The East of Anglia

Ivan and Jane on the sandy beach by Cromer pier, Norfolk 

Travelling full time in our motorhome has long since been a dream of ours. When we were living in a house and away camping or in our old motorhome Vern we struggled to get back into the routine of sleep, work, eat, repeat on our return home. Nature and fresh air has always been a kind of therapy for us. There is nothing like feeling you have been outside all day having adventures; enjoying life to the full. You really feel you have earnt your dinner that night: your whole body aches; your face burns; your eyes sting and you feel happy and alive. Safe in the knowledge you have squeezed every last minute of daylight into challenge, adventure and exploration you can go to bed that night exhausted and replete. Now we are “living the dream” we have definitely slowed down, we are noticing the little things and not rushing around so much trying to fit it all in. After all, what’s the rush? We don’t only have the weekend nowadays. 

On this leg of our tour of the 49 counties of England East Anglia is the perfect area to take it easy.  It sits in the Far East of England and is made up of Norfolk, Suffolk and more loosely Cambridgeshire and Essex. After a great weekend with our motorcycle club in Lincolnshire we headed to Norfolk:

We found a lovely quiet campsite in the hamlet of Plumstead, a few miles inland from Cromer and for the whole week were the only ones there. We enjoyed the peace of the countryside, the narrow lanes on our motorcycle and sidecar and the wildlife. All we could hear at night was the owls hooting and it was pitch black, perfect for star gazing. 

After a brief catch up with friends Steve & Carol we stayed in the heart of the Norfolk broads: Wroxham. We managed to get a space at an old boating marina directly overlooking the water. There we could watch: the boats; paddle boards; kayaks; swans and other wildlife; plus the people. Life on the waterways is fascinating. We asked the owner Cheryl if we could stay longer, “no problem” was her welcome reply. We did not want to leave:

Did we mention the swans 😂?

However, the coast and Suffolk in particular called. Here is where this blog ends, suffice it to say we need to come back to East Anglia, we did not even scratch the surface. But hey, what’s the rush? Since July last year, out of the 49 counties of England we have slept at least one night in 47 of them. Now heading back to Sussex for family commitments. 

Til next time xx 

The North East of England

 

Jane & Ivan in Yorkshire 

Starting fresh in July 2020 we decided to set ourselves a challenge and sleep at least one night in each of the 49 counties of England. A year and two months later we are near to completion of our challenge with four counties left to go. 

Using the map gifted to us by John & Sheena we scratch off each county we stay and reveal the flag of the county underneath. It’s a great way to explore the UK and you will see on the map above we completed Wales 2021 in May, June, July. Most of the west coast of England was scratched off in 2020 between lockdowns. When we left you on the last blog our special guest Lewis told you all about the Coddiwomples in Kent at the end of July and with 21 counties to go we continued slowly north to the very top of the east of England.

In this blog we show you pictures of our tour of the north east, covering some of our favourite counties including Yorkshire and Northumberland. 

Our motorhome Daphne complete with awning, Ural motorcycle and sidecar, Otto our dog and Ivan 

As we crossed the Humber bridge from Lincolnshire into Yorkshire we really felt we were into the swing of travelling again. 19 weeks at our lockdown campsite had made us complacent as we love it there so much, however travelling again makes us feel so alive. We love exploring new places and finding a nature reserve to explore at the foot of the iconic bridge, who knew! 

We had a brief sojourn to see Janes sister and family who recently moved to Scarborough and are loving being by the sea. During this time Daphne had a fresh MOT, new tyres and front brake pads . Pictured above is Jane with Otto and Ottos mum Una; our nephew Stevie on his Dads new bike; Ivan & Jane with our niece Imogen and Stevie again. 

North Yorkshire is stunning. We enjoyed time in the North Yorkshire national parks travelling the tiny roads, fords and lanes on our Ural motorcycle plus visiting the historic monuments. 

We were taken back in time visiting epic locations like Goathland where TV programmes like Heartbeat and films such as Harry Potter were filmed. Robin Hood Prince of thieves apparently bathed at Fallen Foss waterfalls! Plus who does not love a steam train 🚂

Once we had travelled past the iconic Angel of the North we really felt we were in the land of old England. We saw ancient castles, small fishing villages and beautiful unspoilt sandy & rocky beaches: Northumberland did not disappoint. We were lucky with the weather and made the most of trips out on the motorcycle while we stayed opposite the beach before heading further to the highest town in England, Berwick upon Tweed. One of our best days out was exploring Holy island, photos below: 

The causeway to the island and Lindisfarne castle and village is tidal so you have to make sure you time it right. We loved it there and saw a huge colony of seals as well as taking the day to explore the whole island. 

The largest forest in England is Kielder forest and we stayed the night in the dark star area before riding the forest drive on our motorcycle. A great day out 😊.

Our most hair raising day was following footpaths to try and get onto the Pennine way. Needless to say we diverted and did not enter this field of curious cows. This resulted in climbing two five bar gates, walking through sheep fields and crossing the inevitable river. We made it in the end 😅. 

With the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Surrey still left to explore if anyone has any recommendations please do let us know. In the meantime, thank you for reading and we wish you happy travels ❤️.