Holidays ...
Alongside many other families whose parents worked in the boot and shoe trade in Kettering, family holidays while we were growing up consisted of a choice between Great Yarmouth and Skegness. My family's favourite destination was South Denes caravan site in Yarmouth.
Once there, my older sister and brother would be off doing their own thing, being of a suitable age to do so. My younger sister would make new friends within five minutes of our arrival and never be short of other kids to mix with. I mostly hung around with my parents and grandmother, if she had joined us. Most memorable were the early morning walks with my father. Neither of us liked to sleep in, so we'd head off somewhere for a long walk before anyone else in the caravan was up.
As I reached my mid-teens, Butlins became the new venue. The days there were spent mostly in the snooker halls, playing against anyone who similarly needed an opponent. (I never did become a great snooker player, but it did help with my pool playing ~ at which I did win trophies.) In the evenings, I'd see whether or not they'd serve me in the bars, though there was little excitement in that and I'd generally end up in the cinema or back in the snooker hall.
By the time I was around 17, family holidays weren't much of a draw to me ~ more my choice than the family's ~ although by that time all us kids were grown up and doing our own thing. It was some time before I started holidaying properly on my own ~ leave mostly being spent simply not working.
Once I had my scooter, I did go to some weekend rallies, which led to my going away a few times on my own for short breaks. After my daughter had been taken away, I started heading down to Devon or Cornwall.
Boscastle and Tintagel became favourite haunts ~ the former usually including a visit to The Cobweb pub, and the latter usually being supplemented by a meal at the clifftop pub in Trebarwith Strand.
Other than on family holidays with my parents, I'd never really been anywhere, so the scenery at places such as these really got to me ~ enough so I still try to get down there every now and then to this day.
Now riding a larger bike, short breaks were possible ~ that was, if I could find somewhere that would accept someone with a bike! Usually this would not be at one destination ~ the main pleasure was the riding itself, with the availability of a decent meal and a few jars in a good pub to follow. Failing that, a hotel bar.
It was good meeting different people ~ even though I found it difficult to make friends, it was easy to make new acquaintances anywhere I landed. In pubs, people like myself enjoy the variety that comes from having different people to talk to ... even if it is only for a night or two. Sometimes, that's even preferable.
The choice of where I was going to go was usually made in a fairly unique way ~ I'd ride up to the top of the street then wait for the first vehicle to go past. I'd follow to see the direction they were going, then would head the same way for 50 miles (obviously, the vehicle had gone elsewhere by then, but it was the initial direction that was important). Then I'd stop, see where my route was heading, then decide upon which locale at the end of that path I would aim for. North, south, east, west ~ wherever I went, I'd find somewhere to stay, usually for one night only, then either arrange to stay longer or move on, depending on what the place turned out to be like.
Destinations are too numerous to list here ~ and far too many for me to remember ~ but if you worked your way round the British coast from Mablethorpe to the Lake District, you'd understand why. Favourites, however, would be Skegness, Brighton, Weymouth, Torbay, Newquay and Minehead.
I've stayed in accommodation from the ropiest bed and breakfast joint, to boutique hotels ~ every kind of place you can possibly imagine ... apart from pubs. I never liked to stay in pubs, in case I ended up drinking far too much and making an arse of myself. There's nothing worse than that feeling you'd have in the morning when sitting there at breakfast under the condemning eyes of those who saw your antics!
Most destinations were much of a muchness and very few stood out from the rest. Some notable exceptions on the accommodation side were a B&B in Lynmouth, Devon, run by a gay couple who kept the place immaculately and couldn't do enough for anyone who stayed there, regardless of who they were. Another was in Scarborough ~ The Raincliffe Hotel ~ (where I stayed overnight en-route to Amsterdam from Newcastle), where they reserved a downstairs room for me, so I didn't have to walk up and downstairs at a time when the arthritis in my legs were beginning to cause problems.
I've stayed in Weymouth many times, at lodgings representing the best and worst. One, a boutique-style B&B, was immensely luxurious, though it did make me feel like their regular customers probably brought a lot of their own ‘equipment’ with them, alongside their luggage!
However, there was one pub in the town that made the journey worthwhile ~ The Boot ~ which had an excellent range of ales and a great line in entertainment from local bands.
Newquay was another destination with some decent accommodation and some excellent pubs ~ most of which have now, unfortunately, closed. The Vic Bars was one of these, but there were quite a few other decent haunts, provided you were able to do a lot of walking.
B&B's there were generally of good quality, but it was definitely worth avoiding the larger hotels which more specifically cater for OAP coach parties ~ unless you enjoy your nights being filled with bingo sessions and wailing singers!
Also always worth taking the trip to Charlestown, near St Austell ~ if only to visit the harbour-side Pier House Hotel for a meal … never fails to please.
Away from the coast, Glastonbury was a favourite destination, even if it was just for an overnight stay en-route to Cornwall. Pubs were almost as weird as the locals that frequented them, but were welcoming all the same ~ and I still never felt out of place.
As the years went on, so more and more of the good pubs disappeared, or became food outlets, or worse ... Wetherspoons! It got so there were few destinations that could offer a decent variety or choice. Nowadays, if I go away for a short break, I simply book a caravan for a few days. I no longer frequent pubs or drink any more (what used to be a night's imbibing is more than a year's consumption these days), so my leisure time is spent driving to places of interest that don't involve too much walking. In itself, this is a challenge …
My main fun nowadays is driving ~ the only sort of exercise I get.