What are you all up to
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Years ago any increases would start at 6.00pm in the evening, I assume to allow fuel stations to change prices? As it is claimed that the 5p reduction in fuel duty introduced by the last Government was mainly swallowed up by the fuel sellers perhaps they might not put up prices as much as any increases
David
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Another fine, warm day with the temperature around 17C all the time. A bit of a slow tow to our present site due to roadworks around Scarborough. The site has recently been upgraded from a grass non-EHU one to having large Hardstanding pitches with hookups, and it has been well laid out with views over the fields to the Howardian Hills. No wonder it is full, 4 caravans and 1 M/H, at a site fee under £20 pn. I took a walk up into the village in the afternoon, however there was not a lot of interest apart from the church, which was not open unfortunately, and an interesting garden feature.
R&R, we can't be far from your "go to" CS so will have a look at it later in our visit. Hope all goes well with the van's service.
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Nellie - it's called Thornthorpe and it's about 3 miles south of Malton - but it's shown on Google maps - so will be quite easy to find. Not sure if Andrew and Tracey will be there - the site is closed for the winter and I know they were off to Portugal in October for a much needed holiday but I suspect they will be back by now, If not, Tracey's mum and dad were farm-sitting! Just mention Richard, Ros and Meg and I'm sure someone will be pleased to show you around. Since it's almost our second home, everyone in the family knows us!!
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Thanks, Richard, should we get there l will do just that.
It was much duller day but still warm and without any rain. We had a couple of gentle walks along Troutsdale Brow before and after lunch.
Here are the photos I somehow missed posting last night, it being too late to post due to outage when I realised they were not there!
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Nellie, if you aren’t far from Malton and Helmsley, there are a couple of interesting churches nearby…
Stonegrave Minster, which is on road between Malton and Helmsley, and Kirkdale Minster, which is off the main road between Helmsley and Pickering.
There is Slingsby Castle not far away as well. But it’s very much a ruin, and you cannot get into the grounds, only view from outside.
Have you been to Sheriff Hutton?
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As TDA has mentioned Nellie, the church at Kirkdale is very interesting, it’s St Gregory’s Minster, Kirkdale. It’s between Kirkbymoorside and Helmsley. Parts are Anglo Saxon. We visited fairly recently. You are getting quite good weather for your trip, enjoy.
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We love going through the fords around there😁 Some beautiful drives up onto moors around there. The Autumn colours will be fabulous.
After our very busy day yesterday, a much slower one today, some topping up of things we need for next couple of months (OH will be on rest and recovery for a few weeks) but the good news is….our lovely little MH passed her MOT yet again, that’s all the ten years we have now owned her🥳
My Mini is in for its MOT tomorrow, hopefully this will be ok as well. Doesn’t do many miles really, only up and down to Mum’s and the occasional bit of local shopping.🤞
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Stopped off at Chirk Castle for a stretch of the legs around the woodland in wonderful colour. It looked like they had had a substantial leaf fall so we ended up studying the leaves. Quite fascinating and enjoyable.
Had our lunch then went to see a lovely little known Castle in Whittington, just east of Ormskirk. A bit of a ruin now but it's been around for about 800 years and a settlement well before then. There's a handy tea room there. We took the opportunity of calling into the church as it was opposite. It looked fairly modern, well about 100 years modern, but it had some of the original items dating back to 1200. Not very photogenic, a bit like myself
Always interesting seeing new places.We were going to call into the Iron Sculpture place on the A5 just south of Ormskirk, but a) it was packed b) it was only an hour to closing and c) it was extortionately overpriced. So we headed to a new to us CS between Ellesmere and Shrewsbury. Just us on site so very peaceful.
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Tda & Heddlo, thanks for the heads up on the church at Kirkdale, I think we will call in there tomorrow, and also get a walk up the dale, as we have to go into Lidl at Pickering to stock up before our next move.
Enjoy your latest trip away WN. Hope the CS suits you, we would be interested in a visit there if it is OK.
The day was not as bright as the previous ones but the forecast was for it being dry with some wind and a bit if sunshine so OH did another round of washing before we ventured out. First stop was St Mary the Virgin's Church on the Ebberston Estate before we drove up to West Heslerton Brow where we had a walk along the Wolds Way. After lunch we visited Scampston Hall where we did the estate walk. It is another HHA property that we have not been to before, but we will return at a different time of the year to see the walled garden, the hall and its garden when in full bloom.
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We have had some very worrying news this week. After waiting almost 2 years following a referral by our optician, OH was finally given an appointment at the eye clinic in Glasgow, and has been told she has the beginnings of Glaucoma in both eyes.
This is something she has to tell the DVLA about, and they might decide to take away her driving licence.
The Doc she saw said that in her opinion OH was OK to continue driving, but she is not the one making the decision.
OH has not noticed any problems when driving, she is a good but cautious driver, always has been.
She is however struggling with her mobility due to dodgy knees, though that does not affect her driving, just her ability to walk very far.
Living where we do, having lost our local supermarket, and not having much of a bus service, certainly not one that takes you within easy walking distance of a supermarket, a car is pretty much essential, certainly essential to have a decent level of independence.
I can, and do, drive when we go out together, but sometimes we need to go our separate ways, especially when the grandchildren need to be taken care of.
And to get to DD’s house, to look after our grandchildren, a car is essential.
She has been given eye drops to reduce the pressure in her eyes, hopefully that will work, laser treatment and surgery are also available, but who knows what the DVLA will decide, it is very worrying.
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Kj
You may find the Glaucoma UK website useful. At a quick glance they say only 12% of drivers lose their licence due to Glaucoma. Because Margaret uses insulin she has to go through a few hoops to maintain her licence. After she had a cataract operation which she reported on her next licence application they sent her for an additional peripheral vision test, which the DVLA paid for.
I suspect in the future us oldies will be subject to more and more tests to check that we are safe to drive?
David
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K, if it’s any help with the stress, my Mum was diagnosed with Glaucoma in her late 70’s. She is now 95, still has Glaucoma, but can still see with and without her glasses very well. She had a regular twice yearly check with the Opthalmology Dept at our local hospital and has two lots of drops to apply daily, but has kept serious reverses at bay. She had her cataracts sorted as well, with only a minor hiccup in terms of pressure in one eye. Of course I realise each individual is different, but it isn’t all doom and gloom.
The supermarket in this day and age isn’t an issue to be honest. Most do deliveries. Not sure about Aldi admittedly. Not sure if it still applies, and with you being in Scotland as well, but blood relatives, children, can get free eye tests in England if a parent has Glaucoma, myself and my sister get a free check because of Mum, so worth exploring for your children?
It’s sad when age starts to creep up on you, and there’s no doubt it can affect independence, but we had to ask our parents to think carefully about some of the things they did, try and help them make adjustments to keep all safe. Hopefully, if changes have to be made, you can all manage to do the same. Hoping things work out for you.1 -
Thanks David and TTDA, I am most likely overthinking things at the moment!
The doc said she will most likely be fine, DVLA may want to make their own check on the situation. We do already have free eye tests, at least for we oldies, will say to our daughter to get checked too.
OH has already found the Glaucome UK website, she said it was very informative, so that is good.
Does she need to do anything with our car insurance?
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Generally, if it’s a condition notifiable to DVLA, then you also need to tell your insurer, plus telling the insurer of any other vehicle where you are a named driver.
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A almost warm day spent at Beamish museum, they've opened a 1950s town with a cinema that's actually an exact copy of the Grand from Ryhope (Sunderland) where my in laws would have gone to as well as a record and electrical shop.
Interestingly enough 67 guineas would be worth about £1500 today, while the early stand alone 'iplayers' would have set you back around £500.
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A day of walking in the Ellesmere area of Shropshire. We saw a Swallow flying quite close over the mere, quite late this far north.
Enjoyed the day. Still just ourselves on this very quiet site. Home tomorrow. Funny how one can feel refreshed but be knackered at the same time.
Kj - Sorry to hear the news. However take some solace from the fact that my brother has had Glaucoma for the last 10 years and is still driving with everyone knowing who needs to know. I get a Glaucoma test every year being a relative, foc, but clear at present. So hopefully won't be as bad as you fear.
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Sorry to hear your news KJ. I hope it turns out alright and that your wife can continue to drive. It’s always a worry with these things, especially as we get older. We seriously considered moving a year or so ago, even putting our house on the market. It was a lot of hassle and for various reasons we decided to stay put, we are within walking distance of a bus stop, the Dr, Hairdresser and a decent sized shop in our village. As we get older I think these are all important, and, although we would probably still like to move, we really do have to also consider maybe not having the convenience of a car one day.
WN, if you really enjoyed examining leaves then you should visit our back garden. Yesterday I spent 3 hours raking and picking up 8 large tubs of leaves, I filled the large garden green bin. Not nice crisp leaves but wet slimy ones. They say the average oak tree has 200,000 leaves, 2 oaks drop their leaves in our garden so I reckon I have another 300,000 leaves to go before they are all down.
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They say the average oak tree has 200,000 leaves, 2 oaks drop their leaves in our garden so I reckon I have another 300,000 leaves to go before they are all down.
Oh dear DEBSC, you have just really cheered up my OH, finding how many more leaves he has to go!!! He has spent half the day doing the same as you today, we have 2 really large oak trees at the end of our garden and another one just over the road so, as much as we love trees, Autumn can be a real challenge. 🤦🏻♀️🤣
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Yep, I've enjoyed leaf spotting whilst away but we do know what a pain they can be to ones garden as we back onto a mature woodland, some trees of which overhang the garden. Any sort of westerly at this time of year will mean several trips to the tip along with full brown bins. We tend to leave the ones that fall on flower beds but collect the ones on lawns, which is bad enough. Collection starts tomorrow.
So, DEBSC and Heddlo I feel your pain. Doesn't stop me loving trees though.
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Sorry to hear of your OH's glaucoma, Kjell, and hope that the DVLA allow her to continue driving.
It has been a fine sunny day after a clear sky last night which enabled a great view of the Milky Way. We followed the recommendation from heddlo & tda and visited St Gregory's Minster at Kirkdale. We were fortunate to be there when the organist was practicing, which leant a grand atmosphere to the Saxon church. Then followed a very pleasant walk through the woods up the dale. After lunch we drove back to Appleton-le-Moors, a lovely little village to see the remains of two roadside crosses and the church, built in the 1860s in the French Gothic Revival style.
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Home after a straightforward drive. Some mizzle all morning with the odd 5 minutes of proper rain. We were quite lucky with the weather whilst away, it was best described as quiet.
A few photos of the 2 days. The Wicker Bee was great, with information boards around the outside describing different types of Bee. A lovely educational structure.
Enjoyed the break but as mentioned yesterday we're home to a garden full of leaves. Have to wait until tomorrow to get stuck in. I'm sure they'll still be there.
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Sorry to hear about your OH's eye problems - hope it all gets sorted out OK and she can keep her licence. I dread to think what I would do if I couldn't drive anymore.
All this talk about leaves makes me smile - I was walking Meg in the park, yesterday and there was this town council guy with a leaf blower, trying to blow wet leaves off wet grass
Needless to say, he wasn't having much impact and everything that he had cleared yesterday was covered again this morning. All seems a bit pointless to me 0 -
The leaves are coming down here but a lot later than later than last year, I usually put them in one of my compost bins, from next year our local skip area will not accept leaves or grass cuttings so that will be interesting to see what happens as the locals will still take them.
OH has got all the H supports in for car port so a dummy run with posts today as he wanted to check all his measurements were ok once an engineer always a engineer, one of our friends is coming around next week to help him so hopefully by end of next week it should be done.
Warm weather this last week and more for next week lovely as last year was wet and windy.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend folks.
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Sorry to hear about your OH's eye problem KjeNN. It must be a worry for you but from what others have said it could all work out OK. I wonder how long it will be before you hear from the DVLA. Best wishes to you.
Lovely photos nellie and WN. You both look as though you have had/are having good trips and visiting some interrsting places.
We have had a lovely week as our son and grand-daughter have been over from N. Ireland. So lovely to see them both. They have visited various universities for grand-daughter and we have had various family gatherings includin a trip to the bowling alley for the grandchildren when a great time was had by all. We finished with a lovely visit to Peckover House in Wisbech (NT). I hopefully attach a photo of their Halloween display.
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Good to read that you have had a grand time with the family, millie. The pumpkin photo has come out well.
Nice shots too, WN, pleased to hear that you enjoyed decent weather while you were away, and that you got home without any trouble.
The work seems to be progressing well, RK, fingers crossed that all will line up correctly and that the job will soon be completed.
Today has been the dullest that we have had so far this trip, but we had no rain and it was still reasonably warm. Just a couple of walks up in the forest above Sawdon for us, keeping out of the way of the busy areas. Tonight is our last night here before we head towards home tomorrow, with just one more new site to visit en route.
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Thanks all for the good wishes for OH, she is remaining optimistic that all will go well. As Richard said, not being able to drive would be a big worry.
We are now nearing the date, 8th November, when the sale of DD’s flat should be finalised. We were down there yesterday removing some stuff from the outside store room.
None of it is anything to do with any of the residents as none of them even know about it. So DD is trying to dispose of everything so the factors (managing agents) do not ask anyone for any money for clearing the room. Some neighbouring shop owners have broken into the room and left stuff in it, but strangely do not want to claim it!
There are still a few bits and pieces of interest……wood etc…..so we are going back there tomorrow to pick that up, fix a few things, and for the boys to say bye bye to the flat. DD says it will be strange not to have it any more, she has owned it for 21 years, but will be glad not to have the extra responsibility.
No doubt the money from the sale will be useful to them too. And we will get back the money we loaned her towards it. Need to find a decent account to place the money in.
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Weather still dry but we haven’t seen the sun for days, thick cloud. I keep hanging the washing out but it comes in almost as wet as no wind, so we have purchased a Pod from Lakeland. Quite pleased with it, it’s got a heater at the bottom and a cover which holds the warm air. I’m still putting the washing out and then in there 34p an hour to run. I have a tumble dryer but only tend to use it for finishing off bedding and towels.
Front gardening yesterday, looking very tidy all round now, ready for real winter. Apart from the fallen leaves! This dry weather is a bonus. The Avon is very low for the time of year. I’ve turned into a river watching expert, even when we are not there.
Our new next door neighbours were also out gardening, well they have pulled up every plant in their front garden and a tree, ready to have their drive made wider, can’t blame them. We widened ours enough for 4 cars and fortunately still have room for grass and plants. They have not stopped working since they arrived. All redecorated, new bathroom and told us yesterday of a planned extension next year. Nice people, glad they are making it their own. Now think that we may have to get on doing some DIY …or maybe get someone in.0 -
It has been dull all day but with a temperature of around 12C not cold. We had a comfortable tow across N Yorkshire, from east, Pickering, to west, Ingleton, to yet another new CL for us. It is fairly basic, no toilet, but with easy access, H/S and EHU at £17:50 pn it suits us fine.
I have just done a tot up and we have now passed 550 different sites during our caravanning years. This total doesn't include all the rally sites we visited when we caravanned with our children. Hope to add to this total before the year is out.
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Nellie
I am a bit surprised you have not done more than 550 different sites? When I started my website in the early 2000's I started writing reviews and if you include the sites we have stayed at and the ones which I have deleted because they have closed, I suppose I have about 350 sites listed, both in the UK and Europe. We started caravanning in 1982 so there are probably 20 years worth of sites not included in the figure. I see you as a much more prolific camper than we ever were, although in the early years of our retirement we did spend quite a bit of time abroad but beyond that only an average number of nights every year. I assume that you perhaps return to a lot of sites you have previously stayed at?
David
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Did some garden maintenance yesterday but the weather was iffy so didn't get as much done as we had hoped.
Cleaned the inside of the van and emptied our waste water.
This morning not that much better, weather wise, but after food shopping early on decided to clean the soffit boards and guttering on the front of the house. Will need to do the back sometime this week. So much algae.
Still catching up with admin.
Congrats Nellie. Treat yourselves to a cake or two.
Keep going. Over a 20 year period after retiring we must have stayed on about 15 new sites per annum, plus some repetition already visited I daresay and prior to retiring it would have been about 10 new ones each year. Obviously quite a few overseas in that lot. We only kept a diary from 1995 to 2022.0
