A bit of a Northern Tour

Mam Tor & Ilkley
8th - 10th April 2022
Castleton Park Up: https://w3w.co/inspector.theory.fish
Ilkley Park Up: https://w3w.co/flick.report.cupcake
The Ilkley Plaice: https://ilkleyplaice.co.uk/

​For our second trip out in our new van we wanted to head up't'north to visit friends and family. The UK is currently experiencing fuel shortages, so before we set off our very first priority is to find some fuel - not an easy task but eventually we get on the road.

Our first stop is the hub of UK Vanlife; Castleton.  At the head of the Peak District's Hope Valley, nestled beneath Mam Tor (Mother Hill) is the beautiful village of Castleton. Castleton is the perfect free ParkUp with easy access to Caves, Walks and VanLife friends. We had a fantastic 24 hours catching up with great mates, but we had an appointment to meet Grandma in Ilkley so it was time to push on!

The lovely Mandy Musgrove had recommended a stop to us in the middle of Skipton which is just a few miles from my Grandma in Ilkley. Unfortunately the stop in Skipton was inaccessible in our 9m motorhome. One way was too tight, another way was over a hump bridge that would have damaged the underside of our van. So after an U-Turn and several rude words, we decided to "Skip"-ton and head straight to Ilkley.

We love Ilkley, it's a stunning town at the southern end of the Yorkshire Dales. A former Spa Town, which rose to fame in the 19th Century when many visited for it's fresh air and wonderful hotels. We can confirm that the air is still fresh, and our ParkUp, right in the heart of the town was truly wonderful. For dinner we had Fish, Chips and Scraps, then took a walk following an unexpected stream through the centre of town to my favourite Wetherspoons. I love that 'spoons!

The next morning was clear and bright. Our ParkUp was in the carpark for Ilkley's Darwin Gardens and Millennium Green so before we set off, we took George to explore the gardens and puzzle out the maze. 

As we pulled off the carpark, we drove over a very slight hill, ground out, and damaged the fresh water pipes - which dumped all our fresh water out on the road! Thankfully Steve was able to borrow a screw driver from Grandma's home and was able to create a temporary fix.  At 91, Grandma was in fine fettle! We had a blumin' lovely time catching up and when we left we headed to meet Auntie Chris for lunch.

After an afternoon of family time, we came back to the van to discover that we had run out of gas. We also had a phone call from our neighbours telling us that there was an alarm going off at home!! Rather than head to Skegness, we decided to follow the "signs" and head home to regroup.