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 Spiderman was superseded by Marvel Avengers and Paw Patrol DVDs.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.