Doncaster North service area

Cost £0 with free toilets and restaurants. But let’s face it, a lorry park next to the Covid testing centre is not an ideal location to spend the night. “Bleep bleep bleep, stand clear this lorry is reversing” was the noise that failed to lull me to sleep. One thing that driving Bertie has done is give me a lot of respect for lorry drivers. How do they move those lorries in such small areas. Bertie looks like a toy next to them. Still the van was packed with a week’s supply, so food and heating were in plentiful supply, as was the Costa in the service area. We were on the way to see my cousin in Bridlington and then onto Withernsea where we were meeting with friends. We stopped for a late lunch, stuffed down a quick sandwich and started the engine to set off. We got a lot of attention from surrounding lorries as the engine pumped out a grinding noise. The AA was called, broken crankshaft pulley diagnosed and recovery truck booked. Alas none were to be had that night, so we put on a film and snuggled into bed after setting all the mouse traps. I mentioned a late lunch, so now the added bit. We picked Bertie up on Sunday to find mice. They had made a bed from the drivers seat, the back passenger seats, the mattresses, the quilt and pikachu. We stripped and cleaned the van but only managed to get the tail of one of the two we saw. Monday saw us load all back into Bertie and set off late with empty mouse traps, (little buggers had a nice feast) and at least two mice. So as I laid in bed listening to the lorries I was also listening to a mouse now enclosed in a trap. At 3am I released it at the far end of the site and reset the trap. Now I slept. By morning the trap contained a second short tailed mouse. The AA truck arrived with no warning, we were still in bed sat watching the lorries coming and going. Homeward bound it is now.