With just a short journey to my next site, there was no rush to get packed up and ready but even so, thanks to my body clock still being on term time, I was hitched up and ready to go before 10am. This was the second time in a row I’ve been ahead of schedule – most unusual for me but I know a certain person would have been impressed.
I knew the route roughly – we’d done the same two years ago – but Google Maps suggested a variation – turning off at Market Weighton and joining the A63 near the Humber Bridge. Last time we skirted Beverley hitting our required road to the east of Hull and I remember us both commenting on the number of roundabouts – three hundred was mentioned although it was in fact twenty-something. The variation suggested had a few less and I was happy to go with it after checking it out on a map.
The sixty-five miles took nearly two hours in the end thanks to some roadworks but in truth it was an easy run really. Rosie seemed to be enjoying the supermarket fuel a little too much as for a long while the MPG display made depressing reading, however by the time I had pulled up at the site entrance it had risen to 28. Given the route, the aforementioned roundabouts and a few twists and turns I was satisfied with that. Satisfied at least until later when I looked back to my blog post from two years and recalled that with Trev driving, Rosie managed 32mpg. Clearly I’m not quite as light footed as I thought. Oh well!
The site was, once again, Driftwood Caravan Site, located in Kilnsea, about three miles or so from Spurn Point. As I said we’d stayed here before and loved it. It’s remoteness made it a great place to unwind but with some lovely scenery close by and a decent boozer even closer. There’s just 10 pitches, five of which are occupied by seasonals, the majority of which are likely bird watchers. Having got Patsy thereabouts with the car I got her nice and snug on her pitch with the mover and went about setting her up, having popped to the house to hand over some folding for my stay.
A sandwich preceded something only vaguely resembling a nap – it was feeling a bit stuffy in the van so I figured some fresh air would do me good and might help to shift some of the muck currently inhabiting my airways. It may have also been on my mind that a late afternoon pint or two might go down rather well, but picked up the DSLR anyway as if to demonstrate there was something on my mind over than grog.
Well in the end I walked for half an hour or so, just up to the crossroads where the old road to the point starts. The little campsite just around the corner from the pub was open but the one a little further up was not, declaring that it was under new management. It really is a pretty part of the world and it’s rugged beauty reminded me somewhat of the Northumberland coastline, an area I love so much.
There was still an hour to the pub opening as I walked back and decided against a visit, returning instead to Patsy for another cosy evening in.
It did get a brief visit on Wednesday however, bisecting a relaxed day where I caught up on a few little jobs, read a lot and generally lounged about. This was was what I had planned for this part of the trip and so was not worrying about getting out and about much. Although I was beginning to wish I’d picked up a set of rods for my sinuses on the way down it was otherwise very enjoyable.
Thursday saw some friends come over from Sheffield for the day so I was up and about giving her Ladyship a bit of a tidy up first thing – a largely pointless exercise as we stood and chatted outside in the sun before adjourning to the pub for lunch. Peter knew Trev from the ‘old’ days back when Trev was working for the newsagents in Cambridge - way before our time - and it was one of those friendships that’s endured. They could go a long time without seeing one another but when they did, just caught up where they left off as it where. I hadn’t seen Peter or his wife Pam since the funeral so it was great to catch up again.
Friday saw me finally emerge from exile and back into the big wide world, making the fifty minute drive back in to Hull, the first port of call being the company Solwise who, you may recall have given me products to review in the past, most notably their excellent Outdoor Wi-Fi kit which has proved so useful to us. They had a new toy for me to play with - an upgraded version of the above – and we had a good chin-wag over a coffee too.
The Humber bridge was just a few minutes away so that was next on my list thanks to a suggestion from a Twitter pal. There was a massive – and free – car park serving the surrounding country park but was also handy for accessing the bridge on foot too.
OK, confession time – I didn’t walk all the way across, getting as far, I think as the half-way point – and even then I still clocked up a couple of miles by the time I was back at the car. It was very impressive, slightly disconcerting as it vibrates when vehicles rumble by, conscious of the water – and certain death – a long, long way below. Sadly, it was quite hazy so the lighthouse at Spurn couldn’t be seen but it was still a great experience and one I thoroughly recommend. Worth watching your back though – it’s a cycle path too and whilst there are signs indicating that pedestrians have priority, there was the odd cyclist who,in their attempt to seemingly break the land speed record, ignored it.
From the bridge I’d spotted what looked like a good view point so headed there next, pausing to devour the last of the sarnies and take in the view.
Next up was Beverley a half hour drive away. Louise at Solwise had given me the heads up on parking but it took me a few minutes to find it, although circling the town helped me get my bearings. Whilst I’d made sarnies I was uncharacteristically flask-less so first stop was for caffeine fix at Cafe Velo which came highly recommended and did provide a very tasty caffeine fix that perked me up no end.
I walked through the market square thinking, not for the first time in such a place, how much better it would look without the motor car, stopping at the Minster, once again handing over a few quid for a photo permit and the obligatory fridge magnet.
On the way back, roughly in the direction of the car I recalled what Louise had told me about local artist Fred Elwell. Copies of his paintings can be found dotted around the walls in the town and I did come across a couple without looking too hard, but I’ll certainly look to seek out some more on my next visit. The other thing I didn’t have to look for was pubs – they seemed to be everywhere – rubbing in the fact that I was in the car and couldn’t indulge. Oh well, there’ll be always another time.
