Monday 8 June 2026: Surprise trip!

On Friday we were supposed to be taking the dog to meet and greet the dog sitter he’s having a couple of sleepovers with later this year. But just as we were leaving, we received an email asking if we could get there at 2:30pm instead of the time we agreed, as she’d had an urgent change of plans. Of course, by now, it was far too late for us to get there by then. So we re-arranged the visit for later today.

This actually freed us up because the poet had decided that, as we’re likely to be having a busy few weeks, we were having a weekend away in the campervan. And it meant we could leave sooner rather than later, and get to site earlier too.

He’d looked at the north-east coast initially, but I’d already seen that it was going to rain for the entire weekend, with some very heavy storms forecast. So after checking the forecast elsewhere, he switched inland instead and booked us 2 nights at the caravan and motorhome club site in Castleton, Derbyshire, supposedly a 15-minute walk from the pretty village of Castleton itself…Well, we already know how accurate those walking times are with these sites, but fortunately, with all the walking I’ve been doing since the end of February, it didn’t scare me too much.

While I came to a place I felt happy leaving the proofreading job, the poet went to get some supplies on the way to collect the van. And when he got back with the van, we filled it with clothes and food from the fridge, and off we went.

We arrived at the site at about 5:30pm. The Hope Valley is quite close to where we live, and when we lived even closer, we were there most weekends. It was nice to finally pay a return visit. It did rain, but we were able to dodge the showers, and we walked into the town on the Saturday, just for a bit of a walk, really, which, by the way, took us just over 2 hours there and back with some shopping included. We forgot to check the 15-minute walk estimate.

There was one shower, but the poet was in a bakery buying us fresh bread, fresh cakes and a fresh pork pie at the time, while the dog and I sheltered under a big tree. Lots of people stopped to say hello to him (Alfie, not the poet!), which is nice. But it does encourage him to jump at people who don’t like dogs. While I was trying to stop him from jumping, one person didn’t just encourage him to jump up, but offered him a bite of his sandwich as well! Or that’s how the dog interpreted it. Serves the bloke right, really. No, it’s not his problem that we’re still training a puppy. But if he will offer a dog a bite of his sandwich…

Back at the site, we chilled and even had a nanna-nap!

Last time we went away in the van it was for one night and the dog was great. This time it was for 2 nights, and he improved as the weekend progressed. On Day 1 he was a bit clingy and whiney, fretting. By the last morning, he was happy to run off on an adventure around the camp site! (He slipped his collar.)

It was a nice break, and it was good to let the dog have 2 nights in the van. Next time, we’ll probably double it again and go for 4 nights. It was also nice to be back in Castleton, which hasn’t changed at all since we were last there.

We didn’t do very much exploring due to having the dog, but there’s a castle there called Peveril Castle, a famous hill called Mam Tor, a cavern delightfully name the Devil’s Arse, and the Blue John mines. My engagement ring off the poet has a Blue John stone, and I have a gold cross pendant and a pair of stud earrings to match. We got those from Castleton, back in 2014.

It’s also surrounded by beautiful scenery and one year we walked the Castleton Slip, where the main road was eventually closed for good after it slipped down the hillside a bit too far for the road to be repaired. We literally had to climb down from one level of the road to the next. I wonder if that’s slipped any further since we were last there…

I have a lot to do today. I have to transfer all of the money to one account so I can send it to the conveyancing solicitor. I have to send it to the solicitor. I still have that proofreading job. And we’re off to see the dog sitter at the end of the day.

How was your weekend?