A northern road trip

We were up and on the road by 7.15am this morning, taking the usual route of the A14, M1, M18 and then the A1(M). I was pleased that the weather was better than last time! Although there was a little fog around the A14, it cleared up to a beautiful day with dry roads and light traffic.

Like last time, we stopped at Woodall Services for a coffee and pain au chocolat. We were hoping to arrive by 11am and then we had the afternoon free. We made excellent time but Sophie said I was driving too fast. The speedometer had crept up to 86mph at one point but I certainly wasn't driving recklessly and the traffic was light.

Unfortunately, our visit today was a little depressing. We couldn't get into the care home for a start and it was just lucky a woman turned up and let us in. Was she a resident, a visitor or a member of staff? It was difficult to tell. There was no welcoming committee today and no cups of tea and biscuits! Val's son Jeffery was already visiting with his partner, June, who seemed completely nice and normal, and different to how Val had described her; for some reason, he calls her "cottage pie"!

Val had visibly deteriorated since we'd seen him four weeks ago. He was lying in bed, covered in blankets and wearing a woolly hat. He looked thinner and frailer, probably because he was refusing to eat any food. Jeffery said that yesterday he hadn't been making any sense and was nearly admitted into hospital again. Val himself said he had died momentarily, but hadn't seen a light at the end of the tunnel... I don't think this was the case, but it was obvious that he was going downhill fast.

Jeffery and June left and we sat with Val for an hour. He wasn't as chatty as last time and we didn't see any staff come in at all while we were there. Sophie was upset by the visit, and I think she was regretting coming along with us. Outside, there was a constant beeping from an alarm, and every now and again we could hear a woman shrieking. It was not a pleasant experience.

We said goodbye to Val and left, feeling that this may be the last time we'd see him. I just wish he was in a much better care home as the surroundings were truly awful. If he was my father, I'd make sure he was somewhere more luxurious, but obviously I have no say in the matter.

Keith wanted to show Sophie more of the local area so we drove towards the village of Middridge, where Keith's sister Gwen used to live. It's also where Keith's friend Batey lives and we had nice memories of staying with him for a few days when Keith and I had just started seeing each other back in 1988. I suggested a drink at The Bay Horse, a pleasant pub in the village, so we turned around after seeing Gwen's bungalow. She died in 2011 and we didn't know if the house had been demolished or not - it hadn't, but we were surprised to see so many new houses had been built nearby. Keith's old house, also nearby, had been demolished to make way for a new road.

Keith and I had enjoyed a few sessions in The Bay Horse in the past, and when we went in we were shown to a table by a member of staff. He sat us right at the back of the pub next to a table with a baby... typical! I had noticed Hobgoblin on the pumps so I told Keith I'd have a half-pint of that, while Sophie wanted a Newcastle Brown Ale. She was wearing her Newcastle shirt again and had already chatted with the bar staff about tomorrow's cup final with Liverpool!

Keith and Sophie went to the bar and waited... and waited. They were ignored and no one apologised for keeping them waiting or said they’d be with them soon. What terrible customer service! In the end, Keith was so fed up with being ignored that he beckoned to me to say we were leaving. I had been looking forward to my drink, so I was most miffed!

We had another pub in mind, The Daleside Arms at Croxdale and drove through Ferryhill to get there. When we arrived, the pub looked rundown and closed, so we decided to head for another nearby, The Honest Lawyer at Croxdale Bridge. Again, this looked closed but we did see a notice saying there was a private function taking place so we left.

By now, Sophie was getting fractious and said she was starving. We'd passed a McDonald's on the way, situated on a hectically busy roundabout where there used to be a good pub called The Thinford Hotel. This looked like it had been demolished and a Costa Coffee built in its place. We reluctantly went into the fast food restaurant, which was heaving with people eating lunch. Sophie ordered us chicken wraps, a fish fillet burger for Keith, French fries, and a box of chicken tenders to share. It wasn't what we'd envisaged for lunch but we were all hungry!

While we ate our lunch, Keith and I discussed the route home. He had earlier suggested going over the Pennines on the A66 to Brough, near Kirkby Stephen, and then taking the M6 home. I agreed, as the A66 is a gorgeous road with stunning scenery and regularly gets snow in the winter.

We retraced our route back to Bishop Auckland and followed the A688 through glorious countryside, passing beautiful Raby Castle and the village of Staindrop. Barnard Castle was busy with Saturday shoppers and numerous pubs lining the pretty main street. The temptation to stop and look about was strong, but we wanted to get home before it was dark today. 

We saw the ruins of the castle and followed the road towards the A66, the hills stretching away into the distance with fields of sheep and cattle. Sophie was reading in the back of the car and we kept alerting her to the gorgeous scenery. In the end, she asked us to stop as she'd seen one too many fields with sheep in them and drystone walls!

The A66 is now a dual carriageway and has fantastic views across desolate moorland, interspersed with the odd farmhouse. Tall poles line the route, alerting people to where the road is if it snows heavily, which it does! Drystone walls stretch upwards and we could see little blobs of white - the sheep grazing on the hills.

We made good time on the fast A66 and we were soon in Cumbria! I didn't think I'd end up in this county today! Sadly, we didn't have time to visit the Lake District properly... maybe another time? Once on the M6, the surrounding countryside was stunning, with high fells rising either side of the road. I love this part of the country and we just don't get to see it enough.

Sophie was asleep in the back of the car and when she woke up, she asked where we were. I said we were between Lancaster and Blackpool. 

"Blackpool!" she exclaimed and then saw how long we still had to drive, which was three hours!

The miles slipped by quickly, though, and it was a much more pleasant drive than the M1. It wasn't as busy and we soon passed signs for Blackpool, Manchester, Liverpool and North Wales. We stopped for a loo break at Knutsford Services and decided to take the M6 Toll through Birmingham. This cost £8.10 and was worth every penny as the road was almost empty, just the occasional car using the motorway. It reminded me of driving in France! If only all the roads were like this!

As we joined the main M6, we saw fleets of coaches turning off onto the M1 near Coventry and discovered that Sunderland had been playing football there. They had lost 3-0 and it was only after we'd passed them that Sophie thought to flash her Newcastle shirt at them. That would have been the final straw for the defeated supporters!

We made it home at 6pm and Keith popped to the pub in Walgrave for a drink. I was shattered, as I'd driven just under 500 miles today and just wanted to sit with a G&T to relax. However, we discovered that Mooney had killed a bird and had brought it into the conservatory which was covered in feathers... wonderful!

Our northern road trip!