2012 February Half Term at Ferry Meadows

[Please look at the extra posts at the foot of the story for extra photos]

Well, we particularly wanted to get away this half term to see how we coped with the dog. I looked at Sandringham, but all the talk or a parvo-type virus put us off taking the dog there. Instead, after looking at reviews, we decided to give Ferry Meadows a go.

Monday, February 13^th 2012: Arrival at Ferry Meadows

We set off from Polesworth late morning and arrived mid-afternoon. After setting everything up, we ventured out on our usual quest for a supermarket, to get supplies. We came across the Serpentine Centre and the attached Tesco’s Superstore. It seemed quite a good idea to purchase some of the bottles of mulled wine that they had on sale. After shopping, time was getting on so we decided to try and find a local chippy for tea. Not knowing the area, and not having spotted one after riding around for a bit, we decided to use the wisdom of the Sat-Nav. It came up with ‘Captain Cod’, which was some miles away. We were faithful to the Sat-Nav, and followed instructions religiously. We were directed to a suburb of Peterborough and we eagerly followed the instructions. The familiar ‘You have reached your destination’ call came, but sadly, Captain Cod was nowhere to be seen. We scoured the high street a few times before giving up. It seems that our only practical alternative was McDonalds. We thought we would probably find a McDonalds on the way back to Ferry Meadows. Suddenly, as if by magic, we spotted a small chippy at the side of the road, so we decided to stop. It was completely empty but the lady at the counter (from Redditch) was very chatty and eventually came with our order. We sat in the car and ate what felt like the most delightful food we had ate in ages.

So we came to our first night in the caravan with Lizzie our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy.  During the afternoon she learnt that she could only sit on the seat with the throw and her blanket.  This just happened to be the seat that our daughter used for her bed.  We'd always got it in mind for her to sleep in her bed made up in the shower.  It came to bedtime and the worst thing happened.  Lizzie had decided she wasn't up for sleeping in the shower in spite of anything we could do to convince her otherwise.  In the end the only place she would sleep was at the foot of our daughter's bed - exactly where she had been sitting earlier!

Tuesday, February 14^th 2012: Crowland

The morning was cold but dry and I decided it was good enough to cook breakfast outside on the Cadac. We ate in the awning with no problem. We had a leisurely morning and after tidying around and baking the baguettes we decided to head for Crowland. The George and Angel in the centre of Crowland was a great place for our pre-lunch drink. The pub was happy for us to take Lizzie in. We ate our sandwiches in the car before exploring the triangular bridge and Crowland Abbey. For our evening meal we did meatballs on the cadac and warmed up the mulled wine.

Wednesday, February 15^th 2012: Hunstanton and Brancaster

We awoke to another dry day and another breakfast cooked outside on the Cadac and ate in the awning. Today we decided on a long day out. We wanted the opportunity to take Lizzie to the beach so we headed off in the direction of Hunstanton. Against we had got to Hunstanton is was almost lunchtime. To be honest, we were not that keen on Hunstanton itself. It looked a little commercialised for us, so we headed further North to Brancaster. After eating our lunch we went in search of Brancaster beach, which we found to be big and ideal for dogs. We took the opportunity to let Lizzie off her lead and she thoroughly enjoyed the freedom. Parking was good and free this time of the year, and there were toilets quite close to the beach.

Thursday, 16^th February 2013: Flag Fen

After another leisurely morning following our cooked breakfast, we headed off in search of the Iron Age settlement museum at Flag Fen. Lizzie stayed in the car and we had a good look around for about an hour or so. The Flag Fen Archaeology Park is worth as visit. The central feature is the ancient remains of the wooden walkway connecting with a small island. There is a bronze age centre, museum, roundhouses, a small farm with animals and the oldest wheel in England.

It was soon lunchtime and we were drawn once more to the George and Angel at Crowland, where we were made so welcome on Tuesday. After lunch and a little ride around some of the outlying villages, we headed back to Ferry Meadows.

Friday, 17^th February 2012: Awning down, journey home

No cooked breakfast on pack-up morning – we managed with cereal! We had finished packing up by about 11.30am, so headed back home.

It had been a quiet few days. We hadn’t really done a lot, but we had a relaxing time. Ferry Meadows was a delightful site and park, and we could very well return one day.

Now we were back at home, the big question in all our minds was to do with the dog.  We were all concerned that, having had a few days sleeping at the foot of our daughter's bed, would we find it difficult to get her to go to bed in her basket in the kitchen.  Fortunately our fears were unfounded.  As soon as she got home she went straight to her basket in the kitchen and seemed positively pleased that she was back in our own space.  So it goes to show - it's lovely to get away on holiday, but it's nice to get home too.