On Sunday 3rd we collected Ruby from storage and drove on down to Wimpole. We had arranged to meet James and Catherine there so that we could hand over several boxes full of familly photos dating back 3 or 4 decades. James says he is going to scan them and put them up on the internet, he'll get fed up with that after the first thousand or so.
Most noticeable thing about today was the awful weather, grey and raining all day but that didn't stop us having a pleasant day. Wimpole is a very popular place and when the weather is bearable thousands of people turn up there to tour the house or farm or maybe just have a picnic. We were told we could park in a coach parking space which was handy as on busy days the car park is soon full up and they have to use an overflow field.
Once James and Catherine arrived we had teas and coffees on board Ruby then headed towards the very pleasant restaurant. Up till now the place had seemed very quiet but we soon found out that everyone was hiding in the restaurant, it was pretty busy. We had a lovely meal and a good gossip. Challenge for the day was a walk up to the folly, only about half a mile away across the fields but the rain meant we were liable to get pretty damp.
We were not going to be put off by this of course (British) and set off with a spring in our step. A combination of long, wet grass and quite heavy rain meant that we all soon had wet feet. My boots are only cheap but are supposed to be '100% waterproof' - thats a laugh.
Many years ago when Lynda and I used to take the kids to Wimpole and walk up to the folly they could run about and climb the lower walls and generally have a good time. Now that elf'n'safety is with us this is not possible of course and there is a fence keeping visitors a long way back from the folly itself.
As it was now raining even harder we did not hang about too long and headed back to the warmth and comfort of the restaurant for tea / coffee and a cream tea each.
Our chosen campsite for this weekend was Riverside Park in Littleport, where we have been several times before. The site was very busy - more people than we have ever seen there before with tents and caravans on every spare bit of grass. We normally pay a reasonable £14.50 per night here but because it is a bank holiday weekend they are charging £3 a night extra! I am not mean (no, really I'm not) but I don't like to think I have been ripped off so we probably won't be going back there again. It was the mrs half of the team that run the site that took my money, not the most smiliest of people, she claimed that 'all the campsites charge extra at bank holidays' - not the ones we go to love!
Next time I update this blog I hope to be able to regale you with tales of seasickness and problems with people that refuse to speak English! Yes, we are heading across the Channel next Wednesday 13th June. Try to control yourselves and don't be too impatient.....
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| Restaurant at Wimpole - Little Chef its not |
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| Statue outside the house - thats the way to treat 'em mate! |
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| Wimpole Hall. Not an architectural masterpiece. |
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| The stable block where you can buy a variety of overpriced tat |
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| 'Chinese' bridge on the way to the folly |
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| A photo of a drain, I thought GK would find this interesting. Mind you James took the photo, thats a bit worrying. |
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| The three cowards - too scared to climb over that gate! |
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| I was the only one brave enough to cross 'no mans land' and walk up to the folly itself. |
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| By the River Great Ouse just across the road from our campsite at Little port. Nice photo. |
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| Not nice photo.... |
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| Site owner Steve's pigs, blissfully unaware of the fate that awaits them. |
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| Yet another embarrassing photo. |
When you put together one of these blogs they let you look at 'stats' so you can see how many people have visited and where in the world they come from. I can't remember how long I have been typing this drivel but I thought you might be interested in where our readers come from etc. I'm sure some of these are not genuine readers but dubious 'bots' in Russia and America looking for email addresses and credit card details!
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