Budget break

We took a three-night break (actually a summer holiday suitable for our new impecunious status).

On Saturday morning we set off to see The Lad (Richard) in Liverpool, on the opposite side of the country.

Our newly-acquired Panda was packed with the remains of Richard's stuff, which he had left at the house when he left home ten years ago.

Richard is pictured left with his mother (the one on the right) and what passes for wildlife in Liverpool (the one in front).

We looked around the huge new shopping complex, Liverpool 1, before going for dinner at Eddie Rocket's in Bold Street.

Maureen and I then drove to Burton in Kendal Travelodge on the northbound M6 for a three-night stay. Say what you like about Travelodge (and I'm just about to) but for £19 a night, you can't beat them.

HOWEVER, I think I was provided with the most badly maintained hotel room I have every slept it. It just beats the Day's Inn in Atlanta, Georgia, where the police were sorting out the aftermath of a knife fight in the lobby when we arrived, and we were shown to a room that had a door giving access to a balcony, and which had a four-inch gap at the bottom to provide an easy means of access for any passing rats.

Burton Travelodge made an early bid for the title by failing to admit us to the room for some time, as the key was so reluctant to turn. This was a recurrent problem throughout the stay.

We discovered that the sofa cover was badly slashed (see left) and alarmingly, one section of the bathroom floor seemed to be rather precariously attached (see below left).

Yes, we could have asked for another room, but on the way in, we saw a couple being turned away as the place was full...and we'd never find anywhere else at £19 a night on the edge of the Lake District.

Having said all of that, we enjoyed it. The weather was warm enough for us to keep the window open throughout our stay, the television worked after I'd been given two new remote controls to try, and the kettle worked. (I did, however, have to go to reception on the two succeeding days to ask for more coffee, tea and soap, as the supplies in the room hadn't been replenished.)

On Sunday morning, we drove to Lake Windermere, and parked on the western shore.

We took the ferry (below left) across to Bowness and we pleasantly surprised to discover that the operator couldn't be bothered to collect the 50p-a-head from foot passengers.

We walked around Bowness (what a tip!) and bought some Dales Way books from the National Park office, as well as leaflets on local footpaths.

Back on the western shore (free ride again) we followed footpaths for a couple of miles uphill to Beatrix Potter's old home. After a cooling lager at the local pub, we retraced our steps, then drove into Kendal, where we redeemed a 2-for-1 meal voucher at the Pizza Express.

And so, back to the Travelodge.

Monday took us to Ulverston, attracted by publicity for the Stan Laurel museum. What a waste of time and money. There were just three rooms on the ground floor of a house. One was the reception area. This and an adjacent room had hundreds of tatty cuttings and other bits of paper stuck to the walls and strewn around, among various pieces of obscure memorabilia.

There was no attempt at explanation, or any concept of display. In the third room, 20-minute films were being shown.

We escaped, and followed the map in a leaflet in search of Stan's birthplace. The map marked the road two streets away from its actual location, which didn't help, and the plaque was just an inartistic lettered piece of plain metal. I think the Blue Plaque people need to get involved.

We struck lucky in the tourist office, however, as we picked up some walks leaflets. We covered about six miles in the countryside around town, and made a three mile return walk beside the disused canal, to a pub at the sea end, where we felt we had earned a couple of glasses of lager.

The King's Arms in Burton in Kendal (only about a mile from the Travelodge if you use the escape road) provided a very good dinner at an excellent price from their early bird menu.

And so we spent our third night in an M6 service area, before setting off on Tuesday morning.

We stopped in Hawes to stock up on cheese at the Wensleydale creamery, and arrived back in Scarborough that afternoon after a really enjoyable break.