30 May 2009 – Millau
Bit of a bad start to the day. We merrily set off to the gas station and the 3 euros of gas we managed to put in has cost us probably a few thousand pounds.
We had a bit of a ‘meeting’ with the fuel kiosk. No damage to the kiosk as it was covered in metal grilling, but metal grilling and glass reinforced plastic (GRP) motorhome sides do not gel well.
Dean stated he was going to throw himself off the viaduct this very day, but we went and found another store and stocked up with alcohol, chocolate and other goodies. He’s chatted to a few other MH’ers who have all experienced the same thing so he feels a bit better now although his wounded pride will take longer to heal.
The roll of duck tape came out when we got back, the damage is sealed and we can continue our trip. Nobody died or got injured so onwards and upwards!
29 May 2009 – Millau
29 May 2009 – Millau
Big market day! We got up early today and were in the market by 9.30, collecting a load of goodies, and stopped off at the Boucherie for some chicken for tonight’s dinner.
Dean did his magic again and cooked a fantastic dinner of chicken stuffed with wet garlic and some of the Roquefort cheese we bought today – absolute heaven, all washed down with the red wine we bought for 2 euros a litre.
It was an extra bonus today as our part arrived from the UK so we’re off tomorrow to get some gas. We’ve decided to stay another week so we can enjoy having some outdoor cooking.
28 May 2009 – Millau
What a lazy day! We’d planned to go for a walk along the edge of the Tarn but couldn’t be bothered. It was such a warm day we just sat by the river, read, slept and day-dreamed.
Dean ventured off to the swimming pool, whilst I pottered around. It is frightening how we are getting used to ‘doing nothing’ every now and again. When we were in our old lives we couldn’t stop and relax but we’re finally getting there...
It was a day of odd jobs, laundry, cleaning, tidying but that doesn’t take too long over eight metres of vehicle....just organisation!
27 May 2009 – Millau
Market day today! I managed to buy my wicker basket at last from a beautiful little shop called Clementine Creations.
French markets are a feast for the senses – the scent of the strawberries, cheese, garlic and herbs are to die for and they take such care in displaying all their wares that they are a work of art sometimes.
The hustle and bustle of both the sellers and buyers is really exciting, and on one stall they were weighing someone’s baby! All the coffee bars are open, musicians are playing and invariably the sun is shining which makes the setting complete!
On our return we went for a little wander left out of the site and got a glimpse of the viaduct.
As we had nearly run out of food we visited the restaurant on site for dinner. The guy was lovely, educating us on our French and we enjoyed a lovely meal (Dean had duck) and dessert...even the desserts taste better...then wandered back to the ‘van and enjoyed a glass of wine outside before retiring.
26 May 2009 – Millau
The weather has been a bit overcast today, so we went for a cycle ride along the Gorge du Dourbie.
We were out for about two hours so we were glad to come back, have a nice shower and get cosy in the van – it’s amazing how cold 18 degrees feels...
Gas has now completely run out as trying to warm up some Pain au Chocolat and the oven gave up the ghost. That part better come tomorrow...
25 May 2009 – Millau
As we needed some provisions, we walked into Millau centre today and have planned to come back on Wednesday to explore the town. That will coincide with market day so that will keep us amused.
There was a greengrocer shop in the town where we stocked up on loads of vegetables, and we finally bought some strawberries as they smell gorgeous! Laden with loads of fruit and veg, we stopped off and purchased five litres of red wine... for 10 euros... then found a nice bar to sit outside and have a drink, watching the world go by.
24 May 2009 – Millau
What a great campsite we’ve just turned up on! Got here just before midday and were greeted by excellent staff. They let us waffle on with our bit of French then saved us and helped us out in English – we’d sent them an email earlier in the week as our replacement gas part is being delivered here.
Found a lovely spot right on the edge of the tarn, the showers are heaven and we plan to spend a week here cycling, walking and just chilling out.
Found a lovely spot right on the edge of the tarn, the showers are heaven and we plan to spend a week here cycling, walking and just chilling out.
The journey to Millau went through the National Park Cevennes. We couldn’t go through the Tarn du Gorge as some of the bridges were a bit low (we could have done it but Angela’s nerves wouldn’t stomach it and Dean gracefully gave in!) and the journey we took was picturesque but rather tranquil.
As we forgot all the shops were shut, we stayed on site and sat reading and watching the wildlife on the river. Some fellow Brits stopped to talk to us so that was another hour gone, so just time for a shower then bed.
23 May 2009 – Florac
We are now very low on gas, so all it is being used for is the fridge and fingers crossed it lasts until tomorrow when we’re going onto a campsite.
The journey looked normal enough on the map, but we ended up going on the equivalent of a fairground ride – up and down a mountain with hairpin bends – at the end of it you could smell the clutch, the brakes were red hot and the handbrake would not work when we got to the bottom until it cooled down!
We stopped at the bottom to let everything and everyone cool down, we then spent ages going through Florac trying to find the Aire. Once we found it, we wandered into the very pretty village and mooched around for ages buying some goodies on the way.
Luckily we got there early and found a nice spot, as by the end of the evening the 20 space Aire accommodated nearly 30 ‘vans.
The gas is still holding out but we had to endure a very cold shower at the end of the day...but the couple of glasses of wine made up for it! Any shower is better than no shower!
22 May 2009 – Coubon
22 May 2009 – Coubon
We are heading on down to Millau for the weekend and decided to Aire the next couple of days, as it seems silly to waste money on a campsite when they are just going to be stopovers. The views during the drive to Coubon were amazing. We stopped off at a view point ‘Parc des Volcans d’Auvergne’.
Our first job of the day was to find an LPG station and fill up our one remaining gas bottle. It seemed easy as the adaptor you need to use in France is a doddle, unlike the UK where even the attendants cannot work the blasted thing!
There we encountered a rather large problem – not to bore anyone but we now need a blanking plug as when we tried to fill up the gas escaped from the hose that attaches one bottle to the other. Sat by the petrol station, Dean got on the ‘phone to the UK and they’re supposedly sending one out that should reach us in three to four days...
We gave up on that job and continued on our way to the Aire in Coubon. It was fine but the local lads were playing football until 11pm in the car park....and the car park was the Aire!
21 May 2009 – La Pessy
As it was a boiling hot day we went for a walk into the countryside and then onto the nearby village of Murat-la-Quaire.
We were gone for a good few hours, but managed to get some really good photos and just relax. When we got back to the ‘van we discovered our gas has nearly gone so off to experience the LPG gas station tomorrow...
20 May 2009 – La Pessy
On to a campsite called La Panoramique that had terraced pitches and we could see across the Auvergne mountain range including Mont Dore. The cable car was operational but as getting to Mont Dore involved a long hike once you got to the top we didn’t bother getting on it!
It was a case of pitch yourself, so we promptly went down a dead end and ended up reversing up a hill (smell that clutch burning out!). However, we were lucky in the end as we ended up with a brilliant view.
We went for a walk and spotted the farmyard animals, that included geese, donkeys, goats and what we think was a small boar. Both boar and goat kept trying to head butt each other. On the other side of the fence were about twenty cows...so we did not hang about!
Back to our wine and cheese...
19 May 2009 – La Bourboule
We plumped for another place called La Bourboule (http://www.france-for-visitors.com/massif-central/auvergne/la-bourboule.html) which is 6km from the nearest mountain Mont Dore.
Having found the Aire we wandered into the town and it was beautiful. It is surrounded by mountains and is a spa town renowned for treating children’s ailments. The weather was beautiful and there were lots of little shops that we had to venture into.
We had never heard of this part of France but it is an absolute jewel. The people have been really friendly and the buildings are very impressive.
On our return to the Aire, we had the enjoyment of watching a bunch of French motor-homers turn up and make a complete hash of the whole things – free entertainment!
18 May 2009 – Oradour-sur-Glane
On recommendation from friends, we visited the Martyred Village of Oradour-sur-Glane (http://www.oradour.info/) just outside Limoges.
There is a display outlining the build up to the tragedy, and details of the subsequent rebuilding of the village adjacent to the ruins. In short the SS murdered 642 people, by shooting to incapacitate them then setting them on fire allegedly all in the name of pure misdirected revenge.
After this experience, we found the Aire in the village that was a diamond and ended up next to a fellow MHF’er (website we belong to). This was about 2pm and having chatted for about three hours the Aire began filling up, we were joined by the Dutch and French.
Having shared our experiences we have changed our planned route somewhat and are now heading down the middle – leaving out the Alps to go through the mountainous range of the Auvergne.
16 May 2009 – Limoges
After a well deserved day of rest yesterday (Angela could hardly walk... no bath in the ‘van) we got up EARLY (6am) to catch the 7am bus into the main city of Limoges. The bus route took an hour and a half so we kicked our heels for a bit then went into a lovely cafe and were pleasantly surprised as we were not stitched up like before!
We were worried as the only other bus home was at 5.30pm so we had a lot of hours to kill, but Limoges is a beautiful city. It has a really friendly feel to it, and we visited the medieval bridge, the old butcher’s quarter, the botanical gardens and the amazing indoor market. You had to be there to appreciate the smell of the fresh strawberries and cherries!
We missed loads of stuff like the main cathedral and the Resistance Museum but we ran out of time. However, we were brave and ventured into a restaurant and had a lovely meal of lasagne, red wine and cake! Job done!
At the appointed hour we got the bus home, along with our friends from Brackley John and Sue. Supper of cheese, salad and bread – what a great day!
14 May 2009 – Chalus
In a mad moment we decided to walk the other way along the disused railway line towards the village of Chalus. It was about 9km to the village and along the way we were treated to frogs (v. v. noisy!) horses and lizards but not much else...
It was an easy walk in so much as you could not get lost and it was flat, but after the first 6km it got a bit boring. The good thing to look forward to before we came back was a flask of coffee and a croissant! We met a number of lovely French people at Chalus who were going for their daily constitutional, and thought we were mad as the heavens opened and we had to walk back the other 9km in the rain....hmmmm.
12 May 2009 – Champagnac la Riviere
Now we have really started to enjoy France, and we’re not sure if that’s because we’re getting further south?
We were all ready to go for a cycle ride along the disused railway line about five minutes away from the site, but we got chatting to an RV owner as they spotted Dean’s Cropredy top and they happen to come from Brackley!
An hour later (in the middle of the day) we set off and it was lovely as a lot of it was in dappled shade. We went past the old railway station too that is all now faded and overgrown but it still looked great. You then come into the village of Oradour-sur-Vayres that we cycled around, and spotted the restaurant we will visit later in the week...aptly named ‘Dino’s’.
Thunderstorms are forecast again tonight - must try and get out and sit in our chairs before the heavens open...
12 May 2009 – Champagnac la Riviere
Now we have really started to enjoy France, and we’re not sure if that’s because we’re getting further south?
We were all ready to go for a cycle ride along the disused railway line about five minutes away from the site, but we got chatting to an RV owner as they spotted Dean’s Cropredy top and they happen to come from Brackley!
An hour later (in the middle of the day) we set off and it was lovely as a lot of it was in dappled shade. We went past the old railway station too that is all now faded and overgrown but it still looked great. You then come into the village of Oradour-sur-Vayres that we cycled around, and spotted the restaurant we will visit later in the week...aptly named ‘Dino’s’.
Thunderstorms are forecast again tonight - must try and get out and sit in our chairs before the heavens open...
11 May 2009 – Champagnac la Riviere
We were heading for a campsite that had been recommended to us by friends we’d made in Taunton, but first we wanted to go back into Limoges to go to the big Carrefour supermarket to try and get some blasted chairs!
Old Jack (Sat Nav) got us there but there was no way of deciphering how you got into the car park, and Jack had already sent us up and down the same road three times so we gave up and drove back to one ‘we’d seen earlier’ in St Junien.
Success at last, as we are now the proud owners of two La Fuma chairs that only weigh 6.5kg in total (weight is a very serious issue for us)!
Back on the road again, we finally turned up on site around 4pm to be greeted by the English owners (Bob & Di) who were absolute angels. It was surprising considering we had not been there more than an hour when we developed a serious gas leak from our ‘van – this was from the system that is supposed to be one of the safest and easiest to use! A couple of ‘phone calls to the UK later, Dean had to disconnect one of the bottles, go ‘up field’ of everyone and release the gas...at least now we’re safe!
Dean had been driving for quite a few days so he was really looking forward to a restful evening, but we had the mother of a thunderstorm that came back twice! The electric went off twice but we survived and our plan of getting up early to take advantage of the cool morning never materialised...
10 May 2009 – Bonnac-la-Cote
Well, we’re now getting a bit adventurous and decided we’d pluck a campsite out of the other book bought from the Caravan Club. All was going well because we had blind faith in the directions, and when the campsite did not appear we just kept on going! This was a good strategy as it turned up in the next village along....alas, to still be closed.
We appeared to be going round in circles (as during these last few days we’ve been trying to buy two chairs so we can sit outside. This is not as easy as it sounds as they need to be all things to all men, and as light as a wafer) so out came our trusty ACSI book and we plumped for a site as close to Limoges as you can get.
We picked a blinder – you pulled up and called into reception where a beautiful cat was soaking up the rays. The gentleman behind the counter was everything you would expect from a Frenchman - elegant with a scarf round his neck, faint smell of cigars and a lovely friendly smile. One night was paid for and we were able to choose our pitch.
The site was in the grounds of a 9th Century chateau, and you were able to walk around the gardens. The chap came out and showed us where there was a lake so we wandered down there, then came back and there began another leisurely evening.
9 May 2009 – Bourges
First time on an Aire!!
These are areas set up by the French where motorhomes can stay the night for free or a nominal charge, say €3 to replenish your water etc. You really are looked after over here.
When we arrived there were about five ‘homes there but by the end of the evening another ten had turned up. It was sandwiched in between the rugby stadium and the skateboard rink, but not one drunken idiot or any trouble at all.
As we were new to this scenario we hadn’t left the van, which was a shame as when we left the town of Bourges looked well worth a visit.
8 May 2009 – Les Andelys
Today we donned our walking shoes and went off in search of the view point over Le Petit Andelys. When you got to the top you could see the Seine in all its beauty, the hospital and the wonderful village below.
When we got back we had new neighbours - two couples from Yorkshire who were on their way back home. They told us about the large river cruiser that would be departing Les Andelys later in the afternoon back to Paris. We had seen it arrive the first day we were here, but we thought it might be nice to see it leave....the allotted time of 5.30 came and went and frankly, by 6pm we couldn’t be bothered to wait!
7 May 2009 – Les Andelys
Armed with the camera this time, we ventured off along the Seine again and as the sun was shining we captured some amazing scenery. The local hospital cum retirement home is a magnificent building, and we just wandered around the village taking loads of photos. Coming back we got the picnic blanket out, sampled some local cider and read our books!
6 May 2009 – Les Andelys
Set off fairly early for Les Andelys, just south of Rouen and what a bonus that turned out to be! Having stocked up at Carrefour on food and drink (decided against buying some camping chairs, paying for it now) we originally booked in for one night.
The backdrop to the campsite was of the Chateau Gaillard that was built by the English...to keep the French out! Good job we did not succeed.
Then we went for a walk along the River Seine that backs onto the campsite and it is beautiful – the old houses and street lamps that are along the bank are a real treat, then as you walk into Le Petit Andelys there is a florist, butcher and baker that are very picturesque. On our return to the campsite we booked for a further 2 nights.
5 May 2009 - Amiens
Woke up this morning to the news our English neighbours had been broken into during the night. They and three other units had the rubber seal removed from a window, and whatever was nearby stolen. Sadly for them their spare keys were pinched which leaves them pretty vulnerable.
We spent the day tidying up the van ready for moving on tomorrow. Our neighbours misfortune made us have a rethink about storage of all our stuff. We had got a bit complacent, thinking we were safe on a campsite so it has been a wake-up call.
In the evening we raised a glass to Ivor (Dean’s dad) in the evening as it was the 5th anniversary of his death. How time goes by!
4 May 2009 - Amiens
We ventured into Amiens town centre today on the bus. Everything was going smoothly right into town until the bus inspectors got on to check tickets. Nobody told us you had to validate the ‘ticket’ in the machine, so all we handed over were effectively two blank pieces of paper!
Luckily, we were at our stop and as we showed them we had come from a campsite he just let us get off. As none of us could communicate I think that was his only option.
We visited the Notre Dame Cathedral that amongst other things hosts the ‘Weeping Angel’ statue. It was made famous in WW1 when the Allied soldiers sent postcards of it home – apparently it struck a chord with them at the time.
Then we wandered along to Little Venice (St Leu quarter) where all the bistros were, past it to the Les Hortillonages (floating gardens).
In reality it was a riverside allotment, but every year in June they ply their trade on the river in traditional costume. On our walk back we met two couples from Durham and spent ages chatting putting the world to rights.
Having been fleeced €7 for two tiny coffees (15% service charge from a grumpy old sow!) we made a visit to the local supermarket, and then had fun trying to find the bus stop to get us back home!
3 May 2009 - Amiens
We started the day with a very leisurely breakfast of croissants and pain au chocolate, delivered by the local baker.
The rest of the day was spent chilling out reading and pottering about. We now had a full fridge so felt a bit more relaxed.
2 May 2009 - Amiens
Today we set off for our next destination of Amiens. It only took about an hour and the staff when we got there were really friendly.
They gave us directions to the local shops, but they ended up being a bit rough and you knew you were being watched. We’ve since found out we should have carried on a bit further as we ended up on an estate – felt a bit like home!
When we got back we laid out our picnic blanket and got settled as the sun was out.
1 May 2009 – Le Crotoy
Dean collected our croissants and baguettes, and we had our first breakfast in France! Then we cycled into the village of Le Crotoy along their cycle route that was heavily used.
We didn’t think anything would be open as it was a Bank Holiday here but it was heaving! There was a market going on and loads of fish, vegetable and clothes stalls to tempt you. As we had no food to speak of having dumped most of it as we were overweight, Dean plucked up the courage to try and buy the last chicken only to find out it was reserved!
There was one vegetable and cheese stall left open so we ended up with a vegetable stir fry, followed by cheese and bread in the evening – very nice...
30th April 2009
After a short bus ride into Folkestone first thing in the morning we got our book and were back at the campsite ready for the off. We were booked on the 13:55hrs ferry and checked in an hour before as stated. We were waved straight through the French and English control and only had to stop at the check in to confirm our details. We then proceeded to lane 161 and waited to be boarded.
We finally boarded and got a seat at the front of the ferry. Angela had a Gin & Tonic and I had a bottle of Coke. We sat and looked at our French maps for a while and then we went to have a meal. We had Chicken Tikka Massala, poppadoms and pickles followed by a small tub of Cornish Ice Cream. We were just about finished when the call came through for all drivers to return to their vehicles.
The crossing was very calm and we arrived in the Port of Calais to lovely sunshine. We are heading for a place called Le Crotoy in the Somme region.
29th April 2009
We left Oxford this morning and headed to Black Horse Farm Caravan Club site just outside Folkestone. We are staying for one night here ready for our ferry crossing from Dover to Calais tomorrow. It is only 20 minutes to the port.
We had a pleasant stay here and met some other motor homers that were about to travel to France. We were told about an organisation called ACSI which if in it, it would give you access to sites all over Europe for 11, 13 or 15 Euros per night. The details were in a book that could be purchased online or from the shop in Folkestone.
Later that afternoon we walked up to the local pub had a pint then walked back via the shop to get a few provisions. We had a meal and then retired ready for our big day.
27th April 2009
We collected the van from storage and headed back to the campsite in Oxford. Before we drove in we decided to go on the weighbridge at Redbridge. Oh oh! Mass panic, we were over our legal limit albeit by 20kg’s. This was without a full tank of fresh water (100ltrs) 1 litre =1 kg. We also had to put our mountain bikes on the back!
This called for more drastic measures to see what we could get rid of to get under the weight limit. We were booked on the ferry to France in three days time so we had to get it sorted. We went through all of our belongings and managed to get rid of some more non essential items back to Dean’s Mum’s.
We filled up with water, put the bikes on and went back onto the weighbridge.....
This time we were 4060kgs! Although we were still over by 60kgs we worked it out that we could travel without water in the tank and be under, water will be available when we get to our campsites. We are carrying lots of tins of food and jars of cooking sauces, when we start to eat these we will start to come down in weight.
Then we can stock up on beer and wine when we return at the end of July!
April 2009
For those of you that are following our adventure the story so far is as follows......................
We arrived back home in Oxford after our tour of The Lake District and Scotland on the 2nd April. We spent 4 nights at Oxford Caravan & Camping Club site before putting the van into storage. The reason we did not go straight into storage was because we had far too much stuff on the van and needed to off load some back to Dean’s Mum’s. We were going to go on the public weighbridge at Redbridge recycling centre to check our weight as we did not want to incur a fine if found overweight by the authorities. Our Gross Vehicle Weight is 4oookg. We never got round to it as we thought that there is no way we would be over our limit bearing in mind there is just the two of us!!!!
We eventually moved the van into storage and spent 3 weeks at Dean’s Mum’s. Once again we were spoilt rotten (Thanks Mum), she could not do enough for us and made us feel more than welcome, and she also had a few odd jobs for Dean to do.
During our stay we had to take the van back to the dealer’s workshop in Taunton to have a few items fixed under warranty, as we were travelling back to the storage depot we had a bad experience on the A34. We had just come off the M4 at the Chievely junction and within a few miles on the A34 the vehicle in front of us lost its load! My initial thought was that the load heading towards us as we were travelling at 60mph in the outside lane was lengths of 4x2 wood; fortunately it turned out to be lengths of fibreglass tubes. We managed to keep calm and pulled into the next lay by as did the vehicle that lost its load. After having a good look around our van we noticed some minor damage to part of our skirting on the passenger’s side. The damage was only cosmetic and the van was still drivable, we exchanged details with the driver, took pictures and set off again for the storage depot.
We thought the accident was bad enough but what followed later that afternoon was just the icing on the cake!
On our way to the storage we phoned our brother-in-law (sorry John) to see if he would be able to collect us and take us home, he said he could but was not sure where it was. As we got nearer we were going to text him the post code and meet onsite. As we got just outside the storage depot we saw John and he followed us in. We gathered our belongings, shut the van up, set the alarm and drove off. We just left the depot when Angela said that she had forgotten the accident details so we had to go back. As we were returning we noticed a police car racing up the road. John suddenly said that they were probably looking for him! After getting the accident details from the van we set off again. We had only gone about a mile down the road when another police car went racing past us in the opposite direction. John seemed to be checking his rear view mirror and said again that they were after him!
I looked in the wing mirror and saw the police car carry out a U turn and began to race towards us, as they got near they put on the sirens and flashing lights and pulled us over!!!
A large policeman walked up to my door, I wound down the window and he said that there had been an incident at the nearby Airfield and that the security guard reported a suspicious character driving a car similar to the one we were in!
After taking all of our particulars he went away to call into the police control room to make sure we were who we said we were. John told us that as he did not know where the van was stored so he had a drive around. He parked by the main gate to the airfield and was approached by a man not in any uniform and showing no identity card. He asked John what he was doing there. John replied waiting for his brother in law. He was then asked what my name was. John did not tell him and drove away.
The policeman returned after all of our details checked out, I told him that my wife and I had just put our van into storage and that John was doing us a favour by picking us up. The policeman then said that we could go as there must have been some misunderstanding........you’re not kidding!!!
We finally got back home to Dean’s mum’s and had an uneventful stay until we collected the van from storage on the 27th April.
We were heading for a campsite that had been recommended to us by friends we’d made in Taunton, but first we wanted to go back into Limoges to go to the big Carrefour supermarket to try and get some blasted chairs!
Old Jack (Sat Nav) got us there but there was no way of deciphering how you got into the car park, and Jack had already sent us up and down the same road three times so we gave up and drove back to one ‘we’d seen earlier’ in St Junien.
Success at last, as we are now the proud owners of two La Fuma chairs that only weigh 6.5kg in total (weight is a very serious issue for us)!
Back on the road again, we finally turned up on site around 4pm to be greeted by the English owners (Bob & Di) who were absolute angels. It was surprising considering we had not been there more than an hour when we developed a serious gas leak from our ‘van – this was from the system that is supposed to be one of the safest and easiest to use! A couple of ‘phone calls to the UK later, Dean had to disconnect one of the bottles, go ‘up field’ of everyone and release the gas...at least now we’re safe!
Dean had been driving for quite a few days so he was really looking forward to a restful evening, but we had the mother of a thunderstorm that came back twice! The electric went off twice but we survived and our plan of getting up early to take advantage of the cool morning never materialised...
10 May 2009 – Bonnac-la-Cote
Well, we’re now getting a bit adventurous and decided we’d pluck a campsite out of the other book bought from the Caravan Club. All was going well because we had blind faith in the directions, and when the campsite did not appear we just kept on going! This was a good strategy as it turned up in the next village along....alas, to still be closed.
We appeared to be going round in circles (as during these last few days we’ve been trying to buy two chairs so we can sit outside. This is not as easy as it sounds as they need to be all things to all men, and as light as a wafer) so out came our trusty ACSI book and we plumped for a site as close to Limoges as you can get.
We picked a blinder – you pulled up and called into reception where a beautiful cat was soaking up the rays. The gentleman behind the counter was everything you would expect from a Frenchman - elegant with a scarf round his neck, faint smell of cigars and a lovely friendly smile. One night was paid for and we were able to choose our pitch.
The site was in the grounds of a 9th Century chateau, and you were able to walk around the gardens. The chap came out and showed us where there was a lake so we wandered down there, then came back and there began another leisurely evening.
9 May 2009 – Bourges
First time on an Aire!!
These are areas set up by the French where motorhomes can stay the night for free or a nominal charge, say €3 to replenish your water etc. You really are looked after over here.
When we arrived there were about five ‘homes there but by the end of the evening another ten had turned up. It was sandwiched in between the rugby stadium and the skateboard rink, but not one drunken idiot or any trouble at all.
As we were new to this scenario we hadn’t left the van, which was a shame as when we left the town of Bourges looked well worth a visit.
8 May 2009 – Les Andelys
Today we donned our walking shoes and went off in search of the view point over Le Petit Andelys. When you got to the top you could see the Seine in all its beauty, the hospital and the wonderful village below.
When we got back we had new neighbours - two couples from Yorkshire who were on their way back home. They told us about the large river cruiser that would be departing Les Andelys later in the afternoon back to Paris. We had seen it arrive the first day we were here, but we thought it might be nice to see it leave....the allotted time of 5.30 came and went and frankly, by 6pm we couldn’t be bothered to wait!
7 May 2009 – Les Andelys
Armed with the camera this time, we ventured off along the Seine again and as the sun was shining we captured some amazing scenery. The local hospital cum retirement home is a magnificent building, and we just wandered around the village taking loads of photos. Coming back we got the picnic blanket out, sampled some local cider and read our books!
6 May 2009 – Les Andelys
Set off fairly early for Les Andelys, just south of Rouen and what a bonus that turned out to be! Having stocked up at Carrefour on food and drink (decided against buying some camping chairs, paying for it now) we originally booked in for one night.
The backdrop to the campsite was of the Chateau Gaillard that was built by the English...to keep the French out! Good job we did not succeed.
Then we went for a walk along the River Seine that backs onto the campsite and it is beautiful – the old houses and street lamps that are along the bank are a real treat, then as you walk into Le Petit Andelys there is a florist, butcher and baker that are very picturesque. On our return to the campsite we booked for a further 2 nights.
5 May 2009 - Amiens
Woke up this morning to the news our English neighbours had been broken into during the night. They and three other units had the rubber seal removed from a window, and whatever was nearby stolen. Sadly for them their spare keys were pinched which leaves them pretty vulnerable.
We spent the day tidying up the van ready for moving on tomorrow. Our neighbours misfortune made us have a rethink about storage of all our stuff. We had got a bit complacent, thinking we were safe on a campsite so it has been a wake-up call.
In the evening we raised a glass to Ivor (Dean’s dad) in the evening as it was the 5th anniversary of his death. How time goes by!
4 May 2009 - Amiens
We ventured into Amiens town centre today on the bus. Everything was going smoothly right into town until the bus inspectors got on to check tickets. Nobody told us you had to validate the ‘ticket’ in the machine, so all we handed over were effectively two blank pieces of paper!
Luckily, we were at our stop and as we showed them we had come from a campsite he just let us get off. As none of us could communicate I think that was his only option.
We visited the Notre Dame Cathedral that amongst other things hosts the ‘Weeping Angel’ statue. It was made famous in WW1 when the Allied soldiers sent postcards of it home – apparently it struck a chord with them at the time.
Then we wandered along to Little Venice (St Leu quarter) where all the bistros were, past it to the Les Hortillonages (floating gardens).
In reality it was a riverside allotment, but every year in June they ply their trade on the river in traditional costume. On our walk back we met two couples from Durham and spent ages chatting putting the world to rights.
Having been fleeced €7 for two tiny coffees (15% service charge from a grumpy old sow!) we made a visit to the local supermarket, and then had fun trying to find the bus stop to get us back home!
3 May 2009 - Amiens
We started the day with a very leisurely breakfast of croissants and pain au chocolate, delivered by the local baker.
The rest of the day was spent chilling out reading and pottering about. We now had a full fridge so felt a bit more relaxed.
2 May 2009 - Amiens
Today we set off for our next destination of Amiens. It only took about an hour and the staff when we got there were really friendly.
They gave us directions to the local shops, but they ended up being a bit rough and you knew you were being watched. We’ve since found out we should have carried on a bit further as we ended up on an estate – felt a bit like home!
When we got back we laid out our picnic blanket and got settled as the sun was out.
1 May 2009 – Le Crotoy
Dean collected our croissants and baguettes, and we had our first breakfast in France! Then we cycled into the village of Le Crotoy along their cycle route that was heavily used.
We didn’t think anything would be open as it was a Bank Holiday here but it was heaving! There was a market going on and loads of fish, vegetable and clothes stalls to tempt you. As we had no food to speak of having dumped most of it as we were overweight, Dean plucked up the courage to try and buy the last chicken only to find out it was reserved!
There was one vegetable and cheese stall left open so we ended up with a vegetable stir fry, followed by cheese and bread in the evening – very nice...
30th April 2009
After a short bus ride into Folkestone first thing in the morning we got our book and were back at the campsite ready for the off. We were booked on the 13:55hrs ferry and checked in an hour before as stated. We were waved straight through the French and English control and only had to stop at the check in to confirm our details. We then proceeded to lane 161 and waited to be boarded.
We finally boarded and got a seat at the front of the ferry. Angela had a Gin & Tonic and I had a bottle of Coke. We sat and looked at our French maps for a while and then we went to have a meal. We had Chicken Tikka Massala, poppadoms and pickles followed by a small tub of Cornish Ice Cream. We were just about finished when the call came through for all drivers to return to their vehicles.
The crossing was very calm and we arrived in the Port of Calais to lovely sunshine. We are heading for a place called Le Crotoy in the Somme region.
29th April 2009
We left Oxford this morning and headed to Black Horse Farm Caravan Club site just outside Folkestone. We are staying for one night here ready for our ferry crossing from Dover to Calais tomorrow. It is only 20 minutes to the port.
We had a pleasant stay here and met some other motor homers that were about to travel to France. We were told about an organisation called ACSI which if in it, it would give you access to sites all over Europe for 11, 13 or 15 Euros per night. The details were in a book that could be purchased online or from the shop in Folkestone.
Later that afternoon we walked up to the local pub had a pint then walked back via the shop to get a few provisions. We had a meal and then retired ready for our big day.
27th April 2009
We collected the van from storage and headed back to the campsite in Oxford. Before we drove in we decided to go on the weighbridge at Redbridge. Oh oh! Mass panic, we were over our legal limit albeit by 20kg’s. This was without a full tank of fresh water (100ltrs) 1 litre =1 kg. We also had to put our mountain bikes on the back!
This called for more drastic measures to see what we could get rid of to get under the weight limit. We were booked on the ferry to France in three days time so we had to get it sorted. We went through all of our belongings and managed to get rid of some more non essential items back to Dean’s Mum’s.
We filled up with water, put the bikes on and went back onto the weighbridge.....
This time we were 4060kgs! Although we were still over by 60kgs we worked it out that we could travel without water in the tank and be under, water will be available when we get to our campsites. We are carrying lots of tins of food and jars of cooking sauces, when we start to eat these we will start to come down in weight.
Then we can stock up on beer and wine when we return at the end of July!
April 2009
For those of you that are following our adventure the story so far is as follows......................
We arrived back home in Oxford after our tour of The Lake District and Scotland on the 2nd April. We spent 4 nights at Oxford Caravan & Camping Club site before putting the van into storage. The reason we did not go straight into storage was because we had far too much stuff on the van and needed to off load some back to Dean’s Mum’s. We were going to go on the public weighbridge at Redbridge recycling centre to check our weight as we did not want to incur a fine if found overweight by the authorities. Our Gross Vehicle Weight is 4oookg. We never got round to it as we thought that there is no way we would be over our limit bearing in mind there is just the two of us!!!!
We eventually moved the van into storage and spent 3 weeks at Dean’s Mum’s. Once again we were spoilt rotten (Thanks Mum), she could not do enough for us and made us feel more than welcome, and she also had a few odd jobs for Dean to do.
During our stay we had to take the van back to the dealer’s workshop in Taunton to have a few items fixed under warranty, as we were travelling back to the storage depot we had a bad experience on the A34. We had just come off the M4 at the Chievely junction and within a few miles on the A34 the vehicle in front of us lost its load! My initial thought was that the load heading towards us as we were travelling at 60mph in the outside lane was lengths of 4x2 wood; fortunately it turned out to be lengths of fibreglass tubes. We managed to keep calm and pulled into the next lay by as did the vehicle that lost its load. After having a good look around our van we noticed some minor damage to part of our skirting on the passenger’s side. The damage was only cosmetic and the van was still drivable, we exchanged details with the driver, took pictures and set off again for the storage depot.
We thought the accident was bad enough but what followed later that afternoon was just the icing on the cake!
On our way to the storage we phoned our brother-in-law (sorry John) to see if he would be able to collect us and take us home, he said he could but was not sure where it was. As we got nearer we were going to text him the post code and meet onsite. As we got just outside the storage depot we saw John and he followed us in. We gathered our belongings, shut the van up, set the alarm and drove off. We just left the depot when Angela said that she had forgotten the accident details so we had to go back. As we were returning we noticed a police car racing up the road. John suddenly said that they were probably looking for him! After getting the accident details from the van we set off again. We had only gone about a mile down the road when another police car went racing past us in the opposite direction. John seemed to be checking his rear view mirror and said again that they were after him!
I looked in the wing mirror and saw the police car carry out a U turn and began to race towards us, as they got near they put on the sirens and flashing lights and pulled us over!!!
A large policeman walked up to my door, I wound down the window and he said that there had been an incident at the nearby Airfield and that the security guard reported a suspicious character driving a car similar to the one we were in!
After taking all of our particulars he went away to call into the police control room to make sure we were who we said we were. John told us that as he did not know where the van was stored so he had a drive around. He parked by the main gate to the airfield and was approached by a man not in any uniform and showing no identity card. He asked John what he was doing there. John replied waiting for his brother in law. He was then asked what my name was. John did not tell him and drove away.
The policeman returned after all of our details checked out, I told him that my wife and I had just put our van into storage and that John was doing us a favour by picking us up. The policeman then said that we could go as there must have been some misunderstanding........you’re not kidding!!!
We finally got back home to Dean’s mum’s and had an uneventful stay until we collected the van from storage on the 27th April.
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