Trip for Amber's birthday

As we do at this time every year, we booked onto the Caravan Club Ferry Meadows site in Peterborough, for Ambers birthday.

We booked Saturday through to Tuesday, three nights (I thought we had booked four nights but we couldn't have stayed that long anyway as it happens). As there was a drought on, it rained on and off most of the way there and when we arrived, reception were phoning people to cancel their bookings, as some of the site was waterlogged. Just the week before, I heard on the news that Peterborough had had so little rain in the last year, it was officially classed as a desert. It was also a lot colder that usual.

Day One, April 21st

By the time we had the van set up, Ralph and Amber arrived and we had a short walk in Ferry Meadows before a BBQ for tea (indoor BBQ as it was so cold). After tea we watched the Boro on Sky Sports (how come they only play on TV when we are away in the van) and they won for a change. Afterwards Ralph left and we had Amber for the night, although it had been Amber's birthday two days earlier, tomorrow we were going to a BBQ party for her.

Day two, April 22nd

As the weather had improved, after breakfast Me, Dot and Amber, set off for a walk along the river Nene with a picnic lunch packed in my backpack. We walked into Ferry Meadows turned right by the lake and continued to the river Nene where we again turned right, we had done the walk the other way in previous years.

We found a bird hide along the way but there were not any birds to be seen, nor at the next one we came across either.

But it did make for some nice photos though.

We continued a short walk along the river, until the path curved away towards the Nene Valley Railway. This meant the walk was going to be shorter than we intended and we would be back where we started well before lunch time. I slowed us down a bit by taking lots of photos as we went and we did find a bird to look at in the end. Just of the path, in a shallow stream by the golf course, stood a Heron, completely oblivious to us, stalking a fish.

 

By the time we got the the railway station it was after twelve and as a train was due in ten minutes, we found a bench on the platform to have our picnic lunch, so we could see the train. Unfortunately the train was only a diesel and not a steam train, shame.

 

As soon as we finished our lunch, we headed back to the van to meet up with Ralph at one. As we got back the the van the F1 Bahrain GP was just starting on TV, so Ralph and I watched that while Dot and Amber went over to the play park.

As soon as the GP ended, we Dropped Dot and Amber of at the BBQ and Ralph and I went to the shops to look for new beers, I only found one this trip. Back at the BBQ the rain started again but the food got cooked anyway and it was good. And then we had cake.

 

Later on the way back, Ralph dropped us at the Botolph Arms, for a nice pint or two of Sam Smiths. I had Old Brewery Bitter and Dot had the Organic Wheat Beer, both very very good. The walk back to the campsite was longer than I remembered but the rain held off util we got back.

Day three, April 23rd

After a relaxing morning, Ralph arrived for lunch and to take us into Peterborough centre but first he drove us out into the countryside, to a very long viaduct to take some photos. We also found several other nice old bridges along the way. The first bridge was Wansford Bridge just off the A1 (I suppose it would have been the A1 in the past).

Next we stopped to see if I could get a long shot of the viaduct to get it all to fit in.

Next we got right up to the viaduct but I found it hard to get a photo with it all in, in fact it was impossible, for me anyway. I did take a photo with the camera's panoramic function but it didn't stitch together very well.

We had passed a village with an old bridge on the way, so we next headed back there. As well as the bridge there was an old water mill, now a private residence by the look of it.

 

We then headed for Peterborough centre to have a look at the cathedral, something we had never done on any previous visit. Free entry into the cathedral but they do ask for a donation, also they ask £3.00 for a permit to take photos, lots of people were taking photos with their phones, bet none paid.

 

After the cathedral, we looked at some of the other older buildings, gave the shops a miss and walked down to the river. We didn't have long as we had to be back to pick up Amber after school, to go back to the van for tea. We were nearly run down on a pedestrian crossing, when a car overtook the other cars that had stopped and ran the red lights, I can only assume the driver was drugged up.

Chelsie joined us for tea, we had to have our BBQ in the van as the weather had turned bad again, in the eight years we have been in Peterborough on this date, it is the first time we haven't had warm weather. Latter Ralph dropped Dot and I off at the Botolph Arms, for another couple of good beers. Thankfully the rain wasn't too bad on the long walk back to the van.