Tour of North Yorkshire and Northumberland - day 2

Morning

Having woken up to the sound of bird song and some rather noisy crows at just after four in the morning, I thought it best to let Neil have a lie in. I like an hour or two anyway in the morning, to have breakfast and some coffee in peace, and to write my blog.

We eventually got moving a little later than planned, but there was a story behind part of that.

Our meal the evening before was delivered to the van, all plated up. It looked beautiful. The only thing we provided was knives and forks. After dinner, we had a phone call with an old friend of mine from where I used to work. We haven’t spoken for ages, so had a lot to chat about. By the time we finished talking, Liggy needed a walk and we wanted to have a drink in the pub, so we were trying to be quick. Neil returned the plates to the kitchen, but without thinking, he also returned our cutlery. We have a fairly new set of knives and forks – nice heavy ones, that help with my tremor, and only 4 of each item. So he had unwittingly donated half of our knives and forks to the pub.

It was only when we were packing up to leave, and I always wrap the cutlery in a tea towel to stop it rattling in transit, that we realised what we’d done. So Neil had to go over and try to explain to now different staff, that we’d really like our knives and forks back. The problem was, they had hundreds of cutlery stashes in three different locations, so it was like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Well, bless ‘em, they found them eventually, and we were able to move on to our next visit.

Scarborough

I was in two minds as to whether to go to Scarborough on this holiday. I mean, technically, it’s home and I don’t think of it as somewhere I go as a tourist. However, the beach is Liggy’s favourite place, so I included a day to take her to her happy place.

As it happens, we ended up also meeting my aunty, uncle and baby cousin (once removed) and we all enjoyed an hour or so playing on the beach. The tide was right out so Liggy could run back and forth to the sea with Neil and practise recalling to me, which is a game she loves.

After lunch, we did one of our favourite short walks around the north bay and Northstead Manor Gardens, before Neil took Liggy for a final run on the beach.

Whitby Abbey

I think I said yesterday, it is funny how you can live close to somewhere for years but never go there. Well Whitby is one of those places. However, I once read, somewhere in the depths of Scarborough Borough Council parking web pages, that a coach park ticket purchased at any of the car parks in the borough, is transferable to any other coach park. Well we had an all day ticket for parking Zerubbabel at the Sea Life Centre and I thought I’d quickly Google coach parks in Whitby. And I discovered Abbey Headland.

We didn’t have a plan but we followed Google’s directions to the coach park, hoping that such a route wouldn’t have any sudden low bridges or anything. When we arrived, we discovered that the Abbey is an English Heritage site, which we happen to be members of. Neil did a quick scoping visit to the entrance staff to check accessibility and availability of tickets. You have to prebook online, but they said to just check because they were sure there were tickets available. So we did.

This is where membership really works for us. We wouldn’t have paid to visit for only an hour but it was a perfect place to fill some time on our way to our stopover. The views were stunning in all directions! The Abbey itself is beautiful too! We had to wonder (in an awe and wonder sense) how they got all the stones to such a remote and high up place, all those years ago in Anglo-Saxon times. For somebody who hated history at school, I now find the history of our country very interesting and am fascinated by these ancient ruins.

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From Whitby, we continued driving north and easily found our next BritStop pub. When we arrived, it seemed very busy. The car park isn’t huge and was full of cars and the little slip road of the main road into the pub also had cars parked along it. I had a moment of panic that this had been a bad choice. However, the owner was outside and told us where to park Zerubbabel. Neil did a great job of reversing the entire length of the very busy car park to our spot at the top. Then we popped into the pub to order dinner. Again, it was pretty busy, so we arranged dinner to take out to the motorhome.

Neil decided on behalf of both of us that a standard Sunday roast was the size to go for. When it arrived, we nearly died! It would have fed an entire village! Small would have been easily sufficient. Having said that, we gave it a fair crack and it was delicious. We had to sit for a while and let it go down before doing anything else. Meanwhile, we watched the comings and goings in the car park. The pub stops doing food at six in the evening, and after that, the crowds dispersed pretty quickly and left us as the only vehicle in what now looked like a quite big car park.

The pub was also empty now, so we went for a drink and chatted to the staff for a bit. It must have been pay day, as they were all discussing their tax deductions, which was an interesting conversation to eaves-drop, as they clearly hadn’t got the faintest idea about the UK tax system. Neil stepped in to educate them, whilst the youngest member of staff came over to fuss Liggy. I have to say, they did a really nice hot chocolate, but Neil was hoping for one of the special beers, which was not available last night. Shame!

When we arrived, it was cloudy and overcast and the backdrop of the North Yorkshire Moors looked dark and foreboding, though still as beautiful as ever. By the time we came out of the pub to go to bed, the sun was out and it was the perfect evening. So out came the camera!

In spite of being next to a main road (though the car park is behind the pub) we had an extremely peaceful night’s sleep. This stop could best be described as off-grid. We had no electricity and virtually no phone signal… certainly no WiFi. So I’m writing this in Word and will copy and paste it over to Blogger later.

Off grid

I sometimes get the impression that motorhomers are quite black and white. Some always do campsites and have full facilities which allow you to pretty much do anything. Others always go off grid and almost take pride in their self-sufficiency. We are more shades of grey. Bit of this, bit of that… This holiday is more off grid than camping on sites, but we now have a couple of nights booked to deal with the essentials.

So what does off grid look like?

Well, we arrived with a full(ish) tank of water and reasonably empty waste water tank. We had filled the gas tanks so that we would be able to cook and heat water. We know we can’t empty the toilet for a few nights, so we’re being careful about the amount we flush and we’re largely binning toilet paper (like they do in Cyprus).

Instead of boiling a kettle and using the coffee pod machine, which both need to be plugged in, we have to boil a pan of water on the gas hob. We have a Bodum and plenty of fresh coffee though, so my morning plan is still very similar. We had planned to try to use public toilets as much as possible but neither of our first two BritStops had accessible ones so I have to use our own. Reality is, I go a lot. Bladder control after cauda equina syndrome is non-existent, and I’m not going to spend my holiday getting stressed about that, so we have brought a spare cassette for the toilet (the bit where the wees and poos live) and if we have to, we’ll just swap them over and deal with it on a campsite.

This morning, we should be able to fill up with fresh water though on our way out. The pub has a tap with a long hose. I’m not really keen on using someone else’s hose but needs must. We know that our next stop has zero facilities, so we need to be as prepared as possible.

Tour of North Yorkshire and Northumberland - day 1

Wolds Village

It's funny how you can live close to somewhere for years but never go there. This is one of those places. We must pass it every time we go to Scarborough but I've never been inside until yesterday.

I wanted to have a look at the gallery (trying to become more interested in visual art) and obviously we planned on having afternoon tea. I later found out it was #NationalCreamTeaDay.

The car park isn't huge but plenty big enough that we could park Zerubbabel (our motorhome) in it. After a quick look around, we decided it was a normal wheelchair venue, as surfaces looked good. Neil took Liggy for a quick woodland walk, which I could have done in my mountain trike but it was too nettley for me and what's the point in getting stressed on holiday?!!

There were pretty flowers everywhere and associated bees and butterflies doing their thing. Liggy obviously really liked the smells as she was trying to get to the flowers as we went in. Some of the paths were a little narrow for me with Liggy attached but she's pretty good now at turning round and walking backwards. 

The gallery and tea rooms were quaint and pretty quiet. My parents joined us for a cup of coffee and a scone with jam and cream. We sat in the gallery area and talked about the different styles of picture. At some point we will go back and buy some pictures. They are all beautifully framed and there was a series of prints depicting vehicles in the 1980s(ish). I liked one with a Mr Whippy van and Neil liked one with a Chopper (bike).

Across the courtyard, there was an accessible toilet which was a good size and well laid out. It was clean and really easy for me to use with Liggy attached to my chair. It's the little things like this that make visits work.

What made it a little more difficult (again it's the little things) was that there were loads of crumbs on the floor. Liggy doesn't understand about allergies and it's difficult to stop her eating them when they are absolutely everywhere. The liquid poo that followed later in the afternoon was inevitable but I find it frustrating. Trouble is, when it's sofa style seating and low tables, people are going to drop bits. It would help us, if there was a broom available so we could clear a Liggy space.

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Arrival at our first stopover was very straightforward. Neil went in with the BritStops book and let them know we were here. We had booked a space with electric hook up (£10) plus a meal to eat in the motorhome. I had spoken several times to a lovely lady called Verity, who had gone way above and beyond to ensure I could have a pie of my choice minus carotenes. Whilst it's not one of the well known allergies, it's a real pain trying to avoid carotenes because they sneak into all kinds of foods.

Dinner was delicious! We set the table in the motorhome and Verity brought it out, all nicely plated up. There was no less sense of good service just because we didn't eat in the restaurant!

After a little walk, allowing Liggy to get rid of the rest of the afternoon's crumb lickings, we decided the pub looked safe enough to enjoy a drink. It was quiet, well ventilated and clean. My only little niggle - why do they do this??? - is that the accessible toilet was down some stairs. To be honest, it was easier to just pop back to the motorhome, rather than them get the ramp out, which would have had to be too steep anyways.

It's funny, it sounds like sleeping over in a pub car park should be an unsafe thing to do, but it's actually really nice. There were quite a few others doing the same. It was quiet and I got a good night's sleep until about 4am. At that point the dawn chorus woke me and the crows especially, were having a right old screech. To be fair though, I only sleep very lightly at that time of the night so anything wakes me. The best sleep is always before midnight!

So this morning, while I type and Neil sleeps, some of our fellow motorhomers have moved off. I've had the hot water on for half an hour or so, and I think I'm going to shower and get dressed and ready to walk Liggy. Then we can head off and start day 2.

Tour of North Yorkshire and Northumberland

I'm posting through the week in a family group on Facebook but I won't publish these blog posts until we get back next weekend. This holiday has been a while in the planning. We were originally going to take a week in April to experiment with a whole week's holiday using BritStops. However, Covid kept us all in restrictions and many of the pubs weren't open and it just didn't feel like the right time, so we postponed it until now.

BritStops

I should probably explain what BritStops is and how it works. Various businesses sign up as BritStops, which means they are happy to have motorhomes and campervans stay over for a night in their car parks. In theory, you don't pay anything and don't have to buy anything, but they hope you will have a look at their offer and spend a little in return for the free night's stay. You also usually have to pay if you want electric hook-up, but only a handful of places have facilities, as they are not campsites.

Each February, the BritStops book is published. It costs £28 at the moment, which sounds like a lot if you're not sure about the whole idea... but that is the average cost of one night on a campsite, so I think it's good value.

The book is divided into areas of the UK and then, within each area, there are many places (pubs, garden centres, farm shops, etc) that are listed with a code number. On Facebook, there is a BritStops group, where members post reviews. The reviews are strictly checked and have to be approved before posting. You can't mention the name of the place, only it's book number, so that there is value in getting the book. The advantage of this is that each place is contacted annually and the book is updated. If it was all for free (say, like searchforsites) you wouldn't know whether each place was still allowing stopovers or what facilities they had.

So, in keeping with the rules, I won't be mentioning the specific places in my blog posts. 

Our Tour

We have planned a circular tour, with day trips and stopovers. Originally, it was going to be all BritStops but we ended up having to make a couple of last minute changes because of the ongoing restrictions and the 21st June becoming the 19th July and all that. 

As I said, I won't mention our BritStops by name, but roughly speaking, here's the plan:

Sat 26th June - Wolds Village and then a pub stopover on the coast, south of Scarborough.

Sun 27th June - Scarborough and then a pub stopover north of Whitby.

Mon 28th June - Beamish Museum and then a pub stopover nearby.

Tues 29th June - Holy Island and then a night at the Beadnell Bay Camping and Caravanning club site.

Wed 30th June - Alnwick Castle and then a night at the Bellingham club site.

Thurs 1st July - Chesters Fort and Hadrian's Wall and then a pub north of Barnard Castle (no eye tests planned).

Fri 2nd July - Hiking around High Force Waterfall and then an ice cream shop just off the A1.

Sat 3rd July - Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens and then home.

Mostly, in keeping with the theme of this blog, my posts will focus on accessibility of the days out and venues... how this kind of holiday works for me as a wheelchair user... maybe a bit about how coming out of Covid-life is going... that kind of thing. 

LPG

I'll leave you with a photo of a pre-holiday visit. Our motorhome doesn't use Calor Gas, where you empty your bottles and then exchange it for a new one. It has a system called Gaslow. It has two yellow cylinders and a fill up point on the side of the van. You have to find an LPG filling station (there's plenty around at the moment) and it's a little like filling up your car with fuel, only the machine is a bit quirky. 

They're all a little different but you attach a hose to the van, remember to open the gas bottles (which should have been closed whilst driving there) and then hold a button to fill it. When it's full, you release the hose and it makes a big whooshing noise, like a mini-explosion. No matter how much you know it's coming, there's always a moment of mini heart attack when it does it. 

The advantage is, you can fill up any time. You don't have to be on empty... and it costs less. We had used about £4 worth of gas since last September, using it for cooking and hot water on every trip. That's really not bad! 

So here's our filling point:

Weekends away

I had intended to post after our previous weekend away and now I'm waking up on Sunday morning in a different location and it reminded me to write something.

In many ways, for us, our motorhome is a bit like a mobility aid. In the same way as my wheelchair, far from being a negative thing that binds or constrains me, gives me the freedom to get out, explore and enjoy life, so does our motorhome, affectionately named Zerubbabel. 

Family weekend

A few weeks ago, we visited Normanby Hall Country Park with my parents and my sister and her family. We were the only people there, which I was surprised at, given how difficult it can be at the moment to find any sites with vacancies. It was a fairly basic site, but had electric hook-ups and water and waste facilities. It was a big field, a little uneven throughout and with a slight slope. 

Normanby Hall Country Park

For me, there were two highlights to this weekend. The first was on the Friday night. One of my nieces suggested a family game of rounders, before acknowledging that it was impossible with aunty Nicki (not to mention grandma and grandad). However, we decided to give it a go and just be patient with the less able members. I played in my mountain trike and did some catches on 4th base that I was both surprised and proud of. Unfortunately Neil caught me out on both of my rounders. The grass was just too long and uneven to get any speed up! Watching my mum bowling though, was just fab! The game was full of laughter and I think our family competitive spirit emerged for the first time in ages!

On the Saturday evening, we had a family BBQ. Family meals can be a source of stress. I'm allergic to carotenes, which seem to be in so many different foods. My dad can't have gluten or lactose (one or the other seems manageable, but both is a nightmare) and then you've got likes and dislikes to factor in too. We decided, with some advanced prep, to organise an all inclusive BBQ. I made the bread rolls - gluten and lactose free - and my mum made salad stuff (including carrot-free coleslaw). My sister bought the meats, all gluten free and her partner Andy (who is a chef) cooked, with my dad. I also baked some allergy free lemon curd butterfly buns. I thought it was the best meal we could have had. For the first time in ages, we had found a way to have a family holiday and do things that everybody could be part of. I was a little nervous that it wouldn't work but I would definitely do it again!

Visiting family

This weekend, we have been in Scarborough. We're camping on my aunty and uncle's drive, connected to their electricity... the second time we have camped here. We jokingly refer to it as a campervan site, as it's a small cul-de-sac and some of the neighbours also have motorhomes that live on their drives. One of them is reversing out to go on holiday early this morning, as I write. 

Scarborough

I grew up here and always love visiting, whether to see family or  just go to the beach for a walk. For those who have never been, Scarborough has two bays: the North Bay and the South Bay, and they are joined by a long road called the Marine Drive, which goes round the base of the castle headland. The walk between the two bays is very popular and the South Bay is where most of the tourists seem to go. Yesterday, we drove round to the South Bay on our way back to my aunty's and it was packed! I was glad we weren't in amongst all those people! After being locked down for so long, it would have been too busy for me. 

We usually park at the North Bay. Motorhomes can park at the Sea Life Centre. In theory, they are not allowed to park along the Marine Drive, though many do. Either way, you are currently not allowed to sleep there. Zerubbabel is quite long and doesn't fit in a parking bay, so we have to park in a coach space and pay the £10 day charge. It sounds a lot but I believe a day of chalet rental is significantly more, and it gives us a base, a toilet, cooking facilities, etc. It also means I can take both chairs, which was useful yesterday.

In the morning, we took Liggy down on the beach, at Scalby Mills end, where dogs are allowed. Once you get to the main North Beach, dogs are banned from May to September, so we try to go at low tide when the extended beach is there. Yesterday was great, the tide was right out! I took my mountain trike and we went right down to the sea. Liggy was off lead and able to play with lots of other dogs, which she absolutely loves! She also likes to run in the sea, along the sea line. She's not keen on going any deeper than her knees and chest, but loves the feeling of running in the cold water. She also loves running between Neil and me, doing recall practice.

After we had played for a while, we walked up through Northstead Manor Gardens, where the Open Air Theatre is, and then back round and along the promenade, back to the car park.

This is where having the motorhome makes life so much easier. We were able to toilet, wash hands, prepare bacon sandwiches and sticky toffee pudding for dessert, and importantly for us, Liggy was able to lie on her bed and rest, safe while we got sorted. This meant we were all well rested for the afternoon walk.

I took my normal chair in the afternoon, and we met up with my aunty and uncle for a walk around the Marine Drive. We got part way round but it was getting busier and felt a little uncomfortable, so we turned around and went back and had a walk around Peasholm Park instead. Peasholm Park is beautiful, around a lake with an island, which used to be one of my favourite childhood attractions. The Glen is a wooded path that rises up from the park into the main cemetery, and is very peaceful. We went a little way up and around a pond where Liggy had a paddle.

Once we had walked all the way back doing the reverse route through Northstead Manor Gardens, my aunty and uncle suddenly remembered they were on a 2 hour parking bay and had to leg it back to their car and we went back to Zerubbabel for another pitstop.

Before leaving though, we took Liggy to another of her favourite spots. Right at the end of the beach is where Scalby Beck comes down into the sea. There's a pebbled area with lots of pools and rocks. It is unfortunately down a long flight of steps, but Neil takes Liggy down there to play off lead. I wait at the top of the steps and do an occasional recall to keep Liggy on her toes. It's great exercise for her and it's nice for Neil to get some time playing with her without me being there. I had to laugh though yesterday. She often poos on the pebbles down there (which, of course, Neil picks up) but yesterday, she pooed in one of the pools, still on pebbles though, and poor Neil got his shoes soaked trying to pick it up. She's never done that before.

The day was completed with a delicious dinner at my aunty's. After all the months of restrictions, it was so nice to be able to be in the house and have dinner together and catch up on life. 

Rievaulx Abbey

Our final day out of this mini-break was to Rievaulx Abbey. This was always going to be an interesting one, as the website was a little vague around wheelchair access. I kind of assumed it was going to be similar to Fountain's Abbey but on a slope, and I wasn't far wrong. The main path is gravel and most of the ruins are on grass. Grass can make it harder going in my mountain trike, but it hasn't rained now for weeks, and the ground is nice and hard, which makes it much easier. 

Anyway, again, Covid measures were pretty good, and we felt safe there. The main toilets are out in the car park, and you have to go out through the same route as coming in, so I was glad they weren't for me. The accessible toilet is in the main building. It was pretty good. Like most of them, it wasn't really big enough for me to go in with my trike, so I left it, and Liggy, outside with Neil... my 'essential companion'. I thought that was a nicer description than carer. Well done English Heritage!

The photos from today's visit don't tell a story... they are just nice piccies of the Abbey, many in monochrome, because I love monochrome photography. So I'll just interperse them in no particular way.

The site, as you will see, is built into quite a steep hillside. We decided to start at the top and work down. Actually, the top area was most of the ruins and took a while to get round. It was well worth it though. The main path is gravel and was relatively easy to climb, though I went quite slowly. That goes up to a small museum, though at the moment, it is closed. Later in the day, Neil went for a nosey round the back of it and discovered a massive swarm of bees on a window. I hadn't been bothered by them though all day, and decided I was happy to take his word for it, and that I would be better not to go and have a look. 

The photo above shows a section that I thought should feature as an accessible maze. For anyone else, walking around could get you anywhere. Most of the walls were small enough to step over, but for me it was a fun game, working out where I could get to and how to get out again. 

At the bottom of the hill, is a row of trees, going across the grass. Apparently, that is where the River Rye used to run but the monks re-routed it. We sat in the picnic area by those trees to have our lunch and it was strange to think we were sitting where the river used to be. We also had yet another lunch time of contemplating whether another membership would be excessive... but in the end, decided to go for it. These places are fab days out but also are causes worth supporting. Like all charities, they have had a tough year and they do a really good job of both maintaining our heritage and providing education to people in a relaxed and fun way.

There were several areas of flat lawn, which were lovely for stopping, resting and just taking in the views. It's hard to describe the magnificence of the ruins, but there were birds at the top, which we could only just see with the naked eye. We were trying to decide whether it was just pigeons and crows or something more exciting. Fortunately, I had my grandad's old binoculars with me, so we got them out and had a better look. It was nothing exciting but it was also interesting to use them to look up to another building, right at the top of the hill - Rievaulx Terrace - which is owned by the National Trust and only opens one Saturday per month. 

Although this was a very interesting visit, and the weather was glorious, there isn't much to acually do, other than wander around the ruins. For us, that was perfect. I think, even with most children, they could run around, make up stories and be imaginative, and have a good day out. We easily spent four hours there, and only really left because it was getting really hot and Liggy had been a little bit sick when we arrived. She didn't show any signs of being really poorly but just a little tired and although she was happy and seemed to be enjoying the outdoors, when it got hot, she seemed ready to call it a day. Plus, we knew we had things to do back at the campsite.

Before leaving though, we had a look around the shop. It's always nice to support these places and get a few reminders of the day. The previous night had been quite cold... down to -2^oC - and Neil, who is normally fine with just his duvet, added an old travel rug that we keep in the car, to keep him warm. But we do intend to use Zerubbabel all year round, so he suggested buying a new wool blanket to keep in the motorhome, so we've always got something to wrap us up if it's a bit chilly. We also spotted some jars of yummy stuff and bought some toffee apple curd (no idea, but it sounds delicious!) and some horseradish and mustard something or other. 

Inevitably, there were quite a few areas that I couldn't get to. We expected this. There were also a few narrow spots. We always go prepared for different Liggy situations. She spent part of the day attached to the lead arm on my trike and part just on a normal lead with Neil. She often went around the bits I couldn't do, walking with Neil but she always shows little signs of being concerned about whether I'm okay without her. Eventually, Neil usually finds a way back that puts me in sight but at a distance. This is where she always makes my heart do a little happy dance. We check that there's nobody around and no distractions. and then Neil just lets go and I call her. She runs soooo fast to get back to me. It's the best recall practice because it gives as near to 100% success rate as is possible. 

I wouldn't call this the best of accessible visits. If you were using a normal manual chair, it might be just too difficult. I wouldn't want to do it without my trike. That said, there were several people with walking sticks and crutches, and there are seats a-plenty, so it depends what you can do and what you want from a day out. Some of the grass banks were quite steep but it gave me chance to learn a bit more about what I can and can't do. Sometimes, I surprise myself by managing something that looks difficult. Other times, I just let Neil go off for a while and I find a nice spot, usually in the shade, to rest and enjoy the views. For me, as long as there's an accessible toilet, and not too many nettles, not too many bees, and preferably no wasps... I'm a happy camper!