After yet more overnight rain the morning arrived gloriously clear and sunny so I abandoned the first dog walk in favour of getting everything packed away and the tent taken down while it was nice. After a very quick breakfast packing up the van was no problem but sorting out the tent was a different matter. With the groundsheet not being integrated I dragged it out from under the tent and pegged it out on the grass to dry then set about mopping up the water from the bedroom. What had started off as a puddle had increased over the previous few days to something the size of a small paddling pool and by the time I'd finished mopping I had several inches of water in the bucket. Fortunately the tent itself dried out in the sunshine so it was perfectly dry by the time I was ready for taking it down. With only the coolbox left to disconnect I took Sophie and Poppie for a final walk through the heath and back along the beach, then with the hook-up cable rolled up and stashed in the van I drove away from my pitch for the last time this year.
I wasn't on the road for long before I made my first stop; Jean and John had told me that the Norwich Camping store was only just off the A47 on the outskirts of Norwich and as I was going that way anyway I decided to see if they had any tents which would meet my requirements. They had quite a lot of tents on display, some of them at a good price, but they were mainly big ones so not what I wanted. Back on the road again things were just going nicely when I hit a long queue of very slow moving traffic and after creeping along for quite a distance I was passed by police car with its lights flashing.
The reason for the delay eventually became obvious - there was a broken down agricultural vehicle, and the police car, blocking the inside lane meaning two lanes were going into one. Once I was free of that though everything was fine - that was until I hit another queue near to Kings Lynn, although there didn't seem to be any reason for that one. After that the driving was easy and very pleasant in the afternoon sunshine though I did make an impromptu stop later on. Where the A17 passed over the River Welland there was a boatyard and moorings close by; I've often thought about finding somewhere to stop and take a few photos though I never have, but this time I did. There was a wide lay-by up ahead, set back off the road, so I pulled in there and walked back across the bridge. This was Fosdyke Yacht Haven, and with quite a lot of boats moored up it looked quite attractive so I got a handful of good shots before returning to the van.
My next stop was at the Cheerio Cafe but as they were on the point of closing I was only able to get a takeaway coffee - and this time I didn't upset it all over the van. After a quick dog walk along the edge of the field I set off once more and didn't stop again until I got home. Unfortunately by the time I was heading west the sun was getting low and in my eyes and I ended up missing the correct exit off a roundabout, meaning I was heading for somewhere I didn't want to be. I had to go for quite a distance before I found somewhere I could safely pull in and turn round to go back but I got things right eventually and with no more hiccups I arrived home at 7.45pm.
Now I don't know whether to call my time away a holiday, a disaster, or a living nightmare but whatever it was I hope that weather-wise I never have another one like it. In all my years of camping I've never experienced as much rain as that which fell during the time I was away, though I have no doubt that Storm Aileen was a big contributory factor. Whatever the cause, I hope that next time I'm camping the rain gives me a miss!
** That holiday may very well be my last camping trip of the season until next year, unless I manage to find a new tent with a fully integrated groundsheet, but until I update this blog with another trip tales from my everyday life can always be found here
After the previous day's lovely blue sky and sunshine the weather was back to being damp and dismal again so it was another morning spent in the van. It did stop raining at lunch time though and it brightened up into quite a pleasant afternoon, although it wasn't really sunny enough for long enough to go anywhere proper so I went the few miles back to Clippesby and paid my second visit to Eileen and Ron - it was actually Eileen's birthday and even though she couldn't see very well I still took a card for her. I took a slightly different route than usual though and it was while I was driving down a narrow country lane not far from their cottage that I experienced something which gave me a fit of the giggles.
As I rounded a bend I came across two pheasants in the middle of the lane so not wanting to run them over I slowed down and waited for them to get out of the way - except they didn't. They decided that rather than jump into the safety of the hedge they would run in front of the van - and they ran and ran, with me driving slowly behind them. No wonder so many get killed on country roads, they just don't seem to have the sense to get out of the way. Unfortunately the camera wasn't within my reach or I would have snapped a photo of them as they looked so funny, however I continued to drive slowly along and eventually, after quite a distance, they jumped onto the grass verge and disappeared through the hedge.
My bird encounters continued however, as round the next bend I came across a couple of partridges who did exactly the same thing as the pheasants, except they didn't run as far as the pheasants had before they sought the safety of the hedge. It was really funny to watch them and it struck me then that now I know where the expression 'bird brain' probably came from. I told Eileen and Ron about them and Ron said that pheasants in particular seem to be really stupid creatures.
With no Joe around I was able to take Sophie and Poppie into the house and they were thoroughly spoiled with affection and treats by both my friends; it was easy to see how much they love dogs so I really hoped they would find another friend of their own soon. Sitting in the conservatory I noticed a couple of pheasants out in the garden and Ron told me that round about 4pm they would start gathering on the lawn until there was a huge group of them then they would disappear into the trees beyond. And sure enough, every time I looked out of the window more pheasants had appeared - I lost count at twenty five, there must have been at least fifty if not more. Then all at once they were gone - when I looked out again there wasn't a single pheasant to be seen, it was as if they'd disappeared into thin air. These really were peculiar creatures.
After a very pleasant couple of hours it was time for me to say my goodbyes for this year, so with a hug and kiss for Eileen and the promise to send a card and letter at Christmas I clipped the leads on the dogs and took my leave. Back at the camp site the aroma of cooking was drifting across the field from the nearby chip shop so I decided that as it was my last full day I would treat myself to fish and chips. The portion was huge even though I'd asked for a small one, and there was no way I could eat it all so just for once, and as a special treat, I shared my meal with the dogs then we settled in for our last evening on site.
