A short trip East.

 Boy that’s a lot of history. I think I wore my brain out!

See you next time.

We had a couple of weeks between Aunt Maud’s funeral and Aunt Sheila and Uncle Bills celebration of life so decided to visit some places we hadn’t planned to visit.

Note that with the tide out this fishing boat is sitting on the mud!

We have never been to the area known as East Anglia or the section of the North Sea called “The Wash” so we headed east to the coast and the county of Norfolk.

We stayed in a campground about 10 miles outside of the town of Kings Lynn, using the local buses to go backwards and forwards one day and the MH for the other 2 days. Kindly Kings Lynn city council had provided parking bays for MHs and buses not far from the center.

Spectacular stonework on the Courthouse Building

The town grew around the fishing industry and the harbour with the usual millennia of history. Fortunately most of the old streets and houses had been preserved except in the “New” town center where the shopping center had been built.

Old part of town

If you are Formula 1 car racing fans like we are you will know that one of the top British drivers George Russell is from Kings Lynn. He wasn’t at home when we were there, he was in Canada for the Grand Prix in Montreal.

Colourful beach "Cottages" near Cromer

North of Norfolk is Lincolnshire where out friends Graham and Elaine live and we were invited to stay with them for several days.

Vintage aircraft

Naturally they had a full schedule planned for us, first to the airfield at the bottom of their garden! Wickenby airfield is a small private aircraft facility and they were holding a Vintage Piper Aircraft meeting – just up my street!

A "ghost" Lancaster etched in the glass

The field was originally built in WW2 as a Lancaster bomber base. There is a small museum in the control tower and a restaurant on the ground floor. The ghosts of the Lancaster appear as profiles of the aircraft etched into the plexiglass screens out on the patio.

Graham's Plymouth

Vintage British cars outside the "House"

A dollar for any US reader who knows what this is!

Next day we were off to a car show with their 1948 Plymouth Coupe Hot Rod. Held in the grounds of a large (Really large!) private house it was a super day and I even did a sketch of the Oldsmobile next to us.

Olds 442 sketch

After a coffee morning at the local church and a quiet day fixing little things in the MH while Barb did the laundry, we went out for dinner and stuffed ourselves. So much so that we were still full the next day when we went off to the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Museum to see the aircraft there and particularly the Lancaster bomber which they are in the middle of a 10 year restoration back to flying condition.

No ghost here. The real thing

Midway thru a 10 year rebuild.
When finished it will be one of 3 airworthy Lancasters World Wide.

I’ve been following the rebuild on YouTube so seeing the real thing live was great, especially because it was one of their weekly taxy demonstrations where they fire up all four engines and take it around the airfield. It’s not airworthy so no flying but still impressive, and for only $500 a head you can be in it while it runs around!

By pure coincidence it was also a rare occasion when their twin engined Mosquito did it’s taxy demonstration too so even better!

De Havilland Mosquito

Taxy demonstration.

We found time to visit a few nice local (and some not so local) pubs for dinners out then it was time to reluctantly tear ourselves away form Graham and Ellaine’s super hospitality.

Graham and Elaine wait patiently while we spend hours looking at everything!

Thanks you two, it was a great time.

Time to head back to Wirral and Arrowe Brook Farm. I’m pretty sure we could get our mail sent there seeing how much time we spend camping there! This time they are going to store it for us for 4 days while we go to Wales for my Aunt and Uncle’s Celebration of Life.