Hope springs eternal! We don`t have a lot of choice about our annual trip to UK:- it has to be April May or June. We have sometimes had shocking weather. Last year was almost a wash-out! We gritted our teeth and planned 18 days across 5 locations (not venturing too far North or into Central London!)
We had an easy drive from Dover up to Oulton Broad in
Suffolk and the sun shone, although there was a very cold wind. We had time to
visit Halfords to try for a new chain guard (unsuccessful!) and Currys to buy a
new laptop. We were staying with Rick – a sort of cousin of Bob – who, for the
last few years, has been away offshore when we visited. This time we spent time
together, and he showed us the highlights of O Broad and Lowestoft. On the
first full day there was an unusual event. We went to Great Yarmouth and it
didn´t rain! Just as well:- the purpose was to have Yvette serviced and gain an
MOT certificate, so we would be cast adrift on our bicycles for a good few
hours. It was cold, of course (this is Norfolk!) but there was bright sunshine,
and we were able to tour the town´s sights like the Nelson Monument, the Jewish
burial ground, and the location of the old ferries across to Gorleston, during the heyday of fishing.
Next day Bob and Rick went for a long bike ride whilst Ruth wrestled with Windows 8 on the new acquisition (not convinced by it as yet!). They went round nature trails and some of the old parts of Oulton Broad. Still no rain! Nor on the Sunday, even though it was a Bank Holiday weekend! After re-packing Yvette again we drove to
Kessingland (a little south of Lowestoft
on the coast) and met up with Rick who had cycled. We strolled along the
coastal path in what could be called “bracing” weather despite the sunshine,
and then went to visit his paternal grandmother (genealogically linked somehow by
marriage to Bob) for the first time for some more insights into that part of
the family. She is about 90 years old and a delightful lady:- still in
possession of almost all her marbles!
Then we set
off for Northampton. “Why?” is a good question, and the answer is that it
looked like a good spot for some cycling alongside the Grand Union canal. We
had booked into one of the town´s three Travelodges and had some reasonable
verbal instructions revolving around proximity to the football stadium, but the
name thereof had not been recorded. (It is in fact Sixfields should you ever
need to know!). En route we were
caught in a Sunday afternoon traffic accident jam for half an hour, and then
got completely lost at the ring road. We went backwards and forwards, at one
point seeing a Travelodge in the distance and deciding it was wrong. We asked
at a petrol station and got what we later realized were perfect directions if
we had been pointing in the opposite direction, headed way out into the country
and had to turn round in a pub car park. We then had another go at the ring
road and went back to the previously spotted hotel. It had a good pub attached
and a smell of roast dinner. We heaved great sighs of relief and went in. No
sign of our reservation! “Is this Upton?” “No, but many people make the same
mistake:- here are printed instructions for getting to Upton!” We were clearly
not the first victims of road-signing à
la mode de Northampton! Once there all was forgiven and we remain refusniks on the SatNav front! It was
indeed immediately opposite the stadium and its associated enormous “Leisure
Park”. On the skyline is what has become
known as the Northampton Lighthouse. Read more here! We are in no position to
comment on the gastronomy of the town! Over four nights we sampled the fare of
some of the numerous chain restaurants conveniently located across the road.
Best food was at Bella Italia, most interesting was at the World Buffet (where
we had a bit of a to-do about the timings for pensioners´ special rates), and
we also ate at a TGI Fridays, and a Frankie and Benny!
We had got
away from the East Coast wind, and the sun still shone so on Bank Holiday
Monday we rode down the Northampton Arm of the G.U. to Gayton Junction and
(quite dramatically uphill) into the village (and of course, back!) Just the
job, with almost all the towpath well maintained for cyclists and only a few
great post-deluge puddles! The town itself has an impressive network of cycle
paths, and you can get almost everywhere on them except into the town centre!
As this was where we wanted to go we ended up the next day going our separate
ways after Ruth refused to cycle on pavements over hazardous bridges etc and
only Bob made it to Primark!
We did,
however, have a great day out by car visiting the National Waterways Museum at Stoke Bruerne:- neatly chassising round two coach-loads of Brummie primary
schoolchildren, and viewing one end of the famous Blisworth tunnel. On the way
back our joy was unbounded when we found a Halfords that fitted a chain guard
on the spot and had a saddle cover, and a huge Boots that could supply a year´s
worth of toiletries (with Advantage points!)
Next we
were bound for Oxford, but the weather forecast was not too good! We went via
Bicester where we had found on the internet the address of a Kwik-Fit Tyre
Centre, and a “beautiful launderette” (Yes it had a star rating from a happy
customer!). We did the business at both and then killed some time beside the
Oxford Canal in a pub at Thrupp. It was getting very cold and gloomy! Our four
days in Oxford were doomed! We stayed as before out at the Travelodge on what
we used to call the Northern By-pass. It is very handy, and there is a
neighbouring Park and Ride that is perfect for visiting the city, so on the
first full day we did, getting on with vital UK shopping, such as Bravissimo
and Waterstones, and then finding it so cold that we hastened back, just
beating the rain! That was the good bit of weather. Next day we went to
Aylesbury for lunch with Ruth´s sister Lois and her partner. We got lost trying
to avoid the town centre, but had a good meal in a pub accessible with her
mobility scooter, visited her home and then were directed to a huge Tesco where
we could continue provisioning. It was pouring with rain as we arrived there.
When we came out it started to hail and driving was almost impossible. Once
again we parked up at the hotel in appalling weather, and next day was little
better. What to do on a cold wet Sunday? Get lost on the ring road! This time
in search of the multi-screen cinema allegedly next to Oxford United´s ground.
(The latter has unsurprisingly moved since Ruth lived in the city 37 years
previously!) By the time we had found it, got very wet, and discovered there
was nowhere pleasant nearby in which to
kill time till the film we had lost the will to shell out the price demanded
and took Sunday papers to a pub, which was a much better idea! Later The Plough at Wolvercote once again delivered a delicious supper (and an inexplicable
number of single Dutch men!).. and that was Oxford in May: bikes never removed
from rack, feet never out of socks, camera untroubled by use!
As we left Oxford
the rain stopped, and we drove down to the south coast. First we met up with
Ruth´s parents long
lunch at The Ship at Langstone Harbour
near Hayling Island. It was bitterly cold and the sea was rough, but it wasn´t
raining, but by the time we got to our next staging post - Worthing - it was
obvious our meteorological luck was not going to change. We were staying on the
seafront and it was blowing a gale. Even taking bikes off the car before
parking was foul experience and then it
started to rain. The next day we shopped in the rain, sat in a pub, lurked in
the hotel room, ate on site and watched programmes from our stash. This was not
what we had planned!
It was a bit
brighter next day for our trip "up town". We had bought rail tickets
for an amazingly good price on pre-determined trains, and had a tight itinerary
to get us to our new tenants in each of the two rental properties, and meet up with ex-neighbour Pete. It all worked and we largely missed the
showers, got in a nostalgic meal at Nando´s in Balham, froze on several station
platforms and were back in Worthing on a late train. The following day was as
if nothing had happened! The sun shone, the sea was blue, and the wind had
dropped. We used the bikes for some odd essential tasks around town and felt a
whole lot better!
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| "This weekend I have mostly been gardening" |
The final bit was
with friends in Rotherfield (East Sussex). This is another place where we have
visited several times during migrations and been washed out (or kept in) by
English weather. This time the rain came only at night or early mornings, so we
were able to sit (or in Bob´s case - help) in their garden and go for bike
rides on two successive days.
Each was a section of the Cuckoo Trail: - disused
railway track, and although it was definitely cold and the ground was soggy
there was glorious sunshine, and the scenery
wild flowers were beautiful. As part of the return journey we ventured
into Kent and visited The Middle House- a very
old pub in Mayfield, so that our final meal of the GB tour was delicious roast
local beef with all the trimmings.
We set off next
morning. The tally:- 18 days
in May, of which 9 were sunny but cold,
1 was sunny and quite warm, 2 were
just windy and unpleasant, and 6 were
disgusting.
We
