Liz and I went on a week’s camping holiday in North Yorkshire, setting off on Sunday 15th April and returning on Monday 23rd. The actual location was to Parkdean’s Skipsea Sands Holiday Park. The journey took us about 4 hours in all each way – including coffee stops.
There was a fishing pool on site but as we were camping I thought there wouldn’t be room for the freshwater tackle along with all our camping gear as our camping likes are far from minimal and include electric hotplates, multi-storey camp kitchen and other ‘mod cons’… and the tent itself (an Outwell Deluxe Drummond 7 (7-person)) measures 720cm x W 450cm x H 210cm (24ft x 13ft x 7’) and takes up a fair bit of space, even in its bag. But we can get it all set up and fully fitted with kitchen, air beds, etc within an hour – far quicker than most people with touring caravans or campers and often sit with coffees in our hands, finished, watching such people, who arrived at the same time as us still setting up, etc.
However, we did take sea fishing equipment – and our crab lines. Liz and I usually have a crabbing contest when on the coast holidaying and this time was no different and we had a session at Bridlington Harbour…. but score was 0-0 as we decided after 30 minutes it was a waste of time. Wrong time of day as tide was on its way out strongly … and the tide times were against sea fishing all week too so the gear was never used.
BUT … in hindsight we could have fitted the freshwater gear in instead of the sea stuff and had a day or so on the park’s pool which looked quite nice. Not many spotted fishing on there all week so not sure what, if anything, was being caught but if we return to this park we’ll definitely load the coarse tackle.
And on April.Sunday 22nd April – the penultimate day of our holiday – as we needed to start tidying up the tent and prepping for its collapse to return home the following day we decided on just a quick morning’s drive out before setting to on our tasks for the day and noted that Hornsea Mere was only about 5-6 miles away and headed to have a look at it. Now, this mere, is LEGENDARY in angling history – many famous angling names have fished there and many good pike in particular have been captured with several entries figuring in Fred Buller’s famous book – ‘The Domesday Book Of Mammoth Pike’. Also, in 1917 it was the venue where the world record roach at the time was caught. Unfortunately, the mere has past its heyday now but does still throw up good pike, bream, roach, perch and holds carp to over 50lb albeit the carp are few in number and in a water approx 3/4 mile wide at its widest by 2 miles long they are said to take some locating so you need dedication to target those! And these things go in cycles so the mere could return to its old revered status at any time.
I took a ‘few’ pictures…. LOL!
Hornsea Mere
Anyway, I’m hoping to return back here for 3 or 4 days around late October or early/mid November – camping at Skipsea Sands again, and taking a boat out each day on the mere. Most likely do the trip on my own as Liz will be working – and possibly dependent on acquiring a suitable tent, the ‘mansion’ being far too big and cumbersome for me on my own. We’re actually looking for a 4-6 person pop-up tent anyway for a few long weekend trips this summer – the kind you take out the bag throw in the air and it’s up in literally 2 seconds bar a few pegs to anchor it down, and that would suit me fine for the mere trip too….
We also went into York – and had coffees (crap ones actually! Cost something like £2.75, small cup, and not exactly steaming hot either – and ended up half an hour later going into something like a Burger King for another cuppa twice the size, properly strong, really hot … and almost half the price!) looking on to the River (Yorkshire) Ouse….
Anyway, we’re now back home – unpacking completed – washing done and drying – camping gear sorted and put away … and I’m planning my first session back on home turf… which has changed in thinking from day to day whilst we were away but now almost certainly decided to be a day on a club stretch of the Shropshire Union canal – a stretch of water I lure fish frequently in the winter for pike but have only ever fished ‘generally’ once and that was for a club match. So, I’m taking my quiver tip rod, a few baits and seeing if I can get in touch with the excellent perch and chub that live there – and also to be in with a good chance of the quality roach, bream, carp and barbel that show up from time to time.
stevetheangler 
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