Durham
June 2016
Fri
24th
We
set off at 0950, it was nice, sunny morning. We as we travelled
Rich said he could hear a odd noise, he stopped a couple of times and
checked but couldn’t see anything, eventually it got so bad we
tried to call a garage and finally found one nearby in Tarporly,
after mistakenly going through the town we found the place and the
wheel was just about to fall off as nuts had not been tightened
properly when Rich had had the tyres changed, they tightened them up
for us and didn’t charge anything.
When
we arrived at The Croft Warden Law we set up and then went to Harry
& Loraine's where we had tea and a good catch up.
Sat
25th
We
put the awning up and then Harry fetched us and took us to Seaham
where we walked round the town and visited the lifeboat which had
been restored and also a larger than life statue “Tommy” of a
first world war soldier. Back to theirs for tea and some sewing. A
lovely sunny day but a thunder storm in the evening in Chester but
not at the site.
Sun
26th
Another
bright, sunny morning,finished setting up and then went into Seaham
to Aldi for a few things, then after lunch H &L came round we
chatted and Loraine and I did some sewing. It got quite cool in the
afternoon and rained quite heavily.
Mon
27th
We
went to Harry's and he took us for a run round. First we went to see
a NT property we thought it too expensive as there was not a lot
there, just an embroidery exhibition. He showed us Beamish Hall, now
an hotel and then we walked to “Causy Arch” the oldest railway
arch in the world, 1700s when it was wooden rails and horse drawn
carriages, a very pleasant walk. We then called at a small tea shop
for a drink.
After
we went on to Washington and went round the home of George
Washington’s ancestors, very interesting.
Tea
made by Harry again, lovely.
Tue
28th
Sunny
first thing, H&L came and then took us to Holy Island,
Lindisfarne. It started to rain but was not actually raining on the
island, which is reachd by a causeway at low tide. We had a look
round the small town and the Priory then Loraine and I went on a
shuttle bus to the castle. It was on a craggy rock with lots of
steps but was very interesting, very cosy for a castle, redesigned in
te 20s by Lutyen.
Back
to the site then we had beautiful fish and chips from Seaham.
Wed
29th
.
We
went to Harry's but the weather was so bad, heavy rain, that we
decided not to go out, we stayed chatting and sewing and they gave us
a nice lunch.
Thurs
30th
H &
L came to us after lunch after Harry had had his warfarin check, it
was wet again so Loraine and I stayed in and the men went to collect
a spare wheel for his new car. In the evening we went to a local
pub,Copt Hill, and had a very nice meal.
Fri
1st July
the
weather was a bit better so we went to Barnards Castle, a pretty
town. We stopped outside a café that welcomed dogs so we went in
and had some lunch. After lunch we went to Bowes Museum, Loraine and
I went in while the men took the dog a walk. It was a fantastic
museum, we went to the shoe exhibition which was very interesting but
we didn’t have time to have a really good look at the rest of the
museum.
Back
in the car Harry took us round some back roads and stopped at
Eggington Abbey. Back to ours for a cuppa before they went home.
Sat
2nd
Only
10c when we woke up! It was a sunny, blustery, showery day.
Harry
came and took us to look at some caravans at a couple of sites, we
saw one that we really liked and are seriously considering.
We
carried on to the coast in South Shields and a place called Marsden
Grotto, there was a lift from the car park down to sea level which
came out into a café/bar in a cave. The beach was very pebbly but
we walked along it for a way, there was a big sea stack which had
once been an arch but had eroded and also a smaller stack . We went
into the café when it started to rain, it was very noisy, full of
people and loud background music playing.
Back
to ours where we cooked tea and then chatted for a while.
Sun
3rd
Blustery
again but some sunshine, quite cool.
After
lunch we went to Harry's and did some sewing their son David and his
wife came and we had pizza for tea, very nice.. Rich watched the
grand prix before we came back to van.
Mon
4th
Started
packing up. Loraine and I went to a craft shop at a retail park and
had a good look round. Then back to theirs for some more sewing and
tea. The site owner gave us some plants to bring home. The site was
beautifully planted as it had once been a nursery.
Tue
5th
Up
and away by 0945 and a good journey home.
A
really nice site with very friendly owner, good facilities and
attractive grounds.
This
was the last time we went away in our motorhome as we sold it a few
weeks later.
Mileage
215 each way
Fuel
£40
Site
fees £126
