Mersea Island Early Weekend - Friday

We were up late, or rather we were up early and then late!  Reggie manages to sleep most of the night at home. I generally go to bed around 11pm and I leave him with his bed on the sofa and some treats to "find" before he settles in for the night.  Often when we go down around 8am (we are retired okay!!) he can be found still asleep.

So when in the van in a much smaller space he is up around 5.30am and asking to go out. I end up getting up and turning off the alarm to get the sliding door open and he can get out. Then he comes in and repeats the same whine until I get up again or Claire feeds him his breakfast.  Then he wants to go out again!

This morning was no exception.  So after all his visits outside, it was light at 6am BTW, we went back to sleep. It was 10am when we both woke up!  The site was still very quiet as it's March. It's Friday morning and only the retired are on site.  Oh. The workforce are out and about in tractors and other noise making equipment.  

People from the seasonal caravan pitches have been driving down to the loos since about 4am!  Surely like us, they have loos onboard? Then again it's all part and parcel of being on a campsite!!!

Once we had had breakfast I decided that the easiest way to exit the van via the sliding door was to put my foot on the step and fall to the left onto the ground. I did manage the drop like an expert and still hold onto Reggie's leash. A few scrapes and bruises to my left hand and forehead.  Plus a bit more bruising and pain in my left front ribs.  Nothing a wash to clean the would and a plaster couldn't sort. I discovered that my hip and knee also took a bang, but that was later walking to the shop Savlon antiseptic cream.  Something the 178 piece first aid kit lacked.

Once back we had lunch and then decided to walk into West Mersea itself and see if the café we visited last time was still open. We didn't get that far as we couldn't really remember how far along the coastline it was.

From Waldegraves there's a path along the beach that goes to the neighbouring West Mersea Holiday Park. They are also set up with large mobile homes that aren't actually mobile at all. They also have a touring field with electric hook-up bollards.  There's also a bar and entertainment complex and another café near the entrance.

The beachfront though it pretty well stocked with beach huts. All but the very westerly one are of the same design and they are painted a whole rainbow of colours.  Altogether I think there are over 120 of them. Outside the park area there are another hundred or so privately owned beach huts and these are a mishmash of designs. Further west they are in two and then three rows stacked up so they al have a sea view.  There is sand along the coast but once the tide is out it's mudville.

We got a little way on from the holiday park and turned around. Coffee! we stopped at the shop and Seaview Beach Café at the entrance to the holiday park. A coffee and a piece of carrot and walnut cake went down a treat. No photo!

Then we headed back. I had the Sony Cybershot with me. The Nikon D50 was in the van and stayed there the entire weekend!

Then back to the van for a rest and dinner.  Still no WIFI to watch our favourite Youtubers! 

The park was filling up.  Our row was full except for plot 60! Caravans. Kids. Dogs!  Up at the seasonals there was a party going on. They had a light pole up with pulsating lights and music to go with it.  They were generally quite.  It's accepted that after 10pm there should be a minimum of noise, but a few were still at it gone midnight.

Of course there were still those commuting between their vans and the loos all night. Being nearby we got to enjoy their engine noises.

Tomorrow we need to be up early to make sure we are packed away do the we can beat the high tide that will cover the Strood before noon. The tide tables are allowing for a 5 metre tide, so that would cover the roadway by about 6 feet.