Lulu has enjoyed being parked up at the club site at Hebden Bridge but it’s Yorkshire road trip day 4, and Lulu goes Wombling! The site is nicely laid out and as all club sites are, it is very well kept and manicured. Although the site is on a ‘main’ road, there was very little road noise to speak of.
After a good nights sleep we have the, by now usual, routine of Kev awake first and the kettle goes on. We both get up, put the bed and bedding away and have breakfast. We aim to get ready to leave the sites by about 11.00 leaving two or two and a half hours driving to the next site as a maximum per day.
Hebden Bridge site has all of the usual amenities that you would expect with the exception of a toilet / shower block. We didn’t need either as Lulu is self-sufficient. So, Kev, keeping the expletives and screaming to a minimum attempts the first shower in Lulu’s very small bathroom – complete with shower curtain that does nothing more than mummify him on every bend, twist and turn of his ablutions!
We finally drain our tanks and refil with fresh water and are away from Hebden Bridge by about 11.15. After calling in to refuel Lulu in town, we make our way towards Helmsley, some 75 miles away.
The journey is pretty uneventful. As we usually do, we travel on A or B roads, avoiding motorways wherever we can, as such, this journey takes us through the suburbs and retail parks of Halifax, Shipley, Leeds, Ilkley, Harrogate and York. Arriving at Helmsley around lunchtime, we promptly drove straight through for another 5 miles to the village of Beadlam and then another mile further! We aren’t walking in to Helmsley for dinner tonight!
Lulu goes Wombling- Best Place name So Far!
On arrival at Foxholme Caravan Park http://www.foxholmecaravanpark.co.uk, we’re checked in by the park manager, Dave, and ask him about pubs or restaurants within walking distance.
Apparently,if we go to the park gate and turn right, in a mile and a half we’d get to Beadlam where there was a pub that does food but it’s a bit ‘hit and miss’ as to whether they’re cooking or not.
Turning left at the park gate, after a quarter mile we’d come to a T-junction. Turn left again and another mile will take us to Wombleton (yes…….WOMBLEton!!), where there is a pub that does great food.
Right at the T-junction will lead (after another mile or so) to Horeham and another pub. So the choice is ours.
Using our MiFi for internet connection, we Google the pubs. The one at Horeham seems to fancy itself a little and that’s reflected in it’s menu and prices – Wow £££!! So, Wombleton (I just like saying it) it is.
We ring them and they’re fully booked! ‘No we’re not’ came a voice from the background of the pub, ‘We’ve had a cancellation’! Bonus! We book in for 7.15PM.
We spend a couple of hours drinking coffee and writing up some blog notes. Kev goes out to assist a fellow motorhomer with their water connection (Kev has hose fittings for every eventuality). They had borrowed the motorhome from a relative for a couple of nights but had no real idea how things worked on the van.
Hidden Gem of a Restaurant
We get ready and leave the van in plenty of time for a stroll to The Plough Inn www.theploughinnatwombleton.co.uk, and a beverage or two before dinner. As we leave, so do the couple from the borrowed van. They had asked the park manager the same question and after seeing the same £££ pub online, have opted for the ‘hit and miss pub’ in Beadlam. They couldn’t get in to The Plough at Wombleton – they were fully booked, again!
We have a great evening. The walk to the pub is glorious. The wind has dropped and the early evening sky is a beautiful colour.
We’re made to feel really welcome at the pub. The staff are great as is the service. They are only offering their basic menu, as their chef’s off for a few days but as pub grub goes, it was fantastic and great value for money.
At the end of our evening, we’re asked how we’re getting back to the site. When we say that we’re walking and that we have a torch, the landlady throws her car keys at the chef and asks him to drive us back! That is outstanding customer service, and the whole evening has cost more no than £60.00 total!
We arrive back at Lulu for a late drinkie, passing our neighbour’s van, blinds down, lights on inside. Hopefully they managed to get to the pub in Beadlam and, if they did, the pub was serving food.
We never saw them again, so we’ll never know!