Moving up a bit

We're probably not going to Europe this year, so the plan is to travel all around the coast of Britain - not all at once, although that would great, but in bits and pieces, as and when we get the chance. At the rate we go, it'll probably take about 10 years, by which time we'll be towing Dorothy with mobility scooters.

So we left the luxury of Willowbank's hot showers and headed North to a little place called Hundred End.

Landsdowne Camping
Shore Road
Hundred End
Southport, PR4 6XP
01772 814075
www.landsdownecamping.org.uk

We were met at the gate by the owners and a dog the size of a donkey. They'd seen us driving past on the way to getting lost. What's to be said about this site? There are a couple of fields, electric hook-ups, water and chemical toilet disposal. What more do you need? Oh, there's also a fishing lake and a garden shed full of tourist information leaflets. The owners are very friendly and helpful. It's flat and windswept and we had to take down the awning before it blew away. If you're after entertainment, children's playground etc, forget it, although there are a couple of swings and a slide. It suited us very well because we enjoy peace and quiet and we were the only ones there, until our last night when a gang of lads with tents turned up. They were no bother. The kindly owner put them on the other side of the field, well away from us. He also installed a chemical loo in a little garden shed for their use. This garden shed was the size of a sentry box! But any portaloo in a storm I suppose.

There are buses to Southport or Preston. We never use the car unless we have to. So we went to Southport one day for a fish and chips lunch. Then we sat outside a pub on Lord Street, enoying a drink while we waited for the bus back. The weather is amazing for April and it all felt quite continental and holiday-ish.

Another day, we walked across fields to look at the Ribble Estuary, which is a bird reserve (RSPB). You'd think you were in Holland with all the dykes and ditches. The whole area is dedicated to growing vegetables. I don't know how they manage with the howling winds, but there are lots of hedges. We saw oyster catchers and shell ducks. Of course, we forgot to take the binoculars or the camera! It was very much like our own Dee Eastuary at home, mainly salt marsh, but a lot wilder and more dramatic.

Unfortunately, we had to cut short this trip as Kim had diabolical toothache so we came home to let the dentist sort it out.

The verdict on caravanning after our first few days away? Excellent, and we can't wait to set off again. The electric heater is such a luxury we can't help feeling we're cheating but what the hell!