Karen Wright: From caravan parks to waterfall walks

Our caravan is currently based at Ripon, and that gives me so much scope to get to so many beautiful places all around the area.

A couple of weeks ago I decided that I wanted to visit Aysgarth Falls in the Yorkshire Dales. I remember visiting decades ago when my girls were young and yes, we had a caravan in tow even then! We headed to the falls and parked very close to the visitors' centre and made our way to the middle and the lower falls. The three stepped waterfalls have been a tourist attraction for over two hundred years and have welcomed both Wordsworth the poet and Turner the artist amongst many others. In more recent times it was used as a location in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, the movie!

After an enjoyable walk we had a nosy around the visitors' centre and enjoyed a hot drink in the cafe before heading back to the car park via St Andrews churchyard. The drive back to the caravan was lovely as the weather was fine and sunny, and spring lambs were frolicking in the fields, which is always a joy to see.

Once back at the caravan it was fabulous to get the deckchairs out and enjoy relaxing and reading in the sunshine. I spent some time looking through my cookbook and choosing something to make for dinner. As I had chicken, cream and wine in the caravan it was an easy choice and I put together a take on Coq au Riesling, my wine was French not a German Riesling but of course it worked very well, and the dish was delicious.

The caravan is a home from home, and we do have a small TV, and I do enjoy putting my feet up in the evenings and catching up with a few soaps before bed beckons. Another super weekend at Ripon, but next week I will be covering something a bit different in my column, a press trip to Raby in Bloom. Raby Castle in County Durham and I visited last year but I have been invited back to preview this year's attraction, I am really looking forward to it, watch this space!