It is fair to say that the next part of our summer adventure was not really in our plans when we set out on our early retirement journey. We had this idea that we would be immediately driving off into the sunset for a big adventure out on the roads of Europe with not a care in the world. What that vision didn’t account for was having to move out of our house at short notice, two cats that needed a home and a dog that needed looking after for a couple of weeks.
So all of this combined found us stuck in the UK for a few more weeks than we would have liked, with a van dog to look after during one of the hottest periods of the summer. One of the main advantages of campervan life is that you can remain flexible and go with the flow, so after a couple of days acclimatising Cali the dog to vanlife, we were off, heading for the cooler temperatures of the coast!
We would have loved to revisit one of our favourite stretches of coast around Whitby and Sandsend on the east coast of Yorkshire , but it wasn’t to be- with all places unsurprisingly fully booked on the hottest weekend of the year. Jackie scoured for sites further down the coast, and eventually hit on a place just out side Hornsea. An area that we didn’t really know- we were a little apprehensive on the drive there as all roads seemed to lead to Hull (otherwise known as ‘ull locally).
The campsite that Jackie stumbled upon on was Wood Lake camping and caravan park, just south of Hornsea. It was an adult only site, not that we have anything against kids, but it was nice and quiet to be child free! It had a dedicated dog exercise field that Cali loved, although she wasn’t too keen on sharing it with other dogs. The campsite had lots of shaded areas which in the seriously high temperatures was very much appreciated, and for £20 a night, the facilities were fab- hot showers, clean toilets and a little social area with the all important power sockets for working on the laptops.
This area of East Yorkshire was surprisingly pretty stunning (sorry for the pre judgement ‘ull!). It was flat as a pancake and covered in seemingly endless golden fields of crops. The harvesting was in full flow during our visit and it was a sight to behold watching the combine harvesters carve through the vast swathes of crops. The area felt very much like the central belt of rural France, or a bit closer to home- Norfolk. Sitting outside the van and watching the sunset over the golden fields was just beautiful. We have already said we will return to this part of the world.
The main reason for visiting this region was to take advantage of the cooling offshore breeze whilst the rest of the country sweltered in the mini-heatwave. We visited Hornsea with baited breath, expecting carnage as the masses collectively hit any available seaside town. We need not have worried, as Hornsea seemed really well set up for visitors, with loads of free and convenient parking for the beaches and a well presented sea front. Don’t get me wrong- there was an eclectic mix of people at the beach- but surely that is what the British seaside is all about? Cali had a bit of a ‘mare on the beach- with too many dogs to cope with. She definitely showed her small dog syndrome and seemingly had an issue with every dog that passed by. Anyway, we had a lovely day at the beach, with a picnic and a cold beer to round things off. By the time we got back to the campsite, we felt suitably parched- a sign of a good day at the beach.
After a couple of days at the coast, we headed back to more familiar territory- the Yorkshire Dales, but only after popping in to see mum to check that she was ok. Feeling more confident with the van dog, we headed out back for some isolated wild camping in the hidden places we know and love. To be fair, Cali coped ok with the sheep passing by the van- even in the depths of the night. In the wilder places the sheep have no issues with coming up to the van, popping their heads in and seeing what’s going on. The sheep may have had no issues, but Cali was seemingly terrified by these presumptuous woolly things coming into her world.
These wild camping spots are so special to us, we are determined to keep them secret so that they don’t get overrun with visitors. We think that it is really important to respect the local farmers who allow camping on their land based on an honesty box principle, something we know many people choose to abuse but something that is so important for us to adhere to.
We took the opportunity whilst up in the Dales to explore some of the places that we will hopefully be calling home in the next couple of months. We had a lovely pootle around Giggleswick- which is a tiny village centred around the historic public boarding school by the same name. Now admittedly we caught it on a lovely quiet morning in the school holidays, but it was simply stunning. Those people that know me well will know that I love a historic school at the best of times, and I like nothing better than exploring their sporting facilities- it must be the old master i/c rugby and cricket in me! The Giggleswick 1st XI Cricket square has to be one of the most beautiful grounds in the country, situated high on the hillside, overlooked by the historic school chapel and looking out over the village towards the Malham moors. We both look forward to wandering down to the village in term time and watching some rugby or cricket once we are settled in our new home.
For the first time in years, we then had a few nights sofa surfing with friends and family for variety of reasons- mainly centred around Jackie’s birthday celebrations. We had a lovely evening with some close friends that have also made the decision to early retire this year. We worked together for many years at the start of our careers, and have always kept in touch, but hopefully we will have much more time to spend together when work does not get in the way! It was so nice to spend the evening looking back fondly over our teaching careers and laughing together about the many memories we shared. I think that we were all at peace with our decisions to retire early, content with a good career that has impacted so many young people. As was predictable, it was a late night, with far too much alcohol, so the following day was rather sedate.
We then headed off to Luke’s house in nearby Hale. We had such a lovely time with him and Charlotte, exploring the heady heights of the mega-rich areas of Hale and Bowden. It was a cracking place to just sit and people watch as the world went by. What better place to do this than in the sunny beer garden of an apres ski themed, craft beer pub in sunny Hale of all places!
In between all of this, we have been mainly residing in a working farm campsite in sunny Middlewich (3 miles from where we used to live). Granted, not where we foresaw our first few weeks of early retirement being spent, but needs must and it is in fact a lovely little site (with cows and hot showers) for £20 a night!
We have needed to stay close to “home” in order to sort out the ongoing conundrum of animal care. We are dog sitting a dog who doesn’t like to walk, we have 2 cats lodging at Jackie’s mums awaiting their final immunisation jabs and not forgetting we have no house. 2 of these 3 problems will be resolved in the next few days, with the cats getting jabbed and going into a cattery, the dog being handed over to Jackie’s mum (the original dog sitter) and us buggering off to Europe as soon as possible thereafter.
We have our ferry booked for 0430 on Friday morning. We plan to drive down from Mum’s house overnight and sleep at the port when we arrive. From then onwards the plans are pretty sketchy. A blast down through France to Les Gets and the Ports du Solaise where we plan to spend a week in the mountains walking and swimming, then onto Meribel and Courchevel for another week of hiding out in the mountains and then up to a week at Lake Annecy for a more relaxed beach type break. This is all weather depending as we are getting quite late in the summer for these high alpine resorts. If the weather turns foul, our plan B is to head further south to the southern Alps and towards the Mediterranean. Only time will see, and we have lots of that!
Check out part 4 of our summer adventures here.
Comments