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Morris Minor
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Camping at "Grouse Hill" - July 2007 BRIDLINGTON & WOLDS ‘MINI MOT’ Our club were really disappointed when the North East Branch had to cancel their Rally at Herrington Country Park. This was due to unforeseen circumstances with the show organizers. As quite a few of our members like to go to this particular Rally and had taken time off work and arranged child, dog and house sitters it was agreed that we would still go and camp for the weekend somewhere, the initial idea was to go to Harperly, but on the Friday as we had set off another ‘spanner’ went into the works. Anyway not to be thwarted Chris, Pebbles and I, Paul,
Sheena, Graham, Jackie and their three children Lora, Richard and Jamie did a U
turn in convoy all hauling trailer tents behind us and went in search of a
campsite between Whitby and Scarborough that Paul and Sheena had visited
before………. We arrived at the camp just after lunch, Chris got quite excited as the name of the site was Grouse Hill, this being his favorite tipple seemed to be a good omen for the weekend! It was then a race to see who could get their self pitched and the kettle on first – Paul and Sheena have got a really nifty trailer tent that goes up in around two minutes flat and were convinced that they would be first. The thing that stalled them was the ever awkward awning! Graham was fighting with his 1950’s period trailer with the family looking on in amusement, meanwhile Chris who has put ours up and down so many times now had the kettle on boiling away for a much needed cuppa.
The ground was a little damp already from all the heavy rain that we had all been experiencing, and the sky was becoming increasingly overcast once more…………still after a refuel of tea we set off to have a walk around the camp. It is set on a hill (obviously) with spectacular views there is a lake and lots of very picturesque walks – all be it that they are quite hilly. The rain started just as we planned to BBQ, never mind at least we were away………..we managed to rig up a makeshift enclosure to do the cooking, head chef (Paul) managed a fab meal of sausages,burgers and cheese to emerge red eyed and a little smoky. As these MM do’s go the wine, beer and whisky flowed so no
one really cared about the thunder, Amazingly Saturday morning dawned warm and sunny even though the ground was still very, very wet. After mugs of tea and a mass cooking of bacon sandwiches we set off on ‘tour’. Paul being familiar with this area had planned us a run, now this is where the real art of Morris Minoring came in to play – as I said this country side is very hilly……… Luckily we had taken two way radios so nothing could go wrong, or could it? Going down one of the first really steep hills Paul had a problem with his accelerator sticking on – not good on a 30%er……..we all stopped and after giving the car some therapy we managed to set off again – Paul and Sheena in the lead Graham, Jackie and kids in the middle, Chris, Pebs and me
On top of this dwelling it has two armchairs also carved out of boulders, to give a panoramic view over the countryside, presumably to see if there were uninvited guests approaching, although if you didn’t know the place was there it would not be easily found. It must have taken a long time and lots of hard work to achieve – amazing……… We then drove on to Little Beck where we sat in the lovely sunshine by a bubbling stream – everything was so tranquil and calming – then it was back to tackling the dreaded hills to get home to camp. I must admit on the last one up it was a struggle for us all, but after we had ‘crashed’ into first gear we made it to the top with lots of sighs of relief! When we got back to camp disaster had struck our own and
Graham and Jackie’s awnings had blown down with the tents about to follow! So
after some hasty repairs and restructuring we managed to get We had booked into a pub called the Flask for our evening meal, this pub is just off site so you can drive to it and leave the car on site and still have a pint or two as you are on a private road, which ofcourse was good for the lads as they always draw the short straw as a rule. As we were eating in the family room with having the kids with us and because she is small (and ofcourse very well behaved in company) they let us take Pebbles in as well which was a bonus as she had been relegated to her cage in the Pick-up, and as all of you who know her, know that she has a vandal type mentality when it comes to being left alone in a Morris Minor!!!!!!!! Sunday morning we had to mention that we thought we had heard snoring sheep in the night……everyone denied this but managed to point a finger at the next door tent! Again the weather was fab, more tea and bacon sandwiches to set us up for packing away the trailers. This done and the trailers neatly lined up out of the way to collect later we headed off to Boggle Hole. For all of you who know our coastal area it is a little like Thornwick Bay but a steeper longer hill to get down to the beach, the only thing at the bottom is a youth hostel that can only be reached at low tide! From there we walked to Robin Hood’s Bay. The walk is over rocks and sand with lots of pools, the kids were kept amused by all us sad adults crab and fish spotting, although Paul taught us all a thing or tow I’m sure. At one point we had to bridge quite a large running stream, my Chris forever the ‘hero’ piggy backed us girls across – then we looked for Pebbles who was on the other side waiting for her piggy back across too! After smelling everyone else’s fish and chips it was decided that we all had to have some, unfortunately at this point it started to rain so we were all huddled into a small Victorian shelter looking over the beach with about forty other people with the same idea………… We wandered back to Boggle Hole in the drizzle and discussed what a good weekend we’d had despite the unpredictable weather. The climb out of Boggle Hole must have got rid of every calorie we had put away with the chips, boy was it steep. At the top Jackie was first up on her ‘hi octane’ spray after gasping to the top I think we should have all had a puff…………. It was decided as the weather was far from pleasant that we
would head back and collect our We had a really good weekend if anyone out there is interested in camping at this site and doing the scenic tour that we did please contact the club. The facilities on the site were: Shower and toilet blocks – hot showers Electric hook up Plenty of water points Shop – very well stocked Terraced landscape Fab veiws |
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Bridlington & Wolds
lighting and torrential rain going on outside Paul and Sheena’s awning – until
it was time to try and get
back
to our own tents, which was quite a work of art with Graham slipping and
groveling about in the mud! I ended up on my bum as well – so you can imagine a
good night was had by all………the rain and wind in the night were fit to carry us
away, I almost thought we were all going to be like Dorothy in the Wizard of
Oz!!!
bringing up the rear. Graham was having driving lessons over the radio from
Paul, while Chris and I marveled at how Paul could tell that Graham was riding
his clutch when he was meant to be slowing down and how he wasn’t in the right
gear going up. All the scenery was fantastic, like I say these hills were all 25
and 30%ers. Unfortunately we got to one and Graham just couldn’t get more than
half way up it, we will never forget his face as we had to pass him – I just
didn’t get the camera out in time…………..ofcourse Graham did have five people in
his Minor so was carrying considerably more weight than anyone else. After they
had all got out we tried to get him to the top but we failed miserably, so it
was a reverse down for them and a U turn at the top for our Pick-up………all good
fun, goodness knows what the natives thought in their 4 wheel drives – the word
insanity springs to mind………..
everything back to how it should be, much to the amusement of the caravaner’s
round us who were sat in the sunshine watching our antics………good to know that us
Minor folk give value for money!
belongings and head for home.