Post It from Bridlington CC site, Wednesday 17th July, 2013

Being from East Yorkshire we were very familiar with Bridlington and had often visited this once great seaside resort when our son was young. In more recent years we were more likely to visit on a Sunday during the closed season and enjoy a stroll along the prom, or call in for fish and chips on our way home from Whitby or Scarborough.

Since joining the Club we had said we would take Bessie and Smokee, our cat, for a few days away to the new Bridlington site as soon as we were able to get a pitch for more nights than two and it was at a convenient time for us. We managed to get four nights, starting Sunday 14^th July, not long after we returned from France so jumped at the chance to go.

I had just had my stitches out from a hand operation and although I was now allowed to drive it was a good opportunity for Sharon to drive most of the way and leave me to do the narrow bits around Sewerby until she gets used to driving the van. She did very well for a first proper drive, it is not the length or weight Bessie that can be a problem when first learning to drive her, it is more the rather large overhang at the rear that is the problem. Sharon even managed to do all the starting and stopping without any roll back on the small hill as you approach the top end of Bridlington so I was well impressed and have full confidence she will soon master all aspects of driving a motorhome. We could not stop to change drivers where we intended so she even took her all the way through Marton to the Co-Op supermarket close to the site where we waited for 10 minutes so that we did not arrive before 12 o’clock. Traffic had been busy on this Sunday morning on these relatively narrow roads so she was pleased to stop and hand over the keys.

We arrived at the site just gone 12 to join a small queue of other members at the reception being booked in. The two wardens on duty, Sue and Steve Wilcox greeted us with a friendly smile and once they learned we had waited at the Co-Op they said we should have just come early, it was not a problem, just ring them if we are looking at arriving early again. They turned out to be a very friendly, obliging couple who enjoyed to chat and were very helpful. They had set the site up from new, about 2 years ago, but unfortunately for the members they were soon to retire. Let’s hope their replacements are as accommodating and helpful?

This was going to be a short visit but one that included many firsts for us, starting with Sharon’s first proper drive to a campsite and only the very second time behind the wheel. Another first was using our bikes in the UK, we had bought them in Spain and used them an awful lot but mainly on cycle paths. They are city bikes so you have a wonderful upright riding position; the downside is they are a bit top heavy and not well balanced. I was keen to see just how safe we felt on the UK roads, or should I say with the UK drivers?

Our first impressions of the campsite were good. It has three separate circular areas with pitches on both sides of a tarmac road, and one small straight section leading to the play area and dog walk set in a biodiversity area of tall grasses, trees and shrubs. There was one centrally located toilet block with piped radio 2, 6 showers, 5 wash rooms, 3 toilets and 4 urinals in the gent’s one. I enjoyed having the radio and the choice of radio 2 was fine for me.

Some of the pitches were serviced and all were hard standing with sections of grass between them. We chose plot 33, on the outer edge of the area where the serviced pitches are and it backed onto the biodiversity area. It looked as though the pitching areas had been cut into the previously planted shrubbery some years ago and our pitch had the pleasant sight of flowering weeds and thistles around the hedge. Weeds you may say but it was actually quite pleasant, I am sure there is a proper botanical name for those yellow daisy like ones we all see at the sides of the road. The only downside to this former planting was that some of the thistles were still coming through the mown grassed area, as I discovered in bare feet, ouch! The trees brought plenty of birds, butterflies and bees and little noise. In fact I think it was the quietest site we had stayed at in the UK and it meant I did not have to wear my earplugs to save waking up to the country noises the dawn chorus generally brings or the heavy traffic often found near the campsites we have stayed at.

All the facilities were as you would expect, especially given they were almost new, very clean and well cared for and of a high standard. The site was almost full, I think, the first night and I counted 14 caravans and 9 motorhomes in my section of the pitches. The downside of only one toilet block for 75 pitches did mean I saw a person having to queue for the toilets which was another first for me. I am an early riser so it did not affect me at all.

We arrived in a little sea mist but the sun soon burned it away and the afternoon was very pleasant. I took a ride on my own just to see how safe it was going to be for the two of us to get to the relative safety of the cliff top cycle path that starts at Sewerby Hall. The road from the site is quite busy and the only one to Flamborough, a popular destination with holidaymakers and bird watchers. The road is very narrow, given it is the main road, and a coach came too close whilst passing me when a car was coming the opposite way. It was 1.5 miles from our pitch to the start of the cycle path and there was a narrow footpath I could have used so I checked this out on the way back. The path was not a good alternative as it was overgrown in places by hedging and very narrow at points so you could easily come off the kerb and onto the road.

Despite my youth spent all cycling on a road and never on a footpath using the footpaths in these situations did not bother me, we would dismount for pedestrians and in any case the local authority had designated the proper cycle path all along the sea front through Bridlington to be used by pedestrians as well with no separation at all so there were no problems for the council with cyclists and pedestrians being together. In this day and age why we don’t have more proper safe cycle paths I do not know, other European countries have lots.

At the cliff top a local cricket team were playing on the ground immediately outside the cliff entrance to Sewerby Hall and gardens. The gardens were open and free to enter at that point in time but the next day I discovered this was not the case and we had to access the cycle path through the village of Sewerby. It was quite good seeing the two teams playing in all white attire and there was something quite British about it all. Had Sharon been with me I would have spent a while sat on one of the many wooden seats surrounding the pitch and enjoying the moment.

Monday was a beautiful and hot day, reaching around 26 degrees Celsius in the shade, according to my newly replaced max and min thermometer hanging by the door of Bessie. In the two months we had just spent in Spain and France we had not once had breakfast outside. We are both sun lovers and like to be outside in little clothing so the mornings outside in the shade were too cold for us and as we had chosen to site the van facing the setting sun so we could eat out on an evening later we just never ate breakfast outside. Pitch 33 faced to the East and I was surprised that at 8:30 it was 40 degrees on the thermometer, in the sun admittedly, so we had our first breakfast outside since we had been camping.

It was lovely and very hot in the sun, but my muesli and yoghurt did not seem right somehow when another couple appeared to have a cooked breakfast outside every day. I took the plunge and persuaded Sharon we would have bacon and mushrooms with a fried egg the following day. I could not remember the last time we had eaten a cooked breakfast but it was probably at the very least four years ago when we used to stay in a hotel in London when visiting our son. It was possibly 20 years since we had cooked one at home ourselves!

I got the sun canopy out and we spent most of the day just enjoying the weather on the site and reading. It was a little breezy so we also put up our newly purchased Isabella wind break, as much to have a go at erecting it as for any other purpose and found it went up quite easily and looked the biz, a good investment when we saw the quality of the product.

We had friends arriving at some point in the afternoon to go to Bridlington for a fish and chip tea at Busy Bee’s fish café in the centre of town. We made our way there in Brian’s car and parked on the North Bay so we could enjoy a long walk along the promenade into the centre of the town. It was busy with people enjoying their holiday and many Scottish families were taking advantage of their earlier school holidays than those in England. The fish was superb and the meal overall very enjoyable, a treat we do not have very often. We bought the bacon, mushrooms and bread cakes on the way back to the site and got the large free range eggs from the warden. The remainder of a very pleasant afternoon and evening was spent chatting away with our friends who set of for home quite late. They too had enjoyed themselves.

We arose on Tuesday morning to magnificent sun shine again and I set to cooking breakfast outside on our single electric ring. It went quite well, although the eggs did not fry too well in the same pan, and we enjoyed the meal but I doubt we shall be doing it again for quite some time, too much messing around.

Today was our day to try the bikes out properly, we rode on the road into Sewerby and then along the cliff top cycle path which lead onto the promenade where we shared the path with all the pedestrians. We made our way right up to the harbour and went to the very end of the northern breakwater where we watched the young seagulls enjoying a bit of crab no doubt provided by the local fishermen on the cobles. From there we rode down the side of the harbour and then walked over the pedestrian footways to the far side of the harbour where we once again rode to the very end of the southern breakwater. We passed lots of people fishing with rods from the wall and surprisingly actually saw quite a few fish caught, I recognised one as a flat fish, a dab or plaice I think, but there were some other varieties being caught as well. Another first for me, I had never been to the end of this breakwater as it is quite long and goes to nothing but the fishing boat landing berths. Seeing Bridlington harbour from this angle was quite different.

From here we rode along the south promenade, past the famous, and newly renovated, Spa where tea dances and all other forms of entertainment has gone on for many years and eventually ended up at the very southern point of the promenade where there is now the South Shore park and ride facility. In total we had rode 5 miles from the campsite. We sat and enjoyed the view over Bridlington bay to Flamborough Head in the distance as we enjoyed a hot drink at the small café at the end of the promenade. For some strange reason, childhood memories I suspect, I always drink a cup of Horlicks at the seaside in the UK and this one was excellently prepared by a young man who had probably never tasted it.

On our way back we parked the bikes in the town centre and did a little shopping and bought some salads for lunch from Marks and Spencer to go with our fruit. After all the calories for breakfast we wanted a healthier option for lunch and we sat on the cliff top between Bridlington and Sewerby to enjoy the views.

After lunch we returned to the site for a nice cup of tea before taking a ride down to Danes Dyke, a sharp ravine in the cliffs where a large house once stood about a mile from the site. We had not been there since our son was a toddler but I had vague memories of smelling the wild garlic as you walked through the heavily wooded path to the sea. The garlic had been and gone, according to the lady at the cafe but the walk was enjoyable and the dairy ice cream she sold was a delight to end the afternoon with, another treat we have not had for some time since being in dieting mode at the start of the year.

As we arrived at the campsite we were met by the wardens and we enjoyed a good chat outside the reception and discovered we had some common friends. We said we had often thought about purchasing one of the models of a local fishing coble that adorned the wall of the reception building and used as a planter for the red and pink geraniums so Sue explained where we may be able to buy one from stock at the Crab Pot model shop in Flamborough village.

We had rode 13 miles in total this day and without incident so that was good news, we planned to go and see the delights of Flamborough the following day on our bikes and seek out the Crab Pot model shop.

Wednesday was another glorious day and once again we sat outside and had a more normal breakfast for us of cereals, and very enjoyable it was too in the morning sun. I made sandwiches to take out for lunch and after sorting all the chores in Bessie we set off along the footpath for Flamborough. The road from the site to Flamborough was far too narrow and the vehicles travelled as fast as they could on the national speed limit road so I considered it too dangerous to travel on the road when there was a path we could use. Again the footpath was not good in places and overgrown with protruding bramble bushes but the risk was much less than on the road. We encountered only one pedestrian and duly dismounted to let her pass.

We found the shop in the centre of the village, after passing the ruins of the once castle, and bought a red model of a fishing cobble called ‘Guillemot’ after one of the many birds the area is known for. A bargain at £45 and today they were made of GRP and not wood so the lifespan as a planter was greatly enhanced. It will look good on the front wall of our house probably with red geraniums so we can see them standing above the window sill. We arranged to collect it on our way home.

We then visited for the first time South Landing and walked around the sculpture walk, which I am sure could be negotiated by wheelchair users. The view south across the bay was beautiful. We then descended the steep stairs cut into the land to the South Landing itself where the new RNLI station is located. The small beach and waters were excellent and you could have been anywhere in more exotic countries. We made the steep walk up the road to the car park where we had set off from and found our locked bikes still intact.

From here we rode to Flamborough Lighthouse where we had lunch sat on one of the many cliff top seats, dedicated to three Nordass sisters who had enjoyed the views when alive. In front of us was the beacon and in the distance were two local fishing boats and a small tanker sailing north. For desert we had a large Mr Moos ice cream, it is locally made at Skipsea further down the coast and we had wanted to try it for a long time. It was absolutely delicious and better by far than the one the previous day.

The new lighthouse stood proud on the headland and I thought of when I abseiled down the disused one at Withernsea for charity many years ago. I remembered saying at the time, ‘Never again’ it was too high for me and looking up from the bottom of this one brought back those memories. The old lighthouse is still standing, without the light, nearby on the edge of the golf course. I had grown up seeing the light from Flamborough crossing the bay to near where we live and had even sailed by on my way to Jarrow and Blyth in a former life as a navigator on the big ships. I went to Trinity House School who are the owners of all the lighthouses around the UK and their name was on a plaque at the gate.

After lunch we rode off back into Flamborough and then north to North Landing, where the old RNLI lifeboat station was located. We arrived in time to see the fishermen finish landing their catch and drive the kits up the very steep slipway in two Land Rovers that seemed to do it with ease. The crew sat on or stood around the front of the vehicles and I did wonder if that was to give some extra weight to the front wheels as they drove up the slipway?

After enjoying the views for a while it turned a little chilly with the on shore breeze so we set off back to the campsite to enjoy the remaining hours of sun and a cup of tea. We had rode 11 miles and it was good to see that all these locations today had Local Authority car parks, toilets and cafes and the daily charge for parking enabled you to move between any of their car parks without incurring additional charges which meant after doing the tour of the headland you could also visit Sewerby and Bridlington as well. How’s that for a bargain.

We have enjoyed our four nights here and Smokee, our cat, also has enjoyed the sun. He seems to have really taken to travelling with us and we like it having him with us. We shall no doubt return and it certainly is a campsite where a car is not needed, see the thread on UK camp sites on Club Together. The bus service runs at least every hour past the site between Flamborough and Bridlington, where you can get busses or trains elsewhere.

Once again I put up the CT sign in the van window but no one made any contact. Please add comments, good or bad, to my story. It is the only way I know that anyone is reading it and after taking many hours to type and take photographs especially for the story it helps to know others are reading it.

Regards, Roy