Short tales about my experiences and travels with my two Spaniels in an Eriba Caravan.
The Eden Valley, Cumbria
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This entry is a report on my most recent trip from the 10th 'til the 13th Aug 2022. It takes the tally of nights living in my van this year to 50.
The Eden Valley seems to be a stretch of land along the River Eden in Cumbria, roughly from Carlisle through to Penrith, generally parallel to the M6 motorway in the far NW of England. I had booked 3 nights in the superb C&MC Site at Englethwaite Hall near the village of Armathwaite. It's a lovely site in the grounds of a former mansion house of a Gypsum magnate which has long been demolished and cleared. The grounds, however, have been maintained by the C&MC and are just spectacular. Another feature of this site is that there is no shower or toilet block, so hardcore tourers only!
One thing I will not forget about this trip is the weather. As well as being wall to wall sunshine, it was also scorching, reaching 30C on a couple of days.
One of the old stairways to the now demolished mansion house of Englethwaite Hall.
The adjacent forest was fantastic for dog walking. It also has a number of 'lakes' which seem to be popular for fishing.
Fantastic sunset on my first night.
The west of the site and the adjacent forest.
I was in pitch No.68.
It was another fantastic start to day 2, starting with an excellent walk around the forest.
The objective of this trip was to visit Annan back across the Border to visit the Annandale Distillery and collect a sample of spirit from my cask, now 2 yrs old. Customs and Excise allow a drawing of 100ml once a year and I intend to make use of this to see the progress of the spirit as it becomes whisky through the years.
It is a picturesque place indeed. Fully restored and in full operation.
Again, I took the opportunity to visit my cask in the Bond.
And here it is. Year 2 spirit. It again has drawn a little more colour from the oak.
After visiting, we went for a nice walk along the River Annan.
Later in the day, we took a lovely riverside walk along the Eden near Drybeck Farm.
The weather remained spectacular.
Looking east along the Eden at the bridge in Armathwaite.
A fine way to end the day, a chilled IPA!
My setup. I was thankful I had selected a pitch with a bit of shade from the trees.
Next day, we drove the short couple of miles into Wetheral and walked in a fantastic riverside woodland.
It reached St Constantine's Cell which apparently was a stash fro the monks in the nearby Priory to protect the valuables from cross border raid by marauding Scots!
The stairs up the very steep cliffside from the Cell.
On returning to the van, the dogs just rested in the warmth.
This is the excellent 'dog field' on the site. A large fenced area where you can let dogs run free, off lead.
The wardens had even created a small Fairy Glen!
Sunset on my last night.
This was a very memorable trip which I loved. I made a short drone video...
I thought that after having spent 50 nights this year in my Troll, this would be a good opportunity to offer my views and opinions on this caravan. Overall, I'm very impressed and there are some features which I really like, and others not so much. I've only ever owned Eriba's, having switched from campervans a few years ago. The switch was really an attempt to minimise the ongoing costs associated with a 'leisure vehicle'. I've had a Puck (a 120), a Familia (a 320GT), and now own this Troll (a 530GT). The Troll was a substantial investment for me, it's a (used) 2017 fixed bed model with a number of extras fitted, such as awning, high back seats, 3 ring hob, etc. I first started touring in the Troll back in April of this year and have covered a good part of Scotland and North England in my travels. The Troll is actually probably a bit 'overkill' for my needs. I normally tour alone with my 2 spaniels, and rarely have guests. However, I do sp
I'm often asked what arrangements I have for generating power when I'm touring 'off-grid' in order to keep the 12v electrics operating. This equipment needing 12v includes the lights (all bulbs changed to LED), my 12V TV, and inverter (which powers my MacBook), and also for charging of phones and speakers etc. I have a 100W folding panel which even over a good few days, I find this works fine with my fairly small leisure battery and I've never ran out of power yet. I've used this panel for years which is an advantage of a portable panel. I've used it on 4 different Eriba's I've owned, and a camper van before that. Importantly, it has a solar charge controller mounted on the rear of the panel. This is essential for any solar panel. I do move the panel during the day to get optimum light and try to avoid shadows from the van or trees and buildings. It fits behind the cars front seat when travelling. I didn't want to have an arrangement where I r
With the weather being really nice today, and with the prospect of touring again in the next wee while, I took the caravan out of the garage where it was being stored and returned it to my drive. I really didn't have any projects for the van over the winter, unlike last year when I completely re-upholstered and redone the internal decor like curtains, carpet, door facia's and the likes. Like my 3 previous Eriba Caravans, I've had trouble with the original plastic door shelves and decided to order an improved aluminium set from Darren at Eribastuff. I've ordered other odds and ends from Darren over the years and everything has always been top quality. He's an enthusiastic Eriba Puck owner himself, a Scot based in France. The original door configuration above, plastic shelves (or rather shelf fronts?) which turn the Eriba door into effectively a very useful storage area, just like a fridge door! I purchased the van 'set' which comprises one with an 'Erib
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