A Day in Harrogate - 4th March ‘20

We woke up this morning to the sun streaming in underneath the window blind. It pretty much continued like that throughout the day and was quite pleasant as the wind had totally stopped.

We all had a bit of a lie in - finally getting up at about 9.45am. We needed to get to Fodder by 11am to get breakfasted and out. We just about made it! This picture tells the story:

Kim and I waiting for Gog to finish her ablutions - turns out she takes longer than expected! Please also notice her “small overnight case” that was so big it wouldn’t fit in Brunnehilda and pretty much took up the majority of Bella! Turns out Gog’s take on “travelling light” is leaving a change of clothes at home and bringing the rest of her wardrobe with her!

No worries though we all got sorted and straightened up relatively effortlessly. Considering Brunnehilda contained 3 grown adults (including an octogenarian), 2 sexes and a suitcase the size of a small planet, we did pretty well! We had a splendid breakfast at Fodder - the eggs are amazing and the creamy mushrooms with paprika are worth the visit on their own!

We were heading out by noon. We parted as soon as we got parked up in the centre of Harrogate. I had arranged to meet my old Volvo “mucker”, Graham Scott at Cafe Nero while Kim and her mum hit the posh shops.

Graham and I had a very pleasant hour or two  catching up and reminiscing- crickey, there is definitely a book there somewhere - “40 years of Volvo in the UK - the Good, the Bad and the downright ......”.

I then had an hour wandering around the town “playing” with my new camera. I was experimenting with depth of field so I took a lot of pictures of out of focus stuff! You gotta do it to get better, eh??

We all met up at Bettys Tea Shop at about 3.30. Tea and scones (the Fat Rascals are particularly good) were very welcome- and it wasn’t too busy.

Back home to Brunnehilda after having a quick tour around the north side of the town where the Hasties (Kim’s Family) used to live back in the late 60s. Kim recollected lots of stories of childhood cruelty and neglect - walking to school on her own over wasteland, being left in the house to fend for herself as soon as she was out of nappies and many more too horrific to publish!!

Another trip to Sainos and another short walk around the block for Kim and I. Just like last night, by the time we had got ourselves settled in Brunnehilda, all thoughts of going out again seemed like too much trouble! So more toast, crisps and Waltons for tea.

Cards again tonight. Sevens and Hearts this time. Sevens is such a game of chance it is of no interest who won or lost, whereas Hearts is a real game of skill and strategy. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions of tonight’s winners and losers!

Ok, so up early in the morning for the 3 hour (ish) trip home. It’s been a great week. Whitby was fab, despite Storm Jorge, and it’s been nice sharing Brunnehilda with Gog over the last 2 days.

Harrogate Caravan Park:
Pros:
1) Great position for walking and Sainos
2) Fantastic Fodder right next door
3) Clean and nice toilet facilities
4) Friendly and laid back staff
5) Beautifully kept site
6) The easiest access for the van
7) The details - ie hand cleanser by the chemical toilet
8) The air show from the red kites
9) Very quiet considering on the outskirts of a busy town
Cons:
1) They shut (although not lock) the gates at night
2) Pitches - Great when not busy but you would be a bit on top of each other at busy times
3) No real views from anywhere on the site

Another one of our faves - although I’m not sure I would like it busy!!?

Picking up Gog from Leeds & Wetherby- 3rd March ‘20

Back to cheese and mushroom omelette for breakfast this morning- nice! And a shower - I’m ashamed to say that’s the first one for 5 days!!! It’s a competition to decide who makes Brunnehilda smellier - me or the kippers?

A nice leisurely morning on the site before we headed out at 11.15 to meet Gog (Kim’s mum) from Leeds train station. All went to plan and we picked her up and headed for a few hours in Wetherby - sort of on the way back to Harrogate.

Of course by this time it was lunchtime and if you’re in Wetherby it’s the law that you have to go to the Wetherby Whaler - although not ideal for veggie Kim!! We had our fill and wandered around Wetherby for a wee while before setting off back to Brunnehilda.

Once back on site we walked over to Fodder farm shop for a few provisions before slobbing out with a cup of tea. Whilst drinking and looking out the window we were treated to a wonderful aerial show by about 5 or 6 pairs of Red Kites. Amazing to watch - I have never seen so many all together. The video doesn’t do it justice!

Had a call from Laura and she’s been rear ended by a stupid women, who then drove off without stopping! Thankfully Laura and boys are all OK.

After the tea and the air show, we left Gog reading the paper while Kim and I went on a long walk towards town and then back through the show ground. It was grand to see all the lambs - a definite sign of Spring!

It was pretty much pitch back when we got back to the van - 1/4 to 7.

We were all too full from Wetherby Whales to go out for tea so we stayed in Brunnehilda and had soup and toast.

Gog joined in the fun and games tonight - an episode of The Waltons, a couple of Modern Family episodes and 2 games of “up and down” whist - Rock and roll!! Modesty prevents me from saying who won (yes, both games!!) but I have to say, Gog came a very close 2nd in both. Bad night for Kim!!

Stop press: We did find some Whitby Jet! I had picked a couple of bits up expecting them to dry grey and be boring pebbles/ stones. After a couple of days drying in my pocket they are still black and they are definitely not coal so ... as far as I’m concerned, they’re Jet! The current Mrs Pitts is not so sure, but until I’m proved wrong ... I’m right!

Whitby to Harrogate - 2nd March ‘20

A gorgeous sunny day to move sites.

We got up relatively early, had a light breakfast and were rolling out the camp by 11.01am. For the first time for a long time we didn’t need to motor move our way out of a pitch - so we backed the car up to Brunnehilda not manoeuvred Brunnehilda to the car.

We arrived at the Harrogate Show-ground site just before 1pm. A stress free journey taking us up to the outskirts of Middlesbrough then down the A19 and A1. We have been to this site before - in early October - this was its reopening day for the 2020 season so there are only about half a dozen vans here.

The staff were particularly friendly and helpful / including being very relaxed about our German van and swapping our pitch for one nearer the toilet block.

We went to the splendid Fodder Farm Shop and Restaurant for our lunch. It was OK but not as good as their breakfasts.

Then we started the Bella erection! We might have known it would not go easily as there was a very annoying wind gusting just in the wrong place! We really struggled to get her lined up - the wind wasn’t helping so we had to do things in a slightly different order to normal. I think it took about 2 hours to get her up but there was a lot of cussing (from me!) and I’m not at all pleased with the way she looks!

Waltons, a cuppa and a rather delicious brownie from Fodder - not as a reward more of a distraction from the less than successful erection! One good point though - I did manage to back Brunnehilda onto this pitch! It was an easy one but nevertheless... quite an achievement for yours truly!

We walked up to the Sainos at the end of the drive to buy tea. It’s a clear night tonight so it’s blimin cold! I had the second smoked Whitby kipper as well as a nice jack fruit biryani.

The Whitby kippers have been amazing - so good! One problem though ... they have stunk out the caravan. Brunnehilda smells more like a fish market than a caravan at the moment!?

Binged on Amazon Prime Modern Family and then another game of backgammon ... believe it or not, I won this one! God bless dice based games!

Gog (Kim’s mum) joins us in Brunnehilda tomorrow.

Swan Farm CL Site:
Pros:
1) Perfect position for walking to Whitby / Robin Hoods Bay
2) Very friendly and accommodating owner
3) Friendly fellow guests
4) Sea view
5) Easy access to site from main road
6) Nice pub 200 yds away
7) Good value - £14 a night
8) Flat pitch
Cons:
1) No toilet
2) Very exposed to the high winds

As you can see, this was one of our faves. I really am liking CLs much more than Club-sites at the moment - more friendly fellow guests, less rules, better value and more room!

Journey Hone to Whilton, via Fimber - 12th Oct ‘19

An early start this morning as we want to get on the road ASAP. We planned to get ready and be the first breakfast customer at Fodders when they opened. Turned out that wasn’t until 8.30am so we weren’t on the road until 9.30. The veggie breakfast was as good as it was a couple of days ago. It would have been rude not to buy another square of Toblerone Brownie so we did!

No awning to get down so the pack up went very quickly. This has been a good site and definitely one to find our way back to - thanks to Jill (Kim’s Sister) for the referral.

A much nicer day today so a pleasant walk in the early morning sun with the dogs preparing them for the long journey home.

We arrived at Jenny’s at Fimber just after 11am. Jen is better in the morning so it was nice to see her recognising us with a wee smile. It’s a dreadful disease .. so cruel.

We packed Mum and Dad in the car and had a good journey back to Whilton. We broke it up with a very pleasant lunch at Anna’s Happy Kitchen at Howden (http://www.annashappykitchen.co.uk/). An excellent cup of mushroom soup and splendid cup of Yorkshire tea! A big endorsement as well for a caravan proof car park ... you could get in and out without having to reverse .. result!

We arrived at Whilton at 4.30. Mum and Dad had their car parked there so they got on home while I washed the road grime off Brunnehilda. Kim and I parked her up and put her to bed before heading off to Buckby and home.

Pros and Cons of Harrogate Caravan Park:
Pros:
1) Great position - nice walk into town, lots of dog walking & close to Sainos
2) Very clean and well kept - particularly the toilet block
3) The wonderful farm shop / cafe on site
4) Decent size pitches
5) Nice little touches - eg a little shelf to put the toilet cassette cap on to stop you losing it down the flush hole. - the first one to have this!
6) A good price
Cons:
1) No greenery between pitches so not very private and not much character. It wouldn’t have been so nice if someone was in the pitch immediately to our right
2) Another sizeist bathroom mirror placement  - suitable for people of a height range between 4’6” and 5’9”
3) Manual gate / barrier (after 8pm) - Kim didn’t like having to get out the car to open it!

Another Wet Day in Harrogate - 11th Oct ‘19

Gee, if we wanted a test for wee Bella we certainly had a result last night. It pretty much rained non stop for 12 hours and then there was the wind??? Over 50mph for 4 or 5 hours gave her a very challenging first night. I am pleased to say that she cane through with flying colours.

A really lazy morning this morning! Farm shop fried eggs and Shaftesbury baker’s sourdough was a damn fine start to the day but then everything got very low gear as we waited for the rain to stop and the site showers to re-open. I did manage to take the dogs for a walk around the Showground fields when the  rain was starting to abate. The walk takes you by an old disused railway viaduct.

Wee Bella is going to be great for the pair of us but add 2 dogs, when it is permanently wet outside, and it is never going to be easy. They weren’t very happy about being kept out of Brunnehilda. You would be forgiven in forgetting  they both come from a line of working bloody sheepdogs!?!

We decided to stay local this afternoon and headed for Harrogate - this time by car which was quite ironic as the sun was now shining! We had a pleasant couple of hours browsing around the town centre including a very nice “takeaway” lunch from a deli / cafe called Weeton’s https://www.weetons.com/

Headed home at about 4pm stopping for a provisions shop at the Sainos just by the camp site. It turned out to be quite a long one - not because we bought lots but because we had Val on the checkout and I think it was her first day?!

Another dog walk around the Showground / park and then I took down Bella. It didn’t take long at all. The packing into the bag left some room for improvement but thankfully all was completed very quickly with the minimum of cussing and profanities.

A Sainos based tea and then a movie. This time it was the Green Book - Oscar winner last year! It was excellent- a bit of a reasonably predictable feel good movie but nothing wrong with that on a wet Friday night (yes it’s raining again!) in North Yorkshire!

Early start in the morning so off to bed at a ridiculously earlier hour. I’m sure the caravan has its own time zone - it feels like 2 in the morning but the iPhone says it’s 9.47!

Journey to Harrogate, via Fimber - 9th Oct ‘19

A short trip this one. We were going to the New Forest for 5 nights but Jenny’s (my big sister) worsening health made for a change of plan.

We left on Weds morning (not Monday) and headed North not South. We picked up Brunnehilda from Shaftesbury on Monday. We arrived late, after taking Bobby to his new flat in London, stayed overnight and bought her back to Whilton on Tuesday.

The new plan was to take mum and dad up to Jenny’s near Driffield, head over to Harrogate for a few days and then swing back round to see Jenny and pick up mum and dad for the drive home on Saturday.

Arrived at Fimber at about 2.30pm, 4 hours after leaving Whilton. The journey was fine stopping for beans on toast at the California Garden Centre in Howden https://www.californiagardens.co.uk/. We had tried to stop at Woodall services on the M1 but all the caravan places where taken up by white van men - selfish buggers! (I bet they’re all “leavers” as well!!!?)

Jenny is not great. She has a brain tumour and after 2 great years where she seemed to have the upper hand unfortunately it is now fighting back hard.

We left for Harrogate at 5pm. A nightmare journey - running very low on fuel and fighting around York northern by-pass during the rush hour. It’s amazing how few fuel stations there are when the red light is on?!

This was our first drive and set up in the dark- we didn’t arrive until nearly 7 and the Autumn nights are certainly drawing in! Apart from driving all over the grass and slightly annoying the warden (rightly so!), the set up went well. I really can’t back the van so I need to swallow my pride and get the motor mover out even for the most simple of manoeuvres. My pride and my manhood must be swallowed (can you swallow manhood???) in favour of an easy life and stopping pissing off site wardens!

The Harrogate Caravan Park https://www.harrogatecaravanpark.co.uk/ is fabulous. Situated in the Yorkshire Showground on the outskirts of town with lots of great walks around the huge site and a award winning farm shop and cafe right next door. I took the dogs for a quick walk - yes we have the 2 collies with us for this one!

We went to Harrogate for an Indian. We went to Jinnah (http://www.jinnah-restaurants.com/harrogate), situated in an old school - we had been before but I remembered it being better. My halo slipped and I succumbed to the pleasures of flesh! I felt dirty afterwards - I won’t hurry back to both the restaurant and cow / sheep based menu items!

Tea and backgammon with Brunnehilda’s heating system thumping out on the highest setting. Kim flukes a win at Backgammon so it’s fair to say things can only get better.