​Keswick

Tuesday 9th January 2024

There was a good forecast for a few days and while it was going to be cold it would be dry, so we booked three nights at the camping and caravan site at Keswick. On arrival we discovered they are two sites very close to each other, Derwent water and Keswick. I had booked on the larger of the two, Keswick which fronts the lake and has 250 emplacements. Basically it is a big field full of gravel hard standings. The location and facilities are excellent, although it can be a long walk to the shower block and other facilities. The Derwent water site only has room for 45 but at least that would be a shorter walk to the facilities. We have come to prefer the camping and caravan club over the caravan and motorhome club. They seem a tad more relaxed and the wi fi is free


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Hike 

We were here by 13:30 and had time to explore Keswick in the afternoon. It is a delightful little town and there seem to be hundreds of shops selling climbing and camping gear. The town has several lovely parks and easy access to the lake and surrounding hills. It is overlooked by Skiddaw, Blencathra in the distance and cat bells on the western flank. I can understand why it is such a popular tourist destination.

Wednesday 10th January 2024

Hike
We did the Derwent water circuit today just following the well marked trail around the lake. This is a top walk and quite gentle although we did manage to cover 10 miles. Lingholm provided a welcome stop for coffee and cakes as we neared the end of our walk. The day was slightly cloudy but the sun did break through occasionally enhancing the spectacular views of the mountains around the lake. It was back to the campsite by late afternoon where the heating in the van was immediately turned on and we snuggled in for the rest of the day.

Thursday 11th January 2024.

Hike

Castlerigg Stone Circle and St John’s in the vale is a walk we found in a book we had bought at the tourist office. It covers a dumbbell shape to the south east of Keswick just reaching the top end of Thirlmere. I had very tired legs after this 14 mile walk which took six and a half hours with several stops. We had decided not to climb any of the major hills on this occasion but there were some lovely views of Blencathra, Dodds fell, and High street in the distance. Whilst the walk did not involve any serious climbing the ups and downs added up and by the time we got back we had managed a total ascent in excess of 1500 feet. I would have said this was not a typical Lake District walk but traversing some of the lesser known paths was really pleasant. We had a good day out and on our return this I was hoping my knees would have loosened up again after a good nights sleep.

Gill and I are of like mind in that we should come up here more often this year as our long European trips may for various reason not be practical.

​Sunday 22nd October 2023


We debated using the bus and tram to get into the city but thought it too complicated and not especially quick, so we decided to get the bikes out regardless of the constant drizzle. Armed with a change of trousers and an extra raincoat we joined the cycle path directly from the site and were in the city, about 5 miles away, in half an hour. After changing into our dry trousers in a handy toilet with bike racks close by we set off around the old town. Koln was not at it’s best in todays weather conditions and being Sunday most of the shops were closed. Looking beyond the damp curtain the city looked lovely, with plenty of braueries with seating outside under canopies on the edge of a number of large squares. There are vibrant looking shopping streets which were quiet today given that it is Sunday.  We passed what claimed to be the oldest perfume factory in the world, where 4711 eau de Cologne came into being.  The river front looked inviting and there were lots of boat site seeing trips on offer. The cathedral lives up to its claims and is an imposing building although looking in need of a good jet wash.  After a cursory look in the morning because Sunday Mass was taking place we returned after lunch and our visit was made special by a youth choir in full voice projecting their beautiful sound into the vast volume of the stunning cathedral. We had eaten our lunch at a very pleasant little bar off one of the squares after much wandering around and deliberation. It turned out to be a good choice and the schnitzels didn’t disappoint. We felt too cold and damp to explore further in the afternoon and having found a great bakery close to the cathedral we came away with our evening snack.
We were astonished by the over-whelming police presence in the city today. We initially attributed this to the Bundesliga football game between Koln and Monchen Gladbach, but then realised that pro-Palestinian demonstrations were expected today, which, we have since discovered, did take place in many cities. 


We returned to camp without getting too wet and again it is a shame that the sun wasn’t shining so that we could have enjoyed this cycle route along the river and through some interesting re-developed areas of Koln.


If we are successful in slithering off our pitch in the morning we will be heading to Rotterdam for the ferry.

Saturday 21st October 2023

On to Koln

We set ourselves 315 miles to cover today, most of it on the A3. Luckily the many miles of motorway improvement works didn’t slow us down too much and even with a stop for lunch we were here by mid afternoon. Camping Berger is right next to the Rhine at km 681 and claims to be the oldest campsite in Germany. Judging by the state of our pitch I can vouch for that. Our allotted plot is definitely not a premium one and is about as far away from the facilities as possible. Parking on the hard standing which is barely the footprint of our van was a challenge with the front wheels slipping on a wet and muddy surface. I had to put the door mat and ground sheet under the front wheels to gain sufficient traction to get onto the pad. No fine tuning was possible but we are just about level. The weather had been pleasant on the the drive up but they have obviously had quite a bit of rain yesterday as the ground is quite soggy. More rain is forecast for tomorrow. The wifi is useless, probably installed when the site opened, and the WC Chemi has a state of the art cassette emptier and cleaner but costs a euro. The shower and toilet block looks the business but we are not sure if it really justifies the long walk.
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Thursday 19th October 2023


Another couple of hundred miles further north today which was quite pleasant driving on the German B roads until we hit the dreaded umleitungs (diversions due to road works) as we neared Regensburg. We found our chosen campsite, Freizeitinsel at Bad Abbach by one o’clock but had to wait a couple of hours before the reception opened.


Site
There are all the facilities including on-site restaurant but the layout of the pitches is unimaginative, with no hedges between plots and very few trees and greenery in general. It felt a bit bleak on a grey day.


Bike
This was just a shopping foray to Aldi but we cycled through the little town of Bad Abbach.
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Sunday 15th October 2023


Onto the Istrian penisula.


We have only travelled about fifty miles today but it took us most of the morning to achieve this. The traffic lights controlling the road works on the bridge over to the mainland had thrown a wobbly, probably due to the heavy rain which has now arrived and it must have taken at least an hour to cross. We were heading for Opatija Camping, just south of Opatija at a small town called Icici.


​Site
Opatija Camping nestles on the hillside above the bay with the plots randomly arranged on terraces. The facilities are good and central to the site. Wi-Fi is excellent and there is a small shop which had closed for the season when we were here. There is a Konzum supermarket a short walk away.


Hike
The riviera here is Italianate in feel, being developed for late nineteenth and early twentieth century wealthy European sun-seekers.  The coast is lined with beautiful brightly coloured palazzo-styled mansions, and it’s promenade, the Lungomare, was constructed at that time and runs between Volosko to Lovran along Kvarner Bay for 12km.  It is named after Franz Joseph I the Austro-Hungarian Emperor who had it built for his wife.  It follows every crevice of the coast with many access points for bathing in the sea, little platforms being created amongst the rocks. We planned to walk all this during our stay so despite the damp afternoon we undertook the section between Icici and Lovran this afternoon which was about a 4 mile walk. The rain held off on the way to Lovran but the heavens opened once there, making the return walk a thorough soaking.  We are looking forward to exploring further tomorrow and seeing this walk in the sunshine as the weather should be better.
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