Campsite...

About once a month, like today, I stop at a campsite. The electric hook-up not only charges the two ‘leisure’ batteries to capacity, it also seems to condition them… so they hold more charge, and for longer. With the extra power generated by the solar panel on the roof, I can stay in one place, off-grid, for two or three days. When the batteries are running low (I get a warning ‘beep’ from the power inverter), I need to save whatever I’m doing on the computer, and switch off. Then I need to drive (which charges all three onboard batteries), or hook up to an external power source, or sit in the dark, in silence and wrap up warm…

While I’m careful with the power I use (it’s like carrying water from the well, rather than just turning the tap on), a day at a campsite is good for catching up with jobs that need doing: recharging batteries for small appliances (phone, radio, wireless mouse and keyboard, torch, etc), updating computer software without worrying if the power will fail at an inopportune moment, filling up the water tank, having a shower, washing clothes, editing, captioning and keywording photos, etc, or maybe, like today, just sleeping in late.

With most campsites having free wifi, it’s a good opportunity to upload pix. I started a big upload yesterday evening, before I went to the pub (the Bridge Inn, in Santon Bridge, Eskdale… just across the river from the campsite), and the process carried on in the night while I was asleep.

I go to a campsite midweek, rather than at weekends, so I don’t need to book ahead to find a pitch. I also try to pick a rainy day, so I’m not eating into my photography time. A day here - at the Old Post Office campsite in Eskdale - costs £12, which is cheaper than most.

A barn, backed up by the Pike, in the Duddon Valley...