Wiveton Down Nature Reserve

Morrisons Stamford, thank-you. If only Tesco, Sainsbury, Aldi etc. could see the bigger picture they may also see the benefit. We spent over forty pounds in the Morrisons store, money we would have spent elsewhere if they hadn't allowed overnight parking in their otherwise empty car park. And as an added bonus last nights sunset sky was wonderful!

Todays lunchtime destination was Hunstanton in north Norfolk. On the way we realised Marge had an odour problem. Charming! Her waste tank was emitting a rather unpleasant smell up through the plug holes of both sinks. Not nice Marge. Some googling gave us some ideas on how to resolve the problem. Parking for vans at Hunstanton, daytime only, is along the seafront. The sun was out and the temperature up. We sat on a bench beside Marge to eat lunch, the vast expanse of the north sea before us.

After we walked onto the beach to look at the red and white striped cliffs. The base of the cliffs carstone, sandstone and pebbly sandstone topped with chalk.

After speaking to some local people who were with the van behind Marge we drove along the coast passing through the pretty villages of Thornham and Brancaster. Yet another windmill caught our eye, along with views to the coast. The roads narrow, the views beautiful made driving a little tense especially when a sign stated 2.2 metres wide. We're going through Marge; you trim little beauty. Our planned overnight stop at Wells-next-the-Sea wasn't up to much so we moved along the coast to Cley-next-the-Sea where we were greeted with yet another No Overnight parking sign at the nearly empty beach car park.

John had seen a park up at nearby Wiverton so we headed there. Result. After negotiating the potholes we parked Marge in the parking area at the nature reserve, Some local ladies had just finished an outdoor yoga session and greeted us with smiles. We're O.K. here Marge. Chill. Tucking Marge in to a corner we walked out.

 The views were fantastic. Down below a campsite for pigs. Their little shelters of green symbolised tents.

The views were incredible. We saw a flash of red and realising it was poppies headed down for a closer look. We'd already spotted the stove pipe on a van parked nearby. In the early evening sun, the ground bled. Stunning.

Overhead military aircraft,  two Hercules and two Ospreys circled. What a view they must have had. We spoke to the young couple in the van who seemed a little nervous we might be the 'van police'. They'd only been living in theirs for two months and were still finding their way. By the time we returned to Marge they were parked near us. 

After a clear day tonight's setting sun was joyous. Blues and pinks surrounded a ball of orange, changing every second as it slipped towards the horizon. Wiveton Down Nature Reserve is a dark sky discovery sight and we are hoping the cloud that is starting to drift across will not stop us from stargazing. 

Stamford

Yesterday evening the call of a cuckoo from trees near the racecourse reminded us of our time in France earlier this year. France, where the sun shone, remember Marge? Hopefully the weather will settle down on Tuesday as forecast.

This morning our fellow campers began to slowly drift away. Some arrived on Thursday and seemed a little lost at having to leave. Where next for them we wondered.

For Marge, we had decided to stop around half way to Norfolk at Stamford in Lincolnshire. This is an area we don't know and were looking forward to taking a look at. The drive involved the M40 motorway which was busy with lorries. We kept Marge at an average speed of 55 mph. Less fuel consumption. Our overnight stop came highly recommended, and as we needed food shopping an overnight stop at the Morrisons supermarket seemed ideal. We've been away a week and apart from the first night we have paid, so time for some freebees. 

Stamford is a bustling town with beautiful seventeenth- and eighteenth-century stone buildings, older timber framed buildings and five medieval parish churches.

The architecture makes the town a popular film location. We walked around comparing the town with Oxford, the Cotswolds and even France.

High on top of one of the buildings sat a 1.9-metre-high statue of the Greek god Hermes. Not a sight you see every day.

Across the road from Morrisons is St. Leonards Priory a fine example of twelfth century Norman architecture. After the dissolution of the monasteries in the sixteenth century the site became a farm and the priory was unbelievably converted to a barn.

We are hoping for a quiet night here in Stamford. This is a first for Marge, she's never had a sleep over at a supermarket before. Might be the first of many. Tomorrow Norfolk, Marge.

Stratford-upon-Avon (Day 3)

Yesterday evening we queued for forty minutes at the Thai Street Food stall whilst listening to the ZZ top tribute band play Rolling Stones hits!

The wait well worth it though. Nothing like Thai food when you've spent the day chilled by a cool wind. 

During the night the forecast rain arrived. Oh dear, did you not know rain was forecast. We watched a couple struggle to take down a heavy cotton awning one handed, him with coffee mug in hand and her with a cigarette. Is that woman wearing hand knitted trousers. Probably Marge, anything goes here. We love these people, we see them everywhere and they just add to our travels. Opposite a couple packed up their tent leaving rubbish on the grass. These people we do not love. John was red with anger and went and spoke with them. They denied it belonged to them. Unbelievable!

By late morning the weather had settled and we decided we would defiantly stay another night at Stratford allowing the weather to improve a little more and the holiday traffic to pass through.

We walked into the town alongside the river Avon carpeted green in a flotilla of water lily pads.

Two men were magnet fishing, they informed us that once they'd found a live hand grenade. As you do. 

Stratford upon Avon is a quaint English town, birthplace of William Shakespeare, with a beautiful river where a squadron of swan's parade, divided occasionally by the small manually operated passenger chain ferry that crosses between the river banks.

The town centre was closed to traffic, as a large market was in town which we walked around stopping to photograph the half-timbered Tudor buildings. Move along ladies. Not like John to be so polite, normally, shift your axxxe is his line of attack. Rude, you sound like Marge! The town was busy and this meant it was hard to take photographs, but there we go.

Today is our twenty-third wedding anniversary and suddenly a beacon of light appeared. Pizza Express, we thought they'd all been closed down. Great. Time for lunch. Wine, don't mind if I do. The meal was nice the service appalling, but we didn't let it spoil the day. (And no Angela wasn't eating from the child's menu, perspective is just a bit extreme in Stratford!)

We have enjoyed spending time at Stratford upon Avon. The show was O.K., but not as good as we expected it to be. However we've met some interesting people, seen some fantastic vehicles, eaten tasty food, listened to some entertaining music and as an added bonus the Red Arrows have flown over twice along with a Catalina on their way to the Midlands Air Show at Ragley Hall. We are surprised at just how many vans are still here this evening. Like us they will leave tomorrow to continue their adventures. We're heading to Norfolk where hopefully we will find some better weather. Don't worry Marge. The terrain is nice and flat there.