Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

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allatc
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1651

Post by allatc »

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Oulton Broad
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Manoverboard
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1652

Post by Manoverboard »

Strange people on Oulton Broad ... we were poodling along minding our own business in our little cruiser when somebody fired a gun at us and then dozens of yachts tried to crash into us but, hey, we were far too nippy to fall for their capers and were able to outsmart them :thumbup:
Keep smiling, it's good for your well being

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allatc
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1653

Post by allatc »

Today we are in Hull ('Ull ? substituted for Grimsby)

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oldbluefox
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1654

Post by oldbluefox »

The only recollection I have of Hull is passing through it to and from North Sea Ferries. In 2017 it was a city of culture so I'm hoping it has changed since our day since on the one occasion we ventured into town we found very little of interest.
(puts tin hat on)

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Stephen
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Location: Down Souf. The civilised end of the country :)

Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1655

Post by Stephen »

Manoverboard wrote: 02 Sep 2020, 11:05
Strange people on Oulton Broad ... we were poodling along minding our own business in our little cruiser when somebody fired a gun at us and then dozens of yachts tried to crash into us but, hey, we were far too nippy to fall for their capers and were able to outsmart them :thumbup:
That was me. You didn't pay the toll fee. I'll get you on the return

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Manoverboard
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1656

Post by Manoverboard »

The closest to Hull for us was the pleasant town of Beverley where we took No2 son for his interview at their Town Hall for an Environmental Science type attachment. Meanwhile we were in the same offices discussing the unfairness of our recently awarded Parking ticket ... the ticket was cancelled but he didn't get the job :angel:
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allatc
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1657

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Hull
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1658

Post by allatc »

Friday's port : Whitby

This will be a tender port.

Those booked for the Magpie Fish and Chip Shop experience - have a great day.

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Manoverboard
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1659

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Four of us, in two cars, drove a very long way and back to visit Whitby for a special reason but things didn’t go too well.
Unfortunately it was wall to wall horizontal rain when we arrived at the Car Park and we all managed to leave without seeing their one and only well concealed P&D sign.

Cracking plates of fish ‘n’ Chips at the Magpie ( or similar ) but in spite of an appeal our collective £100 Parking violation fines meant that we would never return to their miserable God forsaken town :thumbdown:
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1660

Post by allatc »

Manoverboard wrote: 04 Sep 2020, 09:17
Four of us, in two cars, drove a very long way and back to visit Whitby for a special reason but things didn’t go too well.
Unfortunately it was wall to wall horizontal rain when we arrived at the Car Park and we all managed to leave without seeing their one and only well concealed P&D sign.

Cracking plates of fish ‘n’ Chips at the Magpie ( or similar ) but in spite of an appeal our collective £100 Parking violation fines meant that we would never return to their miserable God forsaken town :thumbdown:
Oh dear ! :cry:

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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1661

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Whitby ( when it's not raining)
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1662

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oldbluefox
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1663

Post by oldbluefox »

I love Whitby. We discovered this little gem when we finished the Coast to Coast Walk. The route passed through a delightful little camp site overlooking the sea so we returned time and time again. What better than sitting outside in the fresh air with the barbecue on and a glass of wine and just chilling.
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From the site it was a few miles along the cliffs into Whitby, or going the other way took you to Robin Hoods Bay. Great fish and chips there down one of the alley ways. Signb inside saying 'Children who cannot behave will be fried!'
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Unfortunately the camp site changed owners and they decided to change the site to tin tents and mobile homes only and proper campers like wot we was were no longer welcome. :cry:
It was rare we took the car into Whitby cos the car parks were usually full with people like Mob clogging the place up thinking it was free!!! :wave:
Sadly I cannot find my Whitby photos but one day we ventured just a short way down the coast and found a delightful little spot, Sandwell - very pretty indeed.
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The last time we went to Whitby we were staying at Rosedale Abbey. It was a rotten day so we caught the train into Whitby but it was Whitby at its worst so we had a short walk around, a coffee to warm us and caught the train back. BIG mistake as it was the train all the kids from the secondary school caught and it was bedlam. Even the conductor did not do his rounds. In the situation I didn't blame him and I have never seen so many sweets, biscuits, cake and soft drinks consumed by so few. On the positive side we escaped intact!!!
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Manoverboard
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1664

Post by Manoverboard »

Was that a Rover 213 in your pic next to the tent, we of course had a 216GTi but never parked it in a field :lol:
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oldbluefox
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1665

Post by oldbluefox »

No Mob. It was a Vauxhall Astra and the slowest car ever. It only had a 1.6 engine so you really had to work the gearbox. It was a right tub!!! After that we had a Rover 75, one of the nicest cars I have had and up there with the Mercs and Beemers. Pity they stopped making them.

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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1666

Post by allatc »

Next port : Berwick on Tweed

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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1667

Post by Manoverboard »

When our grand children were about six they asked me to do a ‘ Family Tree ‘ for them. No problem and armed with some Genealogy Software plus a large scale map of the British Isles we enthusiastically set about the task. Their Great Great Grandfather had a cluster of medals for being in action in different parts of the World and had enlisted in the Kings Own Scottish Borderers who as it happens have their Regimental Headquarters in Berwick-on-Tweed.

The Fort and Museum is well worth a visit if you happen to be passing, from the medals they knew all sorts of things and we were able to obtain detail of the appropriate tartan to subsequently use as a background for a montage that we did of him and his army career.
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1668

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Berwick on Tweed.

My only photo. It rained nearly all day when we were here.
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1669

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Sunday will see us in Leith (for Edinburgh)

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Manoverboard
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1670

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Leith followed by Edinburgh .... like wot I wrote in my Fred cruise report in 2017.
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To dock here the Captain had to traverse the Lock that keeps the high seas out of Leith, the benefit to us on the Starboard side was that we now had a front row view of the three Queensferry Bridges including the new one that was due to be opened by Her Maj the following Tuesday. ( May have a pic albeit from a distance )

We arrived mid-day ish and decided to stroll about in downtown Leith rather than going on a trip / HoHo Bus ride to Edinburgh that would doubtless replicate some of our Fred tour the following day. We basically walked in a rectangle taking in a number of apartment blocks that had been converted from the old warehouses that previously engulfed this area. There were also cafes, pubs, converted Barges, waterways and inlets plus restaurants etc along the route to look at or go into albeit most were restricted to evening opening times. There was in particular an area that had been seriously smartened up to preserve the memory of Merchant Seaman throughout the history of Leith, it had ostensibly been built to look like it once was back in the good old days. It is indeed a grand spot and worth seeing but it is utterly false according to the local guy that we spoke to who had lived there, or thereabouts, all his life. A place that the tourists and yuppies will love for sure he explained but a place that no longer looks or feels like home and more to the point it was now a place where he could no longer afford to live. There are gates and a lighthouse for example that have been slotted in for considerable effect but they are not original nor authentic. Sad really but that’s life as they say. We continued on our journey and final attraction prior to re-boarding the ship, that of the local Shopping Mall where we enjoyed a BLT sandwich and a coffee at the M&S Food Shop for our very late lunch.

The following day we had booked Fred’s ‘ Royal Edinburgh ‘ Tour at the Princely price of a tad over £123 each. We started by travelling a mere two hundred yards or so on our Tour Coach to the Royal Yacht Britannia. I am not going to describe every detail as it would take forever but I would say that it is an excellent choice but note that the entrance fee if you were to visit DIY would be a mere £15. A notable point regarding this venue are their Self Guide Audio sets, so simple, see a number in a room or on an exhibit and type that number into the hand set for a clear and concise explanation of what you are looking at. Ours were included in the price but I suspect that they would be ‘ extra ‘ for a non group DIY er.

However ... one doesn’t drive to the Queen’s entrance at this price nor does one walk sedately up the crimson staircase to board like wot Her Maj did nor does one have a person to guide you round the ship for two hours nor indeed does one get any curley wirley sandwiches or a scone plus a cup of Rosie Lee. Oh NO, on the ‘ 123 ‘ cheapo version you get dropped off at the shopping Mall, go up a floor or two in the lift and then arrive via the Tradesman's’ entrance.

To do the Deluxe Tour one would have to pay a per person cost of £145 !!!

If you paid £145 then your tour ends here whereas our cheapo version continues thus ...

Back onto the coach and a slow drive around the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, the route taken is identical to one of the HoHo buses, allegedly. Following that we were dropped for a short period to have lunch or whatever, we opted for whatever and climbed the steps of Edinburg Castle to see the location of their famous Military Tattoo. The plan was then to watch our recording of the event on the actual day after we returned home. One more stop at the end of our drive up the Royal Mile, that of Holyrood Palace. This is another venue that is definitely worth visiting, both for the palace, the architecture and indeed the gardens on a lovely sunny afternoon. For DIY ers the entrance fee to include everything was also £15.
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Manoverboard
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1671

Post by Manoverboard »

Pics of the Leith Lock, housing, Britannia and the three bridges.
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oldbluefox
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1672

Post by oldbluefox »

Holyrood and Britannia are wonderful visits. We thoroughly enjoyed these places.
We also ventured into the Scottish Parliament and came across an intimidating old character who was SNP through and through, raked up Bannockburn, Edward and William Wallace all over again and blamed England entirely for all Scotland's ills all within a five minute diatribe!!!! All of this without us saying a word or, thank goodness, letting on we were English. Tread in this place at your peril!!! Ignore Braveheart and it's an interesting visit for a wee while!!!

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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1673

Post by allatc »

Today's port : Dundee

Must go and get some marmalade.

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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1674

Post by Manoverboard »

At the time I wrote .... sorry, no pics.

The main attraction was doubtless the Highland Games at Braemar but sitting on a roughly sawn bench out in the rain, which didn’t materialise, for 6 hours didn’t ping my bagpipes so we went to St Andrews instead. A beautiful place in a wonderful location, they basically have three parallel streets, North Street, South Street and Middle Street so absolutely impossible to get lost. The region as a whole is known as the Kingdom of Fife and it apparently has a micro climate which enables them to grow more strawberries, raspberries and red currents than Kent. Mobietta bought a pot of locally made raspberry jam :thumbup:. We did a tour of the villages after that, coastal and not so coastal returning to Dundee via St Andrews, of golf course fame of course.
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Re: Coronavirus Virtual Cruise

#1675

Post by allatc »

Tuesday : Aberdeen

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