Country: England
Distance travelled: Bramston to Sinnington via Filey
Weather: Overcast to start with then blue skies for most of the day. Late afternoon rainstorm
It took us close to 2 hours to get moving this morning. Mark decided to cook his first fry-up in the van and we tested out our £5 toaster. The bacon and eggs were delicious but I suspect the toaster will taking some getting used to. Afterward, we used the campsite kitchen sink to do our dishes and took a shower in their very neat and clean amenities. It was wet and blowy so instead of walking down the lane to see the beach, we decided to drive down and then move off into the countryside.
The beach was at the bottom of a fairly high cliff and since the only carpark required a ticket, we decided against spending any time there. We got out just long enough to take a few photos of the dark clouds and the cliffs and then headed north.
By lunchtime we were in Filey, where a free-in-winter carpark made us much more willing to look around. I can understand them charging for parking, especially in summer and you could see indications that the town would obviously have been packed with tourists in warm weather. We strolled along the boardwalk past shuttered kiosks and a different style of beach house than I am used to in Melbourne and then onto the sand. I was amazed at the number of people on the beach all rugged up and with their Wellington boots on, all out to enjoy the sunshine while it lasted.
From Filey, we plotted a course to our next camp site at a working farm (www.clifffarmholidays.com) where they have cleverly set up a very spiffy site. All hardstands with electric hookup and an exemplary toilet block. The only thing I would consider a problem is that the showers had one of those press button taps like you find in public loos to save water. An admirable idea but have you ever tried to wash yourself in 15 second bursts? And the water was really hard so it was almost impossible to work up a lather. However the showers had great water pressure and were good and hot so I was very willing to overlook the press-button issue. It even became a sort of game in the end – wash right arm, press the button, wash left arm, press the button, wash right leg, you get the idea.
Mark had cooked up spaghetti bolognese while I was playing around in the shower so when I got back to the van, we ate dinner and then took care of the usual chores. We are trying to keep such things done as much as possible. There is no room for untidiness (don’t laugh) so something like a pile of dirty dishes is a real problem in this tiny space. And we need the bowls for breakfast too.
We had thought to go for a walk when we first arrived at the campsite but as we were settling in, a huge grey cloud billowed across half the sky and the heavens opened up. It was only relatively brief but by the time it was over, taking into account the rather sharp drop in temperature and the fact that the daylight would soon be gone, we decided to postpone any walking until tomorrow. We took advantage of the free wifi here to call Marks’ parents using Skype and took them on a tour around the van on my iPad. A few final chores to be done now and then it will be off to bed for me.