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

Onto Southport - 25th Jan ‘20

Well it’s goodbye to Llandullas. The site has been a great success - I think it’s in my Top 5 of UK sites we’ve stopped at. For pros and cons of Ben Y Wendon see below ....

Good news - no BBIs today (Ben Based Incidents!) A quiet night although, like all nights before a trip, I had a restless night - awake at 4am! I think it’s physiological, as I’m neither anxious nor excited about the journeys?! Weird!

Travel day today and the weather has changed. It’s not so mild and a wind has gotten up.
An early start today - up and at it at 8.30am. Dog walk and quick breakfast before taking down Bella, packing up and getting Brunnehilda stripped and ready to go.

We left at about 11.10am - 10 minutes after the official leave time! The journey to Southport took about 1 3/4 hours. We went over the new (ish) Mersey bridge at Runcorn as we weren’t sure how easy the Mersey tunnel would be with Brunnehilda?

We arrived at 2 and were eating soup and toast by 3pm! The site is full and not particularly nice. Although it’s very handily placed for walking into town and the beach so there are lots of “motor-homers” here.

The dogs were gagging for their daily beach walk so we headed to Ainsdale. We walked down the huge beach towards Southport - then walked back again. The tide was out so we didn’t get as far as the waters edge - which Tilly was not too happy about!

It was getting dark when we got back to the car so we headed straight off to Gog’s (Kim’s mum) new flat in Formby. It was Burns Night so very appropriate that Jill and Russ (Kim’s sister & husband) came round for haggis, neeps and tatties.

Back home to Brunnehilda for an episode of The Wire and then bed!

Ben Y Wendon:
Pros:
1) Sea views
2) Dog walk on pebble beach close to hand
3) Next to Expressway meant everywhere close / easy to get to
4) Serviced pitch with everything to hand
5) Good 4G
6) Short walk to very clean and modern unisex facilities
7) Toilets not shut for cleaning
8) Friendly staff
9) Big plots with good space between
Cons:
1) Main toilets only “average”
2) Road noise from Expressway