As I looked into the bay, I saw an EasyJet plane parked alongside a few outbuildings. I asked my guide what I was looking at and she said, “oh, that’s Northampton International Airport”.

Things had really changed around here – not least the aquisition of a coast line for a previously land-locked county. The profile of Northamptonshire had never been higher. At the Girl Guides camp the Guides were playing an animated version of ‘Cornwall or Northampton?’. As a game show host showed picture flash cards of scenic views the crowd had to correctly call out whether the picture had been taken in Cornwall – or Northampton.

Later I joined the Guides for a circuit on the spinning water ride. Sitting in a buoyant wooden ring I spun round the circuit but was dismayed to find that my ring took me on a short cut and I finished the ride too quickly. My sister, who had also been disappointed, snuck onto the ride again. Once again, I wished I was less honest.