last trip of the year

 

Christmas is always a good excuse to grab two or three nights away and this year was no different. Van packed we headed back to the Norfolk coast and pitched up at Cromer on the Norfolk coast. The drive down was wet and dreary but it did get better.

Last year we had Christmas and boxing day here, this year its Christmas eve and Christmas day giving us an opportunity to check out some shops. In the meantime we hunkered down with a couple of episodes of Dr who.

Christmas eve was sunshine all day although rather cool nowhere as cold as the last week or so, we even sat with the van door and window open in the afternoon ( not bad for December)

Ian grabbed my camera and charged off to get a photo of the local Banksy whilst I enjoyed a coffee and the chance to knit a few rows in the latest hat.

The biggest disappointment was a small spinning wheel shaped ornament in an antique shop, sign on the door said gone to lunch ( it was 11.30 ) shop open times 10-2. We returned a 1,15 to try to buy it and the shop had already closed for the holidays :-(

However I did score in one of the charity shops with a bag of 60 DMC skeins, 18 Anchor skeins and a reasonable size piece of aida all for £3

Christmas day was cloudy but the sun tried to break through and we had another stroll round the town still discovering new things.

The story of Henry Blogg

A plaque to Priscilla Buxton whose father founded the anti-slavery society although, as a woman, she was not allowed to join. There is a monument to her father in Weymouth.

One of the famous Cromer goats that live on the cliff face above the beach huts.

When we came around to packing up the cab, we found that Puffin had obviously had a good time and that our newest addition ( the highland coo) was a little legless !!

We are now back at home, Ian's is back at work and the van is absolutely filthy on the outside with spray from the road so it seems that our new year will be spent up a ladder in the cold washing it down..

Till my next post (December crafty round up) take care and speak soon xx

Cold, wet and windy !

 That just about sums up our short break, super windy Christmas Eve with gusts in excess of 30mph made sleeping interesting with the van rocking slightly. Nowhere near as bad as the storm on the Outer Hebrides a few years ago when we had to keep moving the van because of the wind hitting with so much force that it felt like it would tip !!

Breakfast as usual, no pressies to open etc due to not celebrating but a wonderful chance to take our time and actually have chance to chat without other things pressing on our time. This has been one of the biggest bonus's of  getting away so often, simply giving ourselves the time to chill.

Beds made, pots washed and we had a stroll into Cromer. Like an idiot, I just picked up my camera without bothering to check the settings so by the time I noticed, I only had a few reasonable shots. Our original plan was to head back down town on Boxing day and  challenge ourselves as to who could find the most interesting subject to capture but I think the weather may stop us.

camera on wrong setting

Slightly better.

We spent the evening watching warehouse 13 which is currently our van dvd  binge set.

Boxing day dawned, wet , breezy and decidedly cold so we were reluctant to put a foot or even an arm out of our sleeping bags but eventually someone was brave enough to venture out of the warmth to put the heating on,

My current position as I have 4g on my phone for the first time since we got here and I'm making the most of it to catch up on vlogs etc, still raining outside but I have some knitting to get on with.

Later

We decided to brave the drizzle but postponed the photo challenge until next time. we played the penny falls in the arcade and I won three keyrings one of which I gave to a small boy who had been watching me all the time I was pushing the 2pz in ( his mum spotted me and said thanks )

We were surprised to see how many places were open and judging by the crowds heading to the pier I guess that there was a show on in the theatre ( I checked later and it looks like the Pier Christmas show was on )

Cromer also currently has a selection of pictures of classic artworks scattered around the own, we spotted maybe four of them before the weather defeated us.

The record fair seemed a sensible place to shelter from the rain at a cost of 2 dvds and a box set. We headed back to the sea front and slowly back to the campsite, didn't spot any of the famous Cromer goats so I guess that they we tucked up somewhere nice and warm for the winter,

The day was rounded off with a pint ( coffee for me) in the campsite bar watching Nottingham Forest being beaten by Middlesbrough ( I sat with my knitting)

In spite of the weather we had a good few days, the water leak has not reappeared, the new batteries work a treat so its just the floor springs that need sorting now,

I now have a week of fibre prep planned after sorting through the gear from the weekend. I left the fridge/freezer to defrost whilst we were away as it had bee freezing up so its fingered crossed that it does the job,

speak soon xx

The day we caught the train

 Last weekend we made a quick dash to Cornwall to catch up with friends who we hadn't seen since June 2019. Many arrangements had been made to visit last year but due to the obvious disruption we were never in  or allowed to be in the right place at the right time.

We arrived around tea time on Friday so the evening was spent catching up with the gossip however, with good weather forecast for Saturday, we started to make plans for a day out. Eventually we decided on catching the train to St Ives, a short but scenic journey.

St Ives is a traditional Cornish fishing village full of narrow alleys as the houses hide behind each over seeking cover from winter storms.

You can see from this aerial view how close the buildings are.

The town is a very popular tourist destination with museum, Tate art gallery and many small shops. We sampled the ice creams (excellent ) as well as the odd sausage roll, had a look round the museum and the harbour.

All too soon it was time to catch the train back but we stopped for a coffee first. Stunning view from the coffee shop window, just a shame that someone had already beaten us to the best seats.

I promise that the next post will be back to knitting and spinning xx

Nearly home again

 Once again plans made earlier in the year didn't work as hoped and we found ourselves on a campsite near Glouscester for a couple of nights. We are familiar with this area as we used to attend the Ukulele Festival GB in Cheltenham and the Tall Ships Festival in Gloucester.

This time we had time to explore both places a little more beginning with an afternoon in Cheltenham.

Followed by a full day in Gloucester to explore the docks and shops without the festival crowds.

The docks provide a wonderful open space in the city which people were taking advantage of to spend their time eating lunch.

As usual, the old buildings fascinated me,

Last crafty update of the holiday,

So, at last, we made it home. A bit tired, lightly tanned and sporting a rather wonky pair of glasses inspite of the best efforts of my optician 😂😂

I'll be back soon with the usual craft based posts xx