Zig Zagging

The internet appears to be spoiling the art of travelling. I don't mean travelling as in Gypsies but travelling the country freestyle as a tourist. People are now expected to search and book accommodation online rather than, as we are doing, drive enjoyably around the countryside, find a spot you like and knock on a door. (One person I rang gave me a price but then told me that if I went on line I could get the same room for 10 pounds less - I found that odd as I wasn't enquiring about a room in the future, it was for that night, a couple of hours later!)
Tourism centres are changing too - they are no longer on the outskirts of towns, accessible for motorists as they enter cities.
Lincoln is a case in point, their tourist info centre is right in the heart of the city, in the centre of a pedestrian precinct, in the Cathedral Quarter. It's great for souvenir purchases but not too good when looking for information about how to get around the city or find accommodation.
(I know, people are supposed to check everything out on line first, download apps and maps etc.)

We managed to find ourselves in the centre of Lincoln shopping quarter and grabbed a street parking bay (30mins only). Then we followed sign for i and found ourselves walking up one of Lincoln's most famous streets - Steep Hill. A very steep cobbled street which leads up to the Cathedral and the info centre. When I got my breath back I asked about B & Bs and was handed a leaflet. It was actually a very good leaflet as all places listed were numbered and there was a map showing the numbers.
Aware of the minutes ticking away I decided not to pay the 3 pounds booking fee and we began our descent of the hill.
On the way back to the car, halfway down the hill I spotted a lovely, quaint, very old fashioned tea rooms. A delightful establishment - Bunty's Tea Rooms. The decorations were from the 50s 60s and 70s, and there were copies of the girls magazine 'Bunty'.
It was 12.30, we were hot and tired.
Michael needed no persuasion to risk a fine and so we stopped for lunch.
The sandwich came with a small bowl of coleslaw and some potato crisps, it was really very very good. Stopping there was the right decision food wise. And the news got better, we hadn't got a fine.
As there wasn't a warden in sight we sat in the car and phoned a few B & Bs on the leaflet...
1st one - no vacancy, 2nd one - no answer, 3rd one - yes we have a room for 2 nights and it's in the Cathedral Quarter, in the high part of town and has parking. Within minutes we were there and checked in.  Minster Lodge and Rachel our host were both very lovely.
After a rest, when it was a little cooler outside (summer is here with today's temp 28 degrees C) we walked around the Cathedral Quarter, staying up at the top of the hill so that we didn't have to climb it twice in one day!

The Cathedral is undergoing some major restoration works, by the state of some of the stonework it's long overdue, but a mammoth task.

In the Cathedral close was a lovely group of Georgian houses, apparently they were the first houses to be numbered in UK. They are numbers 20 -23, but I presume when they were first numbered they were actually 1 - 4!?

We sat in the Cathedral Square, between the Cathedral and the Castle, enjoying the cool of the evening, listening to a nice acoustic busker. Until BBC (tv station) arrived to film some item for something, first thing they did was blast some awful Brit Pop music all over the square (and neighbourhood).
Having caught our attention, they immediately lost it as we exited the square, away - in the opposite direction to which the speakers were pointing. Luckily that was towards the B & B not down the hill.
Dinner that night was Mexican - a  Special deal of 2 courses for 9.95. 2 great courses they were too.

(The street on the left disappearing down hill is Steep Hill) 

(Michael on Steep Hill)

(The bottom of Steep Hill)

The next day we explored down the hill. We roamed the streets and shops stopping for a 'Pensioners Special' lunch of fish and chips in a tiny back room of a tiny shop. So that we wouldn't have to come out later and then maybe have to climb the hill twice in one day, we bought rolls, fruit and drinks to have for dinner. It was late afternoon when we did trek back up to the B & B, quite exhausted, but having enjoyed a great day out. Lincoln is a very nice town, but we suggest checking out accommodation before you arrive.

                                             




Next day was the start of the weekend - our weekend of Transport Museums.
We drove the short distance north from Lincoln to Sandtoft, near Doncaster. The Trolleybus Museum didn't open until 11.00am and we drove up just as the gate was being opened, at 10.54am.
This weekend the museum was having a 'special event' - a Teddy Bears Picnic. (Any child arriving with a teddy bear gets in free, there's a teddy bear hunt, and a picnic too). We didn't have a teddy  bear, so paid admission.
There were 2 birthday parties going on, lots of kids running around having a great time. There were lots of teddy bears around the museum too, on trolley buses, in trees, in all sorts of places.

It was quite a small museum and the ride on the trolley bus was only short, but on the hottest day of the year so far (32 degrees C) the top of the buses was really very hot - after one trip we sat downstairs for the others.

We rode on all three of the trolley buses out that day and we walked (squeezed) around those in the garage.

                                                   


    We had lunch at the museum before leaving, Michael treating himself to a 'chip butty'!

We took the motorway north to circumvent the cities of Doncaster and Leeds then we headed west through the Yorkshire Dales and some small English towns with familiar names - Ilkley and Skipton.
We were surprised to see both of these towns bulging with people and therefore not surprised to find all B & Bs full. We travelled on west but were starting to get a little worried as it was around 5.00pm and we thought that we might have to forego a family B & B and stay in a 'chain' motel.
In the village of Gargrave we spotted a B & B sign, and not a No Vacancies sign. We stopped but unfortunately the room on offer was an attic room with restricted headroom and no shower only a wash hand basin. But what a house, it was off the road and the back garden ran down into the river - when we stopped the lady of the house was paddling in the river. The house and location were stunning but none of us (landlady and her husband included) thought the room suitable. They did however have a friend in the next village along who ran a B & B and they knew that she had vacancies.
We were back on the road - along to Long Preston. The B & B was 'The Barn' and was converted from an old barn by the landlady's husband 26 years ago. Their back garden had been the cattle yards of the market.

Unfortunately the bedrooms were at the front of the house (top right is our room) and it faced a very busy main road - fortunately they did have double glazing but it was hot and stuffy - solution was at hand, turn the fan on.
Across the road from the B & B was the Boar's Head pub, serving food all day. We went over, found a table and were very pleasantly surprised by the meal. This was no 'Brewers Fayre' pub grub. The meal was excellent, one of the very best in UK, 11 out of 10. (Will have to have a go at a pork, blue cheese and apple casserole, in a creamy mustard sauce when we get home.)

Next morning another culinary delight - black pudding included in the breakfast, and it was locally made, lovely.
Then we continued west heading for The British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Leyland, on the outskirts of the city of Preston. We used the motorway for the last few miles because the motorway exit was almost right next to the museum. The museum opened at 10.00am and we were their first customers, arriving at 10.10am. This was another museum that charged for photography, so no photos folks. (do they charge to make a few extra pounds, or is it because with photoshop etc, people can use the photos of exhibits to make something on line etc.?)

Michael had long chats with the volunteers about engines, gearboxes and the merits, or lack thereof,  of Leyland buses over A.E.C. buses. After soup and a roll for lunch, in the cafe at the museum, we were back on the road. We again used the motorway, heading south, to avoid the cities of Manchester, Bolton, Wigan and Warrington before heading east again.

We drove through the Peak District National Park. Neither of us had been to this part of the world before - what a truly beautiful part of the world. The scenery was spectacular, rolling green hills, dry stone walls, sheep and dotted through it all - walkers!
We were on the lookout for a B & B and in the town of Bakewell we spotted one, on the main road - 'The Melbourne'. They had vacancies, the room was nice and large, so was the ensuite and it was very quiet - we were in. Tomorrow is market day in Bakewell - we'll have to investigate.

N F N (Normal for Norfolk)

Monday morning and our 'serfdom' was at an end; Jim had started referring to us as his slaves so it was time to slip the chains and move on.
We always prefer to travel on 'roads less travelled' using B roads and minor A roads (the more numbers after the letter the smaller the road eg A 1015 is a lot narrower and winding than the A10, which may only be a dual carriageway in sections whereas the A1 would be dual carriageway with limited access roads.B roads are narrower still.)
We skirted the town of Stevenage, travelled trough some picturesque villages, bypassed Ipswich and stopped for lunch at a roadside van - anyone having seen The Catherine Tate show will recall Neville and partner at their lunch van. There are hundreds of these vans along the highways now - they used to be popular in 1960s and 70s, then seemed to disappear as fast food chains took over, now they're back.
We travelled through some really beautiful Suffolk villages, pink cottages with amazing thatched roofs. We stopped in Woodbridge, 'an amazing market town with a remarkable amount of activities to take part in'. Well ignoring the bad grammar they were a little off the mark. It is a lovely quiet rural town and is on the estuary of the River Deben, the edge of the Norfolk Broads, close to the Saxon burial mound of Sutton Hoo and near Bawdsley Radar Museum; but a 'remarkable amount of activities', I do dispute.
We drove into the town, found the tourist info centre, got accommodation leaflets, chose a B & B and gave them a call. As it was after 2pm and we wanted a room for that night we got a 10 pound discount and drove out to check in. We drove back into town in the evening for a stroll around,
                           the main street in town is called 'Thoroughfare' - nice!

It's a cobbled street with vehicle access and parking only between 8-10am and 4-6pm (parking for 30mins only) just enough for the locals to carry on business. The rest of the time it's a pedestrian precinct - a good idea. One thing missing from the ambiance of the place was the cry of seagulls! Maybe because it's on a tidal river and the tide was out. We drove down to the Tidal Mill, one of a very few Tidal mills still working, but there was no parking and the tide was out -we drove back to the hotel to eat - a good choice, it was very, very good, really fresh food, well cooked.
Pre dinner I enjoyed a little glass of Argentine Pinot Grigio whilst Michael had a well earned nap. How he drives those narrow lanes (B roads) so confidently I don't know. Following a 3 tonne truck helps I suppose, when he brakes you brake!
The only slight drawback to the whole place was the creaking floorboards and somewhere, someone was in bed early and was snoring by 9.30pm! The staff could not have been more helpful and the whole place was very nice, very well run. It's called Grove House Hotel if you're ever around Woodbridge in Suffolk.
Breakfast was very nice and then making sure that we hadn't forgotten anything we were on the road by 8.55am.
We headed south down to the coast, passing Sutton Hoo - but it didn't open until 11.00am, so we drove on.We were looking for the Bawdsey Radar Station and spotted some old buildings, then found a small sign saying that it was on Private Property, and only open a few days each year, next day would be July 28th.  So we turned around, and headed North East to the coastal town of Southwold.

 What an absolutely delightful town! It has a pier! With an amusement arcade and shops! A step back in time to our childhood! The temperature was around 19 degrees C (15 C in the water) but the wind blowing in from the sea - from Russia - made it feel much colder.

We walked around the streets near the beach, even I must admit, admiring a little bungalow near the seafront that was For Sale! (that moment has passed now). Then we drove around the rest of the town, surprised by how big it was, before continuing north into Norfolk and "The Broads".
The shallow lakes and waterways of The Broads were thought to have been naturally formed but it has now been shown that they are in fact medieval peat diggings which flooded around the 13th century.
Wroxham is at the centre of the Broads and that was our destination. We found the information centre but there seemed a distinct lack of enthusiasm, all we got was a printed list of accommodation properties.
We walked to the closest one, but it was all locked up and when we phoned there was no reply.
We drove to the second one - a No vacancy sign up and it was locked up too.
Onto the next one, this was the Old Coach House, it looked rather splendid and the host, Martin, showed me this beautiful large room with a king size bed and an equally huge and spotless bathroom.
We had planned to spend two nights here in Wroxham but Martin only had a vacancy for tonight, not tomorrow. We took it - it was too good to miss.
(Wroxham is the settlement on one side of the bridge, on the other side is the commercial settlement of Hoveton and woe betide you if you get it wrong.)
Whilst Michael napped I checked out the brochures looking for a boat trip the next day.

 There was a huge company offering trips on large boats, taking around 150 people each trip or there was a trip on a replica wooden, Edwardian gentleman's launch, electric powered. This trip travelled up the River Bure to quieter spots and there was a chance to spot an otter - that was the one.

Later in the afternoon we walked into town, booked the 11.00 am boat trip and then sat and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine watching the rental boats returning from their day on the water. Some people had a better grasp of mooring than others, the very worst was the man in the white and gold braid Captain's hat (naturally).

Rather than walk back and then come out for dinner later we decided to eat early - and at 6.00pm when the restaurant opened we were in the door of The Star of India. Another good choice. The food was excellent, we had a feast for less than 20 pounds.
The next morning we woke to grey skies and drizzle! We were assured that it 'would burn off'.
By the time we'd had breakfast it had indeed stopped raining but it was still very cloudy and we had to get our jackets out of the car. We spent our time before the boat trip wandering around town, bought rolls from lunch from Roys supermarket. This supermarket is opposite Roys department store, next to Roys cafe, across the road from Roys clothing shop. There is also Roys hardware, Roys garden centre, Roys baby shop and I'm sure that I've forgotten a couple. (The original Roy ran a bakery in nearby Coltishall).

We were ready and waiting next to the boat, The Liana, by 11.00 am, there was only one other couple on the trip (max is 8 passengers), they were an American couple from Manhattan.
Our captain was the 'less than enthusiastic' tourist info man from yesterday, but obviously sitting in the office is not his thing because this morning he's very chatty and knowledgeable.

Michael was quick to spot the flash of electric blue as a Kingfisher flew ahead of us.
We were amazed at how vast and quiet the Broads are, especially when away from the main tourist hire boats.

The trip was only just an hour long and so before long we were back in the car and heading up to the coast at Cromer. We parked on the cliff top and had lunch before following the coastal road westwards.

 The villages of northern Norfolk were not as picturesque as those in southern Norfolk, they were built using a mix of round 'field' rocks and bricks. Neither of us found this particularly attractive, it was a little too 'in your face' for me.
On the outskirts of the little town of Weybourne we spotted a sign for the Muckleburgh museum. There was a drawing of a tank on top of the sign - that got our interest so we turned in.
The museum was the Muckleburgh military collection with over 150 tanks, guns and vehicles as well as extensive light weapons, ammunition and other exhibits. It also has a Medmenham Collection exhibit - about aerial photography.

It was really good, glad we didn't miss it - especially the Medmenham exhibit.
It was almost 4.00pm by the time we left to continue westward. We stopped in Hunstanton and called into the Tourist Info centre. The lady gave me a leaflet, marking 3 B & Bs that had vacancies for tonight.
First one, the nearest, had a No Vacancy sign in the window but I knocked anyway - No vacancy. I suggested that he notify the Tourist office and we tried the second one.
This time there were 3 No vacancies signs on the property - I didn't bother to knock.
Next I rang the third one - they too had No Vacancies. When I suggested notifying the tourist office I was assured that they had been notified, they had know for two days that they were full for the next two day! We drove back to the Tourist office in disgust but it was now 5.05pm and the door was shut! Having a bad feel for Hunstanton we drove out of town ( our few pounds for accommodation and meals will not affect their economy but if we all spread the word.......).
We drove through some more quaint villages including one called Stiffkey (prononced Stookey?).
The streets were really, really narrow and on the outskirts of town a rubbish skip was being collected - traffic in both directions just had to sit and wait for 10 minutes.
We arrived in Kings Lynn amid the evening rush hour, no sign of anything touristy - a rather grey, busy town. We headed out to a major road intersection where there were 'services' as we needed the loo.
We were going to use McDonalds, as they always have clean toilets. When we pulled into the carpark we spotted in the background a Premier Inn. Not our first choice of accommodation as we prefer the more intimate atmosphere of a landlady and a Bed and Breakfast, but they are very clean and the beds are comfortable (we had stayed in one up in Shrewsbury). It was now almost 6.00pm so the choice was made if they had a vacancy - they did and we were in.
Next door to the Inn was a 'chain' restaurant - Brewers Fayre. They say that they do 'basic pub grub'.
Well, most pub meals we've had have been really good - we were both tired and hungry so gave it a go.
It's not on the top 100 list of places to eat!

Breakfast is not included in Premier Inn tariffs (an extra 5 pounds 25 pence for a continental breakfast, or 8 pounds 25 pence for a cooked breakfast) so the next morning there was only one choice - coffee and a bagel at McDonalds. Then it was on the main road for a direct drive to Lincoln.
We plan to spend 2 nights here enjoying the tourist sights before hitting the Transport Museums north of here at the weekend.

Steaming in the sun

Our 'few days' in St Albans has stretched out into a week. The fine weather encouraged us to help Jim with more than a 'bit of weeding', and we tidied up the whole garden, we pruned shrubs, we  mowed the lawns, we did the edges and then we were given access to the garage!
A study has revealed that less than 20% of people in UK use their garages to park their car; mostly because the garage is full of junk. Jim's reason is that if he did get the car in, he wouldn't be able to open the doors and get out of the car, there's not enough room. So that's why he's filled it with junk!
We fought our way in, found a small space on the floor and gradually expanded the clear area until we had reclaimed the garage. Michael installed some wall hooks and even more space was freed up. Jim claims that as soon as we leave tomorrow the junk will all gather back in the middle of the floor. (We'll check).
We were not allowed to help inside the house, the redecorating is his domain. Thank Goodness, as we will be doing enough painting when we get home, we'll be doing our place inside and out.
After days of lazing around (and a bit of work) we were ready for some fun, so as the sun was shining on Saturday morning we took Jim with us and drove over to Prestwood, near Great Missenden to the Chiltern Traction Engine Club Rally.

It was a beautiful sunny day and the air was soon filled with steam and soot as the engines, farm machinery and huge Traction Engines got fired up. It was a great day out.
                          There were lots of stalls, at least 4 ice cream vans and plenty to see.

                           

                                           Displays of cars, trucks tractors and motorbikes.

                                           
                                  There was even alternative transport for me to get home,

                           
                                                           and a very friendly blacksmith.

                                                           





The batteries in my camera gave up just as I decided that I'd seen everything. We grabbed a tasty freshly made baguette for lunch and then headed back towards St Albans, dropping Jim off to visit Joy (still in hospital while they organise carers to visit when she gets home).

That evening Jim took us out to dinner at the Salisbury Arms Hotel in Hertford, a great venue in a nice town, and a very good meal too.

Sunday was sunny again (forecast is for at least another week of sun before rain comes back) and it was hot. Well hot for UK, temp was around 28 degrees. We were going to go to a local narrow gauge railway but decided to pack up and get organised for the next leg - touring East Anglia and parts North.
As one friend put it - Zig Zagging across England.