Whilst the Duchess caught all the fish.....
Summary:
Saturday 2nd July - Arrived at our destination around 3:30 pm - unloaded the car - fished the evening. Hot day!
Sunday- Fished just about all day - very warm again!
Monday - had a drive down to Boston, spot of lunch - back to Elmhirst then fished for the evening - very warm for a third day.
Tuesday - fished until late afternoon then took a drive down to Freiston Shore (RSPB reserve near Boston) for a spot of bird-watching (and photographing with the new big lens.) Need to get used to restrictions of f6.3 max aperture at 500mm when the light is less than perfect!
Wednesday - Forecast was heavy showers so we skipped the fishing and went out and about. Lunch at Rachels Cafe at Hagworthingham - we had a full English Breakfast! Drove out to the car terrace at Huttoft and got some "big sky" pictures (there's a surprise!) Back via Chapel St Leonards. We've never been there before but enjoyed a wander around, a cuppa and a scone then an ice-cream before heading back to Elmhirst for a sandwich. Evening was spent by the River Whitham at Kirkstead Bridge - taking "evening light" pictures of birds etc. - erm - it never rained on us by the way.....
Thursday - Day trip out to Kings Lynn - never been before but really enjoyed the town. As we arrived, the heavens opened so we sat in the car for about 20 minutes before wandering around this very old and historic town. Excellent shopping centre and I bought a new tripod to hopefully complete the "Photography Kit".... although a Canon EOS 1D Mark IV would really complete the set! We dined out at the Red Lion at Revesby - about 20 minutes from Elmhirst. It was OK - a huge plateful of food but doubt we'll rush back - the Duchess cooks a better steak than the ones we had at the pub - and it's cheaper!
Friday - Another day off from fishing! - The weather was awful so after a quick trip to the shops in Horncastle, we generally twiddled our thumbs in the lodge. After tea - another trip to Huttoft - more pics of clouds and the wind farms off the Skeggy coast.
Saturday - Fished all day - apart from nipping to the supermarket for supplies. Spotted a 1959 Austin on the car park (the "Baby Austin") Pics on the Duchess' Ixus and I gotta download those yet!
Sunday - got organised for a trip back to Sheffield. Our associate company in Dronfield had 100th Anniversary Celebrations and Open Days planned for the week of 11th July and representatives from my best customer were arriving at Manchester airport Sunday evening. I collected them and delivered them to the hotel in Sheffield.
Monday July 11th - met up with the guests at the Open Day Plant Tour which went very well. I took loads of pictures of the guests and some of the plant in operation before heading back down to Horncastle in the late afternoon. (A colleague dropped my customers off at the airport!)
Tuesday - Fishing until tea time - then after tea - back to Freiston Shore for more bird-watching and photographing. We had a couple of lucky dips on the £161 million Euromillions - and won!!...... £6.40 to be precise!
Wednesday - Rachels Cafe for brunch (Full English again - excellent) then a short wander around Spilsby and Wainfleet. Back mid-afternoon - and I had a snooze before we went fishing in the evening.
Thursday - fishing all day - and after a nip down to the chippy in the square at Horncastle - fishing all evening too. A lovely day - much warmer!
Friday - last day of holiday and rain promised for the evening so we had our last fishing session, puttng the gear away at about 6 pm, ready for loading the car Saturday morning.
Saturday - an unusual, but very pleasant, end to the holiday! Having spent the last 18 "annual holidays" at the same place, we have got to know the owners - Ann and Danny Hogan who actually originate from Sheffield. They don't live on site but we usually see Ann a couple of times during our stay.
Anyway - Friday, as we're packing the gear away - one of the site wardens popped in and told us that Ann had asked that we don't "dash off" on Saturday morning as she planned to drop by about 10 a.m. to see us. She arrived as promised and at noon, we were still sitting there having a good old natter and "catching up." The couple of hours passed very quickly and since it was absolutley bouncing with rain - we were happy to sit inside until it eased!
As she left - Ann told us to get organised and one Friday - after the "summer rush" was over - pop down for a weekend - fishing if we wanted to - just chilling if we don't. The offer is "on the house" so we're seriously considering taking her up on it. Nice that innit?
So - I now have somewhere around 1400 photos to edit, sort, delete etc,. I'll post them over the next week or two.
And - work tomorrow - Ho Hum......
