Category Archives: Camping

Petit Tour de Manche

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When Dave unexpectedly gained rather a lot of holiday, we decided to use a week of it cycle touring in France and the Channel Islands at the start of July. A long-distance route called the Petit Tour de Manche (its grand cousin extends further west into Brittany and Devon) formed the basis for this, although required some tweaks as there are no longer regular ferries from Weymouth to France.

So we took the van to Poole (getting caught up in various road closures and traffic chaos on the way), spent half a night in it, left it parked in a posh-looking cul-de-sac, and caught an early ferry to Cherbourg.  Over the next couple of days we wound our way south down the Cotentin Peninsula, enjoying the Normandy countryside (marshes and bocage) and towns and an interesting detour to Utah Beach.  A good day or so was spent following the Vire river valley – often on the voie verte, a series of old railway lines.  As the weather became sunnier and hotter, we turned west and were soon in sight (albeit way across the marshes) of Mont-Saint-Michel, which we later spent a pleasant evening wandering around as the crowds thinned out.  A final day in France took us into Brittany, zooming along the rocky coast to Cancale and St-Malo, and on an evening ferry to St Helier.

This felt a bit like the start of another holiday, since we now had two days to explore Jersey, and the weather was still hot and sunny.  As the round-island route is only 40ish miles, this was very leisurely and involved a large number of food, drink and paddling/swimming stops.  We decided we liked Jersey, once we stopped expecting it to be like the Scottish islands and accepted that there would inevitably be a cafe and other people on every beach!  A final evening ferry brought us back to Poole (via Guernsey), where we were relieved to find the van exactly as we had left it.

All in all, a nice relaxed tour through varied scenery, with great campsites, some history, and countless opportunities for excellent food and drink (and the good weather might have helped a bit too!)

Setting off across Hamworthy Park to Poole ferry port at 7am
Beach huts cheering up a grey morning
Brownsea Castle, sailing out of Poole Harbour
Le Redoutable, France’s first nuclear submarine and our first stop after getting off the ferry
Lunch on the quay in Cherbourg
Finally on route, climbing out of Cherbourg into undulating rural Normandy
We arrived in Bricquebec towards late afternoon, and explored the first of many castles
Followed by a beer
Then a roll down the greenway to our first campsite at Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte
The campsite was directly under the castle walls and it was rather late by the time we arrived – pasta and pesto has never tasted so good!
Marshland (nature reserve) on the way to Carentan, where we arrived at lunchtime
An out-and-back to Utah Beach filled the afternoon
A good day for an ice cream
We didn’t go the museum, but there was plenty to see and read outside
Dave making friends on the way back to Carentan
Our second campsite was right next to Carentan canal, which made for a very pleasant evening stroll
Carentan fountains
Sunny evening selfie
Our only mechanical of the trip – puncture heading out of Carentan the next morning – and the worst road of the trip (unrelated…)
Soon afterwards we entered the Vire valley, and followed the Vire to Saint-Lô
Here we had lunch and a wander around the ramparts, before continuing along the Vire
Some creative gardening in Saint-Lô
The Vire
And again from higher up, after a steep climb to visit Les Roches de Ham
Unfortunately the Tour wasn’t visiting Normandy this year…
Another lovely, peaceful campsite in the tiny village of Pont-Farcy
The first really hot day, after the morning mist cleared. Here we left the Vire for (according to the guidebook) “some climbing”
This turned out to be a hard morning’s work of diving in and out of steep, wooded valleys as we traversed some classic Calvados bocage
Very pleasant countryside, if slightly frustrating!
But obviously not that frustrating.
Boulangerie stop in the pretty village of La Graverie, before a long, gently uphill section of greenway from the town of Vire to Mortain
A brief pause on the greenway
La Grande Cascade at Mortain
We continued a little further to camp at Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët, which provided a few interesting buildings to view on our evening stroll – including this medieval tower
And an impressive twin-towered church
Another castle at Ducey, close to the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, as we continued next morning
Millpond at Ducey (medieval bridge out of shot)
First view of the Mont, after which we meandered our way to the nearest village (Beauvoir) and sat in the shade for the afternoon, before venturing out again
Examining the new dam at the mouth of the Couesnon – once an engineer…
Two channels, and the new causeway to the right
We walked across the causeway rather than take the free bus – longer than it looks, but great views all the way
Up and down the passageways
Rooftops and the bay
Old stone and sparkling sea
A little expedition around the far side
Paddling spot
Evening on the beach
More ramparts
More paddling (not us this time)
Even more ramparts
Empty main street – quite a contrast from our arrival several hours earlier!
Photography on the beach
View from the other side
Finally leaving
Next morning – still there (and visible for quite a long way into Brittany)
Reaching the coast at Cherrueix. The raised greenway was nice but the road was much faster…
Arriving at Cancale, oyster capital of the world
Beach at Cancale
Oyster beds
Well, we had to…
Slight detour out to the Pointe du Grouin – well worth it
Rocky coast and clear water – a contrast to the silty marshes at Mont-Saint-Michel
St-Malo – time for second lunch and a celebratory local cider
View from the wall
Leaving St-Malo on a rather exciting (well, Dave was excited) catamaran ferry
Our campsite on Jersey – a haven of peace and shade (after a somewhat frenetic cycle over from St Helier on the main road) near St Ouen, where we were glad to stay for two nights and not have to cart camping gear all over Jersey!
French red
Our tour of Jersey started with a short roll down the hill to La Grève de Lecq – beach number 1
Rocky coast
Beautiful colours
We followed Route One around the north and east coasts. Quiet, pretty roads with frequent detours down to the sea, inevitably involving a steep climb back up again…
A walking detour to a headland viewpoint and the Devil’s Hole
Rozel Bay
An excellent lunch at Rozel Bay tearoom (if hardly deserved, as we’d barely cycled 10 miles yet)
Typical Jersey road
Gorey, on the east coast
Jersey cream tea on the rather busier south coast promenade
St Aubin
Evening explore of Noirmont headland, site of a WW2 German naval battery
Noirmont Point lighthouse
Ouaisné Bay
More paddling, before heading back to our campsite
On the second day we cycled down the west coast, starting from Plémont Beach. We were early enough to have it nearly to ourselves, so we took the opportunity to go for a proper swim.
Heading towards Corbière Lighthouse
Looking north along the surfers’ beach
A good day for sailing
And another good day for ice cream, after crossing the causeway to visit the lighthouse
St Aubin’s Bay, this time with the tide out
Leaving Jersey (the cow didn’t want to say goodbye)
Short stop at St Peter Port, Guernsey
Coming into Poole somewhat later than scheduled, we made a cheeky overtaking manoeuvre to place ourselves ahead of Barfleur (our outward ferry) in the queue for docking…
Which resulted in some spectacular views of her following us in under the nearly full moon
Old Harry
Barfleur
Poole Harbour

Southern Cairngorms

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August bank holiday backpacking from Linn of Dee.  Jo finally gets to see the Cairngorm plateau, free from mist and snow, in all its bouldery, heathery, grassy glory – albeit through a cloud of midges…

From Linn of Dee we began the long walk-in by heading up Glen Lui.
Slightly too far along Glen Lui, in fact, as we initially missed the path over to Glen Quioch. But there was compensation in the shape of a rainbow near Derry Lodge.
A twisted pine in Glen Quoich
Lovely walk through the heather and bilberries along Quoich Water around the base of Beinn a’ Bhuird
Late lunch spot and still a long way from the tops
Finally gaining some real height on Ben Avon, after ascending over Carn Eag Dhubh and Creag an Dail Mhor
Deer grass looking spectacular
View south-east from the slopes of Carn Eas
After catching a shower earlier in the day, the rest passed either side of us
The eastern corries of Beinn a’ Bhuird, from Ben Avon
Boulders, grass and granite tors
Leabaidh an Daimhe Bhuidhe. And a surprising number of walkers and bikers milling around for 5pm on a Friday…
Garbh Coire and the “Bhuird-a-saurus” (not looking quite as much like a stegosaurus’s back from here as it did earlier)
View north towards Glen Avon, from the slopes of Cnap a Chleirich
A stream on the way to Beinn a’ Bhuird’s North Top
Coire nan Clach and Dubh Lochan
Campsite number one: far side of this lochan just above the expanse of Moine Bhealaidh below Beinn a’ Bhuird, with a little breeze and no midges
Pondering the best place for the tent (Beinn a’ Chaorainn and Beinn a’ Chaorainn Beag above Dave’s head)
Moine Bhealaidh bog, heading for Beinn Bhreac (it was further away than we thought)
Back across the bog to the summit of Beinn a’ Chaorainn
We then dropped down to Lairig an Laoigh and took a cross-country route through the heather under Stob Coire Etchachan to pick up the path (the first of the day) near the Hutchison Memorial Hut.
Upper reaches of Derry Burn, with Creagan a Choire Etchachan at the head of the valley
After a stiff climb up Beinn Mheadhoin and back, we took the ascending path south of Loch Etchachan before breaking away towards Derry Cairngorm
Evening ascent of Derry Cairngorm, looking over to Carn a’ Mhaim and Cairn Toul
Campsite number two, high on the path from Loch Etchachan to Ben Macdui. Unlike the first, this one was close to several other campers (although we couldn’t actually see any), completely windless and plagued with midges.
In the morning we made a quick getaway onto the plateau for breakfast (there were still midges, but they took longer to find us). We were also high enough to be above the early morning mist.
After visiting Ben Macdui (for the second time in six months, but in very different conditions), we descended to the south, towards the enticing-looking ridge of Carn a’ Mhaim
The ridge was indeed very nice, and the atmospheric views of the Lairig Ghru and the Cairn Toul/Braeriach range were stunning, but we found that we couldn’t walk fast enough to escape the midges
Over Carn a’ Mahim and heading for Derry Lodge
Across Luibeg Burn and a final view of the hills before a long (but speedy) walk-out in search of respite. Next time really must remember the anti-midge kit.

C2C and back the Roman way

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With hopes of a summer holiday rapidly disintegrating (due to good things such as a new job), we snatched 5 days over the late May bank holiday weekend. We have long wanted to cycle the C2C, and noticed that in 5 days, we could just about cycle back to the start.

So we headed up to Carlisle and after a dry night in the van we set off in the drizzle. Luckily it soon dried up and never rained again. The first day saw us zoom along below the high tide mark sandwiched between Hadrian’s wall and the Solway Firth before turning south and riding along the coast to Whitehaven. Unsurprisingly we were the only cyclists at the start of the C2C late on a Thursday afternoon, but took the obligatory photo and set off over two singly arrowed hills to the nearest campsite at St. Bees, where dinner, showers and a walk along the beach concluded a good days ride (if slightly longer than hoped).

The next day started well, but the slow uphill gradient of the old train line wore us down and the first few real hills on the edge of the Lakes were tough. Luckily Jo’s ML course had allowed her to scope out the Kirkstyle Inn, which although off route down a hill, lived up to expectations for coffee and scones. Whinlatter Pass was easily ascended, and the gave the best downhill zoom of the trip. A quick stop at a very bike friendly (large portion) cafe set us up for the second half of the day. Unfortunately, the unexpected diversion (due to floods) up past Castlerigg was tough after such a large lunch.

We then got tangled in a couple of groups – 2 mountain bikers and 5 roadies for the next few miles. This was great as we timed our overtake to mean that the roadies each stopped to hold gates open, and by the time it was our turn, there were no more gates and we could ride off unencumbered by gates or other groups. After buying dinner in Penrith, the last 10 miles were a bit too far, but we were soon the only guests at a great wee campsite in someone’s back garden, complete with dog that tried to help with the bike adjustments and dinner cooking and view over horse fields to Penrith.

The next day had only a short warm up before climbing Hartside. Jo found the gradient just perfect and enjoyed zooming past other cyclists before finding ourselves at the top too early to justify the cafe. The descent was fun, but then the hills just kept coming. The cycling map had kindly removed large numbers of arrows compared to the OS maps, perhaps to make the route less intimidating. However, it made it no less easy to cycle. This wasn’t helped by the lack of cafes in this section, but hill after hill we climbed and soon we had passed the highest point and had a fast ride into Stanhope. The struggle back up ont’moor was one of the hardest and steepest climbs, and I regretted not having front panniers. However, the Waskerley Way was a relief as we pedalled easily to Consett. Once again, we bought dinner (ever increasing amounts of tortellini each night) and had another 10 miles to cycle that we really didn’t want.

The next day was slow moving thought the towns, but we managed to get to the coast at Roker for second breakfast at 11. We gave up on the cycle paths and used the A road to get north to the start of Hadrian’s Cycle Way in South Shields. Once again, the town cycle routes were frustratingly slow and even once we got out of the city, the bank holiday weekend Sunday afternoon crowds prevented us from zooming along. Eventually we made it to Hexham, but after the major shops had closed. Slightly oddly, for a town that has 3 major supermarkets, it has no small shop open on Sunday evenings. We opted for a take out curry, which we ate in the evening sun. Filling and delicious until we realised that it was basically spicy custard, at which point it became a bit odd.

In what was now tradition, we then needed to go a bit further, and the biggest hill of the day led us up to the Hexham racecourse (and campsite). We had a pleasant evening on the hill wandering around the racecourse, before speeding (almost literally) down the hill to Hexham and the supermarket the next morning.

The highest point on Hadrian’s Cycle Way is thankfully significantly lower than the C2C and it was a pleasant ride across the country and alongside the wall before nearing Carlisle. At that point exciting signs for Carlisle being only a few miles away by road were consistently followed by a cycle sign pointing us up a hill  alongside a significantly larger number of miles left to Carlisle.

Only once we were driving home did we realise how little walking we had managed over the last few days. Dave took at least two days to relearn how to walk. A fantastic little trip, slightly overambitious and very lucky with the weather.

Making sure we know where to come back to…
Near the End of the Wall
Bit far for today
Lunch at Silloth – it was really cold and we retreated behind a bush
Scotland
Roman Fort
Start (we didn’t cycle up the slope)
St Bees without bees
Setting off in sunshine
Second scone tasting of the trip
The unwanted diversion to Castlerigg
Atmospheric location
Pause for breath just before the last climb to Little Selkeld
Trying to be helpful
Our personal campsite
Hartside murk
It was a fun descent
but Dave’s still struggling up
Entering the next county
Waskerley Way
Three silly faces. Spot the difference
End of the C2C
Start of Hadrians Wall cycle
Hexham racecourse/campsite
Sunset on moor
Hexham wood factory spoiling the view
A not-quite-the-top almond crossoint stop
The actual top
Hadrian’s Wall

 

First Cycle Tour

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After having touring bikes for over a year, we finally found the time, weather and an interesting enough route to actually use them for touring. A quick jaunt over to Holbeach, Boston (national cycle network chaos), a campsite next to the National Bubblecar Museum (closed while we were there overnight) and back via ice cream to Woolsthorpe Manor (Newton’s birthplace) and home. We found that Jo is faster on the monotonous Fens, Dave is faster up any incline. We’ll definitely be out again once we have some more ideas of where to go.

Cake stop, at Greatford just East of the East Coast Main Line
Pode Hole: Fens, Canals, Wind and no hills
This (Fosdyke Bridge) is the closest we got to the sea – it is tidal and it has boats
Our own little section of campsite
Big sky sunset
Rainbow over the other campers
Tent, bikes and a rainbow.

Bank holiday backpacking

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The observant among you will note that we’re a little behind with our blogging – but bear with us; we’ve accumulated a few trips to write about.  First up, a little trip to Scotland over the late May bank holiday (and slightly beyond).

We started the trip with a few days by Loch Lomond to see friends and help Ruth climb her last Munro. After a warm up (very hot, humid and hazy) on the Cobbler and Beinn Narnain on Saturday, we successfully climbed Ben Lomond in increasingly wet and windy weather on the Sunday. This did mean we had the summit to ourselves (although a group of ~20 would have been enough to put everyone else off anyway), and we did get some views.  A great weekend, followed by a tasty dinner in the oldest pub in Drymen.

We had a few extra days off and an urge to do some proper wild camping (i.e. in a tent, not a van), so on Monday morning we headed to Glen Nevis for some backpacking. A late start simply meant a late finish in the long daylight, so we set off up the Glen, ascending to Sgurr Connich Beag and continuing along the Grey Corries ridge. The weather was good, with some strange wind patterns and excellent visibility below the cloud that was just covering the Aonachs and Nevis tops. Snow was abundant for the time of year, but fortunately only blocked the path on the descents (mainly East facing slopes), leaving the rocky ascending ridges clear. We made good time and got to the bealach between Stob Coire Claurigh and Stob Ban in time for dinner and a campsite.  Although windy, it was warm enough to sit in the tent with a view across to Sgurr Innse, the Loch Trieg hills, Loch Laggan and the hills beyond.

The following day we made short work of Stob Ban before a massive descent, river crossing and re-ascent south to Sgurr Elide Mor. We then nipped round to bag Binnein Beag while the cloud and rain came in. It was good to be back in the Mamores, but snow on the high ridges combined with the rain setting in and ever decreasing cloud levels meant that ascending Binnein Mor and continuing along the ridge was far less appealing than a cosy night in the van. We’ve done walking and camping in the rain without a view plenty of times before, so we headed out. A classic Morrisons breakfast while watching the rain in Fort William rounded off the trip before heading home, via a driving tour of Edinburgh.

Finally, as some of you will know (apologies to those we haven’t got round to telling yet – we’re finding it rather tricky to do in person in any sort of timely manner), we also got engaged on this trip while admiring the view from our tent.  No plans have been made yet, but we’re thinking of getting married in the autumn of 2016 – probably somewhere with mountains.  But don’t worry – we’ve no intention of letting wedding planning get in the way of adventuring!

The Cobbler
Near the summit
Beinn Narnain
Ptarmigan Ridge and Loch Lomond
Olivia and Ruth
282!
Summit mob
Escaping the wind
Ascending from Glen Nevis
Sgurr Choinnich Beag
The Grey Corries
Last summit of the day
Stob Ban and our campsite for the night
Heading for the Mamores

Lakes Camping January

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So it’s been a while since we went winter wild camping in the Lakes, and we thought it would be good to do again.

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The aims for the weekend were to find some snow, walk a long way over many hills and use our expensive tent, rucksacks, sleeping bags that are lying around not doing much. The van was also designed to make such wild camping trips easier, but we haven’t got around to doing this.

What we found was:
The majority of the snow had melted. There was still enough, and we did use crampons once, but not the bucketfuls I was hoping for.
The winds were much stronger than expected, from a different direction, and with heavy bags on a narrow snowy ridge, this provided much needed entertainment and some potential nasty knee problems. We were almost reduced to a crawl, which is something I haven’t done for a very long time. Luckily the knee seems to be holding up and getting better.

We did manage 12 Wainwrights near Braithwaite for those that count such things, including Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head, Whiteside, Grasmoor, Whiteless Pike, Wandope, Eel Crag, Sail, Scar Crags, Causey Pike, Outerside, Barrow. Since we were in the cloud all weekend, I still need to do them again to get a view.

We also managed to forget about using the gas canister for a weekend in the autumn, meaning we took a nearly empty one. We just about scraped by; melting snow and getting it just hot enough for the dehydrated meals. The lack of food and drink made the night colder and longer, with an interruption by some mad mountain bikers coming nearby around 8pm. In the morning we dashed back to the van to avoid the rain and find some water. The van then came into its own by providing endless hot drinks and hot lunch and snacks, although it took me until mid Monday to get back to normal. I’ll triple check the gas next time.

Looks like we still have some things to learn about winter camping, so will give it another shot in a few years time. Maybe earlier if we use something cosier like a bothy or snowhole.