On route to Settle

 The rain started again in earnest in the wee hours. Huddled deep into the sleeping bag, even the extra blanket didn't keep out the chill. Luckily I had a thermal long sleeved vest in the cupboard so that, and thick socks for my cold feet, went on. I noticed Ian had also grabbed a blanket to put over him.  And he wore a woolly hat to keep his head warm. Ha....so much for he never feels the cold! And if you're wondering why we didn't cuddle up, well this motorhome has two single seats either side which can be made up into a double by adding a centre piece, but we find it easier to sleep on them as singles. 

7 am, both lying awake, Ian drew the short straw to get the kettle on. The gas ring, once lit, gave out enough heat to take the chill from the air but the continuing rain made inside feel damp. Unfortunately the cassette light came on during the night which meant Ian had to brave the rain to go and change it. It's a shame it couldn't have waited for another hour because suddenly the incessant drumming of droplets on the roof stopped. Of course both of us needed to use the loo so that job had to be done pronto.

Water tank filled and waste water emptied, we headed off to Wicks (not Argos as I stated yesterday) to collect the heater. I don't envisage being cold tonight as it has two heat settings and a thermostat!

The Sat nav had the co-ordinates put in for the next camp site at Coniston Cold. It was the nearest Camping and Caravan site we could find to Settle and as I mentioned two days ago, this will be the place to go to for the flying and handling of Birds of Prey, another gift from Marilyn and David. Thursday is the day for that

The 55 mile journey took us over the Holme Moss Summit. The climb was bad enough, ears popping on the way up, but the descent was as terrifying as the Remutaka Pass in NZ.  This from Wiki. 

Holme Moss is high moorland on the border between the Holme Valley district of Kirklees in West Yorkshire and the High Peak district of Derbyshire in England. Historically on the boundary between the West Riding of Yorkshire and Cheshire, it is just inside the boundary of the Peak District National Park.

Why does Ian insist on letting MB run with his foot hovering over the brake pedal? Hands clenched, I was preying for him to brake but no, great pleasure in terrifying the misses! When he finally did have to break on an S bend, my prayers went to the brakes, hoping they actually worked! Very relieved to get to the bottom, and Ian's comment of "Just like those hills in NZ" made me realise he was wishing he was back there.

Going up

View from the top

 And this was seen on route at Glossop,

 

The camp site was lovely, in fact we were the only van there. The only downside was how far the showers and toilets were from the hard standing. Predominantly a camping site, a huge field was set aside right by the facilities and only 6 hard standing areas were available for caravans and motorhomes. I expect it had something with our having toilets and those camping did not.

In the field opposite were sheep with newborn lambs. A constant 'baaing' has been going on since arrival, wonderful as this means Spring is just around the corner.