A Day in Whitby & Storm Jorge - 29th Feb ‘20

By crickey, the earth shook in Brunnehilda last night. On a couple of occasions we were waken by the wind rocking the van violently side to side. Nothing to do but close your eyes, in my case, turn over onto your good ear, and try and ignore it!

We woke to another drizzly and windy (although less so than last night!) morning. We ran out of gas last night and I couldn’t be arsed to swap over this morning. This meant no cuppa in bed and no breakfast in Brunnehilda. It did mean we got out early though - at about 10.30am. On the way out I finally managed to track down Emma and pay her the £70 for the 5 nights. Darn good value really.

We parked at The Abbey car park on top of the headland next to the Abbey - strangely enough?!? Most of the car parks around here are free until 1st March so we enjoyed our last day of free parking.

We walked down the steep steps (different ones to the 199 steps we walked up on Thursday) and entered town right next to a cafe called Creations. They did a veggie breakfast so we popped in and ordered a couple. They weren’t the best in the world but they were good value and the lady owner was very pleasant. Although our visit necessitated us popping out to the Post Office next door - cash only in the cafe!!

By this time the grey clouds had gone and we were treated to some sun and blue skies - Indeed they lasted most of the afternoon. - interspersed with a couple of sleet showers where the sky turned dark grey. The cold strong wind was consistent throughout though! Jings .. that’s enough about the bloody weather!  Next i’ll be rabbitting on about Coronavirus!!

After brunch we headed off to Fortunes to get some smoked kippers. The town guide on Thursday had recommended them and said that people come from far and  near - including celebrity chefs. Ironically when we got there there was a film crew just setting up outside the small shop.

The owner was great - not only did he tell us how to cook and eat the kippers, he also walked us out the shop and across the road to point out where on the beach we might find some Whitby Jet.

We spent a very pleasant hour or so on the beach as the tide was going out. We found no Jet and no fossils - I remember sister Jenny having more luck!

We settled for the next best thing and went up to the town to buy Kim a pair of Jet earrings. We also squeezed in another cup of coffee and a not very impressive scone from Sandgate Cafe.

We then tackled the 199 steps again up to the Abbey. We firstly looked around St Mary’s church - a really odd building with lots of high cased Victorian pews but all higgeldy piggeldy. Very scruffy too - not a hit.

When we got into the Abbey the weather / light was fantastic - one minute bright blue skies, one minute grey and sleet then right back to blue skies! Got some nice photos ...

St Hilda was the famous Abbey prioress back in the 7th century. Apparently she oversaw an important Sinad that agreed on the calculation of the date of Easter. I have to admit when I saw these impressive ruins I found myself, as usual, having more sympathy for Henry and his dissolution activities than the antics of the privileged religious types!

Back to the car. We got a new gas cylinder and continued our tradition of buying a local plant by tracking down a Monkey Puzzle Tree at a local garden centre. These are everywhere up here and it turns out that fossilised monkey puzzle tree is the source of Jet! Amazing but true!

After a cup of tea in Brunnehilda, we walked down the farm lane to the Hare and Hounds pub just over the road. It came with a number of recommendations. The menu was rubbish for Vegetarians but I managed a very nice fish pie - not so good for Kim though!

Back to the van for Kim to thrash me again - this time at backgammon! I have to say, and this isn’t an excuse, our minds were on other things ...

Storm Jorge is kicking in with winds now gusting at 80 mph and likely to get worst overnight. The caravan is shaking all the time but when the gusts come it is quite scary. Kim read on the internet that it was a good idea to position your car to act as a bit of a windbreak. Even though it involved driving on the sodden grass, this is what I did. It seems to have helped - a little!

We spoke with Laura back home and she’s broken her finger- very painful! So it’s going to a long night for both her and us!

Saltburn on Sea, Staithes & Afternoon Tea - 28th Feb’20 (100th Blog!

This blog is the 100th one since we started our Brunnehilda adventures. I reckon that’s about 5 years of nights for the average caravanner? I believe we can therefore now call ourselves “experienced”. At least the current Mrs Pitts now doesn’t greet everyone we meet with “we’re new to this...”.

We woke up to a very windy morning. The van is shaking so much I wondered whether it worth putting the awning storm strap over the van? It’s due to get even windier on Sunday so it may well be worth it before then. We have at least now worked out why the site has a large leylandia fence blocking the sea view - it’s to protect you from the wind!

We went north today- we had afternoon tea booked at Gringle Park Hotel (courtesy of the restaurant at Volvo Daventry - retirement present).

The weather was drizzly and windy - and very cold. We left the site before midday and headed for Saltburn on Sea. What a nice place?  Very Victorian, slightly run down but lots to do and see. We parked on the front, walked up to the pier and then took a beautifully restored / kept funicular railway up the steep cliff to the town. There was a great beach for dogs - which made us miss our 2 mad collies even more!

We headed back south down the coast to Eassington arriving at Gringle Park Hotel at about 1.45pm. It’s an 1880’s country house set in beautiful grounds but slightly run down and tired inside. The afternoon tea was splendid though. We ate it in the conservatory overlooking the grounds, watching the strong winds moving the chairs around the patio!

We headed home via the pretty little fishing village, Staithes. It was once the biggest herring port in England and has links with Captain Cook - so lots of character and history.

The rain had stopped by this time but there was still a strong cold wind. We walked down the cobbled streets to the harbour then back up the Main Street to find a coffee / tea shop. Dotty’s was a very atmospheric old place. A lot of the locals seem to gathered there for a cup of tea and a natter. You couldn’t help but be impressed with the size of the Americanos - served in individual / antique bone China mugs.

We walked back up the hill thinking what a fabulous place this would be to live or have a holiday cottage ... and this was in the grey, wind and cold... imagine if the sun had been shining?!

We arrived back to Brunnehilda at about 5.30pm. A quiet evening in followed - more Waltons, more Wire, toast products for tea and, shock upon shock, Kim absolutely slaughtered me at Canasta!

Walking to Whitby - 27th Feb ‘20

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day - but cold with a fresh northerly breeze.

It turns out the site has a view of the sea - if you stand on tippy toes and squint!! Here is the said view from Brunnehilda’s side window.

Kim and I walked up to the farmhouse to find the contact lady to pay for our pitch. She wasn’t there but we chatted to an old farmer (her father?) and a rather anxious looking collie dog called Rusty. He told us the best way to walk into Whitby was to follow the cinder path (ex railway track) rather than walk down to the coast path. That’s the farmer told us , not the collie dog?!

The cinder path runs right outside Brunnehilda’s front door and goes to Whitby one way and Robin Hoods Bay / Scarborough the other.

We set off at 11.15, arriving in Whitby at about 1 o’clock. The walk was very pleasant. Walking through some nice scenery and over a viaduct crossing the River Esk and then finally through the town down to the quayside.

We also passed an “honesty” cake store on the path - it seemed rude not to partake!

By the time we reached Whitby, and regular blog readers will not be surprised to hear this, we were blimin’ hungry. The first restaurant we passed had a big “A” board outside saying it had won the best fish and chip restaurant in 2019 - this was good enough for us and we gave it a go.

Trenchers was a real find. Kim had the cod and I had Whitby Scampi and Seafood Chowder - bloody marvellous. All washed down with a cup or 2 of Yorkshire tea.

We had a look around some interesting little shops in Whitby town centre - loads of Whitby Jet jewellers and sweet shops. We were killing time before 3pm when we joined the Whitby Walking Tour.

Our tour guide was a nice young lad, recently out of Uni. He and his girlfriend set up the walking tour business 2 weeks ago. We were his only customers for the one hour tour! It was really interesting giving us lots of stories about the town and Abbeys history.

We gave him a biggish tip - as we had a personal tour - bless him he seemed delighted and we all went off with a spring in our step.

In our case we needed to ... he left us at the foot of the 199 steps up to St Mary’s Church / The Abbey. It was a bit of a hike but worth it for the views. After wandering through the churchyard (The Abbey will save forever another day!) and visiting the Whitby Micro Brewery to buy a few bottles, we started the long walk home- this time along a back road.

We got back to Brunnehilda at 5.45. And what a welcome site she was??! It was about an 8 mile round trip and our old backs (Kim) and feet (me) were definitely feeling the strain.

A refreshing cup of tea and an episode of The Waltons was enough of an energy shot to get us off to the local Sainos - by car! - to stock up with essentials and tonight’s tea.

An episode of The Wire while we ate and we were soon ready for bed. 9.45 tonight, so we’re getting later! Brunnehilda’s big German bed gobbled us up as the wind howled outside. I can think of worse places to be!?

A Late Start - 26th Feb ‘20

We didn’t leave until after lunch - about 1.45pm - and as it was a 190 mile journey up to Whitby we had warned the site of our pending late arrival.

It was a fairly uneventful journey. With a short fuel stop it took us about 4 hours, arriving just as it was getting dark at about 1/4 to 6.

Once we hit the A1 there wasn’t really anywhere suitable for a caravan (and its driver with rubbish reversing skills) to stop. So we had to be content with a Costa from a BP garage!

The drive across the North York Moors between Pickering and Whitby was spectacular. By this time the clouds had cleared and it was a beautiful bright evening - albeit freezing cold. We followed behind a gritter lorry for the last part of the journey.

The site, Swan Farm, was easily found. Halfway along the main road between Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay - about 200 yards down a farm track. On first site it looks like a very active working farm.

There are only 4 hard standing pitches - we had 2 to choose from, after much debate we went for the one harder to access but much flatter. The grass is absolutely sodden so we used the motor mover to avoid any tyre marks on the grass. It took quite a bit of time to get her in position.

The set up routine was fairly straightforward although by this time it was pitch black and absolutely bitterly cold.

The heating was cranked up and Kim did a magnificent stir fry. Although the irony was, given the freezing weather, she had to have the door open to stop the fire alarm continually going off! She said it was impossible to avoid when doing a stir fry??? It tasted divine so I wasn’t going to argue with her.

A brief binge on The Waltons DVD box set and then off to bed for a fairly early night - before 10 anyway. It’s been a long afternoon!

Good news ... the 4G here seems OK - much better than the dodgy connection we had in Norfolk!

Back to Whilton - 22nd Feb ‘20

We woke to a nice pleasant sunny morning / about 12 degrees. Perfect weather ... to be packing up and going home?!

That said, it was still nice to be putting up the caravan stays and not getting wet or cold or both!

We had a bit of a lie in this morning - 8.15am. It was nice not to have Finners on board last night but I have to say his twin, Harry wasn’t much of a better bed fellow! Rather than a fish, Harry is more of a prop forward! He will be lying peacefully and then suddenly kick out, lash out with his arm or throw his head towards you with such force - like a prop forward crashing into a scrum. Fair enough on the rugby field but not so nice in bed!?

As Bella was down we decided to get breakfast out this morning. We drove into Sainsbury’s in Kings Lynn and I have to say all the boys ate well. On the way back, as the sun was still shining, we thought we would spend 10 minutes trying to get a view of Sandringham. Unfortunately we didn’t manage this but at least we saw the estate in the dry - it was even nicer than the rain!

Kim and I packed up while the boys played football. We were going through the gates at 11.59 - one minute before the official “out” time.

It was a uneventful journey home - dropping the kids off at about 2.15pm. The end of a very splendid 3 days with our wonderful grandchildren.

The Sandringham Estate Caravan Club Site:
Pros:
1) Very quiet and peaceful
2) Fabulous walks straight from the site
3) Handy for the coast and town (Kings Lynn)
4) The welcome lady was very nice and relaxed about our German van!
5) The kids loved the playground
6) As the soil was very sandy, even with all the rain, there was no mud
7) Beautifully kept and nice big plots
Cons:
1) The crazy toilet block shut time - 90 mins from 10.15am (way too early)
2) Very poor erratic 4G signal
3) Toilet block was a bit of a trek - the one at the top of the site by us was shut

Cromer and Blakeney - 21st Feb ‘20

Slightly later bed time tonight- about 9.30pm. Spiderman was superseded by Marvel Avengers and Paw Patrol DVDs. And what a night it was last night .. it was Finners’ turn to be in with us and boy what a wriggler that boy is? It’s hard to explain but imagine a 3ft 6 inch fish just plucked out of the sea thrashing about and then imagine 120 volts being passed through it every 3 seconds. If you have this in mind, times it by 2 and then you have some idea of what it’s like sleeping with Finlay!

Grandma was on breakfast duty again this morning and we had all had our fill and were raring to go by 11.15am. The boys had a long play in the playground again this morning - it really is a good one and they played really well together.

My big gripe about Caravan Club sites is their annoying habit of shutting down the wash/toilet block to clean it. This site is particularly annoying as they shut for 90 mins from 10.15 to 11.45 and, the gentleman this morning had started cleaning at 10am and was not at all happy to see me turning up at 10.05! It’s all a bit pompous - expecting everyone to be up and about by 10am for goodness sake!!!

The trip to Cromer took about 60 minutes. We had wondered about Wells Next Sea but Charlie was quite keen to see a Pier. According to my basic geographical knowledge of North Norfolk, the nearest one was Cromer - nearly 40 miles away. The bonus of going to Cromer was that it provided us with an opportunity to visit our favourite junk food establishment - The Bucket List. A bucket full of fries with a variety of homemade toppings thrown on ... what’s not to like! It didn’t disappoint and all 5 of us made ourselves feel quite pigged out!

Before that we had had a quick walk on the beach - it was very cold and blowey, but at least it was dry. After that we found our way onto the small pier and had a tour of the Lifeboat House situated at the end of the Pier.

After the chip fest we decided to get a game of mini-golf. My goodness it was cold! The wind had really got up by this time. Unlucky for me I had brought my gloves ... lucky for Charlie he hadn’t brought his ...  you can guess who had the warmest hands?!

The course was really hard so not particularly suitable for Twinnies. However we all enjoyed ourselves but were pleased to be sinking our putts on the 18th and heading for the warm car!
Not sure who won?? Charlie got a hole in one on the first hole and Kim finished with a couple of hole in ones on the last two. The Twinnies and I made up the numbers ... literally!!

We decided to go to the pretty village of Blakeney (about 10 miles away) to get coffee and cake.
The Moorings was a great choice and we all enjoyed what we had. We did drive all the other punters out though by playing a number of games that were fun for us but must have been bloody infuriating for the tables next to us?

While Kim went art shop shopping the boys and I found a hill just above the car park. They had lots of fun throwing themselves off the top and rolling down the hill. Again, another example of irresponsible grand-parenting (well to be specific grand-fathering) that will never be seen by the parents ... what happens in Blakeney stays in Blakeney!

By this time it was getting dark and we were all cold and tired. We went to Sainsbury's on the way home to buy tea and replenish the DVD library. The boys had their tea while Kim and I took down Bella - to save us a bit of time in the morning.

Charlie fell asleep early tonight ... all that sea air probably? Harry is with us tonight so hopefully we might get a better night’s sleep?!

Sandringham and Hunstanton - 20th Feb ‘20

8.50pm and a repeat performance from last night - Spider-Man, bed, blog and book! To be fair, it’s been a busy day!

As you would expect with the Twinnies on board, it was an early start! No complaints from me, when you get past 60 you really don’t want to be wasting too many hours in bed!

Grandma rustled up a marvellous breakfast for all. The boys ate it in Bella - with the fan heater on full blast. They didn’t seem to mind and it certainly reduced the odds of them ruining Brunnehilda’s upholstery! I did the dishes while the boys played in the camp playground - about 50 yds from the van. NB, just re-read this ... the playground isn’t camp but in the camp!

By 10.15 we were wellied up and heading out on the footpath through the forest to the Sandringham Estate. The house is shut but t’internet had confirmed the Visitors Centre Cafe was open.

We walked the 2 miles through the forest along the estate’s scenic drive (called Princess’ Drive), arriving at the cafe at about 11.45. It was a very pleasant walk with 2 highlights - the gorgeous views across to the Wash and Charlie tugging on a huge branch on a dead tree and it coming off and nearly landing on his head!! Probably shouldn’t have mentioned that second one  but I know Laura and George (the parents!) don’t read this blog so the secret of the un-attentive grandparents is safe enough!

The Cafe was really nice - not cheap but good quality.

While we were in the cafe it started to drizzle and by the time we had had a play in the playground and were on the way home (a different route, this time following the road) it was pouring down.

When the hail came on we sheltered under a tree for a bit.

It rained the entire 1 hour walk home. Everyone got absolutely soaked but those 3 boys didn’t grumble or moan once - very impressive and not something we would have been able to report if their mother had been involved!

When we returned to Brunnehilda we stripped off, cranked up the heating and put the kettle and toaster on. Indeed we had so much going on, we tripped Brunnehilda’s electrics a couple of times!

After an hour or so we were dried off and ready to go out again. We arrived at Hunstanton at about 4pm. It’s very unfair to judge a seaside place in the cold and rain but I think it fair to say that we didn’t see it at its best! Although I seem to remember it’s best was not particularly great!

We found a cash machine, a sweet shop and a penny arcade in our wanderings -  by this time the rain had stopped but had been replaced by a very cold icy wind coming straight off the sea. We stayed a long time in the penny arcade as Grandma seemed to have bottomless pockets! And another thing ... this definitely wasn’t a penny arcade more like a pound one!

Once we were spent up and had cashed in our 200 tokens - for a couple of chews and 3 key rings - we were ready for something to eat.

Charlie found us a nice fish and chips restaurant called Henry’s. The staff were really nice and the food was a hit too. I had prawns, Charlie halloumi and Kim and the Twinnies, cod. There was also a battered sausage ordered and not eaten - another reason Charlie is just like his mother ... they both have eyes bigger than their bellies!

Back to Brunnehilda in time for a game of Ludo (Harry won) and snakes and ladders (Harry didn’t win). Harry enjoyed the first result more than the second and showed his dis-pleasure! We can’t blame his mother for this behaviour - this ones all down to me I’m afraid!

And so to sleep! I’m not sure I believe it but the weather forecast says it’s NOT going to rain tomorrow?!

Whilton to Sandringham - 19th Feb ‘20

This one is a short one ... 3 nights with the grandkids in North Norfolk. Brunnehilda is officially a 3 berth (2 big ones and 2 little ones at a push) but 2 big ones and 3 little ones puts her officially into “overcrowded” mode.

Coupled with the fact that it will be Bella that joins us this time, not her big sister Isabella - it’s going to be a cramped couple of days! Never mind it’s not as if the forecast is for 3 days of heavy rain ... oh darn it, it seems it is!!

We left Whilton at 11am. One slight disaster- the extended wing mirrors had rusted up and we couldn’t budge them! We swung into Venture caravans on the A5 and £30 later we were safe and legal!

We had one aborted stop at a services (no real facilities for vans) so we just pressed on, stuffed ourselves on crisps and chocolate and arrived at Sandringham soon after 2.

It’s a really nice, well kept site. Based on the edge of the Royal Estate, it’s about 2/3rds full. The pitches are nice and roomy and the one we have is particularly flat.

Charlie and the Twinnies had a run about in the drizzle and Kim and I started the set up! All went ok but I have to say putting Bella up in the Norfolk February freezing drizzle is not an enjoyable experience! It took about 90 mins and when complete I was knackered and soaked through.

At about 5.15pm we headed off to the nearest town - Kings Lynn, about 5 miles away. We parked up near the centre - it was a lot bigger than I remembered!

Charlie was keen to track down a fair that was lighting up the nights sky. We found it soon enough - it was huge, taking up the entire large centre square. I’m not a huge fan of fairs but they are particularly depressing places on a cold wet evening! Charlie and I went on a couple of rides, the Twinnies experience was little less high octane! Anyway £20+ and 15 mins later we were heading out via the Churros van.

We wanted to find the Burger King restaurant for tea but that was shut so we headed off to the high dining establishment that is McDonalds!

Home via Asda to stock up on provisions and DVDs! We were all in bed by 9pm. The boys watching the new Spider-Man movie, Kim and I drinking tea with books and blogs!

It’s stopped raining now, it’s just damp (and cold)! Thankfully Brunnehilda is nice and toasty - albeit a little cramped. Well tomorrow is another day - we go again ...

Interesting historical fact (courtesy of Mrs Pitts) ... Kings Lynn was called Bishops Lynn before Henrys dissolution of monasteries.