Joy is a lady who i have been lucky enough to share some private messages with, and i have an inkling of her id – which is interesting as i am also reading An Aura of Mystery 🙂 either way , i messaged her several months ago as i wanted her suggestions of where to go in Lincolnshire to get a feel for where the Fenland Constabulary work. She gave me some ideas and we elected to explore on our way to Sutton on Sea, between Skegness and Mablethorpe.

I do need to point out that as an honorary Norfolkian – wasn’t born here – the lack of a hare lip and hunched back proves my outsider lineage, i have always been duty bound to look down on the webbed fingered denizens of the fens – but i did want to go and see a little of swampie central.

For us, getting into Lincolnshire is simple – head along the A47 to Kings Lynn then north up the A17… but, much as i love where we live – we don’t have dual carriage ways and, being honest here, it is Beet season…. So this is a regular view in Norfolk – and in Lincolnshire as the county produces huge amounts of crops – lots of cabbages, sunflowers, potatoes and cauliflowers being grown as we drove through.

I have changed way my phone is mounted so it looks out on the road ahead and Siri takes photos well! From what i had read, Joy considers the area between Peterbough And The Wash as being the locale for Fenland – even though i have driven here many times before – i looked with fresh eyes. The area is dominated by agriculture – with villages and hamlets lying along the causeway like roads… its obvious that much of the land has been reclaimed in previous century’s, but there are few dykes – but some of the waterways are huge – Boston is still I believe a port, but the road network is sparse – and care is needed. It’s also worth mentioning a recent comment i had shared about the “bally Romans” didn’t even have an iPhone – and a retort that at least they could build and maintain roads! I have deduced that Joy and Jackie must live between Boston and Skegness – worst roads we have driven on this year! Either way, we explored and got a feel for the separation and rural, beautiful bleakness of the fens.

As we drove up, we were surprised – Lincolnshire is flat…. Is it cobblers! The Lincolnshire Wolds are a bit hilly! If in a motorhome, slow down and enjoy the views – some are stunning – there are few places to stop however.

We arrived at the CAMC site and i set about setting up the new toy – I had bought a second hand Kampa Air Rally Pro drive away 330 – and that was one of the main tasks for the weekend was to set it up and see….. so – some lessons learnt! For those who have an awning that attaches to the wind out awning – lower it down… get it to a height you can work on – and if needs be, put the legs down to support it… and yes, this is aimed at you Harry! Next, once on the rail, blow it up and peg down the side on the motorhome – get a decent amount under the sills. Once secure there, then come out to peg down the airlock – get that taught so you can ensure the doors open etc. Then I would go inside and peg the webbing down – keep it taught and straight – this helps keep the awning taut and true….

its tempting to not peg the guy ropes out – or all the grey tie down straps – for the sake of a few minutes, its worth it! Once setup, i used a waterproof / garden two gang extension and ran power out – the LED lights are worth it – and i didn’t need to sit out there to watch the mighty whites win but…. Oh – i think i do need a beer cooler Jo…..

but, what about Sutton on Sea? It’s wonderfull – i have always said that, the further north you go, the friendlier people are – and this was proven here. this is an older persons area though – its bungalows and bungalows… stairs do not exist! It was a 15 minute wal to the beach and We went for a great 5 mile walk along the promenade and EVERYONE we saw said – “good Morning”… a couple commented on my James shirt – we chatted with them for a good 20 minutes about live bands and dancing at gigs! And the views – well – see for yourselves!

The village itself was lovely – we walked through it as we shopped for something for tea – we stopped at a coffee shop for Jo to have a latte – i had a cheeky ale as it would be rude not to… we did go into the Spar shop – but walk round the corner and go to the Co-op – better selection. We headed back to the campsite stopping at the Fat Seagull Actually we stayed there in the sunshine for a while – long enough for me to perform a mercy killing on their Magners stock…

So – a lovely couple of nights where we got to see our favourite literary hero’s and heroines locale – and got to see a different county; and walk along a beautiful beach – then explore a lovely village !