We had toyed with the idea of going to Durham this morning, but with the charging issues, we decided to head home and stop for a late lunch at The Dovecote Inn in Laxton, Nottinghamshire. We'd stopped at this pub before, and it was a convenient place to have a bite to eat before continuing our journey.
I'd had a better night's sleep and felt a little more refreshed than yesterday! We showered (perhaps the worst shower we'd ever used, unfortunately), packed the car and made sure we left the cottage clean and tidy. Sophie had had an altercation last week with the owner of the Airbnb who had cancelled our April booking in Annecy, and we'd reported her in the end because of her offensive messages. We didn't want to annoy our lovely host in Northumberland! It had been a lovely, very comfortable stay in a gorgeous cottage that had everything we needed. We just didn't like the weak electric shower!
We set off at 9:00am and turned onto the A697 towards Morpeth. From here, we joined the A1 and headed for Washington Services, where we intended to charge up Olive to 100%. Even this would only get us to Nottinghamshire, though, where we'd identified another rapid charger at Blyth Services.
The roads were good, and we had a great journey to Washington, passing Newcastle again and seeing The Angel of the North. At the services, we charged up Olive at a Gridserve charging point that was very rapid indeed. It gave us a chance to use the facilities and partake of a Greggs breakfast. We had a slight bickerfest in Greggs when I threatened to stuff a stottie cake in Keith's mouth as he kept wittering on about bringing Olive and that we should have taken the courtesy car. Sophie collapsed into giggles, making everyone in the queue turn around to see what was so funny!
Once Olive was charged, we set off, taking the A1(M) but deciding to follow the advice from Jeeves about avoiding Doncaster, where there were hold-ups. We briefly went onto the M62 towards Hull, then the M18, and then back onto the A1. All the way, we stared at cars on the road, trying to get some inspiration for our next vehicle. To me, a lot of cars look alike, especially the SUVs!
Our next stop was at Blyth Services and another Gridserve charger. We joined some hefty cars here, including a big Audi, Teslas and BMWs. It was nice to sit and relax for about forty-five minutes, giving us just enough time to get to the pub at Laxton, where we had a 2:30pm lunch booking.
We had stopped here a while ago, on our way back from the North-East, and I was keen to have a meal here again. There were already quite a few people eating, and we were taken to a table at the back of the pub.
We perused the menu, choosing roast chicken and lamb and Sophie and I shared a bottle of Portuguese Rosé, which was an agreeable 9.5% alcohol. The staff didn't appear to know what they were doing, and we eventually gave our orders and settled down to wait. We were all starving!
Sophie was looking forward to her lunch and had been craving a roast all weekend! However, when our roast chicken arrived, we were disappointed to see the promised crispy skin looking pale and anaemic... Keith had chosen a lamb shank, and our meals were accompanied by a Yorkshire pudding, runner beans, cabbage and leeks, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, heritage carrots (they looked like dead fingers), underdone parsnips, a wedge of rock-hard stuffing and extra portions of pigs in blankets and broccoli and cauliflower cheese. Sadly, the meal was disappointing, with the gravy tasteless and thin. We suspected most items had been frozen, especially the roast potatoes, which were dense and unappetising. When I think about how we turn out a roast at home, I could have cried...
We decided to forgo a pud, paid the bill and fled. We all wanted to get home now, see the cats and relax before work tomorrow. The unpacking and washing could wait!
We had a good journey home and turned off the A1 and onto the A43 at Stamford. Overhead, the skies were cloudy, and it looked like there had been rain. We made a brief stop at the Co-op at Kettering, and I bought another pack of sticky toffee pudding and custard.
Of course, there were no cats around, so we unpacked the car, put away as much as we could, and collapsed on the sofa. I had an indulgent hour watching All Creatures Great and Small, and we enjoyed our puds with lashings of creamy custard. Both cats came in eventually and were hugged and kissed!
Tomorrow it's back to reality!
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