Southport - April 2021

 Tuesday 20th April

After three months of lockdown this is our first 'proper' trip out, we were invited by Alan & Cathy to join them on his birthday trip to Southport.
We had packed the van over the last couple of days with only fuel and water to fill, once Adele had finished work we would be off.

By 3.45pm we had left Kidderminster for the trip up the M6, by 3.50pm I had realised that I had forgotten to fill the windscreen washer bottle so we pulled in to the first layby we found, a good job we have plenty of water on board.
Washers topped up we were soon heading north on the M5 only to come to a stand still with heavy traffic where the M5 meets M6, traffic was very heavy until we reached Keel, it then started to thin out, the rest of the trip was uneventful arriving at Southport at 6.40pm.

We were met by Alan at the gates of the Camping & Caravanning Club temporary holiday site, we booked in, contactless, with the very friendly wardens who showed us out pitch. Victoria Park is the towns park, used for flower shows, fairs and festivals, laid out in tree lined avenues is all grassed and flat, no need for levelling blocks here.
We met up with Alan, Cathy, Geoff and Jayne after pitching then had tea as the sun started to set.

Sunset at Victoria Park

It was dark by the time we had finished tea and were invited for a glass of fizz and piece of birthday cake to celebrate Alans Birthday, socially distanced of course, after chatting for a while we bid each other good night and retired for the night.

Happy Birthday

Wednesday 21st April

Woke at 8.30 am after a very peaceful night, took Izzy out for her morning walk, the site is quite large with 80+ units, a mixture of caravans, MoHos and campervans but would take up to 250,its a bit chilly this morning, we chatted with Alan & Cathy over a coffee before sitting inside for breakfast, this morning, bacon & tomato bagels.
It was well past 11.00am before we were ready to go out, we had decided to take a walk along marine parade from the site into town, its only a couple of minutes to the beach front, unfortunately the tide was out and the sea was nowhere to be seen, miles out, we walked along towards the pier stretching out on to the beach, there is a 'petit train' that runs from one end to the other, at the end of the pier there is a small bar / coffee shop and a replica Citroen van turned into an ice cream van.

At the end of the pier

Southport Pier

We sat in the sunshine eating a mr. whippy, after soaking up the atmosphere we returned down the pier which continued into the town.



Now I don't what we were expecting from Southport but what we found was lovely, the town has a Victorian feel and a continental atmosphere with tables from cafes and bars spilling out onto the wide pavements, the buildings were grand, we strolled down Lord Street, which I'm told, gave the inspiration for the design of Champs-Elysees, Paris.


Lord Street

We returned to the THS in strong sunshine, the wind was still a little cool, we put our chairs and table outside and enjoyed tea and cake chatting with Alan & Cathy. It was nearly 6.30pm before we started tea, tonight we had paella and a bottle of Spanish white wine.



Later I took Izzy out for her evening walk, the wind had dropped so hopefully warmer tomorrow, we retired about 9.30 somewhat tired after our long walk today.

Thursday 22nd April 
Woke 7.30am after another good night, the site is very quiet at night and dark as there are no lights on site.
we had full english for breakfast, we have blue skies and sunshine this morning, so decided to make the short trip to Formby Point, a National Trust nature reserve, a glorious beach with dramatic sand dunes, surrounded by sweeping costal pinewoods.



we walked the beach, it was very quiet, only saw about a dozen people all the time we were there, then back tracked over the immense sand dunes then into the pinewoods, it was now lunchtime so returned to the van for a bite to eat, we had toasted sandwiches made in the ridgey.
After lunch and a short snoozel we donned our walking boots again and took the woodland walk, the woods are renowned for red squirrels so were looking forward to spotting some, however, after walking for nearly two hours we didn't spot a single one, although we did see lots of rabbits and wild birds.



Returning to site we decided that we would have fish and  chips for tea with a cold glass of beer, the fish was lovely, cooked freshly for us but I was a little disappointed with the chips.
As with the past few nights it went vey cold once the sun went down so we retired early, watched a little TV before going to bed.

Friday 23rd April
Woke early, 7.30, and after having showers we had breakfast, full english of course.
We have decided that as we had walked a lot (for us) yesterday, over 6 miles, we would take an easier day today, enjoy the lovely sunshine and relax around the van.
After breakfast we sat and read in the spring sunshine, it was really hot for the time of year, we had coffee and were joined by Alan & Cathy, we chatted all afternoon, by 5 o'clock it was gin time, I don't really know where the day has gone but it has been really pleasant.
We have decided to have chicken, chorizo with onions, potatoes' and green beans all done in the wok on the BBQ washed down with a glass or two of a chilled bottle of rose.
As has been the norm this week it goes quite cold as the sun drops so retired to the van for a spot of telly

Chicken, chorizo, onions, potatoes and green beans


Saturday 24th April
We woke late this morning, took Izzy for her morning walk, then took coffee, its cloudier this morning but now starting to break, over a late breakfast (10.30) we planned to walk in the opposite direction from town along the coastal path. It was very busy being a saturday so decision to walk along nature reserve was the right one, the Ainsdale & Birkdale sandhills nature reserve has a huge number of migrating wading birds stopping over on their journeys including Knot, sanderlings dunlins and godwits to feed on the shoreline.


Ainsdale & Birkdale Sandhills Nature Reserve

We walked out to the sand dunes then returned via the beach to the site, we sat in the late afternoon sunshine reading and have G&T before tea, tonight another experiment with the ridge monkey, pork belly with fried potatoes, sugar snap pea and green beans.
We watched a little TV before retiring for the night.

PS. at 3o'clock for some unexplained reason the smoke alarm went off waking us both with a start, we also had the water pump pulsing which will need investigating in the morning.

Sunday 25th April
Woke 8.00am, the water pump seems to have settled so took Izzy for her morning walk, Adele started breakfast and the pump started to play up again, a lot worse this time, meaning only one thing, another bloody water leak. I checked all the usual places but all were ok, then we noticed water dripping from underneath the van, I found that the connection in the bedding bunk had started to leak, fortunately there are hole in the floor where the pipes drop through so most of the leak fell outside, repositioning the pipe appears to have fixed it.
We left Southport to head to Liverpool to see John & Danielle for a couple of hours before returning home

We had a really enjoyable short break, the weather has been very kind to us with only one overcast day although it went very cold at night, another visit to Southport will be on the cards before too long.

Trip Details:
Miles: 273
Ave MPG: 30.7
Fuel Cost: £50.76
Car Parking: £0.00

Nights: 5
Camp Fees: £ 60.00
Camp Ave per night: £ 12.00

* * *


We put our holiday photos in to small slideshows and videos which are uploaded on to our YouTube Channel, benivanadventures, they are not professionally produced but give a feeling of the area and places we visit - Click on the link below:



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