This is our first weekend away since the summer, and the weather could not be more different. We drove up separately today as we are taking Aurora to the zoo on Sunday so need the car. The traffic was very busy, and weather overcast, but the rain increased as we drove northwards. The rain continued to get heavier from the moment we arrived! Kevin had already set up when I arrived as I had picked up groceries on the way. We settled down for the night and decided to leave our fish and chip tea for another night as the weather was so horrible outside. It is lovely to be back in our cosy little van though, and we are looking forward to a good night’s sleep.
We both enjoyed a very restful night despite the heavy rain which never stopped. Today we met up with Helen and Julian at the Drift Café in Cresswell. It was so lovely to catch up with them and to hear their news. We had lunch and spent a lovely afternoon chatting – can’t believe it’s more that a year since we saw them last! We had hoped to go for a walk along the beach, but it continued to rain all day, and became very windy. Helen will be coming along to Dan’s Big Band gig at the Westovian Theatre, either with Julian or her sister who is coming back from New Zealand to live in the U.K. We returned to the van for another quiet evening, wrapped up and snug in the van. Let’s hope the rain will blow away before our trip to the Northumbrian Zoo tomorrow.
It has continued to rain overnight, and the wind had picked up, but thankfully the rain had stopped by the time we went to pick up Aurora. Jonny and Holly have a move in date now – 21st December – so they are now making plans to move their belongings into storage at the beginning of December so that their buyer can move on the 8th. They are going to order flooring and a sofa, and then having a meal at the Thaikhun restaurant when we are at the zoo.
They can’t risk losing another buyer at this stage. After a quick catch up, we loaded up the car with the car set, buggy, spare everything and picnic then headed up to the Northumberland Zoo which is about 20 minutes away. Aurora was excited to see us, and to be going to see the animals again.
The zoo was very muddy and wet underfoot which was to be expected after the rain over the last 36 hours, and Aurora enjoyed jumping in the puddles in her wellies! We noticed a big change in her today since we last came in February – apart from having grown so much, she was very chatty and was really interested in looking at the different animals. We managed to see some that she had missed last time when she had fallen asleep such as owls, parrots, Arctic fox and chipmunks. We also revisited the barn where she had been a little fearful of the horse as it neighing had sounded very loud inside. Thankfully today, it was too busy eating to make a noise. Aurora likes to see the donkeys and there were six of them in the barn today of various sizes and colours.
We had a picnic lunch, and then had another walk around to see some of the animals that had not be in their pens when we first got there. Aurora also likes to see the otters as they are very active so she finds them funny to watch. When she began to get tired, we decided to take a slow drive back, and parked up at the Druridge Bay Country Park, so that she would fall asleep in the car and have a good nap before we returned to Jonny and Holly’s house.
We spent a couple of hours with them when they got back from their shopping trip, and after hugs and blowing kisses, we drove back to the van for some tea and a lazy evening before we start our week again tomorrow. The weather has continued to stay dry and, for a time this afternoon, it brightened up a little, but tonight the wind has picked up again. It is good to be back in our van again after our lovely summer holiday, and we enjoy the cosiness of it all in the cooler weather. We’ve had a really lovely weekend with family and friends!
We are having a few days near Lincoln for our half term break. We are having a shorter break this week as we wanted to see Aurora in her dance show last night. We left home at about 1pm, and set off for Lincolnshire, arriving at the site at about 3.30pm.
There has been a storm in the last week – Storm Babet – and it has caused a lot of flooding along the east coast of Britain, particularly in Scotland. It seems Lincolnshire has also suffered with houses and businesses being flooded near to the site. There is a beck that runs into the lake, and when we arrived, the owner of the site was telling us how worrying it has been as the levels of water in the lake began to rise, threatening to flood the lower end of the site. Fortunately, the levels had receded quite a bit by the time in the last couple of days before we arrived so we were able to take our lakeside pitch as planned, but we were advised not to use the small bridge or walk around the lake as it was very slippery and unsafe. The owner met us and was very friendly. He and his wife have owned the site since 2018.
The site is a small one with 35 pitches, but it is well set out and there is plenty of space between vans for privacy. The pitches are gravel, and we had a water supply on our pitch. There is a small, unisex shower block with two showers and four toilets. It wasn’t particularly clean though, – the shower screens were very dirty – and I am very particular about the cleanliness never mind being against shared facilities if I am going to use them (which I am not!). The owners live on site in their own property and they offer a bed and breakfast service too in their home. We are the only ones on the site tonight but apparently more will arrive tomorrow. There is a level crossing nearby and you can hear the trains from the site.
We got set up and had a late lunch, then just relaxed for the rest of the late afternoon and evening. Tomorrow is going to be a rest day as rain is forecast all day – we’ve had the fire and we certainly don’t want the flood so we will stay and keep an eye on the water levels on the lake!
It has rained through the night and was miserable for most of the day. We both slept well, and there was no train noise during the night. We always keep ourselves busy with things on our rest days, and enjoy the pottering. In the afternoon there was a break in the rain so we went for a walk. The road has a path on one side only and it is not very well maintained so there were a lot of deep puddles and mud to get through. We crossed over to check on the bus times to Lincoln for tomorrow. The road is very busy as it goes to Skegness on the coast, so there are a number of large vehicles including articulated lorries passing close by. Houses are set close to the road, and it must be very noisy living there. We walked into Langdale where there is a pub, a church, and a community centre. There is also another caravan site on the right-hand side of the road. There was nothing to see along the road beyond the village, so we returned to the site, but at least we’ve been able to stretch our legs!
We continued our pottering, had our tea and watched a bit of television before going to bed.
We are going into Lincoln today to visit the cathedral and the castle. Mam and I have been to Lincoln Christmas Market on a bus trip, but I had not ventured into the centre as there is always so much to see at the Market itself.
We caught the bus just outside the site, and the journey into Lincoln takes about 25 minutes. It was dry but overcast. We got off at the bus station, and realised as we were walking through town that it was half term in Lincoln as there were a lot of children about. There was a monster hunt around the city as there were large inflatables on top of different building and in different locations for children to find. The Ghostbusters car was in town too, so Kevin sent a phot to Jonny as he used to love the film as a child, and had a lot of the toys including the car.
We walked through the city towards Steep Hill on our way to the cathedral. It was good to see a thriving city centre with few empty shops, and the buildings are really interesting. Steep Hill a lovely cobbled street and is … steep! There are some lovely shops along the way though selling all sorts of different things from fudge to clothes and gifts (homewares, jewellery, cards etc.). It was first used by Roman inhabitants of the castle to expand their settlement down the hill. Excavations have shown that it used to be lined by a series of steps at that time.
The entrance to the cathedral - through a stone archway called Exchequergate Arch - is really quite unique, and the cathedral itself is magnificent. I was also interested in the houses facing the cathedral which date back to medieval times, and imagine they have been used for members of the clergy over the years. The entrance to the cathedral has interesting stonework with many different patterns around the arched doorways. Our tickets are valid for a year, making them good value for money, and when you enter the building itself, it is really impressive.
Following the Norman invasion in 1066, it was William the Conqueror who commissioned the building of the cathedral in 1072, and it was completed and consecrated in 1092. Like many other cathedrals we have visited, it was built on the site of an existing church. It suffered a fire in 1124, and an earthquake in 1185 which demolished part of the building. The cathedral was extended in the 12th and 13th Centuries. In the 16th Century it was damaged by Oliver Cromwell’s army during the English Civil War. In the 18th Century the Great Tom bell was lift into the Central Tower, and the Father Willis organ was installed. In the 19th and 20th Centuries, much restoration has taken place in the cathedral and its adjoining buildings. Scenes in the film, the Da Vinci Code, and ‘Young Victoria’ were filmed here. Most recently, in 2015, the cathedral received a £12.4 million Heritage Lottery Grant to improve visitor facilities, restore and conserve Exchequergate Arch and replace existing floodlights.
Along the nave on both sides are 15 stations of the cross carvings - called ‘The Forest Stations’ - depicted in natural wood. They are the work of William Fairbank, a multi-media artist and carpenter. They add warmth to the cathedral stone, and are skilfully carved. It is interesting how different artists interpret Jesus’s journey to the cross, and we have seen some wonderful work including in the Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool where the sculptures are quite haunting. The architecture is really interesting and there are several small chapels off the main nave. The stained glass is beautiful and the styles and much of it dates back to the 13th Century. The colours are strong and striking – I imagine more so on a sunny day!
We walked through the cloisters to visit a small information room containing displays of artwork, stone, painting and other artefacts relating to the cathedral. Some of these had been found during redevelopment work, and restoration over the years. One item that was unusual was what appeared to be a sepia painting of the cathedral. When reading about it, I learned it was made from human hair, probably from the hair of girls who were in the Victorian workhouse! This was something that was quite common in the Victorian era, as they often preserved hair from deceased relatives as a momento.
We went for lunch in the cathedral café and it was very good, then we had a wander in the shop as it is always a good place to pick up some nice gifts or cards for special occasions. Our next visit was to the Lincoln Castle. The walls of the castle still exist but within the grounds is a Victorian prison and chapel, as well as a High Court building which is still used for trials today. There are smaller buildings within the castle walls and we picked up an audio tour for this as part of our entrance fee.
We began our visit with a tour and talk about the inner walls with one of the volunteer tour guides. He had a great wealth of knowledge to share about the history of the castle and it was an interesting hour spent. We learned that the Romans first built a legionary fortress in this location, more than 2000 years ago. They chose this spot because they recognised its strategic importance on the banks of the River Witham which flows into The Wash. The Vikings followed in the 870’s turning Lincoln into the largest and most important inland port in England. William the Conqueror arrived in Lincoln in 1068, and ordered a motte and bailey fortress to be built on the site using the existing wooded castle walls. These were replaced with stone in the late 1100’s. A limestone quarry built by the Romans – and still in existence today – continues to provide stone for the castle and cathedral for restoration and repair. The guide gave us lots of interesting information about the Lincoln battles which took place outside the castle walls, and about the buildings that once stood there. In more recent times, the castle grounds became more famous for their hangings of prisoners between 1817 and 1859. He told us that Thomas Cook organised trips to Lincoln so that people could watch the hangings. Victims would be hung in gibbets after their death, and people flocked to see them.
We were taken to the east gate where we could get a better idea of the depth of the ditches that were dug around the mound by the Romans. Parts of the original Roman stonework could be seen below. In 2013, during excavations to install a new lift to the Medieval walkway, the remains of an ancient church were discovered 3m below ground. Nine skeletons were found – 6 adults and 3 children. A 7th adult was found in a sarcophagus in a trench dug near the wall which was over 1000 years old. Work has been carried out, and DNA extracted from the first 9 skeletons to see if they were from the same family. A reconstruction of the face of the 7th adult was done using the skull, and a model is on display in the museum. We spoke to the volunteer in the shop later, and she told us that other scans of the grounds had been done, and they revealed that there was a lot more to discover underground.
After our tour of the inner walls, we went to learn more about the Magna Carta (Big Charter). We had already seen a copy of the document on a visit to Salisbury Cathedral, and I hadn’t realised there were more copies until today. Two other copies are housed in the British Museum in London. A copy of the Charter of the Forest was also on show at Lincoln, and was a very important document as it gave rights to the everyday people who lived in or near the Royal forests. It reduced the amount of land which royalty could acquire for their own private use, and which led ultimately led to the development of farmland as we know it today. The copies of the Magna Carta and the Forest Charter are kept in a vault within the castle walls. It is fascinating to look at the original documents that are so beautifully written in the tiniest and most even handwriting. The most interesting fact about the Magna Carta is that we still abide by some of the laws written in it more than 800 years ago! The key one is the right of every person to be given a fair trial by jury.
The last thing to do on our visit was to walk around the castle walls and learn about the different features including Cobb Hall, which is on the north-east corner of the wall. It was used as a dungeon during the time of the executions, and hangings took place on the roof so that crowds could see. We were able to walk down into the dungeon down some very narrow steps – it must have been a horrible place to be. On the south side of the wall, we walked to Lucy Tower which was originally a two-storey building. In the early 19th Century, the remaining roofless tower was used as a burial ground for prisoners who had been hanged. Their burial spots are marked with small stone headstones, mostly with initials only. It had a very eerie feel. On the south-east corner was The Observatory Tower turret – like Rapunzel’s tower – which was added in the 19th Century. In the Second World War it was used as a look-out tower by volunteers searching for enemy aircraft in the skies above Lincoln. Overall, the visit to the castle was really interesting, and we learned a lot about the history and development of Lincoln as a city from our visit.
We made our way back through the town, and to the bus station, to make our way back to the van after having a really good day out. We agreed that Lincoln had a lot more to offer than Cambridge in our opinion. As usual, we have walked and walked today, so we enjoyed a nice meal and a lazy evening. A really good day!
We spent the morning in the van as we are going into Lincoln for a Ghost Bus Tour in the early evening. After lunch, we caught the bus back into the city. After a bit of a wander, we walked to Brayford Pool which is a natural lake, and is surrounded by eating places, a cinema and cafés. It is close to Lincoln University. Originally a bustling area with warehouses, granaries and breweries, steam boats and sailing barges carried goods too and from Lincoln, making it a thriving inland port. Its decline began upon the introduction of the railways in 1846, and it fell into decline. In 1993, funding for the first part of Lincoln University was acquired, and building work began on the old railway site on the south side of Brayford. Further development of the area has created a thriving waterfront which we imagine is very popular with students and tourists, especially during the summer months.
After spending a bit of time at Brayford Pool, and a coffee, we walked back towards the cathedral just to check where the bus would be picking us up for the Ghost Tour. The west side of the cathedral is equally as beautiful as the east side, although it is the oldest part. Walking down the side of the cathedral from the west to east side, you get a much greater sense of the size of it. We got on the tour bus at 6pm and went on our little tour of the city (which lasted about an hour), and listened to some tall tales about ghosts and things that go bump in the night. From Roman soldiers marching around the basement of a local hotel, to a dog looking for his dead owner, we listened to a variety of ghost stories linked to the city. It was not always easy to see the places being referred to by the guide in the dark! It was an enjoyable hour – and a bit of something different. We might try the walking tour next time as they are more atmospheric especially when standing outside the buildings being spoken about when it’s dark.
We walked back to the bus station through a very busy town centre. Bars, pubs and eating places were full of excited (and some drunk!) young people enjoying themselves. There was a laser show every 20 minute inside the Chapter House near the cathedral so there were many families around that area and climbing up steep hill. We caught the bus back and got back to the van just as the rain started again. Tea and a bit of TV before settling down for the night and enjoying the extra hour in bed.
We’ve had a really lovely few days and will certainly return to the area as there is a lot more to see and do. I will have some places to visit in relation to the family tree too as there are links to parts of Lincolnshire which I would like to explore.