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| A short holiday. |
After last year’s dreadful summer, for we came home after only holidaying for about two days, my wife vowed that she would never holiday in a caravan again. The continuance of a deluge of rain, causing major flooding, was bad but it was also very cold; so cold we could not stand it and came home. As the year rolled on, the weather did not settle enough for us to venture out for another few days holiday.
To cut a long story short, for we prefer to self cater, all the cottages we looked at had something that was not to our liking.
Slowly, after putting it off to the very last, we began to look to see if we could rent a caravan for the week. In the end, as we saw it, the caravan became our only option.
For a change, for we usually enjoy a few days at the seaside, we went inland to a place called Barnard Castle. We thought, if the weather was going to be bad again, at least it would be warmer in land.
With the car packed up to the hilt with warm clothing and sleeping backs that were rated up to -13 degrees below, we set off and, would your believe, the weather was on our side for once and there was only minimal traffic on the road.
To our surprise, we arrived at our destination in ample time and when we saw the site, we were going to be on for the next few days, we settled straight away. The caravan park was as good, if not better, than any other sites we had visited over the years.
After the usual formalities, at the reception office, we were given a map showing us where our caravan was situated; actually, there was no need for a map for the site was not a large one.
The van had been put on the site, with several others, this year and it looked, when we entered the caravan, that we were the first people to use it. Everything was to our satisfaction for the van was double glazes and was fully central heated by a Comby gas boiler.
Saturday, or what was left of it, was lovely but when we awoke on Sunday it was raining and looked as though it was set in for the day. To try and dodge the poor weather, we drove to the Bows Museum (Forgive me if the spelling is incorrect.) We had never visited the area before and did not know what to expect and, when we pulled into the museum’s entrance, we were surprised by the elegance of the large and tall wrought iron gates. The gates were decorated in guilt, at the top, and had on what looked like a coat of arms but, because of the poor weather conditions, we were unable to make out any detail.
Once inside the gates, on a narrow road-shaped like a horse shoe- that lead up to the large building-decorated in ornate stone wear-that was the museum, I would the car window down and my ears pricked up and my heart lifted for there was a brass band playing in the grounds. The brass band players were under a waterproof canopy and several other bands were waiting, in the wings, to play in what turned out to be a musical competition. As soon as we alighted from the car, the rain slowed down enough for us to be able to stand and listen to the bands playing and it was wonderful.
Once in the museum, we were able to see many viewings of quality art works and my family and I lingered and discussed many of the paintings. What we did not know about, and luck was on our side here, is that a clockwork swan was due to be shown to the public while we were inside the building. Eventually, now with large crowds round the swan, the attendant came to tell us all about the bird before he wound up the mechanism. The movement of the swan was only for about half a minute but, when it turned its head this way and that then eventually dipped its head into what looked like water, the swan caught a fish, raised its long neck, and swallowed its prey. I cannot tell you how many moving parts were in the swan’s neck but there must have been thousands of intricate scale overlaps. I would recommend a viewing to everybody that could see the swan.
To our surprise, when we came out of the museum, the rain had stopped and everything around us seemed to take on a fresh look.
The rain continued and went on all day Monday but the next three days were just right for walking; not too hot or cold.
As soon as I could, I went for a walk round the camp site. Rabbits were scampering around and a female Mallard, with four goslings, came running to our caravan at the slightest sound of rattling paper.
Not far away from our caravan, was the river Tees. I asked some of the private caravan owners if the river ever broke its banks and flooded the site. I was pleased to find out that there had not been any problems so far.
The river’s water was made up of peat based water, that flowed from Teesdale a few miles north of the camp site, and the first bird I saw on the river was an expected Dipper. Goosanders were on the water and there were five juvenile birds with the female parent. Where I could get to the side of the river, for it was blocked off with trees, in places, to keep the site safe, Tree Creepers, warblers and three species of Tits could be seen.
In another part of the site, I had my first good sighting of Red Legged Partridge and, while we were looking out of the caravan window; we were visited by a male Great Spotted Woodpecker. I had over 30 species of birds on the site and could have had more if the weather had been better.
If I am honest, for it was cold on Sunday and Monday, we would have felt the need to go home had there not been full central heating in the living and sleeping quarters of the van. The van, the site, and the things we were able to see ended up making our holiday very enjoyable.
On Thursday evening, a deluge of rain came down and it carried on falling every bit of the night. I got up, several times in the night, to see if the river had burst its banks and, in the morning, the river was in a full rage of water that would have drowned a strong swimmer. On a normal day, water cascaded over protruding rocks as the river’s water meandered over them but, today, there were no rocks to be seen for the water had risen by about five feet.
For those that like visiting castles, the area is a must for there are about 50 castles scattered around in the area. We visited several castles and I have to say that the Normans, who inhabited the castles, did not have what I would call a good life. To me, the thought of living in a large airy and cold castle, was not what I would have wanted for my old bones. I believe, all the castles, in the area, were built by the Neville family.
Where there is water and a castle, there are also hills to negotiate but we took our time to get up the hills and we were well rewarded. To get from one side of the river to the next, we walked on a narrow footpath at the side of the river Tees and up to the castle.
At the side of the river, at a safe distance, there were quaint Victorian looking housed with Welch type sash protruding bay windows. In front of the houses were well tended cottage gardens and one occupant had utilized the land, between his house and the river, to grow lots of fruit bearing bushes which he covered to prevent the birds from eating his crop.
The footpath, that went close to the riverbanks in places, was in two parts. In one part, the path was even and covered in tar macadam; while the second stage of the path was made up of fertile river mud. Passing through the latter part of the path, the side of the walkway was through tall wet grass that was partnered by old gnarled trees. Local children had utilized one of the trees and were in the throws of making a tree house. This path took us through places, if we let our minds wonder, where children’s storybooks could have been written. For my part, on the odd occasion that I was able to venture out on my own, I keenly sketched out a few drawings I intend to use later in the year.
To be continued.
John.
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Posted by oldjohn on 2008-07-20 14:13:48 | Rating: | Views: 20
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