Hill Fort Camping - a trip into Stumble Head

We took our usual Summer trip to Wales this year, it was as always wonderful and the weather was great, we went to two new campsites this year and I was blown away by one that I have decided to blog solely about this site.

A few years ago, 6 in fact we took a trip to a wild and wonderful campsite in Dorset, we had found out about it on a blog and I remember feeling such joy at the sharing of it, I chose to then to blog myself about it Jim's Camping and even now it's my most popular blog written, finding these hidden treasures is so important and the sharing of them is even greater (Sam feels otherwise, he likes to keep them to just us, ha).

Each year we attempt to take on another part of the Pembrokeshire Coast Trail, we knew we were going back to our usual haunt of Caerfai Bay, so decided to split the journey by staying at Strumble Head as our 2nd stop. Strumble Head is another wonderful part of the coastal path situated in North Pembrokeshire and is known for its rocky landscape and famous lighthouse. Both friends and family had trekked this part of the trail last year and shared it's beauty so it was an obvious stop for us.
Sadly in serious of actual twists and turns I managed to dislocate my ankle so didn't manage to walk any of the coastal path, so my time in Stumble Head was spent mostly at the campsite which wasn't so bad with the sun shining and our aces camp spot. I managed a smile climb and got a couple of shots of the views.

Hill Fort Tipi's is a greener camping club member, which means a number of the facilities must meet certain standards.   Hill Fort is a national trust land (I believe) and only allows a certain number of campers to stay, each spot is secluded and feels your wild camping. There is the option to stay in the larger field where kids usually stay so they can play together. As you can imagine we took a spot far away from everyone and spent 3 days only seeing Katie and Johnny (the owners of the Campsite).  

We had our new awning to play with also,  we were so pleased with it and it worked great for allowing us to have shade and sun, Socks took the opportunity to laze the day away under it also. We had decided we wanted a different awning to normal campervan one's and knew we wanted a festival style, tent like awning. Cloudhouses were great at delivering just that and it has a hint of purple, everything needs purple.

Johnny and Katie the owners of the campsite were awesome, individual and very sociable, but great hosts, looking after my swollen ankle, bringing wood when needed and being on hand to help with food, walking, local information.

Before my ankle went we did manage to climb one of the hill's and watched sunset up the top, it was spectacular seeing the landscape in front of us and enjoying the views. On the evening we enjoyed fires in the fire pit provided and ate al fresco  at the home made tables. It was just a perfect few days and have already planned to go back next year, this time with a bit more walking. 

I Climbed a Mountain!!

It's been a long time since I blogged and sometimes blogging in itself can feel like climbing a mountain, I have so many ideas but articulating and getting them down can feel a challenging at times. There is always something else to do, somewhere else to be or no time to write, sometimes the words just don't  come. I have these dreams of sunshine, outdoors and lazy afternoon blogs, like I used to do when travelling,  today I decided I am putting that dream back into action, so with the bbq going, a cider next to me and my laptop in hand I am set to write. 

So let's start with talking about my adventure last weekend as it was one to remember and for me a real accomplishment. 

I have been wanting to take on a big mountain for some time now, however with my knackered knees I always stay away and stick to slow rambles and small hills. I decided I needed a challenge and with my knees staying good for some time now this was the time to test them. 

Sam was away on my brothers stag so I planned a camping night away with a friend and we made a plan to hike Whernside, I was told it was the slowest incline out of the 3 Yorkshire peaks, so felt the best peak for me. I had no idea what to expect, however when I turned up Friday to camp at Philpin Farm, I saw the beautiful mountain positioned in front of us in all her glory. I was nervous, worried I wouldn't be able to complete the climb and worried my knees would go on me, when they do, they hurt bad. However I believed in myself and knew with the support of my friend we could go at our own pace and time without pressure or stress. 

 Luckily the walk to Whernside was only 15mins (ish) from our campsite so was a nice easy stroll to the start. I was shocked when we reached the start the climb up was only around 2 mile, this set my mind at rest a little more. it was a beautiful slow incline and I was surprised how many folk were coming down from the other side. We soon realised there was a race on and these were most of our passerby's. We took our time, enjoyed the views, stopped for sweets and nuts and allowed Socks the rest she needed (as she isn't made for climbing mountains). It was gorgeous chatting to others and slowly seeing the landscape in front of us, as you all know Yorkshire is a favourite of mine but this was phenomenal and seeing the other peaks, Pen y ghent and Ingleborough looming behind and in front of us was breath taking.  

I was amazed at how many people take on the 3 peaks without training or hiking shoes, we saw so many people struggling with sore feet and tired bones, however their determination to finish (i.e. climb another mountain after) was astonishing and at one point made me tempted to do more. My brain quickly changed when Socks refused to head up the more challenging part of the climb, basically putting the brakes on and attempting to head down, rather than up. I sat with her for 10mins and gave her water, pretending my encouragement was going in, she then picked herself up and managed to climb, only to find what looked like the top was a blind summit and there was still a way to go. Luckily it evened out and the rest wasn't such a pull. 

Making the top was a wonderful feeling and my friend had packed cake from the little shop at our campsite, yep she knows me well. We munched it up, enjoying watching what everyone had in their lunches/snack pots. It was lovely, we looked over Ingleborough with such pride. I was shown different points of the lake district and other parts of Yorkshire, it felt very special and surreal sat up there watching the world go by. Socks took a sleep and we lazed a good half hour away. 

The trip back down is always a worry, the pressure that hits the knees has knocked me before (in India monks blessed them when I struggled to make it down Triund Hill), and although at times I was aware there were creeping out, they held up and I made it down okay, obviously some bum scrambles but it led a number of other walkers to follow suit which felt nice and to feel it's okay to hike down however feels best for you. We smiled and giggled at the conversations being had around us, hearing folk talk about what they were most looking forward to when finishing their hike, however long or small that was, there was a sense of achievement floating in the air. 

We finished back at our campsite and enjoyed the masses of folk snacking and resting around the campsite shop, more cake, yes please. The sun was shining and a huge sense of enjoyment was being had, the joy of walkers, it feels forever thankful for the nature we are in and the beauty it gives us to enjoy these hikes, rambles, strolls and walks. 

First Adventure in the Van - North York Moors

We did it, we got our first trip away in the van, okaies so it wasn't fully finished but that was kind of our plan, encase we needed to make adjustments etc. We had really blasted through working the Easter weekend and were so happy with how far we had come with the help of my Step-pa. 

We chose the North York Moors as our first adventure, we have only ventured here once and felt it was near enough home if anything went wrong but far enough away to be in the wilds of the moors. We had decided we wanted to stay on a farm esk campsite and found out about Low Bell End Farm online, it's a lovely space with incredible views across the Rosedale Moors. 

There was hardly anyone in the field, and the we were so happy with our chosen spot. We positioned the van so we could see out of our window in the morning, the weather was meek at times so we didn't spend too much time lazing around outside, however if we were we would set up a picnic spot to the front/back of the van so we could enjoy the views when not in bed. 

We did get a bit of rain but it was so nice being in bed, snug under the warmth of blankets, hot tea and a good book, we watched the rain pass then headed out for a lengthy hike/ramble

We had picked the Rosedale Railway walk, however didn't have an OS map, Sam takes on map reading and gets frustrated with walking books as descriptions are easily lost. We walked 3 mile extra, after becoming slightly lost and ended up hiking up the moors (after our picnic, massive fail) to reach the top of the Railway walk. However it was beautiful and rugged and the colours were outstanding, the gorse was in abundance and Spring life was flourishing.

This was just after we made it to the top, the walk was a circular and in total we managed 12.5 miles, i think a record for both of us walking and definitely for Socks, she was exhausted after.

There wasn't much we wanted to change on the van either, a few minor things to stop the baskets and fridge moving about but that would easily be done. We also needed to finish the tiling and sink area but apart from that we were really pleased with our first outing and just both felt the calm evoke us as our travelling toes took us outside into nature again. 

I do love a project but there's nothing like enjoying the completed product. 

Project Van Life pt4

We started to build and build we did, the designing of the van we had been doing for some time, we had to change a few things with the addition of our lovely long dog, however we were happy with what we put together and enjoyed masking the tape down to measure out the space.

We had gone back and forth about having a bed that stays out or one that rolls back to being seats. We decided that if we had the bed out all the time it would allow us to relax on rainy days and allow Socks the chance to get up and look out the window/s. We also felt by having the bed out we could have storage underneath for baskets, clothes, fridge etc,

We also know for Socks to travel she would need a space, her spindly legs are so long that without a contained area she would fall all over when in transit. We felt by making a box behind the seats it give her a travel style cot where she could still see us and look out the window. When camped up we could then use the box for storage, placing a lid on it and a cushion for seating area. 

We used various size ply for the bed, and 3x2 timber for the frames. My Step-pa came around to help and really shifted us on with the building, it felt exciting seeing it all come together.

We added some hatches into the bed, the longer one for storage and the smaller one for access to the battery. We then placed the table and storage underneath the bed. For us the table wouldn't be used to eat from, it would be more of a storage spot when cooking and a bedside table when in bed. We wanted to not take bags into the van so made a storage spot for baskets in which our clothes would go in. 

We made a cupboard out of timber frame and pallet, i had seen the idea on the interweb and felt it would fit perfect with our style of van. We took the pallet apart, sanded it down then covered it in teak oil. Sam then put the boards together and put hinges on to make three doors. The top we used old scaffold board, which Sam sanded right back and again we stained with teak oil. The big cupboard space will hold the water and waste water and the calor gas. The smaller cupboard would be for cups, teapots and all the cooking equipment. 

We hadn't measure the top, doh, and at one point worried we couldn't fit a two hob stove on, however Sam found an old stove called a Tilly Trojan, he found a guy selling them on gumtree and we got a brand new one that fitted perfect. We also loved its retro style. For the sink we bought a bowl and are going to put a plug hole in and a hand powered tap. 

Decorating came next and i looked in the shed for what i already had, i picked the yellow from our bedroom wanting something bright and then used magnolia for the kitchen area as we are tiling above the sink/stove area. I also used blackboard paint above the door so we could write good camping spots and notes on.

I had made curtains so we got them up and the obvious maps had to go in. I got a great children's map that sat brilliant against the yellow. 

We made a couple of shelves again out of pallets, one for books and the other sits above the sink area with tea/coffee etc on. 

I need to get some better photos of it all complete but will do that in another blog.

Enjoy, any comments, questions feel free to ask, we found so much helpful information on the internet and wanted to be able to share that back. 

Project Van Life pt3

We had a really good weekend in the van this weekend, Sam has been working like a trooper as i haven't been well enough to be in there, however this weekend i found the energy to get outside and really help out and it felt great. Sam has been working on the electrics, he seem's to read about it day and night and this weekend we started to wire everything up (i will do another blog about electrics). I got on with insulating using the loft roll as mentioned in Van Life pt2 ~  https http://claire-yvonne.blogspot.com/2017/02/project-van-life-pt2.html and started to make templates for the ply that will cover the insulation. 

I also started working on the ceiling, Sam had started it but it needed to be finished and it was a job i could do, (electrics i wasn't going near), the panels on the ceiling were actually going to be used on the floor, however we decided there were too femur and felt they would bring some more light and colour to the van if we put them up top. A friend of ours owns the http://welovewood.org/ wood recyling yard and we were in love with these as soon as we saw them, loaded in the car, home they came and onto the van they were drilled. 

Socks even came out and visited us, she normally looks at the van then pootles off but this time she took her time and jumped on in, we were so happy, she took a good sniff around, posed for some photos and looked out the windows. 

Next stage is more of the ply boarding going up, finish electrics then we will start building the frames for the furniture. We know the layout so it's just starting to build.