In the middle of June I went away with a group of ladies from our church. Somehow it was decided that camping in the Lake District in a tepee would be a fabulous idea! We set off full of anticipation leaving husbands behind in Liverpool to enjoy a weekend alone with the kids... The sun was shining, the roads were clear & all was looking good! We enjoyed an evening camp fire after a meal in the campsite pub before clambering into our sleeping bags to have a good night's kip but....
... BOY! Was it cold that night!!! I had pyjamas, a hooded top, socks & a hat on to sleep in & was inside a sleeping bag with a hot water bottle & under two blankets & I was STILL freezing! I had to have a shower the next morning to warm up again! As you can see from the photo above, we wouldn't have got any Brownie points for a tidy tent!! (It's not my bed Mum!).
So, here we all are, still looking forward to a day of adventure but a little bit chilly, gathering outside our two tepees ready to go to Ullswater for a ride on the ferry & a walk around the lake.
Suddenly, at Ullswater Steamer car park there was a mobile phone signal! Everyone checked their phones eagerly!
Ullswater was beautiful! We waited a little while for the ferry to come back from the other side & boarded the boat ready to sail to Howtown.
Within minutes of leaving dry land the heavens opened! I took this photo from inside the ferry. The little boat sailing between the islands reminds me of Swallows & Amazons. Needless to say, a very wet morning was had by all but I think we were all in good spirits! I certainly enjoyed my time chatting with Alison in the bus shelter while we ate out packed lunch!!! ;o)
We arrived back at the tepees to discover the hole in the top where the poles meet actually lets in water (surprise)! Some people had very wet beds!
We all sat in the tepee I was sleeping in (except for Hebe who had gone to dry clothes in the campsite drier!) & pondered whether to stick it out or head for home. We had a good laugh & eventually it was decided that we would call the tepee owners & see if they could fix the leaks & we would plough on with the camping despite winds & torrential rain!
On one dash to the toilets Anne & I spotted this lovely foxglove with rain drops hanging off it. I had to take a piccie or two of course!
We spent the evening in the other tepee while Alison (a different one to my lunch buddy!) cooked us a wonderful 3 course meal! We huddled up under duvets & sleeping bags talking & laughing. Tanya thought it was more fun to sniff the wine (not really, but the photo looks like that's what she's doing!) & Sarah, Hebe & I took a lot of piccies! I managed to get warm by making tea, coffee & hot chocolate for everyone but I still felt very damp!
The weather got worse & worse through the night until we had a raging storm! In a half asleep, half awake moment around midnight I thought the tepee was going to collapse from the centre point on top of us!!! Thinking about it rationally as I lay there listening to the tepee door being flapped wide open by the wind & getting stuck on the side of the tepee I realised it couldn't possibly happen! A tepee may leak but it's a solid as a rock in the winds I think! Anyway, by this time we were all awake (except for Sarah who had ear plugs in!) & with much giggling Anne & Hebe used some creative ingenuity & a shoe lace to secure the tepee door shut & we all settled down to 'sleep' again. It took a long time for me to fall asleep as the wind was howling outside & the rain was beating down on the tepee with ferocious force!
Sunday morning revealed even worse weather! We all packed up with great speed & left the camp site by 9:15am!!!! Despite the foul weather we did have a great time in each other's company. I don't think anyone will suggest camping of any sort for a group weekend away again though!
One last thing to mention- the traffic was busy on the way home!! ;o)
In the middle of June I went away with a group of ladies from our church. Somehow it was decided that camping in the Lake District in a tepee would be a fabulous idea! We set off full of anticipation leaving husbands behind in Liverpool to enjoy a weekend alone with the kids... The sun was shining, the roads were clear & all was looking good! We enjoyed an evening camp fire after a meal in the campsite pub before clambering into our sleeping bags to have a good night's kip but....
... BOY! Was it cold that night!!! I had pyjamas, a hooded top, socks & a hat on to sleep in & was inside a sleeping bag with a hot water bottle & under two blankets & I was STILL freezing! I had to have a shower the next morning to warm up again! As you can see from the photo above, we wouldn't have got any Brownie points for a tidy tent!! (It's not my bed Mum!).
So, here we all are, still looking forward to a day of adventure but a little bit chilly, gathering outside our two tepees ready to go to Ullswater for a ride on the ferry & a walk around the lake.
Suddenly, at Ullswater Steamer car park there was a mobile phone signal! Everyone checked their phones eagerly!
Ullswater was beautiful! We waited a little while for the ferry to come back from the other side & boarded the boat ready to sail to Howtown.
Within minutes of leaving dry land the heavens opened! I took this photo from inside the ferry. The little boat sailing between the islands reminds me of Swallows & Amazons. Needless to say, a very wet morning was had by all but I think we were all in good spirits! I certainly enjoyed my time chatting with Alison in the bus shelter while we ate out packed lunch!!! ;o)
We arrived back at the tepees to discover the hole in the top where the poles meet actually lets in water (surprise)! Some people had very wet beds!
We all sat in the tepee I was sleeping in (except for Hebe who had gone to dry clothes in the campsite drier!) & pondered whether to stick it out or head for home. We had a good laugh & eventually it was decided that we would call the tepee owners & see if they could fix the leaks & we would plough on with the camping despite winds & torrential rain!
On one dash to the toilets Anne & I spotted this lovely foxglove with rain drops hanging off it. I had to take a piccie or two of course!
We spent the evening in the other tepee while Alison (a different one to my lunch buddy!) cooked us a wonderful 3 course meal! We huddled up under duvets & sleeping bags talking & laughing. Tanya thought it was more fun to sniff the wine (not really, but the photo looks like that's what she's doing!) & Sarah, Hebe & I took a lot of piccies! I managed to get warm by making tea, coffee & hot chocolate for everyone but I still felt very damp!
The weather got worse & worse through the night until we had a raging storm! In a half asleep, half awake moment around midnight I thought the tepee was going to collapse from the centre point on top of us!!! Thinking about it rationally as I lay there listening to the tepee door being flapped wide open by the wind & getting stuck on the side of the tepee I realised it couldn't possibly happen! A tepee may leak but it's a solid as a rock in the winds I think! Anyway, by this time we were all awake (except for Sarah who had ear plugs in!) & with much giggling Anne & Hebe used some creative ingenuity & a shoe lace to secure the tepee door shut & we all settled down to 'sleep' again. It took a long time for me to fall asleep as the wind was howling outside & the rain was beating down on the tepee with ferocious force!
Sunday morning revealed even worse weather! We all packed up with great speed & left the camp site by 9:15am!!!! Despite the foul weather we did have a great time in each other's company. I don't think anyone will suggest camping of any sort for a group weekend away again though!
4 comments:
Ha ha what a great blog,great pics too!sounds & looks alot like our camping, you forget how loud the rain is when it beating down! x x x x
Sounds more like an Omega training exercise!!
Ah the sheep.... reminiscent of our dear old Forest (of Dean)! Tepees were only used by people in dry areas you know!! I had a slight panic when I thought you might have left 48 kids behind if you and Hebe are anything to go by- a whole schoolfull- here in Shrops anyway. You all look happy despite the inclement conditions. What's the next plan and venue? Save petrol go nearer- Blackpool ha ha...
Mum xxxxxx
Wow what an adventure! Even in the rain it looks a lovely picturesque sight with the tepees against the hills! ANd it looked like you all had a great time despite the weather!!! And you don't wanna do it again??? hee! xxx
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