couple of hours of cosy warmth by the fire before heading back over the fields. It was cold and wet  and luckily Phil had a torch because the moon was only a crescent and it didn't give much light on the wet fields. We had to be careful not to walk into a stream.  Tom and Lucille had arrived when we got back but there was nowhere close free to park . We went to Katie and Stew's for carrot and coriander soup, cold meat and salad.  Phil and Karen came later for drinks and chat.


The wind died down a little the next morning so Pete helped Stewart get the awning right back in again. Pete's folding ladder came in very useful. We went for a walk with Phil and Karen to Burtersett and along to Gayle and again, we got wet. Pete slid down a hillside but somehow kept his coat clean- his trousers weren't though! We had to call in at the Fountain for a restorative drink. We couldn't get near to the fire in the Fountain so went next  door to the Crown where we sat next to the fire. A chance conversation with the landlady's daughter led to us booking a table for a meal on New year's Eve. We rang Katie and Stewart and they came to join us at the Fish and Chip cafe where Emma joined us too. We had a fantastic meal of fish and chips- perfect thin batter, white fish and super chips- a great way to end a walk.

New Year's Eve in the Crown

The next day, a group did a walk to Askrigg but we went to Hawes and got the newspaper and went to a cafe for brunch. We watched Manchester United v Blackburn in the Fountain but were disappointed by  the score ( 2-3)  We went to Katie's in the evening for drinks and nibbles before going to the Crown for a lovely meal. Emily, Tom and baby Sophie came too which was lovely. Baby Sophie played in the corner and was a little star all night. We then went back to Tom and Lucille's for drinks and to wish each other a happy new year.


Lucille and Stewart dressed up in inflatable outfits and went up to the games room where people were playing bingo- they were stunned by L and S's appearance! 

don't be fooled -Pete's not romantic enough to get me a rose!

It was another stormy night with the wind rocking the van. We got up early but sat all morning watching the rain. We did some planning for trips this year and made a calendar . We walked up to the Green Dragon again just to get some fresh air ( and get wet!) We met Phil and Karen, Tom and Emily again there but this time we walked back along the road. It rained heavily on the way back...........again. In the evening we went round to Tom and Lucille's for a lovely meal that we all made something for. 


The last night was stormy too but there were hailstones as well. When we got up, the hills were covered with snow. The campsite was closing down so everyone was getting ready to leave.  I had a nice chat with the lady warden before we set off home.


I like Caravan Club sites in the winter as the showers are heated and there's hard standing for the van but I much prefer not to be parked in lines of vans like a car park. I'm hoping for good weather so we can  have lots of trips..........I'm going to carry on writing the blog by request though I'd only planned to do it for a year..............so the only question is- where to next?