Wednesday morning broke clear and blue. It was a perfect day to head to the sea-shore and six of us piled into our rented van right after breakfast. With my eighty-five year old aunt giving directions we were off to the old resort town of Withernsea a mere thirty five kilometers away. My cousin Lynn and partner Keith, down from Newcastle were joining us for the day but as the van was full they followed in their car. Our route from west Hull took us through the centre and the eastern reaches and more industrial part of the city. It wasn’t long before we were travelling on a two lane road weaving back and forth alongside farm fields and through picturesque old villages. As we travelled along the road I remembered mum long ago telling me a story of how she and a girlfriend had once bicycled this same route. It seemed a long way to me and I never would have attempted it.
There are some basic things to know about roadways in England.
The views from car windows on all secondary roads are always spectacular. This is mainly due to the roads being based on ancient right of ways. For ease of developing these pathways meandered all over the place rather than taking the most direct route. It is hardly scientific but I believe it almost impossible to drive any road in the English countryside for more than a few hundred metres without encountering a curve. This allows for wonderful views of the land and its contours but also greatly increases the time it takes you to get anywhere. My rule of thumb when travelling here is to determine how far your destination is then figure out how long it would take to travel that distance at home. By simply doubling your answer you will have a pretty good idea how long it will take in England. A word of caution, I suspect that mileage measurements in England are determined “as the crow flies”. To add to the confusion, distances are in Imperial measure while everything else is metric.
It is also common to find yourself driving through a village and be startled at how close buildings and houses are to either side of the roadway. Structures are so close that I’m sure front doors are installed to open inward because to open outward would risk knocking mirrors off passing cars.
Another odd thing about English roads is that speed limits seem to be just suggestions. Everybody does 20% (or more) over those suggestions everywhere and all the time. Yet a thirty kilometer trip takes an hour and a quarter. On a positive note every driver in England uses their turn signal when wanting to change lanes and every other driver acknowledges the request and lets them in. This is so unlike the Canadian experience where using a turn signal is deemed a sign of weakness that deserves other drivers ensuring you can’t get into the lane your desire any time soon.
We’d travelled along for what I thought was long enough when we entered another curve and suddenly there was the sparkling sea. Shortly we were in Withernsea, parked and ambling along the promenade on the seafront. Every seaside town of note in England has a broad paved promenade along the beach for folks to wander back and forth to see and be seen on. The prom is usually well back from the water to protect against a rogue wave dragging off the unwary. Like Withernsea, on the inland side of the promenade there is often a long row of Victorian era houses facing out to sea. The two and three storey houses have connecting walls to their neighbours and run on for at least a block. Possibly the additional strength of the neighbouring connecting wall was deemed necessary to stand up to North Sea gales. My dad often said England was the only country in the world where you go to the beach wearing an overcoat, scarf and hat.
Originally the houses were put up as holiday homes for the well-to-do but over time most have since been renovated into two or three apartments or flats as they’re called. Some have main floor shop with rental accommodations above. No matter the circumstances of the tenant the sea views from these houses today is as incredible as it was 150 years ago.
Between the water and Withernsea’s prom there’s a beautiful sand beach that goes for miles around the gently curving bay. Seawalls stretch out into the water every couple of hundred metres protecting the beach from erosion that is a constant issue. On this offseason day a crew with heavy equipment was shoring up the beach with large boulders. As I always do when travelling I went down to the beach to look for a stone to take back home to my mum. I have collected stones or a small bottle of sand for my mum on my travels for years.
As we walked along the shops catering to tourists were still open and a number of us bought some sweets; rock candy, Brandy Snap or Pontefract Cake licorice to take back home. For most of us the small bags proved too much of a temptation and the contents disappeared. It being the end of October it was a little cool and it didn’t take much discussion to decide it was time for a hot drink. We picked a likely looking place and fortunately due to the time of year they were readily able to could accommodate the eight of us. Tea, coffee and a couple of lattes were soon delivered and disposed of and we were ready for our next stop of the day.
Across the road from the cafe was a nearly block long arcade where visiting tourists have long gone to spend time if the weather was uncooperative. I’d been here before and nothing had changed in nearly twenty-five years. A handful of shops were still selling cheap trinkets to remind you of your day at the seaside and the star of the arcade was the unit filled with gaming machines. My aunt made a beeline for the one armed bandits while I shoved a few copper pennies into one of the dozens of the most popular games for youngsters of all ages.
The Penny Flip game consists of a glass encased cabinet about three feet wide and four high. The game of chance consists of three levels of shelves, the top two full of pennies and candies and the lower one empty. The top two of the stepped shelves are continuously moving in and out a couple of inches. The game is played by dropping a penny down a shute that then drops down the back of the machine to land on its edge on a hopefully clear area of the upper shelf. Those in the know are aware the trick is to wait until the shelf is moving outward before dropping your penny. As the shelf moves out the desired effect is for your penny on edge to fall flat.
This is where the fun starts. When the shelf moves back the mass of pennies and candies on the leading edge of the shelf presses against your coin. Hopefully the pressure of the mass pressing against your penny will dislodge a bunch to topple over the edge to the shelf below, where the process begins anew. If you’re lucky the end result is handful of coppers and candies being pushed off the second shelf to the empty one below, and then into your pocket. I spent four pennies to win two. It was great what with lights flashing and bells ringing.
It is an infectious game and nationally known. It is so well known that the BBC has a game show called Tipping Point which is on seven days a week at 4:30pm and contestants come from all over the UK to get a chance to win ten thousand Pounds. On Sundays well known celebrities play each other to win thirty thousand Pounds for their favourite charity.
We had a lovely morning but unhappily even I could see the town was in decline. Withernsea is now like a fading movie star, everyone loves her but nobody has time for her anymore. I wonder that with more people owning cars a seaside town so close to Hull no longer seems as adventurous and wonderful when it’s so easy to get to?
It was by now afternoon and hunger pangs were bothering everyone which meant it was time to be off to Hornsea for lunch. While only thirty-two kilometers it took nearly an hour to get there. We in the van blamed Keith who was leading the way. To be honest there was only one road so it wasn’t like he’d made any wrong turns, but hunger was rearing its ugly head. Hornsea though a bigger town than where we’d just been was set up on similar lines and did seem more prosperous. It being long after noon we only had a quick walk before heading into Sullivan’s, famous for fish and chips with mushy peas.
Mushy peas for those who are unaware is a well loved English side dish of green peas cooked down to a porridge like consistency. I love them and compliment the taste treat with a splash of malt vinegar. All fish and chip shops that I’ve been to offer mushy peas as a side order by the way. Also in most English restaurants you receive two slices of bread and butter with your meal rather than a bun.
The waitress came and the only order deviations were that my brother Cameron and Keith opted for the large piece of cod. Once the meals arrived a large portion seemed unnecessary to me as the regular cod portion was as long as my forearm. When all were fully stuffed we headed back to Hull somehow just twenty-five kilometers away. Keith was once again in the lead and we in the following van again considered he took the wrong route causing us to spend an hour on the road.