Old Hartley CC Site - 23rd to 26th May 2014

 

It was time for another visit to Old Hartley at Whitley Bay. Up the A19 and through the Tyne Tunnel (£1.60 each way).  We arrived a little earlier than planned ( before the 12 o’clock check in) so drove past the site towards Blyth. There we found a big free car park called the Mermaid car park along the seafront.

There was a cafe/ fish and chip restaurant and a coffee shop/ ice cream parlour. There was also a children’s play area and toilets with outside solar showers so in the height of summer with kids, this would be a nice beach to visit. Sadly when we arrived it was very windy, quite chilly and raining. We had a quick, bracing walk and then headed back into Monty’s warmth. After killing a bit of time, we headed to the Old Hartley Site just after noon.

This is a lovely site, set on a hill (ramps needed for a lot of the pitches) with a sea view and a view of St. Mary’s lighthouse. The wardens are friendly and the site and facilities are spotless. We chose a pitch right by the sea and quickly set up.  With tummies rumbling we headed for the pub near the site entrance. The  Delavel Arms serves great, home cooked food at great prices.  Portions are large and the desserts (if you still have room) are lovely. Thoroughly stuffed we headed back to Monty. The weather hadn’t improved so we settled in for a marathon viewing session of the current preferred box set – The Big Bang Theory.

Saturday dawned drier & brighter. We caught the bus (308) from the bus stop which is a 10min walk from the site and headed into Whitley Bay itself. The front here is undergoing rejuvenation. The big white domed structure (Spanish City) is also being refurbished.

 

As fans of ITV’s Vera we had fun spotting places where Vera had been filmed.

We had a walk along the long sandy beach then headed back to barbecue.

Another sunny day on Sunday so we walked to the lighthouse. Because of the tide this can only be accessed at certain times. Consequently the lighthouse isn’t always open so check for opening times if you would like to go in the lighthouse. We climbed the lighthouse steps last year and it’s worth a visit but wasn’t open this time. There is a large car park near the lighthouse if you are visiting by car/ motorhome. There is also an ice cream van and burger van in residence. We then continued along and down onto the beach for another walk. Later we popped to the nearby shop and noticed that they are about to face some stiff competition as a new Co-op was nearing completion. When staying at this site, besides the afore mentioned shops and Delavel Arms, there are also a couple more pubs and a fish and chip restaurant within a 20 min walking distance.

Monday dawned sunny again - almost unheard of for a bank holiday Monday! All too soon it was time to pack up again and head for home.

Bridlington 2nd–5th May

 

The Bank Holiday beckoned and we were booked into Bridlington Caravan Club. We had stayed here just after it had first opened a couple of years ago. It is a nice, modern well organised site with spotless facilities. The site is split into two areas, we chose a pitch in the first area and set up. The sun was shining and we were able to sit out although there was a cool wind.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny. There is a bus stop outside the site so we caught the bus into Bridlington early on Sat morning (£3.30 per adult return trip). The bus journey took us past Sewerby Park and a model village so there are places to visit nearby even if you don’t want to venture right into Bridlington.

 

Bridlington has a good selection of shops and there was also a small market. We headed  towards the seafront. There are plenty of places to eat and kiosks for takeaway fish and chips, doughnuts etc. You can take a ride on a speedboat or a pirate ship from the front (we have enjoyed these on our past visit). You can also take a boat trip to Bempton Cliffs from here as well. There are funfair rides along the front with lots to keep the kids entertained. There are plenty of amusement arcades if like me you like to have the occasional go on 2 penny falls. As we were early (10ish) it was very quiet and it was nice to have a mooch around without battling through crowds.

 

Part of the beach was cordoned off as work was being done but there was still miles of nice sandy beach so we had a good walk to work up an appetite for lunch.

We decided to eat at Rags restaurant near the harbour and would thoroughly recommend it. Their homemade fishcakes were really tasty. We chose fish and chips for our main course. These were delicious – a good sized fish and fantastic chunky chips. The desserts looked really nice as well but we were too full to sample these.

We were also amused to see that a duck had taken up residence at the front of a moored rowing boat (you can just see his white head above the first buoy) with two seagulls for company at the rear.

After lunch the sun was still shining (usually unheard of on a bank holiday) and Bridlington was now very busy. We caught the bus back to the site and enjoyed the sunshine.

We were woken up on Sunday morning by heavy thudding noises on the roof. I thought a seagull must have landed up there but as I looked up, a pigeon was staring down at us through the skylight! After our early morning wake up call we spent the day relaxing at the site. We tried out our new electric grill.

On Monday we packed up early and decided to head for breakfast at Flamborough Head.

There is a  good sized pay and display car park so parking Monty wasn’t a problem. There is a lighthouse  and a nice restaurant which does a great big breakfast. It was lovely to sit in the restaurant and gaze out of the window at the sea whilst tucking in.

After breakfast we walked to the lighthouse and cliff edge where we saw a few puffins flying past.

Sadly, it was now time to return home but we had had a lovely long weekend and been blessed with fine weather.

Day 10 – Ferry in to Hull –17th April 2014

 

It was another very calm night crossing. In the morning we woke up to greyer skies than we had become used to and went and had another delicious breakfast. Paul then went up on deck to watch as the ship negotiated the narrow lock into Hull’s port.

  

 

Once docked the announcement was given to head down to the car decks and reunite with Monty. We drove out and headed for home, sad that our trip was over but pleased that we had enjoyed such a wonderful trip with lovely weather.

Day 9 – Bruges and Zeebrugge –16th April 2014

 

 

The next morning after a bit of a lay in we walked back into Bruges. It was another sunny morning. We went to a cafe for a waffle breakfast which was fantastic. By now it was about 10’' o’clock but not very much was open. We decided to take a canal boat tour. It was about 8 euros per person. We waited for about 15 mins chatting to some friendly Americans. There was a nail biting moment when the largest gentleman sat on our side of the boat and it felt as if we may topple out but the skipper did a good job of seating the remaining passengers by size to redistribute the weight load and balance the boat! Again this was a lovely way to see Bruges. The guide gave a very amusing commentary in both English and French. Some of the bridges were very low and our  (bald) guide joked that this was where he lost his hair! It was lucky we went at that  time because afterwards many boat firms that we passed said fully booked as there were quite a few coach parties.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All too soon our time in Bruges was ending. We would really like to come back here again and spend more time. Although Amsterdam and Bruges were similar with their architecture and canals we preferred Bruges. It has an olde world charm and felt unhurried but this may be because we went slightly out of season. 

To exit the Aire you pay at a machine in the coach parking area which was quite easy to use and you could change and select your language to complete the transaction. As we had been at the aire for over 24 hours  we were charged  for two nights. We noticed that there is a drain and hose pipe here for the coaches to use but we did see a motorhome using this as well.

 

 

On the road  for a short trip to Zeebrugge to catch the ferry home. Again with P&O ferries, this time on the Pride of Bruges. We arrived very early and were first in the queue but were soon joined by other early arrivals. When the ticket office opened we were then directed through to the waiting area. If you take your passport and boarding card you can leave this area and visit the terminal for a drink/ loo stop. We must look dodgy because we were once again checked, this time by G4 security. After another wait we drove onto the boat. This ship was older than the last one but was still  lovely. It was clean and in good repair. Our room was really nice again and even more spacious than the last one. The bathroom was bigger and once again had nice White Company toiletries, fluffy towels and robes. We used the shower and it was unexpectedly very powerful!

We had paid for the meal  deal for the return crossing as well so headed off to the buffet restaurant. There was an even better selection of dishes including Indonesian Cuisine. The staff were really friendly and attentive. Having eaten our fill we went to bed  and slept really soundly.

Day 8 – Hooge Crater & Brugge –15th April 2014

 

Before we left we reflected on Jeugdstadion. The negatives - the toilet block could do with a bit of a facelift. The showers are not very powerful and the temperature cannot be altered. You also have to keep pressing the button to operate the shower and the button is out of the shower in the drying part of the cubicle so everything gets wet as you go back to hit the button again. Free Wi-fi was supposed to be available near to the reception building but didn’t work for the duration of our stay. The positives – very handy for walking into Ypres and for driving to the nearby places we visited. It was reasonably priced. On balance we would stay here again but would stay on the motorhome section.

Approach to Hooge Crater Museum & Cemetry

 

When we had visited Bellewaerde Park we had noticed the Hooge Crater Museum just down the road. Whilst chatting to a coach tour driver in the Tyne Cot Car Park he recommended visiting so we left Jeugdstadion and arrived at the Hooge Crater Museum as it opened. There is on the road parking here. The museum is over the road from the Hooge Crater Cemetery and is housed in the old Chapel and schoolroom. There are some great displays here. Most of the exhibits are from two private collections. Some bits have been returned here from England – for example a crucifix that had been taken home by a soldier whose descendants felt that it should be returned to Belgium.

 

Towards the end of the exhibition there is a screen showing “The Diggers” (the same chaps who unearthed the Yorkshire Trench) as they excavate at Essex Farm. This footage is amazing to watch. They toil day after day to expose the trench. As they work you see the water and clay soil that plagued the soldiers of the Great War. It is amazing how much has been found in recent times and how much more waits to be rediscovered.

 

 

At the end of our visit we visited the attached theme cafe. We then crossed the road to pay our respects in the cemetery. As with all these memorials it is immaculately maintained with on going repairs and up keep.  Three men were working, cleaning the engraved words on some of the headstones.

 

We headed off to an aire in Bruges. The journey was approximately 50 mins.This was our first visit to an aire. We arrived  and took a ticket from the machine in front of the barrier.  It wasn’t too busy and we selected a space. We were surprised and pleased to find that there was also electricity here. The aire is between two canals and is pleasant. There is a boat restaurant nearby on one of the canals. There is also a Marina Clubhouse which visitors appear to be able to visit. The site is fairly level. You have to pay 50 cents to get fresh water and empty your black water.

Approach to aire

 

Walk round of the aire

There is also shorter stay motorhome parking and a large coach parking area. It is very handy for Bruges. We walked into the town centre ( there is a sign pointing you in the right direction to the town) over a bridge and through Minnewater Park (Lake of Love) and fell straight in love with Bruges!

A short distance from Minnewater Park we came to a little cobbled area and lots of horse drawn carriages which cost 39 euros for a 30 minute tour. We decided this would be a great way to see Bruges. This point was just a midway resting/feeding/watering area for the horses and we were directed to head for  the Belfry to board our own horse drawn tour . We had a very friendly, female, informative driver who pointed out all the points of interest and gave us snippets of history and local legend.  (I mention how friendly she was because later as we walked around and were passed by other carriages we noticed that some of them looked a bit surly and weren’t chatting at all and one was just texting on her phone  - it’s just the luck of the draw who you get). This tour was a very good way  to see the sights and get your bearings so you can revisit again on foot if you wish. Our guide told us that Bruges was once a port until  the sea access became silted up.  Despite being a city it has fabulous, fairy -tale like Medieval architecture. There are 17 churches, the tallest being the Church of our Lady which is the tallest structure in the city and which houses the sculpture of the Madonna and Child by Michelangelo. Located near to the Church of our Lady is Old St. John’s Hospital which is an 11th century hospital, one of Europe’s oldest surviving hospital buildings and amazingly it was still a hospital until the 1970’s. It is now a museum.

Picture slideshow

After our tour we explored Bruges on foot. There are lots of places to shop. Bruges is famous for lace and quite a few shops feature this. Of course there are a lot of chocolate shops and a good few beer shops and we bought a few more souvenirs. There are numerous places to eat. We ate outside at a restaurant near the Belfry in the Market Square. Paul tried and enjoyed his Flemish stew. There was a bit of drama when a couple of ladies on a nearby table said that they had already paid but the waiter denied that they had and so the Politie (Police) were called. Being the nosy type it was very frustrating that the exchange was all in Flemish but eventually the ladies were allowed on their way so not sure what really happened. We then headed back through Minneswater back to Monty for a peaceful night’s sleep.

Day 7– Passchendaele & Tyne Cot–14th April 2014

 

We set off for the Passchendaele Museum which was a 15 minute drive away.

Approach to Passchendaele

The Battle of Passchendaele was in 1917. During the British offensive from July until November 1917 almost 500,000 soldiers died in the immediate area over a period of just one hundred days, gaining barely eight kilometres.This is a very informative museum set in a beautiful, old chateau. After viewing all the exhibits, photos and film footage you go down into a replica 1917 Dugout. Here you get a feel of the dimensions and the conditions that the men lived and slept in. You then move outside into a replica Trench system. Thoroughly recommend this museum.

Picture slideshow

Video footage of the dug out

 

From here we moved on to nearby Tyne Cot Cemetery.

 

Video of approach

Tyne Cot Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth Cemetery in the world. On 4th October 1917, Australian soldiers captured the site where the cemetery now stands and used it as a dressing station. Soldiers who died of their injuries were buried on the spot and a small cemetery was created with approximately 300 graves. Between 1919 & 1921 specialist units called Exhumation Companies brought almost 12,0000 dead to Tyne Cot from the surrounding battlefields. Most of their bodies could not be identified and their graves are marked as @Known unto God’. Tyne Cot Cemetery has a new visitor centre. As you approach the visitor centre and whilst inside the centre itself, a female voice reads out the names and ages of the fallen. It is haunting. There isn’t a huge amount in the visitor centre but a lot of what’s there is truly heart breaking. For example there are letters, addressed to soldiers with chatty,newsy, information in them …. hope this letter finds you well… and then underneath there is the name and date of death of the soldier who the letter was intended for.

Moving out into the cemetery itself, and despite by now having visited a few of these memorials, once again it is hard to grasp the enormity of how many men are buried or commemorated here. The cemetery slopes gently down to the countryside and again there’s just row upon row of white headstones glowing in the sunshine. Lots of the stones are for four, five and even six soldiers of the great war. The lists of names on the walls around seem endless – some of these are here because there was no more room on the Menin Gate. The original German bunkers are here in the cemetery.  Another very moving experience.

Slideshow

 

 

We went back to the campsite for lunch. After a couple of hours sat in the sun we headed back into Ypres for another mooch around. We then enjoyed a nice meal in the newly opened Captain Cook restaurant near the Menin Gate. We had decided to attend the Last Post again and after our meal we joined the crowd. This time we were further back and at the opposite entrance of the gate. I had thought that the Last Post would be identical each night but it varies.This night there were Australian soldiers laying wreaths, no big choir tonight but the Australian anthem was sung by a small group.

 

Back to Monty for our last sleep at Jeugdstadion.

 

 

 

 

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