Month: August 2023

August 24th-26th 2023

We left Woodhall Spa and drove a short distance to Horncastle which dates back to Roman Times and is in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was claimed to be owned by King William.

The town gained a Crown Market Charter in the 13th century and was famous for its Great August Horse Fair that continued until after WW2,

The Romans settled here and built a large stone walled fort, part of that wall is visible on the corner of the library.

The town is also well known for its antique shops and second hand shops one defied belief, inside everything was stacked metres high with just enough room to squeeze in between and outside it was even more chaotic.

We took a slight detour on route to our next destination and stopped at Cleethorpes for our lunch. Cleethorpes is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in N.E, Lincolnshire. It dates back until at least the 6th century and fishing was its main industry until the town developed into a resort in the 19thC.

From Cleethorpes we drove to a campsite at Fraisthorpe Beach where we spent two nights. The beach is at the end of a long one track wide twisty turny lane but it’s magnificent when you arrive.

On Friday we did a round trip walk of approx 7 miles along the beach to Bridlington, which is a seaside town in the West Riding of Yorkshire with two award winning beaches. It is known for its seafood with fresh fish and shellfish being landed daily, it it known as The Lobster Capital of Europe. It’s a very popular seaside resort with all the attractions to entertain thousands of visitors.

Thursday 24th August 2023.

We have spent the past two days here at Woodhall Spa, having stopped off en route at Market Deeping a pleasant small town and Sleaford which was a little run down.

Woodhall Spa lies about 15 miles south east of Lincoln, it is noted for its mineral springs, historic cinema and 2nd World War association with the RAF 617 Squadron commonly referred to as the Dambusters.

It seems poignant and the completion of a circle as last year whilst touring in Germany we found ourselves purely by chance at the Mohn Valley Dams that the Dambusters bombed.

During WW2 the hotels and other accommodation was requisitioned for the RAF Woodhall Spa which was built to the south of the village.

Much of the village has a Victorian elegance, but there is now a large amount of modern housing being erected on the outskirts of the town. In 1811 attempts were made to mine coal but the shaft kept filling with water and it was abandoned. About 1834 the Lord Mayor discovered that the water was a spring that flowed from 520ft below the surface and that the water contained iodine and bromine in high quantities. He spent £30,000 sinking a new well, erected a Spa Baths, and a new hotel and the town boomed with tourism. Sadly in 1983 the well collapsed and the Spa closed down.

We spent the morning with Alison and Peter wandering around the village and enjoying its charm, we visited a small museum “The Cottage Museum” which was the home to local photographer John Wield and much of his work is displayed in the museum. The cottage is a cedar wood frame clad with corrugated iron sheeting and came in kit form, delivered to the local railway station!

After lunch Alison and Peter went for a long bike ride along the local river and we walked back into the village and visited three other places of interest.

Jubilee Park which opened in 1937 and has an outdoor heated swimming pool, tennis court, cafe, rose garden, bowling green and two croquet lawns.

There is also a well used tea room in the woodland to the rear of the town, unfortunately it closed at 4pm so we didn’t get to sample its wares.

A few metres past this is the Kinema in the Woods, a cinema that opened in 1922 and has a back projection system as the roof is too low for traditional projection.

Altogether a pleasant visit and the area is worthy of a future return.

Monday 21st August 2023.

When we arrived yesterday we hoped to take advantage of the one time a week you can visit the Mill without booking, unfortunately it was so busy no more people could fit in. We had an ice cream instead.

The pool/ river in front of the mill is a Mecca for people who want to swim, paddle board canoe etc, it is very popular, the above shot was taken early in the morning.

This morning we walked from the site across two rivers (on bridges) the foot path took us across a recently mowed hay field until we emerged on the lane leading to the little village of Hemmingford Abbots.

A very houseproud man.

Apart from from some very wonderful and expensive houses the village only had a local pub and a marvellous church.

The initial church was built of wood in approx 974, other parts date from the early 1300s with more additions added later.

There are 22 carved images of angels in the roof, holding open books, musical instruments and shields. Sadly this was the only one I could get a clear photo of.

This afternoon we took a riverside path and completed a circular route covering a couple of miles.

Sunday 20th August 2023

We left the site and had an uneventful trip (well apart from an unseen speed hump) to Saffron Walden which we decided was a good halfway stopover point.

Saffron Walden is a market town about 15 miles south of Cambridge it retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period, it has an air or affluence.

Its original name was Chepyng Market but in the 16/17th century the saffron crocus was widely grown thanks to the town’s favourable soil and climate. The stigmas of the flower were used in medicines, as a condiment, an expensive yellow dye and as an aphrodisiac .

There was more to see at Saffron Walden and I’m sure we will return in the future.

We are now spending 2 nights on a NT campsite at Houghton Mill, Houghton Cambridgeshire. The camp site is on a stretch of the Great Ouse River. It’s an expensive site and very much like CandC sites very regimented but the facilities are superb.

After setting up we walked into Houghton Village, very little here in the way of commerce but very interesting buildings.

Friday 18th/ Sat 19th 2023.

We are going to meet up with motorhome buddies Alison and Peter next Tuesday in Lincolnshire, so it was obvious we head south away from the destination. We have never visited Hertfordshire before so a new experience for us.

The journey down on the M6/M1 was a nightmare in heavy rain, not a pleasant experience at all, thankfully it stopped raining when we arrived at Hertford Camping and Caravanning Club. It’s a large site with 245 pitches but well spaced out as the site is divided into small areas by trees and hedges.

Heavy rain lashed down Friday evening and into Saturday morning but Saturday morning it was dry and sunny and we undertook the 1.5 mile walk into Hertford. It is obviously a prosperous area, the cheapest house we saw for sale was £650,000 for a 2 bedroom semi! Obviously reflecting the proximity to London.

Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire and grew around a ford on the River Lea near its confluence with the rivers Mimran, Beane and Rib. The Lea is navigable from the River Thames to Hertford.

There were just enough shops in the town centre along with street market to keep us occupied for a while and we eventually had lunch outside a cafe that uses its profits for charity and employs people with learning disabilities.

Hertford Castle was initially built in 1066 as a motte and bailey castle just across the river from the current one which is now an iconic Grade 1 listed building dating from the 15th century and is now a venue for events, this evening the gardens are being used for an outdoor cinema.

We took a leisurely walk along a section of the River Lea and then headed back to the campsite covering 4.2 miles in total. The afternoon was spent chilling out.