It was time to move again. We were booked onto a site in Ashbourne Derbyshire in a few days so needed to find somewhere in between Ripon and Ashbourne. Now I’m not sure if many of you have studied the area on the map between Ripon and Derbyshire, but lets just say that spoilt for choice are not the words I would use to describe it. Leeds, Bradford, Doncaster and Rotherham were just a few of the many delightful choices we had. We settled on a site just a few miles from Barnsley. Now I know what you’re probably thinking, but the site was tucked away in the middle of the countryside on a farm. If you didn’t have to leave the site then you would never guess where you were. Once we were set up ... read more

The weather was drizzling once again so we went out for a drive. We were not quite sure where we were driving to but headed in the direction of the Dales. The winding country roads cut through the dales with beautiful countryside either side. The roads are so steep in places, but as you reach the highest points there is nothing but stunning countryside as far as the eye can see. In some areas there is nothing for miles, giving you the feeling that you are the only people around. This feeling occasionally gave way as we drove through quaint little villages that looked just like Emmerdale. We made our first stop Pateley Bridge. At first we thought it looked like a relatively small place but turned out to be somewhat of a tourist destination. The ... read more

After the all the excitement of Blackpool we had a day of relaxation. But when we woke on Sunday we were looking forward to a trip to the seaside. Having already attempted Bridlington earlier on in our trip we decided on Scarborough. We parked on the south side and walked along the promenade which curves its way around the cliff face. There is nothing but cliff on one side and the sea on the other. As we continued out walk further and further Andy became convinced that there was no real seaside with tat shops and amusements. Having been to Scarborough before I kept my mouth shut and kept walking. As we walked round the final bend I looked at Andy and watched his face light up as he saw the fairground, chip shops, Ice-cream stands ... read more

Crossing the border back to England was nowhere near as grand as entering Scotland. They had kilts and bagpipes and what did we have..?… nothing. No pot of tea, no cucumber sandwiches, not even a sign! Somewhere along the A1 I said to Andy “I think we’re in England now” and we probably were. After a very long trip we finally arrived at our new site just a few miles from Ripon. It was in the middle of nowhere and so very peaceful. Best of all that evening we were able to enjoy a cold cider in the sunshine with no midges to bother us. The following morning we woke to rain again. This was nothing compared to the rain we had experienced in Scotland and by lunchtime the sun was out so we headed to ... read more

The weather meant we would soon be moving out of Scotland and back into England. The sun followed by rain followed by sun meant the midges were out in force making it impossible to have even the windows open. This is not pleasant in a metal box. Today we travelled to a local farm to try and solve their Maize Maze. It was quite a humid day and being surrounded by six foot maize did nothing to help this. The idea was that on our way around we should come across boards with pictures of animals on. With each animal was a stamp and to complete the maze correctly we had to collect all 8 stamps. This was easier said than done. As we got more and more lost and found no animals tensions rose. It ... read more