I’m a little bit tardy in posting this but on Monday 17th August I headed North for a Skiptonians re-union. A three hundred plus mile journey further complicated by a complete closure of the M6 motorway. I diverted along the M1 to Leeds before passing the old family home in Skipton on my way to Barlick (as Barnoldswick is affectionately known).
The magnificent 7 (Class of 79 mainly, Ermysted’s grammar school) are now dispersed across the North of England, myself in Devon and Phil in Munich. We try to meet up a couple of times a year and the location for this trip was Barnoldswick.
I reserved a hardstanding pitch with electricity at Bridge Holme Caravan site. Located on the outskirts of Barnoldswick it is a pleasant 20 minutes walk into town. It’s part of a working farm and tucked away in a secluded location. It is close to the sewage processing works but this didn’t cause any problems.
We gathered on Tuesday at chez Spons – Spon having recently adopted Lancashire as his home following a lifetime spent across the border in Yorkshire. Here we became the first guests at his new outdoor cabin – Wetherspons!
An early afternoon walk around the town culminated in the inevitable few beers at some of the local hostelries in town.
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Wednesday I headed south as far as Dale Abbey near Ilkestone. Here there is a fine pub – The Carpenters Arms – offering both pub stopovers for £10 and a pitch on the attached campsite for £25.
The Carpenters is a welcoming place and the food is good. Here I met Keith, a friend and work colleague for many years.
There’s an Elsan point 24 x 7 and the facilities are open during pub hours.
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I had wanted to spend Thursday and Friday nights at the CAMC site at Henley-on-Thames but alas it was fully booked on the Thursday night and whilst I was fortunate to grab a pitch on Friday (it was the 80s Rewind Festival that weekend). I had to stay elsewhere on Thursday.
I chose Moreton-in-Marsh CAMC site for Thursday. Like all CAMC sites, expensive but you know exactly what you are going to get!
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Friday pm I met an old friend Ian at the Waggon and Horses in Twyford. This is our usually meeting place when I’m in the area. As Moe and I both have friends in the area, this is a relatively frequent event. Our “quiet” beers were disrupted when Bob and Mandy arrived – they were in-town for the Rewind festival!
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Saturday and Sunday we stayed in Burghfield with Dave and Tracey where we enjoyed a lovely BBQ on Sunday afternoon. No camping was necessary at the Harper Arms!
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