Lincolnshire 4 - Tattershall Castle /West Runton Caravan and camping club site / a week in Norfolk/ when washing the dishes

---

We have struggled settling back in again after our return from our Greek Oddysey. Ok we are back to swimming in the morning and a visit to the gym. Shopping is back on the menu weekly and it feels at times as if we have not been away at all this year. The house no longer feels large, the bed small, Suzy has had a clean and spruce up inside. Her walls cleaned and smelling of Jasmine, her cooker gleaming although a new one would be a welcome addition, her window replaced . We re-ordered the correct one and it arrived fairly smartish in three days. Glenn fitted it easily and Suzy looks the part now. The fridge seems not to be working but that could be the close proximity to the laurel hedge which forces a vortex of hot air which just circulates and recirculates. Her carpet has been washed and cleaned and certainly looks better and she is clean on the outside now she has been doused and scrubbed with Fenwicks . The Albelli book was chosen and we ploughed through thousands of photographs. Each one brought back a memory - hours of sitting in Ancona waiting for the boat to Greece. Something we won't do again . Next time a drive a little further down the coast to Bari which gives us a shorter sea trip to the greek mainland . The heat of Delphi and the sights of the pretty towns along the way. Each photograph brought back a memory. The book took a little while to arrive. Problems with the processing they said . When it did arrive we were disappointed . Sion did not look that clear as he sat in the window hugging the sign that told the seamen we were Igoumenitsa headed. Inside the sea nor the sky looked as blue as we remembered. It was probably us . They were as normal. We were just being picky.

It is D Day minus 90 to our next holiday. Strange how we start to count down just as we arrive home. We are already fed up of the view from our windows and long for the open road. The summer heat is oppressive. A heavy feel to the heat as if it were full of moisture. We pray for rain to lighten the mood and clear the air. When it comes it chucks it down, the sky leadens and it in Welsh "teimlo mwy fel Hydref na'r Haf" - more like Autumn than Summer. The garden takes on a late summer feel. The Tree Peony has gone over and been replaced by tiger striped Day Lilies. The red and coral pink geraniums fill the pots with colour. The grass is turning golden in the summer heat which burns down it incessently. We ordered our voucher from Tesco for our trip and it arrived within 15 minutes. Within half an hour the Chunnel train was booked . We have a problem knowing what time to pick for the journey. We do not want a repeat of the movement of Suzy off the drive in the dark. The pergola has been shortened and we could leave Suzy on a neighbours drive . In the end we decide on the 1.50 train which will mean we can leave in daylight avoiding any disasters and also a lot of the traffic on the way. We still will get to France by late afternoon. The day after I changed my days at work which mean we can go on the Friday and perhaps take in part of Kent we have missed on previous trips.

D Day minus 87 - the summer solstice, Halfway through the year , the longest day. The days do not lengthen any more nor yet do they shorten but it feels like the end of the season even though it is not. I smash the screen on my laptop. We notice that Glenns passport will run out and we re-order another one. The London and Manchester bombings happen and make me feel angry. Why cannot people get on ? Why do they have to destroy each other ? In the face of it many will be frightened to travel. Why should we ? The world is a wonderful place and no-one should stop anyone seeing it in all its glory. The election is over and we have a hung parliament. Life is odd in our country at the moment.

We need to do something to take our minds off the misery at home. We should not feel this way but we do and the feeling is hard to shake off this time. My thoughts for the day have a wonderful message I should take to heart and listen to " When washing the dishes, washing the dishes must be the most important thing in my life." So washing Suzy or going shopping, working all should be the things I concentrate on but it is hard I have to admit .

So what do we do we take a weeks holiday from work. We pack up Suzy with provisions and pick a destination - Norfolk. Why Norfolk? Well it is only just under three hours away. I have not been there since about 1985 and Glenn has only been to Kings Lynn . So why not ? We set off with a plan to stop off at Tattershall Castle near to Grantham in Lincolnshire. The road was busy but then it was a Saturday in the height of the summer season. We waved to Motorhomers along the way. We laughed at how many caravanners were on the road. Up the M1 - what an odd feeling to go north when you need to go east . We travelled down the A1 through the Fens into the flat Lincolnshire countryside . The crops change as you travel. Fields full of broad beans, peas and ripening wheat. Potatoes as far as the eye could see . Pigs in their little pig pens. Why do we buy Danish bacon I wondered when there are so many pigs in Lincolnshire? Waterways are crossed and recrossed as we head for our lunch destination the lovely castle of Tattershall.

As the sun shone we parked Suzy up in the castle car park. There was a wedding going on. The bride tottered her way across the grass in high heeled shoes . Dressed in an expensive virginal white dress off the shoulder showing much cleavage she looked a tad odd. We sat and watched the bride carrying her mauve and white bouquet, the bridesmaids in lilac dresses and the men in silver morning suits. I wondered how much the whole event cost and how long the marriage would last. Sad fact of life the marriages start off grand but disappear like a puff of smoke after a few years. We ate sandwiches bought in the cafe on site . Ploughmans and Prawn and Mayonaise. They tasted wonderful in the summer sun.

Tattershall Castle has its origins in either a stone castle or a fortified manor house built by Robert de Tattershall in 1231. This was largely rebuilt in brick, and greatly expanded, by Ralph 3rd Lord Cromwell between 1430 and 1450. It is not often you see brick castles in England. Most used the local stone as a building material but this castle with its huge walls of brick looked both aesthetically pleasing and would have looked quite modern when built. The trend for using bricks was introduced by Flemish weavers. There was plenty of stone available nearby, but Cromwell chose to use brick.[About 700,000 bricks were used to build the castle, which has been described as "the finest piece of medieval brick-work in England". and it certainly looked the part. Better still for us members of the National Trust it was free to visit and broke the journey to Norfolk down into nice sized chunks of driving.

Lord Cromwell's castle is 130 foot (40 metre) high with a Great Tower and the moat still remaining. It is thought that the castle's three state rooms were once splendidly fitted out but sadly the chambers which were once heated by immense Gothic fireplaces with decorated chimney pieces andthe wall covered in tapestries are now sadly empty. Cromwell died in 1456, and the castle was initially inherited by his niece Joan Bouchier but it was confiscated by the Crown after her husband's demise.Tattershall Castle was recovered in 1560 by Sir Henry Sidney who then sold it on to Lord Clinton the Earl of Lincoln and it remained in their family until 1693 when it passed to the Fortesques,. Sadly at this point it fell into disrepair and neglect . The story of so many of our lovely castles.

As we sit and look at the castle the second line of my saying comes to mind " When you are drinking tea , drinking tea must be the most important thing in my life " So perhaps I should think sitting here in the sun watching the world go by must be the most important thing in my life and get on with it.

After our sandwiches we walk over the grass and the bridge to the castle. There are three doors to choose from . Which one shall we pick? Probably the one with least people in. That is what we normally do. The plan of the castle is roughly rectangular; it is bounded by an inner moat surrounded by an outer moat. In this area the Trust have put deckchairs and people sit in them shaded from the summer sun. The first door leads to the Great Tower. An empty room with nothing on the walls and no furniture . The castles contents was sold at auction many moons ago. The fireplaces stripped off and made ready to ship to the United States. The plan was to demolish the castle brick by brick and ship it to the USA. At the eleventh hour Lord Curzon of Derby stepped in and stopped the shipments going out , bought all the fireplaces back and put them back where they belonged . eAch room now has its original fireplace and fine they are too.

The parlour is empty but still has its fireplace and the basemet was used for storage . We climbed to the top of the four turrets with gave us a 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside . Lincoln cathedral was clearly visible in the distance as were the second world war planes at the nearby Royal Air force base and Boston stump ..

Even though there were no tables nor chairs, no original fabric nor furnishings this was still a pertty impressive castle . It would have been good to see the flemish tapestries but somethings being empty has its advantages as you look at the building rather than what is in it .

Dragging ourselves away from our pretty castle we headed for our stop for the next two nights - the Caravan and Camping Club site at West Runton . I had paid a deposit for two nights and the plan was to do nothing much tonight but start to read a new book "Three Sisters " a Tudor historical novel by Philippa Gregory , watch a bit of TV and then set off tomorrow for the walk into Sheringham or Cromer. However having looked on Google EArth at both towns they seemed to afford nothing worth seeing so we had our first problem of the trip . Having paid for two night should we stay and do nothing or move on ? Moving on would mean losing our nights fee and paying another one . We would have to see what the site was like and then make a decision and live with it. The site was large, sprawling and a bit higgledy piggledly without any defination of plots. The staff were as always helpful and lovely . They told us there were only two plots left and we could have either. There wasnt much in it . We took one next to the road and in front of a couple on a caravan with an awning spread all round them. Next to us on the other side a nice couple quite young in an aged Hymer motorhome., Opposite us mostly motorhomers and to one corner glamping tents. In between were tents . It felt like a cross between a Bella Italia or Butterfly Italian site . Despite saying there were 6 metres between caravans and motorhomes it didnt feel that way. Our neighbours arrived . Affectionately we call them Tuggers as they tug their caravan behind them. They parked up in the way of everyone as tuggers do. They pulled the van onto half of their plot and put a massive awning up on the rest . They crept closer to us. We left them to it and went for a walk into West Runton . A small village with aptly named Flint Cottage, houses with alternate layers of brick and flint. A material we would come to see a lot of in this part of the country. There was a village pub which looked rather down at heel, a car park and a caravan park full to capacity with holidaymakers staying the week. There were a large number of restuarants and a Billys fish and chip shop. We sat outside eating our fish and chips washed down with a Vimto. We walked back . A pleasant stroll across common and woodland , Passing the duck pond it was full of life .

Getting back our neighbours had encroached even more on us . They put their seats and tables out creeping ever closer to us. Then the BBQ with another table came out . By this time we had made our mind up Cromer was dragging us in. We were off in the morning for pastures new . That is the beauty of Suzy . If you dont like where you are or what is going on round you all you do is pack up and within five minutes you are on the road again. Some you win , some you lose .



So what of today ? The castle was lovely. We enjoyed the drive down. The campsite wasnt really us . We miss Europe . Tomorrow we head for Fellbrigg Hall on the way to Norwich . it is better than being at home.

---