Mere

The biggest natural lake in Yorkshire is Hornsea Mere. It is a geological reminder of Britain's last Ice Age that  reached its peak 22,000 years and is now known as the late Devensian glaciation.

Boat jetty at Hornsea Mere

Hornsea Mere sits just west of the little seaside town of Hornsea. It is two miles long and has a maximum depth of twelve feet. When I was young, I rowed upon it for it was in the orbit of my teenage landscape just six miles east of the inland village where I  was raised.

Once a lakeside homeowner ran down to the bottom of his garden and yelled, "You can't row here! It's private property!"

"How can it be private property?" I yelled back. "It's a lake!"

Anyway, I was back at Hornsea Mere today with my old friend Tony. I picked him up in Beverley. We planned a walk around the lake even though there's no defined lakeside path which is in my view a crying shame.

Tony has been recuperating from a serious health blow - namely a mild but significant stroke. It has knocked the wind out of his sails and he sleeps more than usual, suffers from a degree of memory loss and is so nervous about his mobility that he now carries a walking stick (see above). However, his prospects are good.

His phone measured our step count - 23,000 steps in total for the entire walk - apparently around eleven miles according to an online calculator but neither of us could believe that figure for a moment. More like seven miles maximum.

Afterwards we visited one of my old haunts on the seafront - "The Marine Hotel" where we enjoyed a late lunch of burgers with chips and cold non-alcoholic drinks with ice. From our table by a picture window, we looked east across Bridlington Bay and dreamt of Holland - another 230 miles away.

An old shipping container on a farm near Hornsea Mere.

"Siggy" is the local pet name for the village of Sigglesthorne.