May 11 – 14 2021
The Covid regulations having eased enough to allow us to
visit Scotland, we headed off to see Louise and family. The van (now formally
named Esme) would be our base; however, so as to make a bit of a holiday of the
trip, we had booked a few nights at Southport on the way up.
After a straightforward run up the M6 and M58, we arrived
at the Southport Caravan and Motorhome Club site in the early afternoon. The
site is well situated, being only a short walk from the town, with Victoria
Park on one side, and a small nature reserve on the other. Later in the
afternoon we walked across the nature reserve, onto Marine Drive and headed for
the pier.
We soon passed the marker for the Trans Pennine Trail, showing the start (or end!) of a 207-mile trail ending in the East Riding of Yorkshire at Hornsea.
The impressive pier (the second longest in Britain) drew
closer; unfortunately, behind us some ominous looking clouds were also coming nearer.
Walking up onto the Grade 2 listed pier, we hesitated a moment – should we risk
a walk to the end? Let’s go for it, we said. By the time we reached the small
café at the end of the pier, the thunder and lightning were crashing and
flashing to the south of us, whilst to the north we could see Blackpool Tower still
bathed in sunshine. Then the rain hit us, and we scurried back down the length
of the pier, only just getting off before the gates were locked. We arrived
back at the van somewhat damp!
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| The pier |
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| The storm approaches... |
The next morning, we walked into Southport and onto Lord Street, the main shopping street. Wide, lined with trees, full of Victorian buildings with grand frontages and wrought iron canopies, this was the elegant heart of the town. However, with its’ (possibly Covid-induced) empty shops and blank windows, it now had a sad air of faded splendour. After a coffee on one of the wooded squares, we headed to the Wayfarers Arcade, to find it had become an almost empty shell. With many vacant premises, and no-one else there, it had a slightly eerie feeling.
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| Wayfarers Arcade |
After lunch we drove down to Crosby beach; my main reason
for wanting to come to Southport had been to visit Another Place, Antony
Gormley’s famous artwork. Parking in the small car park close to the
installation (longer vans might have a problem here) we grabbed our cameras and
walked down to the sunlit beach. The 100
figures along the beach are fascinating; now heavily weathered, some covered in
barnacles (and the occasional traffic cone) the “iron men” stare enigmatically
out to sea.
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| Gotcha! |
After lunch in the van, we walked up over the dunes to the beach. By now the clouds had closed in and rain arrived, so we didn’t linger.
Friday saw us back on the M6, heading for the family
members we hadn’t seen for 8 months.
