Iona goes to the Coast

Bridlington Yacht Club.

We are going back up north, over the river Humber to Fraisthorpe just south of Bridlington, Yorkshire. We were very near here last year and it was a great seaside venue, only 300 metres to the beach. This year the campsite is even closer.

Now that we consider winter has gone the motorhome has been re-equipped with the summer kit, gone is the winter storage box with the wellies and waterproofs. It has been replaced with the pop up gazebo and an extra table. We can only hope that the weather continues as summer. This brings up another motorhome anomaly , weight. This year we will go to the Mountains Transport weighbridge and check both axles as well as the overall weight. This is also a requirement to get the correct tyre pressures or so I was told.............

Although we have all we need regarding kit in the motorhome, we found that we were carrying a lot of drinking water when every site has at least one drinking water tap. I have bought a 2.2 Litre bottle and a couple of 1 litre bottles so that we can fill up on site as opposed to buying bottled water. The other advantage is that these new bottles and two extra drink bottles are all BPA free and can be used without the fear of ingesting plastic from the plastic.

Another problem was charging both iPads and iPhones at once. To overcome this I have bought a dual cigarette lighter socket and I found a twin usb point that fits any cigar lighter socket. We can now charge all the iPads and phones without having to have charging leads everywhere. 

The final preparation was cleaning Iona. There has been a build up of dirt and green algae in the panel joins so I decided to clean them with a paint brush. I got a bit carried away and ended up on the roof giving a full clean to the entire van. Three hours later I had finish what was mean to be a quick makeover.

After a day away at our daughter’s for her birthday we had a day at home before leaving for Fraisthorpe near Bridlington. I just checked the Leeds District website to make sure the event was still on and it became apparent that they had put a lot of restrictions in place, plus there was only one fresh water tap during the day and at the weekend you could only leave at certain times.

I was not happy with these new rules or the fact that it joins a car park that could see over 1000 cars at the weekend. I rang the other campsite that we had used last year and they had space so I discussed it with Sue and we decided to change the venue although we will lose our small deposit on the other site. 

The Humber Bridge

We set off the following day via Newark to avoid the traffic through Lincoln, we then headed north to the Humber bridge which is a spectacle on it’s own. Then on around Beverley and up to Wilsthorpe near Bridlington to the campsite. The site is easier to get to than Fraisthorpe and the access road is a bit better with passing places.

By the time we arrived the wind was up around 20mph and it took us far longer to get set up with the windbreak out.

After lunch we walked along the beach to check out the Fraisthorpe site and I am glad we moved. Access was a bumpy field track and the pitches were not very level with some on a ridge and furrow field. The wind seemed to get up as we made our way back to Iona but at least everything was still standing and working when arrived back.

The site we were booked at.

There was a cold wind today.

We sat outside for a while but it was not that warm and we retired inside for tea.

Day 2:

This morning the wind is still here along with the clouds and there is a little sea mist but the forecast gets better as the morning progresses. We went for a walk on the beach and luckily we were wrapped up because the wind was cold but there was a great smell of the sea. Something went wrong and although we were only going for a short walk suddenly we were on the prom at Bridlington and only a few hundred yards from the new Lifeboat Station. After a quick look at the new RNLI building which was just a building site when we visited last year, Sue suggested that we may as well walk to the harbour as the tide was in.

Bridlington Harbour

We walked around the harbour, checked out the fresh fish and started back home. Now the sun was out from behind the clouds and the wind had eased. When we got back to Iona it was warm enough to sit outside and have a drink, cider in my case. We walked down to the beach and sheltered from the wind in the sand dunes for an hour, reading and people watching, then back to Iona for the rest of the afternoon ,  sitting outside and reading while Sue also got some knitting done for Katie’s blanket.

Later this afternoon we were treated by a fly by of a Coast Guard helicopter that then landed further up the beach and was greeted by two RNLI  vehicles and about thirty lifeguards. It was an exercise of some sort and the large helicopter made severaval circuits and landings as well as hovering over the ‘casualty’ for several minutes.

Coast Guard exercise with the lifeguards

Day 3:

It was a better day today so after a late start we completed all the normal jobs and at about 11.00 am we went for a walk along the the beach, this time in an opposite Direct to Bridlington. After about half an hour we stopped and realised that the tide was on the way in so we turned around and headed back to Iona.

The sea is reclaiming the land

WW2 defences

Sand Martin Nest holes

The walk took just over an hour and we settled for lunch outside where we spent most of the afternoon, reading and Sue with her red nose did some knitting. 

Tea tonight was Steak, onion rings and chips, washed down with a glass of Merlot.

We stayed in the van and watched a bit of television and also watched all the new arrivals as the stewards took them to their pitches, how sad is that. Tomorrow is forecast to be wet so all the chairs and tables are packed away just in case.

Day 4:

We awoke to rain and more rain as it continued to lunchtime. Thunderstorms were forecast with the rain finally clearing tonight. Today was spent in the van reading. Without sun to charge the batteries we could not watch TV during the day. We went for a short walk in the afternoon and found a shop in the holiday village next door . Next time we don't have to walk the two miles into Bridlington.

Trip 7: 204 miles, 27.4 mpg, 33 mph, 6 hours travel.

Iona returns to Empingham Reservoir

All set up

Our planned trip to Hatton Country World was cancelled due to last weeks wet weather and the venue is waterlogged. We have been stuck before on muddy grass so a wet rally field is a bit off putting. So we have planned to go to Lyndon top which is basically 117 acres of grass field. The difference is that Lyndon top has been an all year venue for years so we should be OK.

 

The View today

 For once there is no wind blowing a gale. Our new milenco ramps are much easier to use and we are level without being right at the top which is a bonus compared to the old ramps which were smaller. The sun is about despite the cloud cover that keeps drifting across. We have parked next to a small caravan to keep the row straight. We have a great view of Rutland Water but the gap between two units will no doubt be filled. We could have parked there but it looked a bit narrow, until we had set up, but it is too late to change now.  Day 2: The site filled up yesterday evening  but we are not crowded in .    

 

Getting busy

The gap in front of Iona was too tempting and the warden put a camper with a small tent there, then later on a motorhome arrived. Still we still have a view and the sun is out so it should be a good day.   

 

Our view this evening

I had a chat with the wardens about the state of the elsan point and how the tap is in the wrong position and is unusable. The new warden said he had no screw drivers and there was no flexibility in the pipe. Well I hate to think what it will be like by Monday with about 300 caravans and motorhomes using it. I was not impressed with his attitude. We went for a walk to the visitor centre to get an ice-cream. We were about 200yds from the entrance and we heard the ice-cream van arrive at the site. We ignored the chimes and continued to the visitor centre. 

 

Rutland Water is known for it’s breeding pairs of Ospreys. The Ospreys have returned and the first egg was laid in March and the clutch of eggs is due to hatch very soon. Apparently This was the earliest an egg has been laid since 2001. 

 
Back at Iona there was no wind, the temperature outside behind the windbreak has reached 100f / 38c, the hot weather was taking it’s toll on the fridge, the kitchen sink was hot and the temperature above the cooling fins was 52c. I installed some extractor fans and a temperature sensor last year. I switched it to automatic and it soon reduced the temperature to 35c which enables the cooling fins to do their job and cool the fridge at the same time cooling the sink.  We had two new motorhomes turn up, the first one parked in front of an existing van and they asked if it was ok, then later their friends arrived and parked next to them. Then it all kicked off with a woman in a neighbouring motorhome shouting at them for blocking their view, and further arguments followed, the site manger was called and the different parties split up and peace was restored although it was obvious that arguments were still going on. 

 

This evening we had our first bar-b-que of the year using the cadac. We had a simple burger and bratwurst sausage but that was quite enough. We sat outside until about 9 pm and then retired inside before it got too cool. Day 3: The forecast is for another hot day, so we may just sit around Iona, read and people watch. We did have the Virgin hot-air balloon take off nearby. 

 

Virgin Balloon

     

Hawthorn

 

Gorse

 

Bluebells

Day 4: 

Preparing for the hottest bank holiday since records began. We got up fairly early, Sue had been woken by the toddler next door crying, luckily the grandchildren are going home today and we should have peace for our final day.  There is a steady stream of vans and caravans leaving today so this evening there may not be a queue for the elsan point. After breakfast and the normal jobs we went for a circular walk from the site along the reservoir and back.  We both thought it was longer than it was and although the steep hill was the final part i could have done it again.  Tonight we have gone Spanish, home made Paella on the cadac. 

Paella

 

The Final Sunset before we left

       Trip 6: 70 miles, 27.4 mpg, 34mph