Cool Caravanning, Updated Second Edition. Caroline Mills

      The Screes Inn at Nether Wasdale

      There’s a large area of woodland within the campsite that shelters the pitches, with guided trails and the fabulous opportunity for little ones to make dens, collect acorns or act out all kinds of imaginative adventure stories. It also houses dozens of nest boxes for local tweeters. A public footpath connects up with the campsite, taking walkers to Wasdale, from where they can witness the most spectacular of views towards Wasdale Head, Great Gable and England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike. In fact, so iconic is the view that the National Parks authority uses it as its emblem.

      The roads, enclosed with the finest of Cumbrian walls and local Herdwick sheep, are narrow around these parts, and with the road from Nether Wasdale to Wasdale Head a no-through road, it’s recommended to use foot power for sightseeing, or at most a small car. Even the roads from Gosforth and Holmbrook are narrow, so take it gently. Thankfully, this area of the western lakes is less populated and far less tourist-orientated than the Windermere region of the National Park, so traffic is lighter. And, should you tire of the nation’s favourite view, just turn around and look back from whence you came to see a green rolling landscape so utterly juxtaposed against the crashing crags.

      When you enter the village of Nether Wasdale from Gosforth, two white-washed watering holes, one on either side of the road, greet you, the wide grass verges pulling the eye to the Screes mountain range in the not- so-far distance. Both establishments, The Screes Inn and The Strands Hotel, are inviting, with log fires for chilly days or gardens that must fall into the ‘best pub view’ category in warmer weather. The Strands Hotel, a CAMRA award-winning pub, has its own micro-brewery, so a fresh pint is always available. Both pubs are within staggering distance of the campsite, but if you feel the need to work up an appetite, make for The Bridge Inn on the edge of the River Irt in the neighbouring village of Santon Bridge – here you can listen to some tall tales, for it’s the location of one of Britain’s most unique annual competitions: ‘The World’s Biggest Liar’.

      Once the blisters have all become too much, the feet begging for an alternative mode of transport, hop aboard ‘La’al Ratty’, the local name for the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, one village farther up the Eskdale Valley at Boot, and chug your way between the peaks. The steam train, which once transported iron ore from the mines, now operates an impressive 7-mile route that beats any commuter journey, and completes its travels at the quietly understated seaside town of Ravenglass.

      Stretching along the coastline towards the mouth of the Solway Firth and the Scottish border, the Georgian town of Whitehaven offers an alternative view from the mountains. It has a fascinating history, with shipbuilding, coal exports and the trading of exotic goods all considered important industries at one time; it’s little wonder there’s plenty of spice in the local specialities.