Ee, boy, ‘ow come you’re in York?

Ee, boy, ‘ow come, you’re in York?

 

We’d planned to go to Shropshire for the May Day Bank Holiday weekend, but a still-poorly dog and even poorer weather forecasts, meant that we cancelled our plans.

We were prepared to stay at home all weekend, but the sale of our between-seats storage box to another Forum member gave us an excuse for a cheeky one night stopover in York.

Sold – storage box

I’d left it late to book anywhere, so, after a morning of phone calls, I was lucky to get us booked into Wagtail Park in Huntington, just north of York, but close to a Park and Ride area where we could get a bus into town.

 

 

The drive over the Pennines was a bit grim, with wind and rain on the way. Fortunately, it had brightened a bit by the time we arrived and we were soon parked up.

We’d been allocated a pitch next to a Pod which was handy because it gave us use of a picnic table to sit at later.

We drove to the Park and Ride and got the bus into York amid bright sunshine. Unfortunately, no sooner had we got to The Shambles than the rain came back and we ended up sheltering in shop doorways to keep dry. It was definitely a day of showers, some of which we avoided by going into the Duke of York for lunch.

 

Boris on the bus

 

Bus selfie

 

 

 

The Shambles

 

Lunch on its way

The Pub was packed but we managed to get a seat and had Fish and Chips, but not before our space was invaded by a large group of Mackems on a weekend away. They were schnauzer owners too, so Boris was the main topic of conversation.

We spent the rest of the day in York, which wasn’t as busy as I’d expected on a Bank Holiday weekend. I suspect the forecast had put some people off. There were plenty of Hen parties around, though, all having a great time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed back to the site, but not before Alison had visited John Lewis and Marks and Spencer at the retail park near the Park and Ride. We bought food for the evening and returned to Wagtail Park.

The campsite has a fishing lake which is very well stocked and looks decent value for money at £5 per day. The site cost was £25 for the night, which is a bit steep, but we paid the premium for a Bank Holiday weekend. It would normally be £20 per night.

 

 

 

 

We’d arranged with Chris and Helen to meet up at the site at 6.30pm to hand over the storage box. They arrived in their lovely Brazilian, Dave, with their two beautiful daughters.

Dave

 

The girls reminded me of my own two daughters, when they were small – it seems like a lifetime ago now. They were a lovely family and I hope we see them again at a Forum meet.

It was only when Chris pointed it out, that I realised we could have used the vintage map that Alison decoupaged on our buddy box, to locate the site.

 

We chilled in the van with snacks and Saturday night TV – disappointingly, none of the owl boxes on the site seemed to be occupied, although the guy in charge said they’d had Barn Owls nesting in the past.

Nobody at home, but who gives a hoot?

We had a leisurely morning on Sunday, before driving back home via a Farm Shop and tea room on the A59; the sky increasingly grey and menacing as we headed to the dark side of the Pennines.

I’m really pleased that we made the effort to go – it broke up the weekend and we had a good day in York.

Things we’ve learned:

A one night stopover is sometimes enough – we’ll definitely be doing this again
My roots will always be in Yorkshire soil
Enjoy your children whilst they’re young – you’ll never get those days back
Brazilian owners are lovely people
The older a schnauzer gets, the more needy he becomes (like his Dad)

There’s a full set of photos here: Flickr