Sky Barn Farm CL, Haddington, Lincolnshire, LN5 9FL; 53.166853 -0.637868

Wednesday, 13th September 2023

A much cooler day today, more in line with "normal" September weather, sunny, with cloud, 18c.

After much pondering of 'is it worth unloading bikes, for one day', we decide not to bother, and, instead,  to take the walk across the fields to "The Royal Oak", in Aubron.

The lady who owns the CL is very organised, and, we are told there are detailed instructions of the route, in the Information Hut.

She is not kidding! It is the neatest and most organised Information Hut we have ever seen.

There are neatly arranged DVDs to borrow, Books, again, neatly arranged, to borrow.

Sure enough, middle shelf, righthand side, there are homemade leaflets, with the route across the fields, clearly marked out, including tips on. what wildlife you may see, at different points (Hares, Deer, Partridge etc).

Unfortunately, we don't spot any wildlife, but, we do find the pub (The Royal Oak) without difficulty, and, have an excellent lunch.

Thursday, 14th September 2023

Dull, cloudy, but mild 17c. Is summer over?

A bit of drizzle during the last bits of packing, just to make life more interesting.

To home, roughly 150 miles. The road works at Darrington were flowing freely, but, an accident near Wetherby had all three lanes of the A!(M) at a standstill. 

We came to a halt just at an exit, took a chance and followed several truckers who seemed to know a way around it, sure enough, A168 took us past the hold-up

So home again. Steve (neighbour) has cut the lawn for me, so, one job less to do.

Elm Croft CL, Rockland St Peter, Norfolk, NR17 1UL (N52.539974 E0.922318) Contd...

Monday, 11th September 2023

It would appear that "Normal Service", or, at least "Normal Weather" has been resumed. This morning is cloudy, 13c with a slight breeze, and, a definitive Autumn feel.

Today, we will have to pack to leave tomorrow, but, before loading the bicycles, we decide to do a short cycle ride.

The plan is to cycle route which we walked a couple of days ago, to Little Ellingham, The instructions in the information must say it is four miles, but, I suspect it is a little further.

Knowing that we were to cycle a route which we already knew, I dispensed with taking the cycling map.

Off we go, and arrive in Little Ellingham, three miles later.

At this point, the plan unravels.

Kathleen suggests we cycle a little further.

I point out that I did not bring the map with me, and, the road she proposes to follow, is a road we have not cycled before.

The only bright spot is, the signposting says the road leads to Great Ellingham, which, we have been to before (it was the place we ate

on Thursday).

Accordingly, we arrive in Great Ellingham, although not in an area we recognise.

We do come to a signpost to Rocklands, although, it is not as I remember from Thursday last, but, in the absence of anything better (like a map), we follow the signposting.

It is a pleasant and quiet road, so, perfect for cycling along. 

Only one doubtful cross roads, google says turn right, the signposting says go straight on. 

Fortunately, there is a dog-walker passing, and, he assures us, the signposting is right, and, he tells us, reassuringly, and, with a note of pleasure in his voice, we have a long hill to climb. 

Eventually, it does bring us to a junction with the road which passes through Rocklands (the B1107), but, do we turn left, or right? 

There is no signposting, so, Google to the rescue.

Grumbling has started now, and, although I am pretty sure we are almost back at the campsite, it is, of course, my fault, that we don't know precisely where we are, and, that the four mile outing has morphed into just over 9 miles!

But, here we are, at Rocklands, with only about 1 mile to go.

Tuesday, 12th September 2023

Cloudy and grey day, still mild at 17c, but, not as inviting as the sunshine and blue skies we have become used to.

Today, should have been the day we travelled home, but, Kathleen decided that driving here in one stretch had been a bit to much, for poor old me, as always, being a woman, she is probably right.

A couple of days ago, on the internet, I spotted that a CL near Lincoln (Sky Barn Farm CL, Haddington, Lincolnshire, LN5 9FL; 53.166853 -0.637868), which gets rave reviews, had vacancies, so, I booked a couple of nights there, just to true it out.

Today, we travel the approximately 95 miles to Sky Barn Farm CL. As we head North, we run into torrential rain, the journey is mostly small country lanes, or, what passes for a main road in Norfolk and Lincolnshire (ie single carriageway A47, A17, A15).

It is still raining heavily when we arrive, just after midday, I get soaked just hooking up to the waste water connection and EHU point.

The place is incredibly well organised, online booking system, all information Emailed to you, including access code for the gate, and WiFi password. The owner (Nicola) did show her face to ensure there was nothing further we needed, just the right level of friendly and helpful. Approach to the place is straightforward, even in this dismal weather.