Formby and Beach - 26th Jan ‘20

For the first time this week we’ve heard the sound of rain beating on Brunnehilda. Yes, we’re at Southport so no surprises there! We’ve spent a lot of time in Southport over the years and it’s fair to say I’ve been to colder places and I’ve been to wetter places but when it comes to cold and wet it’s blinkin’ hard to beat Southport.

For the first hour of the day I laid in bed listening to the rain and watching England playing cricket in sunny South Africa - ah well, I suspect there are worse starts to the day? I realise how lucky I am when I think of poor people like Anne Widdicombe who have to wait an extra half in hour in A&E while some wretch with nothing from half way around the world gets life saving medical treatment that they don’t deserve?? So things could be a lot worse!?

The quality of a nights sleep in Brunnehilda is largely measured by wee visits!! At the start of the week it was the usual, given a man of my age, onewee per night. Since the cold kicked in we are up to threewee, even fourwee nights! And getting up for a wee in Brunnehilda is not as easy as it might sound... firstly I have to let Kim know I’m on the move. A tap on her bum is enough to get her to pull her legs up (she’s very well trained, much like Pavlov’s dog, and only needs a tap even when she’s fast asleep). Then I gradually swing my legs out and back up. I put my feet down carefully as very often I end up standing on a dog. Once out the bed then it’s a lot less complicated! Anyways, times that by 4 times a night and it’s all very tiring!!

To be fair to Southport and it’s climate, the rain did stop at lunchtime and although it was still cold and windy it was at least dry and overcast!

We went back to Formby to get lunch with Gog (Kim’s mum). We went to a Thai opposite her flat called Suay Pan. It was very pleasant although not the best Thai I’ve had. Anyway we all left with empty plates so ...

Gog’s flat in Formby

After this very late lunch Kim and I took the dogs for their last beach walk of the trip and Gog headed for the Bingo! We took them to Formby beach. We parked at the National Trust car park and walked across the dunes to the beach. Not quite as vast as Ainsdale but still a huge area for the dogs to burn off some energy. We got a bit lost finding the car as the darkness came upon us quickly and, much like castles and trees, sand dunes do look very alike!!

Thankfully we made it back to Brunnehilda, via Starbucks, and settled down for our last night of this trip. More Waltons, more Backgammon, more Wire - our cup does overfloweth!

Night night Jim Bob!!

Heading off to Whilton Locks early (ish) tomorrow so this will be the last blog - hence ...

Southport Caravan Club Site:
Pros:
1) Good position to walk to town/ beach
2) Well kept and pitches quite good size
3)  Wardens seemed very laid back
Cons:
1) Long walk to the toilets / wash facilities
2) Toilets out of action (blocked up) on Sunday am
3) Long & barrow site layout means it feels quite cramped
4) Toilets were locked all time so needed a key
5) No views - not very pretty