Post It from Hawes CC Site, North Yorkshire, England. Tuesday 10th September, 2013

Having thought long and hard about whether we should go on a tour of Scotland for two months in September, or travel south to warmer weather on the continent, we eventually agreed we would tour Scotland. We had last done such a tour back in 1979 on our honeymoon in a Riley Elf managing to go around almost all the coast but this time we had much more time to spend and were doing it in ‘Bessie’, our Bessacarr motorhome and taking Smokee our Devon Rex house cat with us. I planned a route to follow and had some excellent assistance from Ally Doig, a fellow Caravan Club member for which I shall be forever thankful, to ensure we would have fewer risks on the isolated and narrow roads.

After keeping a medical appointment we were able to finally set off on Sunday 8^th September and our only time constraint was we needed to be home by 4^th November at the latest and we agreed we would stay for as long as the weather was reasonable and we were still enjoying our travels.

Our first few nights were spent at the Caravan Club site at Hawes in Wensleydale and the journey there was taken on a sunny and warm Sunday having booked a few days beforehand and obtaining the very last pitch. We quickly set up in the rather pleasant looking camp site set just outside the very heart of this quaint village in beautiful green countryside. By the time the kettle was boiled and we sat outside for our well-earned cuppa the clouds had come and with it a drop in temperatures. We were after all quite high up in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and part of the Pennine Way actually crossed our path into the village.

Before our evening meal we decided to have a brisk walk through the village and were pleasantly surprised by the number of shops and pubs. There were lots of people around on a late Sunday afternoon and many motorcyclists too, enjoying their Sunday ride out. From the sheer number of holiday cottages and guest houses you could see this is definitely a tourist destination and the views around the village of this wonderful countryside were excellent. The small river that runs through the heart of the village to join the River Ure had some waterfalls down by the main street, no doubt cut out of the limestone like the larger more famous ones at Aysgarth a few miles away. That night the rains came but thankfully we awoke to another dry day.

During our short stay of only three nights we explored more of the village’s shops and visited the Wensleydale Creamery where we sampled every type of cheese they produced before selecting a number we liked best for our journey. Gone with the dieting and we even bought some special chutney to compliment the cheese and with a 10% discount for Club members it was a bargain! This is where Wallis and Grommet originated from for those who did not know. I caught some rabbits sunbathing in the fields near to the creamery and could not resist getting a photograph. On our way back to the site we met a nice couple in another motorhome who live close to us and we shared a pot of tea with them, small world isn’t it.

Tuesday was market day and our chance to explore the local produce and make some more purchases before returning to the site for lunch. I had a walk around the site later that day and can say it is very pleasant and well maintained. There are some really good views from the dog walk and for the children there is a games room with table tennis, pool tables and a bar football game. When the weather is good there is a play field with picnic table, although it does have a river running at the bottom of the field so young children need supervision. The site is quite well laid out, not much privacy between pitches, but it is very quiet when it is not raining. We had brought our fat balls and nuts for the birds this time and they loved them. We saw Greenfinches, Blue Tits and Sparrows feeding from the hanging post with a couple of Pigeons picking up the droppings. We even had a golden pheasant roaming around the edge of the pitch on occasions.

We enjoyed our short stay and next time we shall not bring so much fresh food with us to eat and instead savour the local offerings in the village, which looked very appetising and of good value.

Regards, Roy