Alnwick RSPB

And in answer to my last comment, no, the bed isn't alright! It's rock hard just where my hips go. Temporarily fixed by sleeping on a folded blanket.

Monday 5th May

First trip in Cherry, packed up on the drive and set off for the first stop at RSPB Saltholme to meet the group. Sunny day spotting birds, and after lunch headed up to Alnwick.

Pitched up at Alnwick Rugby Club which was 5 mins walk from and M&S Food - result. So I ate well all week. I did pop in to the club bar one evening and doubled the female contingent. It was out of season so no sporty chaps around sadly.

Tuesday 6th

A trip to Low Newton Ponds, a small hidden reserve with roaming ponies. Later it was off to Long Nanny and a walk through the caravan park along the coast to a warden post. They were there to protect the terns - the arctic terns were just arriving this year. They were a way off though, but it was a good walk.

Wednesday 7th

Off to Seahouses harbour the next morning to catch the boat to Inner Farne. On the way back the bonus was a showing of bottlenose dolphins right by the boats.

We were able to land on this island and see the lovely chapel, and hundreds of terns and puffins. 

  

There is a dolphin at the prow of the boat.

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I popped in to Alnwick town on the way back, but it was all closed up pretty much - at 4pm! Too late for the museum so it will have to wait for another time.

 

Thursday 8th

A long walk today, from Craster to Boulmer - lots of stonechats and whitethroats, and great company. Another glorious day.

Van report

The van was great, I don't seem to need the outside chair and table now I have a front lounge, and I still have some storage cupboards empty. It drives well and a doddle to park - it is HIGH though, which I keep forgetting. One gas burner won't stay lit, so Vantage are going to fix that. I didn't notice a big improvement with mpg, but maybe my driving is still a bit lumpy, and I did have a full water tank. The heater is incredible, 30 mins was enough.

Che-erry, Cherry Baby!

Yes I know it should be Sherry, but hey ho.

Picked her up at Vantage today and had a 2 hour handover! Loads more on this van than I realised, including a solar panel which I'd missed the first time I viewed. Cab aircon was a boon on the way home, and it has electric cab windows so no more getting out and running round when people are on my left.  So much easier to drive! I don't feel like a truck driver in this one.

Time will tell if I miss the wind-out awning, but pop-up gazebos are all the rage so that's an option. 

Fits on the drive too:

Practise night on the drive tonight, let's hope the bed is ok....

Whitley Bay

A meet organised by Vicky for the Harrogate Nights Out Meetup group. The Old Hartley site overlooks the sea and a lighthouse. Once installed we headed off to the Delaval Arms at the entrance of the site, where I drank beer and pinched people's chips.

Saturday 12th April

Walked along the coast up to the picturesque Seaton Sluice, with a couple of galleries showing local artists but I resisted temptation. 

We then got a bus to Tynemouth and I split off for a lunch in the sun at a pavement cafe, and a poke around in  the Raspberry Bazaar which had some great textiles, but again I resisted! Not enough time to visit the markets which had been recommended to me by some people at the cafe. Went over to the abbey and saw the battlements plus gun emplacements from the war. After a lot of fannying around trying to find a bus back, I gave up and grabbed an Uber back to the pub by the site.

Sunday 13th April

Headed off to the lighthouse in the morning and watched the seals. The others were going on to Whitely Bay but it was time for me to come home. 

Would come here again, it was only 90 mins up the road.

All Change!

Goodbye my lovely rust-bucket - I've decided I can't stand the strain and cost of the MOT failures. Much as I love the interior, I'm just afraid the thing will only be fit for scrapping soon.

So after a bit of searching I found a 2016 WildAx Pulsar being sold by Vantage in Leeds. They will take mine in part exchange too! Hurrah! Both vans need some work doing so it will be a few weeks until I can collect. It is more expensive than I wanted to pay, but at the last minute came down by 3K so I decided to go for it.

So meet the 3 Cheers Mark IV, but I think she'll be known as Cherry Baby!

King Creosote in Dumfries

I saw this gig advertised and decided to go and see King Creosote in Scotland. (Turns out two weeks later I could have seen him in Hebden Bridge but hey-ho.)

Lovely blue skies but strong cold winds kept me in the van on the campsite. This was NOT the 'country park' I expected, it was a trailer park with some touring spots. But clean and well fitted out, plus bus stop on the doorstep. 

Thursday 3rd April

I took a bus up to Sanquar, to see the Crawick Multiverse. It was a pretty village with an interesting museum, the oldest working Post Office, and an important non-conformist site - the Sanquar Declaration marks the start of the Glorious Revolution.

It was a 30 minute walk up to the Multiverse. A land-art installation, and a bit odd really. A bit woo-woo. On talking to a lady in a Sanquar shop later, it seems to be a bit of a vanity project for the Laird, and not really integrated in to the community. It was also flipping expensive.

Friday 4th April

Lazy morning, shower and clean up. I got the bus in to Dumfries in the afternoon and visited an old cottage and the town museum, both set alongside the river. Sadly I was too late for the camera obscura at the top of the museum, which had closed at 4pm. Also the cafe was shut.

Walked and bussed up to Easterbrook Hall - what a place! Very posh. It is part of the University campus, a beautiful rosy-red brick complex set around manicured lawns. Sadly the Bistro was closed, the Marriot restaurant was full, so again, nowhere to eat. Made do with crisps and beer - it's a hard life.

It was a lovely gig except the support was a bit bemusing. Also for some reason lots of empty seats even though I had found it hard to book. Chatting to people next to me it seems the booking sites won't let a solo pick any seat they want - it preserves seats in pairs. So I ended up four rows further back than I needed to be.

Saturday 5th April

A completely blank, empty day, lounging about in the sun and recovering from the mammoth amounts of walking I had done. 

Teversal meetup - in a borrowed van

This journey nearly didn't happen, because the bloody van failed its MOT again - for corrosion, again. Grrrr....

Many thanks to Mel who lent me her van - what a star. So with a temporary insurance policy and a few kangeroo jumps I was off to meet Jim, Jane, Wendy and Steve. This was the first time we'd met outside festivals or house gigs and we went to Steve's recommendation of Teversal. 

This is a former mining area just South of Hardwick Hall. The campsite was opposite a reclaimed mine area which is now Silverhills Wood. We took two walks around this, thankfully in dry (but cold) weather.

The others cooked meals for us all, and I just took sundries/pudding. We also had a smashing meal at the Lord Caernarvon pub (he of the Tutankhamen expedition).

We finished one of the walks in the visitor's centre which had fantastic commemoration displays for all the closed mines. The title on the display of colliery plaques was 'Closed by Thatcher'. Good cafe and really cheap prices! And was a well-used place by locals too.

First 'wild' camp, and Angela Barnes

Friday 28 Feb - Off to Great Ouseburn for the village quiz with Hugh, Sharon and David. We came joint third, one place down from last year. I took the van as I was en route to Pocklington, and did my first night  not in an authorised place - the car park! I hesitate to use the phrase WILD camping, as I had heating, a loo and a cooker, and was 100 yards from a shop, so not exactly Bear Grylls. 

I came to the rescue of a man in a BMW parked next to me, who couldn't reverse off the grass - used my traction mats for the first time and they worked a treat. I used them again in the morning and got off first time - phew! 

Saturday 1st March. 

Breakfast at Cliften Moor Costa - the wilderness trek continues. Before pitching up at the site in Pocklington I took a spin through Market Weighton, which looked nice, and then a beautiful drive under bright blue skies, over the Yorkshire Wolds via Goodmanham village. It looked like lovely walking territory and there were lots of cyclists on the lanes.

Stopped at St Helen's Well, which was on the route of the Wolds Way and one of four in the area. St Helen (AD 248-329) was the mum of Emperor Constantine the Great. So chastity not a pre-requisite then. 

It is a natural spring that emerges from the chalk, and people had taken to tying ribbons to a nearby tree for good luck - makes a change from dog poo bags I suppose.

Pitched up at The Mile campsite in Pocklington and walked down to Arts Centre to see Angela Barnes matinee show. She was excellent and I enjoyed her support act too, James Ellis. Back to the van before 6pm. It was St David's Day but I had tinned Haggis for tea - blimey it would put hairs on your chest. 

Sunday 2nd March

Awoke with a definite cold, and no voice. It has been coming on for a day or so. I got some toast and coffee (yuk) from the campsite cafe and took it back to the van. I decided to change plans and just walk in to Pocklington to see the Stewart museum, Burnby gardens, and the church. The longer canal walk will have to wait for another day.

Major Stewart has shot his way around the world it seems. He took 8 world tours in 20 years - 1906 to 1926 - and the museum did have some interesting items from the Pacific as well as the heads.

The surrounding gardens were full of snowdrops and spring bulbs, and very scented jasmine (I think). A lake, aviary, and walled garden made it a lovely spot. There was a cafe but it was rammed.

Last stop was the village church which had some remaining medieval carvings, after having been knocked about a bit by Henry Tudor the big fat vandal.

Had a dreadful night with my cold, and headed straight home on Monday. I'd probably go again.

Cancelled Due to No-show Snow

I was supposed to be meeting Paul and Sue near Lincoln, at a pub site called the Railway Inn, but an amber warning of snow was forecast for Harrogate, and also sleet all weekend at Lincoln. I didn't fancy driving in icy conditions, it's wobbly enough in the dry, so we cancelled. 

In the event the snow didn't show up this time. 

Later in the month I took the van in to have the windscreen washers fixed, but it was a 2 minute job so he didn't charge me! Maybe I could have done it myself - I must find out how to open the bonnet! I'll need to put washer fluid in at the very least.

Nithered in Matlock

Friday 7 Jan 

Oh my god, the wind felt like liquid ice on my face, it was so cold the water pipes froze on site. The gods were looking after me though because the van started first time after a week covered in 8 inches of snow, and sub-zero temperatures.

First time at the Lickpenny site, really nice characterful site, stepped in to the hill, lots of vegetation. Let's see how long til CMC homogenise it beyond recognition. View from the top of the site looked like it was going to be great, looking forward to it tomorrow. Heating on and stayed put.

Saturday 8th

No view, freezing gloom. Unusually for me I'd had to keep the heating on low all night too. Walked down a narrow busy lane to the bus stop for Matlock. Soup and toastie for lunch then a pootle round the shops, including the huge, stuffed, and well-known Matlock Antiques and Collectables which is a tourist spot in its own right.  This is part of the town trail, which goes through the park. Luckily I wasn't there in 1965 or I would have drowned.

Finally a short but steep climb up to Pic Tor, which has a war memorial on the top. 

Got off the return bus ride at Tansley, which left me a hell of a slog up a hill on a busy road without proper pavements. Hmm, now I appreciate the negative comments on the site reviews.

Sunday 9th

Short walk to the garden centre near the site entrance. Bit of an odd place out of season but I bought some fleece gloves and room scent for the van (to get rid of old curry smells!). Then more hunkering down and tea drinking. Still, nice to get away and decided it would be a bad idea to drive through Matlock in season, very congested even in January!