Lincolnshire

We just spent a week with the Post 16 pupils from Samuel Pepys School in Lincolnshire.  We stayed at Marris Barn which is a beautifully restored farm complex near Thorganby.

Just look at the pictures. There was even a hot tub and a sauna. You can see the details at the owner's website.

We used at least four different buildings at Marris Barn. There is the Barn itself, which is really two buildings, and two cottages one of which, Little Walks Cottage, is over a mile away. That's where Hanna, Dan and I stayed. I'll tell you about that in the next blog.

I kept a blog for the school and I'm using extracts from it here, but for child protection/permission reasons I can't use most of the photos.

A visit to Lincolnshire is a journey back in time in many ways. It's no place for vegetarians, for example. Even the best foodie pubs offer mostly pies, sausages and steaks, all with fries.

It was very quiet out there in the Wolds. No cars, no planes, no trains. There were cows but they were the quiet and contented sort. If the sky was clear we would have been able to gaze at a million stars because there were no street lights. We had mobile phones and the Internet, but the reception was very weak at the barn and in the villages around there.

The city of Lincoln is beautiful with the cathedral and castle at the top of a steep hill. Actually, the steepest narrow cobbled street with old arches, higgledy piggledy buildings, crooked lamp-posts and quaint little shops is simply and appropriately called "Steep Hill".

On the way to Marris Barn, we visited the castle first and ran around the walls where you can get a brilliant view of the town and the countryside for miles around. A lot of Lincoln is being restored so you may spot a lot of scaffolding and netting around the castle walls in our photos. When they have finished, you will be able to make a complete circuit of the walls for the first time in over 200 years.

The 2nd day started fine, so the team decided that this was the best day to brave the bracing conditions of the Lincolnshire coast at Cleethorpes. It is only 8 miles away so not too far to go home if the weather changed.

Although the sun shone a lot of the time, it was windy too, so after an hour or so running and rolling on the beach and the promenade, the gang hit the bowling alley. It was a lot of fun.

Lincoln Cathedral.

We were all so proud of our group, especially at 'The Skipper's Haul' which is a fish-and-chip shop on the promenade. We were made very welcome (as we were wherever we went) and tables were moved around so that we could all be together. Everyone waited patiently for their food and then devoured it; in total silence! Can you believe that?

Most people had a huge plate of fish and chips, so a route-march was planned to take the group back to the bus, the long way round. We all looked a bit windswept and tanned by the end of the day, but there was one more job to do: Shopping at the supermarket.

Back at the Barn, most people were keen for a swim in the pool, even though it was already 8 pm.

Wednesday was expected to be stormy so Hull was the destination. It is properly called Kingston Upon Hull.

I used to sing a song with a chorus that went: "From Hull and Halifax and Hell; Good Lord deliver me." I doubt if the local tourist association would adopt that phrase as a motto for Hull today. They have made a great effort to make the town a tourist attraction, even building a bridge across the Humber so we can get there from here without going into Yorkshire. And it seems to have paid off.

The Museum Quarter was the objective and the Street Life Museum seems to have been the biggest hit for some, while "The Deep" aquarium was better for others. To be honest, a whole group decided they would rather go shopping and so Mark took them off to the old part of town. Some of the boys also went on a real Arctic Corvette which was a fishing support vessel until it was retired.

Our cottage

The Museum of Street Life had lots of things to do, which was great for those people who like to push buttons, crank handles and twiddle knobs. (Not naming any names, but Dan thought it was the bee's knees). There was a simulator, but it was not made to teach you to fly an aeroplane; it was a horse-drawn carriage simulator. (Gee-up; Walk-on, Wooah!)

It poured with rain, just as the first bus got home so it was a bit unfortunate that the keys to Marris Barn were in the blue bus that had got lost en route. There was some pounding on the doors, especially by Mark who only had a tee-shirt (and trousers, obviously). Probably his coat was in the blue bus too.

Thursday was Marris Barn day, All of the facilities are lovely and there is a proper farm with walks and lots of wildlife, including owls, deer, badgers and bats, but the guys were much more interested in the pool, the hot-tub and the sauna. In fact, some of them were in and out of the water and the sauna all day, so that by tea-time they looked like stewed prunes. (The grown-ups always look like that, of course.)

Dan with friends and staff.

Friday was to be packing and travelling day so we didn't cook on Thursday night to avoid the washing-up. Instead, we invaded an all-you-can-eat buffet at the Oriental Express in Cleethorpes. (If you know us well, you will have heard alarm bells ringing. Hanna had a panic attack in the lobby where they proudly displayed a certificate that said they had scored 3 out of 5 for food hygiene!) 

Have you ever seen anyone with chips, rice, noodles, prawn crackers, chicken-curry, ribs and sausages, all on the same plate? I certainly hadn't. And they had thirds, and then an ice cream (or was it two ice creams?)

Waltham Windmill.

On Friday it was quite amazing to see that everyone was ready to leave at 10 am. Emma, our host, was in tears as we left; not because we had trashed the place, but because one of the students said "This was the best holiday I've ever had." And he meant it.

Actually there was no mess and we had not broken anything; not even a glass or a plate. Neither did we leave anything behind to add to the growing lost property box the barn. Emma, who had built the place up from a few ruined farm buildings, was really pleased that we had spent a whole day at the centre using the facilities there rather than going out all the time. This was what she had in mind when she built Marris Barn.

Our adventures are over now, but we had a wonderful time and I would specially like to thank Emma  for giving us such a treat  and being such an attentive host. Our own staff were brilliant, as they always are, but best of all, the students were absolutely at their best. We were so proud of them everywhere we went.