Page 2 of 2
2017 - UK North
As usual we stayed at Seat House campsite at Eshton just north of Gargrave. This is an excellent CL site with
two fields and a maximum of 5 caravans/motorhomes per field.
We took the Smart car with us and for this site it is essential to have transport. It is too far from the local town
to carry shopping back!!
It was lovely to see Adrian and Debbie again and we went out for dinner with them at The Bay Horse on the
south side of Skipton. Food was OK but nothing special. However, the location is lovely as it is right alongside
the Skipton canal and after dinner we enjoyed a walk along the towpath.
Some of the moored, narrow boats had some very ‘hippie type’ occupants but they were cheery enough!
The Skipton Canal runs through some beautiful parts of North Yorkshire.
Unfortunately, both Debbie and Adrian had to work the following days but we managed to spend sometime with
them in the evenings when they enjoyed ‘eating out’ in the motorhome.
The weather turned very wet the next day. George had planned to drive to Hellifield to watch the steam train
which was running over the Settle - Carlisle line but the rain stopped play. It was a day to stay in.
We visited the lovely Keelham Farm Shop in Skipton and
stocked up with a few goodies. They have a wonderful, range of
fresh food and drink. We just wish that they had a shop down
on the South Coast !!
A brilliant discovery was an alcohol free Gin and Tonic which is
produced at a local farm in Skipton by the Temperance Spirit
Company. Ideal for Desnée who loves gin and tonic but cannot
tolerate any alcohol. We purchased four bottles to try.
It was excellent, you could not tell the difference between the
alcohol free and the real thing!
We then discovered that you can order 12, 24 or 36 bottle packs
on-line and they will deliver free throughout the UK! When we
got home we ordered a pack and it arrived next day - first class
customer service!! Website is: http://ttscompany.co.uk/
Time to head north again, up the A1, to Bishop Auckland. We had booked to see the spectacular show
‘Kynren’ which is staged on Fridays and Saturdays through the summer months in the grounds of Bishop
Auckland Castle.
We had pre-booked Cragwood campsite which seemed to be nearest to the event. We arrived at the campsite
around lunch time and were very disappointed to find that the ‘touring park’ was full of seasonal caravans
which looked as if they had not been moved for years! There seemed to be only very few touring pitches. The
site was full apart from the pitch assigned to us but there was nobody around. All the caravans had their
blinds closed and were unoccupied! We were not happy, the pitch was sloping in all directions and we just
had a bad feeling that come the weekend the place would fill with kids from nearby cities and it would be
generally unpleasant. The whole site was scruffy.
We jumped in the car and searched the area for an alternative site. We found one and made the decision to
move on the next day, despite having booked for 6 days at Cragwood. We asked if we could have a refund for
the days we were not taking up but this was request was refused.
Next morning we drove a few miles up the road to Bradley Burn Farm Shop near Wolsingham. This was a
delightful Camping and Caravanning Club site with just 6 touring pitches. It was a refreshing change from
Cragwood and the Farm Shop had a first class restaurant - which served a ‘Full English Breakfast’ - very
handy! The pitches were near the road but the infrequent traffic all went quiet around 11pm and so we
enjoyed peaceful nights.
(below) The camping field and the beautiful views from our pitch.
Just across the road and through a
field is the River Wear. There is a
very pleasant walk alongside the
river which you can follow to
Wolsingham. The footpath squeezes
between the river and the preserved
railway of Weardale. (right)
Along the path were huge numbers of
raspberries growing wild. Very
delicious they were too!
From Wolsingham you can return to
the campsite along the ridge which
you can see in the (above) photo. On
the ridge you have lovely far reaching
views of Weardale.
The main purpose of our visit to this area was to see ‘Kynren’. This is a
spectacular, open air show which tells the 2000 year history of England
and specifically the north east of England.
Visit their website: http://elevenarches.org/ and click on Watch Trailer.
It is worthwhile buying the best seats which are central to the display and
have comfortable padding rather than hard plastic seats!
The brochure (left) shows the scene of Queen Elizabeth I in her royal
barge travelling across the water. But as you will see from the trailer the
show is much more than that. It lasts for about 2 hours and the
grandstand seats around 10,000 people.
The event is, indeed, spectacular! But so is the organisation. The 1500
actors and 1500 staff are all volunteers and they do an amazing job of
managing the traffic into and out of the various car parks, the shuttle
buses to and from the event and generally making sure that you have an
enjoyable evening.
What they could not do for us, was to manage the weather. As we took our seats, it started to rain and then
continued with a heavy downpour throughout then performance. As we left, the rain stopped!! We were soaked,
despite having come prepared with waterproof jackets. No umbrellas allowed as they would prevent the people
behind you from seeing the show.
A foof over the grandstand would be a great improvement but we guess the cost prevents that at the moment and
you would miss the top half of the amazing firework display.
The Bishop Auckland area has suffered badly with the demise of coal mining. It is hoped that ‘Kynren’ will bring in
visitors and give the area a bit of a boost. We would certainly recommend a visit and will probably return ourselves
in a few years time.
Well done to everyone involved and thank you!
The next day started out a bit wet but at midday we drove the Smart
car back down to North Yorkshire to visit the Masham Steam
Rally. Adrian was managing the site security and suggested that
we should plan to stay for late afternoon when all the steam
vehicles left the rally field in convoy to travel into Masham village.
Here the drivers and passengers filled up with beer in the many
pubs that are scattered around the market square before heading
back to the rally field.
It was a truly amazing sight and a really happy atmosphere which
was enjoyed by all. Again, well worth a visit. We shall be going
again and we discovered that there are several campsites in
Masham or you can camp at the rally field.
Masham village is charming and worth a visit in its own right. It has
an enormous market square and it is here that the rally gathers on
the Saturday evening.
(below) a few pictures of the event. Click on the photos to enlarge
the view
(above) Waiting for the Steam to arrive
(left) Jake’s
owner told me
that, once the
engine is in steam
he jumps up and
stands in the
bunker as if he
owns the engine!
That is his place
for the weekend.
On the Sunday we visited Witton Castle. A fellow camper at Bradley Burns had a well restored Triumph Herald
and he told us that he was showing it at a Classic Car Show at the castle. The castle is a pretty location but the
grounds have been turned over to a static caravan park. All very nicely laid out, definitely top of the range but we
have never seen so many statics in one place. There must be hundreds, if not thousands, on site!
The car show was a local club event and there was not much to see of any interest. We were impressed by an
Aston Martin DB5 which had been beautifully preserved. The owner had purchased it 30 years ago and reckoned it
was his best investment ever!
The Castle boasted a café but when we went to buy some lunch they had run out of everything! Not impressed!
In the afternoon we travelled a bit further north and
visited the Tanfield Railway again. This is the oldest
preserved railway. It dates back to 1725 when it was a
horse drawn waggon way. It transported coal from the
mines down to the port in Gateshead. From Gateshead
the coal was shipped all around the UK but mainly to
London. Horses changed to steam winding engines and
then to steam locomotives.
The railway, today, is just a few miles long. It has a
lovely feel about it and is small enough to be almost like
a giant garden railway. All of the manpower is voluntary
and it was good to see that youngsters with learning
difficulties were taking part enthusiastically in running
the railway despite being covered in coal dust from head
to toe.
Time to head for home but on our way south we called into Wetherby to visit our fellow Carthago owner friends,
Ken and Georgina Hudson.
This was a pretty area of Wharfedale and the campsite at Maustin Park was very convenient for visiting Wetherby.
From the campsite it was just a few hundred yards to the bank of the River Wharfe and a pleasant footpath along
the riverbank.
(right) Maustin Park site.
Very clean and tidy and fully
serviced pitches.
Georgina and Ken kindly
hosted us at their house for
dinner for the two nights we
were in Wetherby.
Desnee and Georgina spent
the following day shopping
in Harrogate - expensive !!
Ken and George visited the Yorkshire Air Museum.
This was a former Bomber Command airfield and had
some interesting displays of aircraft. The airfield
buildings have also been kept as part of the museum
so you can visit the control tower, the NAAFI, etc. It
was an informative and enjoyable day out and the sun
shone!!
Again, a lot of good work being done by volunteers!
Thank you Ken and Georgina for an excellent visit.
All too soon it was time to return home. This time the traffic was a bit kinder to us - thank goodness!
Yet another really enjoyable journey in north east England. We will be back!
