Sunday 2nd July 2000
| Location | Arrived | Duration | Departed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastbourne | 07:37 | ||
| Harlow Little Chef | 09:10 | 36m | 09:46 |
| Rutland Water | 11:27 | 5h 34m | 17:01 |
| Lincoln Little Chef | 18:07 | 59m | 19:06 |
| Mayfield House, Lincoln | 19:33 |
I like to start early on my first day as it avoids the traffic around my area. This morning was not as early as usual, but early enough to get to Harlow by 9 am.
Then onto Rutland and a bit of bird watching. Afterwards, I headed north towards Lincoln, stopping at a Little Chef on the way.
Monday 3rd July 2000
| Location | Arrived | Duration | Departed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | 14:15 | ||
| Humber Bridge Country Park | 15:10 | 1h 25m | 16:35 |
| Tennyson Hotel, Bridlington | 17:37 |
I took a short trip to a nearby car park and spent the morning and lunchtime in Lincoln. I was mainly visiting Lincoln Castle. I saw some prisoners arriving at court – Lincoln Castle is still a working Crown court. I did not know that the castle held one of the original copies of the Magna Carta.
I seemed to have spent a long time at Lincoln castle, although there was plenty to see.
Eventually, I made my way onto the Humber Bridge. I had checked the toll with the AA beforehand, so I had the right money already in my car coin receptacle.
I parked just after the bridge at the country park, mainly to take pictures of the bridge. In 2000, there was no security – access underneath the bridge was easily accessible. I wish I knew what happened to the photos I took.
Finally, I drove onto Bridlington. I booked into the B&B and went off scouting for somewhere to eat. It was a seaside resort; I was sure somewhere would be selling Fish & Chips. I ended up with a kebab. The shop served the kebab with a strange vegetable, but sadly I cannot recall what it was.
Tuesday 4th July 2000
| Location | Arrived | Duration | Departed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridlington | 09:17 | ||
| Bempton Cliffs | 09:36 | 1h 33m | 11:09 |
| Sion Hill Hall & Falconry | 13:06 | 3h 26m | 16:32 |
| A1(M) services Durham | 17:24 | 59m | 18:23 |
| Waldridge Fell, Waldridge | 18:47 |
I wandered briefly around Bridlington, then set off to Bempton Cliffs. Bempton Cliffs is an RSPB reserve, well known for Puffins and Gannets.
Sion Hill Hall was my next destination; the main attraction for me was the falconry display. One of the handlers sustained an injury as a peregrine mistimed their landing.
To round off the day, dinner on the A1 motorway services and onto the B&B at Waldridge.
Wednesday 5th July 2000
| Location | Arrived | Duration | Departed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waldridge Fell | 09:48 | ||
| Beamish Museum | 10:07 | 3h 35m | 13:42 |
| Corbridge Roman site | 14:22 | 1h 27m | 15:49 |
| Brunton Turret | 16:05 | 20m | 16:25 |
| Hexham | 16:34 | 41m | 17:15 |
| Bardon Mill Little Chef | 17:38 | 1h 18m | 18:56 |
| Gelt Hall, Castle Carrock | 19:26 |
Beamish is an open-air museum that recreates towns from different eras. I particularly remember the smell of the old sweet shop. I also had a go on an early steam train.
Then onto the English Heritage site of Corbridge, a fort associated with the nearby Hadrians Wall. I forgot
To round off the Roman era, I also visited Brunton turret. One of the regular turrets built along the wall.
Brunton turret was just a bit of brickwork, although interesting as an historical entity, it was not somewhere to spend an entire hour, my budget for the visit. Instead I drove into hexham and lurked in the car park of Safeways.
The day finished with a drive to Castle Carrock, stopping at the Little Chef on the way,
Thursday 6th July 2000
| Location | Arrived | Duration | Departed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Carrock | 09:18 | ||
| Keswick | 10:16 | 2h 20m | 12:36 |
| Ulverston | 13:43 | 2h 2m | 15:45 |
| Chester services | 17:35 |
This day’s GPS recordings are a bit of a mess. The first anomaly is the jump from Ulverston to High Newton. It is on the route, so just a simple case of forgetting to start the GPS recording. However, I needed to turn the GPS unit on to navigate. During my tours, I switched to a built-in navigation system but kept my Garmin GPS available to record the track. But I am sure I did not have car navigation at this early date.
Anyway, while in Keswick, I first went to the Keswick museum. My main memory was that it was raining, and I wandered around the museum dripping.
The next stop was the Pencil museum. I was unaware of it until I stumbled across it, but it was a fascinating visit. The pencil museum is often mentioned on television as the butt of a “how interesting are pencils” joke, although people who know it will often spring to its defence.
Next stop was Ulverston, where I visited the Laurel and Hardy museum, for Ulverston was Stan Laurel’s place of birth. I sat in the cinema watching the continuous showing of Laurel and Hardy films before I realised I should be looking at the exhibits.
As I left, the curator gave me directions to Stan Laurel’s birthplace, so I popped around to look at the plaque.
Then onwards onto Chester; I had dinner at the M56 services, but where I stayed that night remains a mystery. I am sure I would have gone to a B&B in Chester, but my next track is when I leave Chester Zoo the following afternoon.
Friday 7th July 2000
| Location | Arrived | Duration | Departed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chester Zoo | 16:34 | ||
| Chester KFC | 16:41 | 34m | 17:15 |
| Whitchurch Little Chef | 18:08 | 25m | 18:33 |
| Grove House, Telford | 19:12 |
Another day with strange GPS readings. It would appear I spent most of the day at the Zoo, but I have no idea how I got there, or at what time.
After the zoo visit, I headed into Chester City to KFC, but then just over an hour later, I was at the Little Chef at Whitchurch.
Saturday 8th July 2000
| Location | Arrived | Duration | Departed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telford | 09:18 | ||
| Moreton-in-Marsh | 11:14 | 1h 16m | 12:30 |
| Bourton-on-the-Water | 12:48 | 2h 9m | 14:57 |
| Handcross Little Chef | 16:50 | 37m | 17:27 |
| Eastbourne | 18:14 |
I headed South to the Cotswolds. The first stop was Moreton-in-Marsh, where my father was based for his wartime RAF training, There is also a Wellington Bomber museum located here which I visited. The curator made me sign the guest book as a representative of a Moreton-in-Marsh pilot.
Bourton on the Water was my next stop, chosen just for its idyllical charm, but I did visit the motoring museum & toy collection while I was here.
