Driftwood and Weather

The cold winds shook the caravan, just a hundred feet from the beach and the North Sea we could have easily have been lost adrift at sea in a life raft with the caravan moving around as it was, even though it was anchored to the ground and we were in fact quite stable.
We were cosied up inside, the fire on, a glass of wine or ale in hand, laid on the seats and covered over with a duvet, watching a movie, loving every minute of our long weekend away at our holiday home by the sea.
That night we cuddled up together as it was very cold in the caravan, even with the little heater on in the bedroom, we didn't care, we loved it!

The next day was just as windy, we ate when we wanted, cheese and biscuits here, a sandwich there but we wanted a cooked meal. Unfortunately we were missing a few things to cook a bigger heartier meal, which we would have to wait until the following day to get, when we were to be joined by Caron's nephew and his girlfriend.
It didn't matter though, it was Saturday and the club/restaurant was open. by now it was raining as well as windy and we got ready with a slight dread at the thought of the five minute walk to the restaurant in such miserable weather and could have quite easily stayed in our caravan until the following day but we wanted a meal and a few drinks and to see what was going on.

The site was holding the International Beach Fishing Championships and for a cold spring weekend the site and the Bar were busy, the barman (new to the site for the upcoming holiday season) noted we didn't look like we were there for the fishing, we were not wearing all weather fishing gear and stinking of sweat and salt for starters.
We ate and inevitably we got drunk, we watched the awards ceromony for the days fishing competition and then we watched the classic rock covers band before heading back.

It was a new day and it started off with plenty of sunshine, later we were joined by Dan and Sammy, we visited the supermarket as they had a car, we got supplies and then spent the night getting merry and playing a party game I had got her for Christmas called A Game of Wine, much fun was had.

The following day we ate breakfast and lounged around, enjoying having nothing to do and nowhere to go, after we were showered we decided to take a walk and get some fresh air, we all got wrapped up and ventured out but within 10 minutes the sunshine was gone and the bad weather was back. We headed straight back to the caravan and watched as the rain gave way to a heavy but short lived snow storm and then sleet. Dan and Sammy left for home a little later and I read for a bit, then it was bright again, so Caron and I decided to head back out for a walk on the beach.
It was still a little cold and breezy but we walked hand in hand keeping an ever watchful eye out for interesting stones, fossils and juju. We came across a few nice big pieces of driftwood and if I could have then I would have taken them with me, they were interesting and could have been made into something beautiful for the home, a lamp stand or a shelf perhaps, sadly we couldn't take them with us!
We had another cosy night in watching tv before retiring to bed knowing the next day we were heading back home to Hedon and our flat and that we would soon be back at work, but we made the most of our time at our retreat on the last day relaxing and reading, with the sun shining once again!

Beachin

Well after a hectic set of shifts it was nice to finish work on Saturday morning knowing I was heading to my girl and our caravan at the seaside.

A 45 minute bike ride in the fresh morning air (although not quite enjoyable after a 12 hour night shift) wasn’t too bad and the early morning countryside wildlife was nice, spotted plenty of rabbits, 3 pheasants and a deer on my journey to our seaside retreat.

After getting up at lunch time I was in the mood for a beer and my gorgeous lady had a few drinks in ready for my arrival. A few beers later and I was feeling like my weekend had begun. Later we drank some lovely wine, a French Muscadat and watched National Treasure (a personal favourite of mine) before going to bed after a cosy evening in front of the TV.

After getting up to a cup of tea and a fantastic Bacon sandwich courtesy of Caron, we headed to the beach for a long walk with the dogs, a very windy day but satisfying nontheless.  We walked maybe just 15 minutes up the beach before heading back, wrapped up warm against the wind, all the while Bob and Dottie scampered about our feet and played chase with each other, often with brief interruptions in play to investigate a foreign object and/or smell. I meandered along with Caron eyes firmly set on the sand with childlike excitement at the thought of finding a fossil amongst the many pebbles and rocks, sadly the only discovery was made by the dogs as they came upon the grim remains of a Seal carcass, Caron and I both feeling a pang of sadness at the poor creatures demise.

Later I cycled back home where Caron met me later for a few more drinks and another chilled night in front of tv before Caron headed home to prepare to get up for work in the morning. 

(Photo is of the same beach but taken a few weeks previous)

Scafell Pike - The Lake District

After allowing just one day recovery, from being laid in bed exhausted and full of Cold, I set off for the lake district with my friend and colleague Alex to climb Scafell Pike, which is the largest "mountain" in England at 978m. I was in relatively good company with Alex, he had recently climbed mount Elbrus in Russia which stands at around 5642m. REMEMBER TO CLICK ON THE IMAGES!!!

We set off from Hull at 6am to get an early start, arriving at Wasdale Head at 10am. That gave me a little bit of time to look around for some nice photo's, but I instantly wished I had brought my tripod for som HDR shots.

The photo's have uploaded in a random way, this one is when we finished the climb, back at the 'Wasdale Head Inn' for a pint of the local beer.

The descent is a tiring one, not much in the way of flat solid ground causing a lot of jarring of the knees.

A nice little stream which we followed down the mountain.

We stopped at this big rock during the descent, even though we were tired because it looked cool and fun.

Me at the summit...IT WAS BLOODY WINDY AND VERY VERY COLD, THAT'S WHY I'M SHOUTING!!!

The large 6 ft Cairn at the summit of Scafell Pike.

Me looking knackered about 100m from the summit....yeah I'm OK to carry on...just..give...me..a minute...to catch my breath!

There be snow in these hills!

A view of the 'Wasdale Head Lake' (the deepest lake in England) whilst climbing the hill we didn't need to climb!

Who would think that when we reached the top, we would have to go down the other side and up another valley to get the track we needed!

Alex (and me) having a well earned rest during the ascent, time for some water and a bite to eat.

Alex