A light hearted and (I hope) amusing record of some of our Campervan Trips.
It is mainly intended to inform friends and family where we are, plus, to keep our children updated on what is happening to their inheritance.
I do try to include details of Camp Sites and Aires, we visit. Checkout the "labels" listed in the right margin,
Please comment if you feel inclined, at least then I know I am not talking to myself (again).
Saturday 12th September 2015 We have had rain over night. The weather forecaste says today will start dry and bright (19C), with rain and, possibly, thunder by 14:00. We have not had the thunder, but, otherwise it is as predicted. We find the Lidl, so, Kathleen is made up, Church, Lidl and enough amps for unrestrained hair dryer use, what more could you want? A short (4 mile) bicycle ride along the banks of the River Soane, justifies the bacon sandwiches for lunch. I had noticed, in passing, that there seems to be a dis-proportionately high number of people with one or more German Shepard dogs on the site. Today, as we rode along the Soane, we discovered why. There is some form of "Dog Show" event going on, and it seems to be 100% German Shepard dogs. The highlight appears to be a timed walk around a marked out route (sorry if I am sounding remotely interested). I do hope they are being awarded double points for picking up their pets crap, and, triple points for actually depositing it in a bin. Sunday 13th September 2015 Cloudy start, but, not raining. Sunny with cloud by 10:00 and 20C. It stays sunny until 15:30, when it clouds over, we have few massive thunder claps, but, no rain. The sky clears again. Then at 18:00 we have a massive thunderstorm, fortunately, Kathleen is watching out of the window, and notices, the rain is coming down faster than it can run off our awning. A big bulge of water is collecting in it, and, it is beginning to sag. Someone (ie me) has to go outside, in the rain, tip the water out of the awning and adjust the slope, so the water runs off faster. Sunday of course means church for Kathleen. Sunday lunch to follow, so, my task is to choose somewhere to eat. The town is absolutely buzzing, there is a market in the square outside of the church, which spreads into the side streets leading off the square. Mostly fruit and vegetables, but a couple of stalls selling fresh fish and, a couple selling baskets. There is another large square outside of the town hall, with a couple of restaurants, quieter and more pleasant away from the crush of the market. We have a very pleasant lunch in the sunshine. By the time we have eaten our main course and drunk a bottle of Rose between us, Kathleen is up for practising her French on the young waiter who comes to take our dessert order.
Friday 11th September 2015 Not a pleasant journey. The Sat-Nav plotted a route via excellent free motorway and (mostly) dual carriageway. Kathleen plotted a route which was approximately 30 miles shorter. Kathleen's route was the middle one, in grey on the map on the left.
127 miles of map rustling complaints. Then, to cap it all, just short of Chalon-sur-Soane, on the sat-nav route, there were major road works, the road was closed and a diversion in place. In true French style, there was only one diversion sign, ie the one directing you off the main road, after that, you were on your own. Of course, there was no way (without live traffic data) to foresee this last bit of bad luck, but, definately Kathleen 1, Sat Nav 0. Eventually, we arrive, at lunch time. The good news is, the site (Camping Du Pont de Bourgogne) is excellent, The weather is superb, clear blue sky, a sunny 24C. All set up, lunch, a pleasant stroll into Chalon-sur-Soane, which appears to be an interesting and lively place. Churches found, mass times determined, it looks like we will be here until Monday at least.
Thursday 10th September 2015 The day starts bright but cool (14C), but, it is soon a bright and sunny, 24C.
The first priority is to get electric hook-up, our fridge can function on gas, but, not Kathleen;s hair dryer and straighteners.
Fortunately, a Dutch van departs, promptly, and, we are quick to move into their vacated spot and get ourselves plugged in.
Essentials, ie, hair care, accomplished, our thoughts turn to what to do today.
Yesterday, when out for our evening stroll, we noticed what appeared to be a cycle track along the banks of the river Loire, so, off we went. It started well, but, after about three miles, the track had become to narrow for Kathleen's taste. We retraced our route, back to the campsite, and joined another cycle route I had noticed.
This took us past a large marina area and along the Canal Lateral de Loire, which we followed for about nine miles until we came to a place called Chevenon.
To all of you chaps out there, if you cycle or otherwise pass this way, you must have lunch in the bar restaurant at Chevenon, not only did we have an excellent lunch, including a litre of Rose, all for 10Euro, but, we were served by a waitress with the shortest skirt, highest heels and longest legs I have seen in a very long time. Even Kathleen was impressed.
The restaurant/bar is signposted from the canal path. The distance is given as a very optimistic 800 metres, and, no mention is made of the two hills en-route, but who cares?
We also met two English ladies, of a similar age to ourselves, who were spending their holiday cycling the canals of Burgundy. Would you believe, they came from South Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. A "small world" moment.
When ordering the wine, I did ask for "un demi", but, we received a full litre. Kathleen decreed we could not drink a litre of wine between us, at lunch time, and then cycle back along the canal, without serious risk of falling in. Solution, I emptied the water from my water bottle and filled it with half a litre of Rose, which we drank later, as we rode back to the van.
Wednesday 9th September 2015 We have had a wonderful five days with Brian and Linda, but, today, we say our farewells, they have one more day in Paris, before heading for home. Their plan is a wine and sandwiches picnic on the banks of the Seine. It should be an enjoyable day, it is bright and sunny, all day, with the temperatures climbing to 25C. For anyone thinking of using this campsite, and, perhaps, worrying about access, a little bit of video of our departure. You need to skip over the drive to the service point, and, as you can see, the access roads are not bad, provided you do not encounter a road sweeper, as we did! The sat-nav plots a route more or less through central Paris. Paris inner ring road! It is not too bad at first, but, then, once past La Defence, we seem to spend almost as much time underground as on the surface!
We arrive at Camping de Nevers, at about 16:30, to find it, effectively full! This is the first time this has happened in eight years. We are offered a space down by the river, along with numerous other campervans and caravans which are in this "overflow" area, no electric hook-up is available, and, we do not get a reduction in price, which, does not please Kathleen. But, we have a good view of the Basilica from our pitch, to compensate for the lack of electric hook-up. An evening stroll across the bridge, into Nevers, rounds off the day. Nevers is quite a lively town, lots of eating and drinking places, all busy.
The starts cloudy with sun, cool (15C), but, by 10:00, the cloud has cleared and we have 19C. Good weather for city visiting. We are now so expert at riding the RER into Paris, we can do it without even thinking. We have a little plan, this involves a stroll down the Champs Elleyses, visit Les Invalides, visit Tuileries Gardens and, find a Louis Vuitton shop, which Brian wishes to visit to treat himself to some expensive item. We get off the train at Charles De Gaulle Etoille, and stroll along the Champs Elleyses, soon, Kathleen and Linda disappear in Marks and Spencer. A stroll around a very smart arcade, which contains an odd mix of shops, half are so expensive, we could not possibly shop there, the other half are selling cheap tourist tat, which we would not want to buy. Very attractive arcade however. It is not long before a toilet stop is needed, the girls find a very posh loo, but, are horrified to find it costs 2 Euro EACH, to, as it were, spend a penny. The Louis Vuitton shop in Champs Elleyses have kindly furnished Brian with a map, all nicely contained in a cardboard wallet embossed with their logo. Following the map, we cross the river and head for Les Invalides. Our destination is behind Les Invalides, so, the plan is, after negotiating security at Les Invalides, to walk through Les Invalides, emerging on the other side. Alas, it would appear, you cannot simply "walk through", so, we walk around the outside of the building, and soon, we We find the Louis Vuitton shop. The shop is located within a building called Bon Marche, which has security at the door, complete with metal detector, and, houses several well known "designer label" outlets. This causes Kathleen some amusement, since, in the UK, "Bon Marche" is associated with a rather down market shop for elderly ladies. This is no ordinary shopping outlet, and, accordingly, being served, is a time consuming process, but, we eventually emerge, business concluded, Brian, is now the proud owner of a wallet which is worth more than the money inside it. The area we are in appears to be quite upmarket, but, lacking the "tourist" feel, we are, on the edge of the "Rive Gauche" area, and find a very pleasant, and, it would appear very authentic "Salon de The". Here, we enter into the French way, and spend two and a half hours having a rather pleasant lunch of Gallettes, followed by ice cream, and coffee. We wend our way back to the RER station, via Jardin Tuileries.
Sunday 6th September 2015 We take the RER into Paris, this time to visit one of the Sunday Markets and, Rive Gauche. Vegetable buying is quickly followed by a succession of hat trials by Kathleen and Linda. A stroll through Jardin des Plantes, past the zoo, then coffee, ice cream and a sandwich. Past Notre Dame lingering by the riverside stalls, to buy priceless rare prints of Paris street scenes, who can resist? Until, eventually, hats are purchased in the Rive Gauche area.
Monday 7th September 2015
Brian and Linda take a trip into Paris, to visit Arc de Triomphe. We take a day off from the city and go cycling. We cycle past the Chateau at Maisons Laffitte. Then across the river to where there is an excellent, mostly traffic free cycle track. We go along the Seine approximately 10 miles we think, towards Paris, but, to be honest, the river meanders so much, it is difficult to be sure!
The evening is rounded off with a meal in L'Avenue, Maisons Lafitte, and, very enjoyable too. Our waiter's English is just slightly better than our French, so, much hilarity, but, we all get what we ordered, so, success.
Saturday 5th September 2015. Overcast and cool, but, that is probably ideal for our planned visit to Montemartre area, Kathleen and Linda plan to visit the shops, myself and Brian plan to do anything but, visit the shops. We take the ten minute walk from the Campsite to the RER station. Purchase of our tickets, with the aid of Linda's excellent French is accomplished without a problem, deciding which platform we needed to be on takes a little longer. Change from RER to metro at Charles De Gaulle Etoile, and soon, we are at Pigalle and in Montmartre. We have all been to the Basilica before, so, while the girls concentrate on shopping, Brian and I wander and have coffee. Kathleen and Linda eventually turn up, all shopped out, a light lunch, followed by more wandering the streets of Montmartre. Place de Tetre is particularly interesting, lost of interesting Paris street scenes, Love it.
Friday 4th September 2015 Before leaving Camping St Claire, we have a busy morning: Me: Empty waste water, service toilet, half fill fresh water tank, Kathleen: do her hair I decide, in a moment of madness to set both satnavs for our destination. So, I have three women telling me what to do at every junction, roundabout and motorway exit, ie two satnavs plus Kathleen. Actually, they turn out to be in remarkable harmony.
. For almost the whole journey, the road is good and the traffic is light to almost none existent. At one of the sets of traffic lights we spot this litter lout, see the fag packet being thrown out of the left hand side window. I suppose it goes to show anti-social, thoughtless people are everywhere you go.
We are a little anxious about about driving so close into Central Paris, in the campervan, but, it turns out the approach to Maisons Lafitte is not difficult at all, apart from the last half mile or so, which is through narrow streets, lined with parked cars. It is well signposted, until, we are confronted with a diversion, where some workmen are busy cutting a tree down, so, we must wend our way through a few even narrower streets, to enter Maisons Laffite International. Maisons Lafitte is quite a large campsite, on an island in the river Seine. As "city" campsites go, in our experience, it is remarkably well kept. It is relatively quiet at this time f year, which is how we like it. Reception staff are helpful and friendly, Kathleen emerges not only with details of nearest church and mass times, details of how to get to the nearest RER station, but, also significant details of the receptionists private life and her ambitions to become as school teacher. All of that information was gathered without infringing the Human Rights Act or the Geneva Convention. The helpful receptionist, allocates us a spot near Brian and Linda's prebooked pitch, although they have not yet arrived. We have a river view from the van, with barges and pleasure craft sailing past at regular intervals. Brian and Linda are delayed, they are approaching from the South (Dijon) and have got themselves onto a stretch of toll motorway, with height barriers on the exits. Eventually they escape the motorway and arrive via Versailles. Brian provides the wine, Kathleen, rustles up food for all, and, an evening of eating and drinking follows.
Amusing little scene this morning as we sat eating our breakfast at about 8:30. A "council" pickup truck arrived, towing an industrial shredder. Three workmen emerged. First, they asked the lone German lady campervaner to move her van, they clearly planned to trim the trees behind her van. I expected this to be the end of peace and quiet, chain saws, hedge trimmers, not to mention the shredder. I need not have worried. German lady moved, Workman 1, lit up a cigarette, sat on the towbar of the shredder and smoked. Workman 2, got his sandwiches out and proceeded to munch away. Workman 3, the driver, disappeared in the pickup and, returned, about 15 minutes later with coffees and more food. About two hours later, just before we left, work commenced. Council workers in France are clearly just like their British counterparts.
We had no EHU last night at Montreuil-sur-Mer, that means, no hair dryer or hair straighteners (not for me silly). It is necessary, therefore, to have a night at a campsite so Kathleen's withdrawal symptoms can be brought under control. It is decided that, old faithful Camping Ste Claire at Neufchatel-en-Bray will do very nicely. We arrive to find it pristine as usual. We arrive at lunch time, the site looks almost empty, but, such is it's popularity, by 16:30, it is looking decidely full! 20:30 and, they are still arriving! Sadly, the weather is not kind, it pours with rain until about 16:00, but Kathleen has no difficulty filling her time, planning a route to Maison Lafitte, after she has put the French National Grid to good use. Yesterday, whilst still in England, I visited an M&S Simply Food, to buy a Pizza for tea. I noticed they also had Chocolate Teacakes (not Tunnocks, but, M&S own brand). Kathleen is very partial to Tunnocks chocolate teacakes, so, I bought a pack of 16 of the M&S version. Unknown to me, Kathleen stored them in the fridge, to prevent the chocolate from melting. Today, we had one with our coffee, it was decidedly not upto Tunnock standard. Kathleen decided, that I could eat the remaining 14 (not all at once), since she did not like them. Just in the interests of using them up, I ate a second one. Well, we post war babies remember rationing, we don't like to waste things. I suggested that, perhaps, storing them in the fridge was the problem, so, they were put in the "food" cupboard. Later, in the evening, I had another, it was much better. Kathleen tried one, yes, much better. I am now banned from eating any more.
Wednesday 3rd September 2015 We have plenty of time, so, a leisurely drive to Dover. It is motorway almost all the way, M11, M25, M2.
To M11, and away we go: Very soon after leaving Barton, the traffic slows to a crawl, the opposite carriageway is totally empty of traffic, looks like an accident ahead on the north-bound carriageway.
Sure enough, we soon come upon the scene, a small campervan on it's side, with other motorists trying to get the doors open, there are no emergency services on the scene yet. Despite the new "no stopping" toll system at the Dartford Crossing, there is still a one mile tail back of slow moving traffic. The most exciting thing to happen is at the services on the M2. While sitting having our lunch, we watch a large articulated wagon, attempting to park. I don't feel inclined to comment on the driver's skill level, since I cannot reverse the campervan, with motorcycle trailer attached, but, he was making heavy weather of it. Eventually, he collided with a very smart Marley wagon and trailer outfit, he was trying to park alongside. It is quite a hit, we can see the trailer move with the impact from 200 metres away! When the driver of the Marley wagon returns to his wagon, we decide to play the "goodie" and tell him.
On to Dover, despite dawdling, we arrive too early for out 17:30 ferry and are given the option of taking the 16:45 at same price, or, 16:00 for £20 extra, we opt to pay the £20.
By now, it is raining heavily, with accompanying thunder and lightening.
During the crossing, Kathleen decides to re-organise our journey, it is decided my selection of Baie de Somme aire is too far south, so, another Aire is selected, at Montreuil-sur-Mer. Montreuil turns out to be a very pleasant French town, but, quite why it has the tag "sur-mer", literally, "on sea", is a mystery to us, since it is at least five miles as the crow flies from the coast. The aire is full, given our late evening arrival, that is not really a surprise, but, there is a bus parking area adjacent, which several campervans have "overflowed" into, so, we join them. I can recommend this aire, pleasant town, five minutes walk away, with shops, bars, banks etc. Clean "automatic" public toilets. Free, with services for 2Euro. Plus, it is not isolated and appears to be well used, so, no fears on the security side.
A very leisurely departure, at 09:45, as planned. So far, we do not appear to have forgotten anything, or, if we have, we have not realised it yet! Straight to ASDA, fill with deisel, followed by an uneventful 220 miles to Barton, near Cambridge.
Our stop-over is a Caravan Club, Certified Location (CL), called Birds Farm (12 Haslingfield Road, Barton, Cambridge, CB23 7AG). £10 a night, with EHU and toilets, it is just a short distance off the A14. Of course, proximity to the A14 has a downside, you can hear the traffic noise from the site. I don't expect that to keep me awake, I am a sound sleeper, clear conscience! The final few miles:-
I do not not enjoy the planning and preparation stage, fortunately, despite regular complaints, Kathleen is in her element organising and issuing orders. During a lull in the proceedings, I did my usual, pre departure, inspection of the garden, I am not an enthusiastic gardener. My enthusiasm and interest are limited to sitting in the sun, glass of wine to hand, and looking at the garden. True to form, the most impressive flowers this year, the sunflowers, are there by pure chance. I feed the birds with sunflower seeds, the birds, having appalling table manners, drop some, and, we get sunflowers scattered at random about the garden.
During our trips away, the garden has been left to fend for itself. Of late, daughter Claire has donned her gardening gloves and cut the grass etc, and, our neighbour, Steve, is kind enough to run the lawnmower over the grass between Claire's visits. This has made my task, of restoring order on our return, much easier. So, with garden tidy, campervan packed, bicycles loaded (no trailer and scooter this trip), we are ready to go. We have our usual sketchy plan:
a leisurely drive to Cambridge, on Tuesday
stop off at a Caravan Club CL on Tuesday evening
drive the remaining distance to Dover on Wednesday
catch our pre-booked Dover -> Calais ferry
drive to Baie de Somme to sleep, Wednesday evening
Thursday, find somewhere to stay en-route to Paris
Friday, meet up with brother Brian and his wife, Linda at Maison Lafitte, near Paris, where we have a pre-booked site
For us, this is actually very organised, in fact, I think it is the most organised we have ever been, usually, we have no more than our channel crossing booked. Finally, I have been experimenting with a new format of blog (copied from a Caravanning friend, thank you Doug). I plan to update both versions of the blog on this trip, time permitting. The new style blog can be found at www.tinyurl.com/KenAndKathleen
I will be interested to hear your opinion, as to which format you prefer, if you care to comment.
A leisurely start, to let the early morning traffic clear, all of those people going to some place called "work", I don't know what they see in it myself.
An easy 139 miles, negotiating Rouen like we have done it before (which of course we have), to our old regular, Camping St Claire, Neufchatel-en-Bray.
I know, I always sing the praises of this place, but, it really has a lot going for it.
The owner and his wife, keep the place pristine, it is only 14Euro (£10.50) a night, plus, it is an easy two hour drive from here to Calais.
Finally, if all that is not enough, for the dog owners, there is, I am told, a convenient vet in the town, who will do the necessary for travelling dogs, cheaper than the Vets in Calais.
First task is to book ourselves a ferry, for our return trip. Many people we have met on our travels swear by the Caravan Club. If my experience is anything to go by, I cannot endorse that. I first check on old favourite ferrysavers, and find a price of £69, Dunkirk->Dover, for van and trailer. Caravan Club come up with a price of £109! When I point out, I can get a better price myself, they come up with £63 for the same crossing I found on Ferrysavers. So, I have "saved" £6, but, I had to do all of the work, plus, I had to do the transaction via telephone, because their website cannot deal with booking for Campervans with Trailers. The last I find amazing, what is a car and caravan, except a car with a big trailer?
Moan over, time for a glass of Red!
For a blow by blow account, until the Camera runs out of memory:
A sunny day, but, cool compared to what we have been used to at about 16C, the penalty of being so far north I suppose.
Once breakfast is over, and the debris from last nights pizzas and wine drinking is cleared away, I get the folding bicycles out, and we go cycling along the "Voie Vert", for a very pleasant 15 miles.
The cycle track here was always very good, but, it has been even further improved.
There is a better tarmac surface, a couple of new cafes (in restored trackside buildings from the railway days), and a new picnic area with toilets, picnic tables. There is even an undercover picnic table, in case it rains!.
These are all new additions, since our last visit here, approximately one year ago.
We cycle in the direction of "Forges des Eaux", which about 18 kilometres (11 miles)away, although, we don't actually go all of the way there ( we have done in the past, when the legs were younger).
One of the couples who are our neighbours, head off in the opposite direction, toward Dieppe, which is about 34 kilometers (20 miles) away. I have frequently tried to talk Kathleen into attempting this, but, without success.
Our neighbours, on their return, report that the cycle track does not actually go all of the way to Dieppe, the last few miles being on the road, so, perhaps it is not such a good idea after all.
I think, however, I will still keep working at getting Kathleen to cycle to the end of the cycle track!
Sunday, 19th April 2015 Bright and sunny, but, with a brisk wind from the north, not very warm, only 16C.
Kathleen is off to church.
After three months of heavy relaxation, we decide to spend the day, taking it easy!
Monday, 20th April 2015
A leisurely drive to Dunkirk with a little last minute, wine shopping.
Kathleen cannot resist a final few bottles of her favourite Rose wine, but, the bottle are loose with no boxes.
Kathleen's solution, is to put them in the bed, to stop them rolling around and rattling.
At the ferry port, unusually, in our experience, they actually check the van for "stowaways". This involves a Security man searching the van, quite what he thinks of a British Pensioner who takes her wine to bed with her, he does not say.
Back in the UK, the M25 is actually moving, even the Dartford Crossing has only slow moving queues, thanks, presumably to the new toll system.
Once we are sure we can make it that far, Kathleen rings the Caravan Club Site, Commons Wood, at Welwyn Garden City. They are, as always, extremely helpful, and arrange to be available to check us in at our estimated arrival time of 08:00pm.
Tuesday, 21st April 2015 Except for a puncture, in one of the trailer tyres, an uneventful journey home. Fortunately, we carry a spare wheel for the trailer, so, other than the half hour delay, to change the wheel, no problem.
A very pleasant surprise on our return, daughter Claire has cut the lawns regularly, in our absence, so, we are not faced with the usual major grass cutting job!
