Day 3 (22nd June 2022)

 Up and away before all my neighbours. The caravan next to me had a larger square foot area than the first flat I bought in Wembley. I was going to stop in King's Lynn for breakfast as I imagined it to be a pretty little town, but when I looked at my map, I decided to have brunch at my first planned stop for the day, as recommended by Sea Power fan Joe Walker. He is from Louth and suggested a visit to the parish church. To get to Louth, I had to drive through Boston, and one look at the tower, I just had to stop and have a look.

Definitely more French than English, it is astonishingly high at 272 ft, and once inside, was offered the opportunity to climb to the top (365 stairs). Reluctantly I declined, but promised to return one day and see the views across the Fens.

The parish church of Louth is equally spectacular insomuch as it has one of the highest gothic steeples in England. Feeling less rushed, I sat and had a cuppa underneath it. I must point out that my knowledge of churches on this trip has been enhanced by a copy of Simon Jenkins "England's Thousand Best Churches" which was kindly lent to me by my Mother-in-Law Ann, who is hopefully following my blog too!

On my way from here to the first Germinal CCXXIV mug/T place, I was sent off route due to a road closure, and yet again was distracted by another church! This one really was quite literally in the middle of nowhere. 

When I got there, discovered it was the ruin of another St.Botolph (who as it happens is the patron Saint of travellers). Strict signs forbade trespassing. Sometimes, you just have to rebel.

So, with time slipping away and still no Germinal CCXXIV place, I finally made it to stop #7

DONNA NOOK

Sadly, the MoD announced the other day that British armed forces should expect to go to war, and their red "don't blame us if you get blown to smithereens" flags were flying which meant I couldn't get any closer to see if there were any seals lolling around - it's what Donna Nook is most famous for, after all.

After this really quite charming jaunt through Lincolnshire, I had to head over the River Humber (what a spectacular bit of brutal bridge architecture) and stop off in Hull for camping gas and provisions. Turns out I got shockingly ripped off for the gas, which will mean a reluctant return to Hull in the morning to query it. Hull has a terrible reputation in my family - my brother-in-law Ro had a fall resulting in severe multiple fractures and compartment syndrome and came very close to losing his leg. Luckily it was saved by the on-call orthopaedic surgeon who did some amazing mechano work, something Sea Power manager extraordinaire David Taylor is all too familiar with.

Anyway, gore aside, I finally made it to my campsite for the night, which was a 3 mile hike away from stop #8

SPURN HEAD

This was an exhilarating walk along a sandy spur that sort of sticks back into the Humber estuary. It was low tide, so on one side was miles of mud and on the sea side, loads of off shore wind turbines and ships and the very occasional seal head bobbing up out of the water. Way too quick to photograph, and believe me I tried! I did find a big pink ball and a bird of prey that I'm sure members of Sea Power could identify ... if I had a better picture!

As the campsite had absolutely no phone reception whatsoever, I was forced to visit the local hostelry for a pint while completing today's blog for you all.

Allons-y!

Douglas Germinal CCXXIV Brain over and out