Up North, August 2018

Wednesday, 1st August 2018 We set off at 10.45am in bright sunshine and with a following wind.  No holdups and the motorways were fairly quiet which was surprising considering the schools had shut down for the summer holidays.   We broke our own UK driving record we think by travelling on six different motorways in one journey.  M5, M42, M1, M18, M180 and finally M181. 217 miles on 6 different motorways. We arrived at Acorn Wood Campsite  at 3.30pm. The Ablution Block. Only 7 caravans on the hard-standing section. Feeding the ducks. Weather remained fine for the journey and was a pleasant 25⁰C as we set up. Too hot and too tired to put the awning up, leave that until tomorrow.

Thursday, 2nd August 2018 Good weather again today and, after putting the awning up, decided to visit Winterton where Wendy lived for part of her childhood years.  I too got to know the place a little as we visited Aunty Doris a few times in the 1970's. Needless to say the place was much changed but we did find a few locations from the past.  The first was The Hall, a large mansion of a place where we used to visit Aunty Lotte.  The house was expensively furnished and we both remember how frightened we were of the children breaking something. Sadly but no surprise, The Hall is now divided up into three dwellings. Not far from The Hall was the local cemetery where we quickly found the graves and headstones of Aunts and Uncles. First discovered was the grave of Aunt Lotte and Aunt Alice who lived on Earlsgate, just down from Auntie Doris. They lived together and we visited them when staying with Auntie Doris. Next, and quite easily...

Friday, 3rd August 2018 We enjoyed our day in Hull, arriving via the Humber Bridge  crossing for the great price of just £1.50. It is the UK’s longest single-span suspension bridge and now the eighth longest in the world. It remains the longest in the world that can be crossed on foot or by cycle. With my usual driving pace I managed, on our return journey, to take the lane exclusive for Humber Tag customers. I sailed through with no problems but when I got back to Acorn Wood, I went on line and found a web site for Humber Tag Offenders of which I was one.  It took a couple of days for my vehicle registration to appear on their website but eventually it did and, to my amazement, I paid, online, the £1.50 toll.                                                                           ...

Saturday, 4th August 2018 Another beautiful start to the day and we decided to go to Scunthorpe to do some shopping and to see if we can find where Win lived. We were amazed and delighted with the town centre and its variety of shops, and very few empty ones.  The place was extremely busy, helped a little I'm sure by the fact that it was a beautiful day again.  We spent a couple of hours wandering the town then made our way to The Ferry House Inn for a drink and to book a table for Sunday Lunch tomorrow. On the way we stopped at Doncaster Road where Win lived as a child and she thinks the house below was where she lived.  We're hoping Marian may be able to confirm this. The Ferry House Inn situated alongside the River Trent. A tanker passes as we sit in the sun. Our afternoon was spent as we spent most afternoons, sat in the sun reading our books and occasionally dozing.

Sunday 5th August 2018 No special plans for today.  We had booked our Sunday lunch at The Ferry House Inn which turned out to be quite good.  We went there early as we hoped to walk along the banks of the River Trent but unfortunately there was no access to the path in that area.  We had an early lunch. Hot again, in fact hottest day of the week so we returned to Acorn Wood and sat in and out of the sun for the rest of the day, in between making ready to move on to Whitby tomorrow.

Monday, 6th August 2018 Set off 9.45am in bright sunshine with just 80 miles to do. It was picturesque journey, through Driffield, Malton and Pickering before crossing the North York Moors and so into Whitby. We arrived at Broadings Farm Camping by 12.30pm, amazed at how big it seemed and how busy.  Left to find our own pitch we settled for a delightful slot under an oak tree and with a view out over the North York Moors. We set up fairly quickly, put the awning up, had some lunch then did what we usually do in the afternoons.

Tuesday, 7th August 2018  Glorious morning again and so we pottered around first thing before setting off to see the glorious Whitby. On entering Whitby it brought home to us just why we have never, since we've been married, ever, been away on holiday in August. It was just SO busy! It took us over half an hour, driving around, before we found somewhere to park, after which we joined the throng and made our way to the harbour. We paid our parking for a couple of hours which was just about the limit we could manage amongst the crowds.  Back to the peace and quiet of our site, and we thought this was busy! Round the Bay - Packed to the gunnells, playing sea shantys. Lifeboat bringing back escapees from the beach. Jellyfish swimming in the harbour

Wednesday, 8th August 2018 A glorious morning once again and we decided we needed to find a Lidl solely for two favourites of ours, Win's wine and my cheese.  Our sat-nav held the answer - Scarborough. So we set off for a shopping and sight seeing trip. Just 20 miles and through the eastern strip of the North York Moors it was a beautiful run.  The sun reflecting off the deep purple and mauve heather was quite magical.  We found Lidl easily enough and stocked up on provisions before setting off to see the sea. We realised parking was going to be a difficult, so to ease the situation and give ourselves a decent walk, we found a small private car park some 2 miles from the seafront, also, conveniently, quite close to a Tesco store. With our trusty pedometers on we found it to be a little over 2 miles to the harbour, not a problem normally but, firstly the sun shone down on us from a clear blue sky and with little breeze, and secondly, the whole 2 mile walk was downh...

Thursday, 9th August 2018 Much cooler this morning, just 13℃, noticeable over night as we slept better than we had over the last week or so. After a cooked breakfast, we decided to explore some of the bays on the northern coast and headed to Staithes, a seaside village just 10 miles from where we were. We parked, as always now it seems, at the top of the hill and walked down into the village and the small harbour.  Delightful fisherman's cottages in rows on narrow streets and the usual assortment of cafes, gift shops and a couple of pubs. We wandered through the streets, looking in shop windows, taking photographs, pleased at how quiet it was. The narrow streets of Staithes. Staithes Harbour. On reaching the harbour we noticed a couple of white vans with enormous satellite dishes on top and soon discovered they were BBC vans.  We overheard someone speaking about "the tragedy" and the opening of a book of condolence and quickly realised that ...

Friday, 10th August 2018 A light rain greeted us on waking and a temperature of 15℃.  This did increase to 18℃ later but the rain increased also. After a quick shower then breakfast, we decided, as heavy weather was forecast for later in the day, to take the awning down. This is because we had decided on Plan B.  Rather than travel further north, we have decided to move to the west where, so far, the better weather had been and was forecast to continue.  We booked ourselves into Burrs Country Park Caravan Club Site for 5 days from this coming Sunday, so we're here for an extra night, namely Saturday.  A couple of miles north of Bury, Lancashire, the park is for us a continuation of our northern tour.  Places we've read about, seen on the news, and never been to. Back to the awning.  Why do we listen to weather forecasters?  A light drizzle accompanied us as we took it down and packed it away.  First time we've put it away wet for a long time...

Saturday, 11th August 2018 We were due to leave Broadings Farm today but our next stop, Burrs Country Park, cannot take us until Sunday so we asked if we could stay here an extra night and they agreed we could. Needing a Saturday paper, we walked to a Spar shop, attached to a filling station, a couple of hundred yards down the road and, as the day was warm (ish) 17℃, we decided to extend our walk. Ruswarp is the nearest village to our site and was just over a mile away and we knew the railway line ran through it as we often heard the trains, including steam trains. So we set off and, guess where the village, including railway line were?  At the bottom of a long and winding hill.  It was worth it though. It seems Mr Marple didn't get his hands on this village, with its old, but open, railway station and line. We spent an hour there then made our way, slowly, back up the hill and so to our site. The afternoon passed as it often does, sitting in the sun, reading and doz...

Sunday, 12th August 2018 It rained pretty well all night, heavy and loud. By the 7.30am alarm, it had reduced to a light drizzle and by the time we began our moving on duties it was but spits and spots. As we left Whitby at 10.30am the heavens opened. Whitby's farewell.  A moderate 137 mile journey today and the route we choose took us to Guisbrough and across the top of the North York Moors. South to Thirsk and then Ripon, passing RAF Dishforth where, 52 years ago, I did my three month Initial Police Training as a Wiltshire policeman. Across the bottom of the Yorkshire Dales then motorway for the rest of the journey.  Just one slow section on the M65 and we arrived at Burrs Country Park at 2.30pm. I booked our stay here online but later rang to ask if we could come a day early, the Saturday.  "Oh no" she said, "we're fully booked"  Imagine our surprise then when, on arrival, we were told to take our pick from the available pitches.  There were many, ...

Monday, 13th August 2018 Once again it rained throughout the night but had stopped when the alarm went off. For the third time this holiday we put the awning up.  Getting quite good at it now, and fast too. It was still damp from when we took it down in the rain at Whitby but it will soon get rained on here so no concerns. We planned a quiet day today with a trip into Bury for provisions and that's how it was, however, our day started with some sad news. A neighbour of ours had been poorly for a few months and I had been taking him to Southmead Hospital for scans and biopsy's. A couple of years ago he took me to Emersons Green to have my hernia repaired, and he collected me too. He had received no results from the tests before we left and we learnt whilst away that he had late stage lung cancer and was deemed too weak for treatment. Sadly he passed away in the early hours of today. We will miss him. A day of reflection today.

Tuesday, 14th August 2018 Rose late and had a cooked breakfast. A little drizzly but not cold so we set off to explore the area  We headed for Todmorden, a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, just 20 miles from here and reached across sparsely inhabited land. We drove through the Rossendale Valley and the Irwell Valley, crossing from Lancashire to Yorkshire and back without a care in the world. Dramatic and beautiful scenery, we drove through many towns, small and large, dominated years ago by woollen or cotton mills. Housing, built to accommodate the workers of these mills, still stands today. Such history in every village and hamlet. Sadly all the pubs and hotels stopped serving lunch at 2pm, many actually closing altogether at 2pm.  This rather caught us by surprise coming from an area where most pubs and definitely the hotels, will serve food virtually all day. Mill workers accomodation Rochdale Canal Home for a much late...

Wednesday, 15th August 2018 The forecast wasn't good for today so we decided to visit the award winning  Bury Market.   Located close to Mill Gate Shopping Centre , a mall that puts our Cribbs Causeway to shame. The Market was an experience not to be missed.  Hairdressing here is a spectator sport. We counted at least five hairdressers, all busy, with some having long queues and all having an audience. There was even two large stalls\shops, selling nothing but Black Pudding! The people watching was as interesting as the stalls.  We saw Huge but also slim, mostly white but some were dark, mostly old but some young, all were happy but we did meet a grumpy one. It took us well over an hour to wander throughout the market by which time we needed lunch. We exited the Market and into Bury town centre. Again there was that mixture of nice and nasty, smart and scruffy. One end of town was nothing but charity shops, vape shops, cash for goods shops and quite downmarket...

Thursday, 16th August 2018 Up in good time today as we were going to catch the 10.25 steam train to Rawtenstall, a town in the centre of the Rossendale Valley.  I mentioned earlier that the trains ran close to the site and there was a station, or rather a Halt here. This was the train we caught.  In total, a twelve mile journey.  We bought an all day ticket meaning we could leave and join any train throughout the day.  We got off at Ramsbottom, advertised as below:  "On the edge of the West Pennine Moors, against the backdrop of Holcombe Hill, Ramsbottom is a thriving market town in spectacular surroundings. A blend of contemporary and traditional the town is packed with independent retailers and award winning restaurants and cafes. Featured in the Sunday Time's'Top Ten Places to Live' and runner up in 'High Street of the Year 2013', it is not surprising that it is a popular stop on the East Lancashire Steam Railway" So says the V...

Friday, 17th August 2018 We didn't have far to travel today so it was nice not to have the pressure of having to be away early. We left at 10.40am in a light drizzle and after a series of motorways, M56, M60 and M66, arrived at Lamb Cottage Caravan Park at 12 noon. Quite busy, in fact gradually the site filled to capacity much to our annoyance.  We have been here three or maybe four times in the past and it's always been very quiet but then we weren't here in August, usually April or late September. All pitches now are Service pitches so no lugging water carriers or waste water around, we're connected to the mains. Dry and warm now but not sunny so put the awning up right away.  TV signal is poor here with picture constantly breaking up so in the evening we watched a DVD, A Street Cat Named Bob. Bed early.

Saturday, 18th August 2018 The forecast was for today to be good, warm and plenty of sunshine, and that's how it began, and finished. We needed provisions so set off for Aldi for more wine and cheese then Tesco for the other items.  Also called in at a caravan sales and accessories shop for gas bottle. We've enough in current bottle for now but we're away in Cornwall for ten days in October so, just in case. We had planned a walk in the afternoon but it was so hot, we just sat in the sun, and, as always, read our books and dozed. TV reception here is unpredictable.  Today it was awful and so in the evening we listened to a play on the radio then watched Sense and Sensibility, a DVD we found in the Information room on site here. Part one of three tonight so that's us entertained for the next couple of evenings.

Sunday, 19th August 2018 We hadn't booked anywhere for Sunday lunch so set off to see what we could find. Saw a sign for  The Plough  so took the road and, to our surprise, realised it was a pub we had eaten in on previous occasions, and very nice too. Back to the site by 2.30 and, as the sun shone, sat and read and dozed

Monday, 20th August 2018 Cloudy and cool but not too unpleasant for pottering about in early readiness for our departure on Wednesday. Today we are meeting Ian and Amy, Win's second cousins from Birkenhead, for lunch at The Bickerton Poacher  in Bulkeley, some 15 miles south west of us. Both have to work in the morning and we have arranged to meet at 3pm for a late lunch. Little more to say here, we met them both, had a good meal and reminisced on past get togethers with joy and sadness for those no longer with us. Back to the site by 6.30pm

Tuesday, 21st August 2018 Today was forecast to be the best day of the week and so, as we are moving off tomorrow, we decided to do a walk.  We have seen signs from the road to The Shropshire Union Canal and hoped it had a good, walkable path. Just 10 miles brought us to Anglo Welsh Waterway Holidays where we were able to park. We were told the westerly path was a good walk, and the prettier direction so we set off in bright sunshine and with the deep chugging of narrow boats behind us. It was a delight for us, having spent a good deal of our holiday in towns and trudging the streets, to be in the heart of the countryside and to savour the silence.   we walked for about two hours then stopped for our packed lunch which we eat by a lock, watching the boats passing through with, generally, the men behind the wheel, glass in hand, and the women performing the tough  job of winding open the valves then pushing open the lock gates. We continued on for a while...

Wednesday, 22nd August 2018 A dull morning but not cold and we weren't in any rush as we had done as much as possible yesterday. With around 180 miles to home, and a Bank Holiday weekend in the offing, we decided to avoid the M6 and top end of the M5 by taking the A49 to Leominster, then the A44 to Worcester where we finally join the M5. The A49 took us through some beautiful countryside including The Shropshire Hills.  We passed through Church Stretton and Little Stretton, somewhere we had stayed many years ago, in the shadow of the Long Mynd. We continued to Leominster where we picked up the A44, the Worcester Road. 20 miles from Leominster and heading towards the village of Bedwas, we encountered the following. Click on video for the full picture. Click on Full Screen for the best view. When I looked in my rear mirror I was a little surprised at the amount of smoke I had generated from the caravan tyres.  No ABS on caravan wheels. Fortunately the...