We’d planned a couple of things for the early May Bank Holiday – we were due to go to The Cross Keys at Cautley Spout with friends on Saturday to do some walking and then have a meal, before moving on in Absinthe on Sunday morning to do a recce at Waterside House Campsite on the shores of Ullswater, ahead of the Brazilian Bay Northern Chapter Meet in June.

In the event, our friend and neighbour, Andy injured his back a couple of weeks ago and wasn’t up to walking, so we decided to head straight to Pooley Bridge on Friday and stay until Wednesday, after the Bank Holiday.

It’s only about 90 minutes up the M6 for us to get to the site so we had time to stop at our favourite Services at Tebay. Even though it was mid morning the car park was busy and there are always some people with cars who think it’s acceptable to park in the caravan area – we had to pull in behind one with the van and trailer, but luckily they moved off before we needed to leave.

It was a straightforward drive up to Pooley Bridge and we were soon set up. I’ve got the honour of being the first person to book on the site’s new online booking system, so they remembered us and I was even happier that they recognised the Glawning from reading this Blog.

Friday night was spent in the Glawning, chilling with a box of red and the stove – a great start to any trip.

It was quite cool in the evenings whilst we were there but we got quite a lot of sunshine and had some great walks.

The Ullswater Way is a 20 mile route right round the lake and it passes through the campsite. When we came in September 2016 we walked the stretch from Howtown to Glenridding, so we thought we’d fill in the gaps from Pooley Bridge to Howtown this time.

The walk isn’t too tough and we enjoyed exploring new places including the stone circle called The Cockpit, near to the old Roman Road of High Street.

The site wasn’t full over the Bank Holiday although all the EHU pitches were taken. The owners, the Lowis family, have recently installed some pods and teepees near the water’s edge and their position looks lovely.

The rest of the trip was spent walking into Pooley Bridge and also driving to nearby Lowther Castle.

We’re taking a Cruise of 14 Brazilians to the Castle in June so I’ll post more photos then – suffice to say we had a great time in the grounds and a tasty lunch in the cafe.

That’s another great few days away – every time we think we might be falling out of love with Absinthe, she takes us on another great trip and we’re besotted again…

If you don’t pack cafetieres correctly they’ll have a hairline crack when you fill them up and your van will smell like a branch of Cafe Nero for days

Melamine trays will crack in two if you drop them on to a concrete floor

Allowing your favourite schnauzer to hoover up sheep treats and chomp on a dead fish on the lakeside will inevitably lead to a disturbed night

Having shiny chrome bumpers can prove irrestible to a chaffinch. Being woken at the crack of dawn by its incessant pecking at its own reflection isn’t pleasant

Don’t buy logs and kindling from a campsite shop – we’ve now got two lines of oily marks running down the Glawning

Finally, much as I love cows, having one lowing all night, every night, will slowly drive you (and a lot of our camping neighbours) mad. It reminded me of my youth and the sound of The Hawsker Bull

There’s a full set of photos here: FLICKR