Nido's been parked up at Dockray Meadow (///lift.bibs.wardrobe) for the past two nights. It's a short distance from the village of Lamplugh, a very quiet area on the very western perimeter of the Lakes, about three miles from Ennerdale. We don't normally use the Club sites, much preferring CLs, but this one is fairly relaxed, with no toilet block. However, it does have the ubiquitous 'pegs' that you MUST park between on pain of being drummed out of 'the club!' To be fair the wardens are lovely here. They're making a real effort to encourage wildlife into the site by leaving areas of grass to develop into wildflower meadows. In only two years over twenty five different wild flowers and plants have appeared and the whole site is awash with birdlife and red squirrels. As I type this evening, I can see thousands of newly-hatched may flies floating in the still, warm air.
It took about an hour to drive here from Glenridding. There was a slightly shorter route, but we decided to stick to the main A roads. Once pitched, we all took a walk of about 3.5 miles towards a small reservoir with a dam and weir, nestled down in the crook of a hillside covered in pine plantation, although much of it had already been harvested. Dinner was a tuna salad and a quiet night in catching up on some YouTube vlogs.
It was quite a chilly night and it took a while before the sun reached the van, but Thursday turned out to be a still, hot and sunny day. It was Pete's turn to celebrate a birthday; he and I went off for a 14 mile bike ride. Although on the western edge of the fells and much less lumpy than the main parts of the Lakes, we still managed to cycle up about 1,300 ft of height gain! After a shower we went off for another walk with the dogs, this time a circular route taking in Lamplugh Church. I'd booked a table at The Countryman pub, which is about a 20 minute walk from the site. It's dog-friendly so Lola the Spaniel came along, but we left Salty in the van for some 'me time.' We enjoyed our meal and were back in the van by 8pm. Cathy sat out for a while reading while I sat inside with my feet up after what felt like (to me) to have been a busy day!
We're leaving early tomorrow heading for home via the IKEA in Warrington; not somewhere we look forward to visiting, but we need a few storage things for the van and house. Our daughter and her partner have been housesitting for us for the past week, so it'll be lovely to see them before they disappear back down south over the weekend. But first we need to battle the combined bank and half-term holiday traffic with everyone - know doubt - heading for North Wales during this spell of lovely weather. The butties and flask of tea will be prepared in advance, ready for the inevitable traffic jams!
We've had a lovely fortnight away. Dumfries and Galloway was outstanding and the Lakes have been quieter than we expected. And with great weather throughout, with only one evening of rain, we feel blessed. Once home and assuming the fridge problem is fixed (booked in for a diagnostics check next week), planning will start for a July trip to Central and NE Scotland.
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| Wildflower meadows everywhere |
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| The Blue Tit next is actually under the cone! Mum & Dad enter at the top to feed the chicks. |
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| Cathy chatting to one of the wardens about developing the wildflower meadows |
