Lovely Sunny Weekend

Well the LotR wall hanging has taken a backseat for the last few days because we've been away camping. We went with some friends again and luckily this year the weather was much nicer. I seem to remember being thankful for a break in the rain while we pitched our tent last year and a little sun to dry it out before taking it down. This year it was gloriously hot and we were on the bottom field which is a lot flatter.

Had it not been for camping with friends we probably wouldn't have gone back to Holme Valley campsite. The site is great but one of the benefits of having a tent is that you can go to new places every year and this campsite is fairly close to home so we have already visited a lot of the 'attractions' near by. This year we revisited Holmfirth on Saturday morning and had lunch there. In the afternoon we went to Greenhead Park in Huddersfield, which is great for the kids. There's a miniature railway (we paid £3.50 for a family to go round the track twice), plenty of play equipment for the kids, a shallow pool for paddling in and places for a drink/food (though we didn't use those).

Paddling & Ice Lollies - what could be better!?!

On Sunday we came home via Wentworth Castle. We didn't visit the gardens but we did go for a lovely walk around the parkland trail. We grabbed a bite to eat and a drink in the cafe before letting the kids loose in the children's playground. We bought them a bucket & spade (bargain at £1.20 for a set) to do some digging in the sandpits.

I took some hand sewing to do. If I remember correctly I think I took these last year and I haven't made much progress. The plan is always to sit and sew while the kids play around the campsite and then do a bit more when they're in bed. However what usually happens is I'm too busy cooking food, taking one of the kids to the loo at the other side of the campsite or providing drinks & snacks to get any done while they're awake and by the time they're in bed the light is fading and I can't see well enough to do much sewing.

4 flowers done

So there you go, still working on the UFO's while on holiday, even if I'm not making much progress :-)

First Pitch Of The Season

Wow, it is so hot at the moment and we decided to make the most of it by a spontaneous night away camping. We didn't want to go far and we took the old (smaller) tent as it was a lot cheaper than taking the new one. In the end we decided to head to Dobrudden Caravan Park. I have to say that the view is lovely, you can see for miles.

As for the campsite, where do I begin? I suppose I should point out this is a WINDY site! We may have looked a bit silly pitching the tent and the warden told us that it was a mild day :-o but it was our first pitch of the season. We were very relieved that we hadn't taken the big tent though. We were right next to the play area, which was fantastic for the kids. It meant we could sit near the tent and be close enough to keep an eye on them. The picture below was taken from just outside our tent.

I did have tent envy though - the bell tent in the picture was lovely. It had bunting (who doesn't love a bit of bunting?) and cushions. Of course I'd need some huge transport if we got a bell tent though...for all the quilts, cushions, bunting, fairy lights,...that's where Alan started giving me the look. The one that says "Over my dead body" ;-)

We went for a walk up the hill next to the campsite and admired the view

Then we mainly relaxed at the campsite. Luckily there were lots of other families there so we didn't have to worry about the kids disturbing anyone at night, though I think they ended up being the first to bed and slept through. That's a bit better than Alan & I did, mainly because we pitched the tent such that we got the full force of the wind (i.e. the kids were more sheltered and wouldn't be scared) then the peacock, ducks, etc noisily started their day about 4am.

Not bad at all considering it was £10. As for the site facilities - well the toilets were clean (you had to get a key for them, which wasn't very clear when we arrived), the showers are unisex (didn't use them cos we were only their one night) and there's no shop on site (though you can buy fresh eggs). They do have a cafe open in the mornings though. we didn't get chance to use it as we'd brought bacon for breakfast.