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Sunday, 20th March 2016
The best day yet, bight sunshine and not a cloud in the sky.
We move on, to Keswick.
We have been to Keswick many times, but, this the first time with the Campervan, and, therefore, the first time at the Caravan and Camping Club, Keswick Site.
Five minutes walk from the Town Centre, on the lake (Derwentwater) shore, and, great views, very impressed.
Monday, 21st March 2016
A cloudy day, the cloud is well down on the hills, but, slowly in the course of the day, the cloud lifts, and, we even have some spells of sunshine.
No rain in prospect, so, we walk around the lake, just over ten miles.
Beautifully quiet at this time of year, not too many people about.
With a welcome break for coffee and apple pie at Grange.
Friday, 18th March 2016
Oh dear, dull, misty and cold start, but, it soon clears for another sunny day.
The day is spent walking the canal (for six miles).
Followed by, drinking wine in the Farmers Arms.
In the evening, we watch a TV program telling us the dangers of drinking more than the new guidelines (ie 14 units per week).
Saturday, 19th March 2016
Cloudy. According to the weather forecast on breakfast news, the whole country is covered in cloud, so, I suppose that is OK. Not raining, and not too cold.
Lazy day, keeping out of harms way whilst hair washing etc is executed, followed by pleasant lunch in the Farmers Arms, then we "do" the riverside walk at Garstang.
Finally, a little shopping. carrying five bottles of wine (ie four in a carrier bag, plus, one inside you) for a couple of miles is heavy work!
My artistic(?) attempts at photography in the dark, as I walk to meet Kathleen walking back from Church.
Wednesday, 16th March 2016
The weather forecast says clear skies and sunshine, but, the morning begins cloudy, the moral of the story is, weather forecasts in the UK are witchcraft!
By lunch time, the weather forecast is vindicated, brilliant sunshine.
We pedal the 2.5 miles to Scorton, a pleasant beer, sitting outside in the sun, and pedal back, good exercise!
Thursday, 17th March 2016
Yet another beautiful day, weatherwise, not that I am complaining you understand.
On Tuesday, when we were waiting for the bus to travel to Lancaster, Kathleen engaged in conversation with another couple who were waiting at the bus stop (Kathleen will talk to anybody). They were travelling to Morecambe. When asked, "what is Morecambe like", their response was, "it is OK".
Having visited Morecambe today, I would say, that was a very generous assessment!
In summary, Morecambe has seen better days.
The photograph says it all, yes, there is sea, on the horizon!
I do not think we will be visiting again.
Tuesday 15th March 2016
Another beautiful day, mild and sunny.
One of the few benefits of being "older", or old, depending on your point of view, is, having a Concessionary Bus Pass!
So, a "free" bus ride the ten miles or so, to Lancaster.
A typical " UK city" day out by our standards:
- the obligatory look around exactly the same shops as we have in Newcastle.
- a very pleasant lunch, with a bottle of Rioja to wash it down.
- a bit of culture (in the form of a visit to the Castle and Priory)
- a bit of exercise, with a walk along the banks of the River Lune as far as the Lune Aquaduct, carrying the Lancaster Canal over the river.
Monday 14th March, 2016
A beautiful sunny day, warm for March, at 14C.
We get the folding bicycles out, and, the plan is to have our first cycle outing of 2016, by pedalling along the towpath of the Lancaster Canal, in the direction of Lancaster.
After about a mile of just slightly muddy, and, it has to be said, slippery tow path, we encounter a section which consists of soft mud, and, a very large puddle. Indeed, the puddle stretches for as far as we can see, it is like a mini canal on the tow path!
Even my usual encouraging words of "it is only water, it will dry off", or , "it is only a bit of mud, it will wash off", are not enough to convince Kathleen to go on. To be honest, that is probably a wise decision, slithering along a slippery tow path, less than a metre from the edge of the canal, on a bicycle, is not a recommended course of action for two geriatrics.
We turn around, and head in the opposite direction, towards Preston.
The Canal wends it's way through Garstang, and, the tow path is generally sound, even tarmac for most of the way, but, as we leave Garstang and head into open countryside, the tarmac disappears, and soon, we are back to slippery mud.
Perhaps, this a route for a dry spell?
The attempt to cycle to Lancaster or Preston, is abandoned, and we instead leave the canal tow path at the next bridge and cycle along a reasonably quiet road, through the village of Bonds, to return to Garstang, for coffee and sandwiches.
We content ourselves with a first outing of just over five miles of (mostly) pleasant cycling in the spring sun shine, and, very enjoyable it was.
Sunday 13th March 2016.
A beautiful sunny and mild day, can it last, can we be that lucky?
If you exclude a false start, because we forgot the loaf of bread, a fairly uneventful drive to Garstang. I say "we forgot" in a sense of collective responsibility, since, the selection and packing of food stuffs does not, strictly speaking, come under my remit.
We arrive, at Bridge House Marina and Caravan Site, just in time for a light lunch, the sun is still shining, it is, if anything, even more more mild here than at home, a very
comfortable 15C, positively tropical for the UK in March!
The site is small, which we like, and appears to be well kept and tidy, excellent.
In addition to the Caravan area, there is a Marina bursting with pleasure craft.
We make the most of the pleasant weather, a traffic free stroll along the Lancaster Canal for about half a mile, to Garstang Town Centre.
Here we discover are all of the "essentials", ie, no less than 8 pubs, two supermarkets and several restaurants. I almost forgot, Kathleen's number one requirement, a
Catholic Church (plus a couple of second division churches, just in case).
We round off the afternoon with a glass of red wine, in the sunshine.
