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).
A brilliantly sunny day at Camping Bon Accueil, Alzingen. Yesterday, while chatting to an English couple, on the site (a much younger couple than us), Kathleen acquired a map, showing several cycle routes, around Luxembourg. Although the map looks well used, it is unclear, from the conversation, if they had actually completed any of the routes. It is not a good start that we cannot find the campsite on the map. Undeterred, we set off.
We are (we think), following Cycle Route 1, along the River Alvette, toward Luxembourg City, the route is excellent, almost level, with a smooth tarmac surface. Soon, we even come to the outskirts of Luxembourg City, although, on the downside, the "almost level" has gone, and we encounter some steep hills, as the route leaves the river bank. A downhill stretch, which, in the way of these things, does not seem nearly as significant as the hills we have gone up, and, we regain the river bank, in a very pleasant park.
A little break, and a drink of water, refreshes us for the next phase. The map suggests, we simply follow Route 1, along the river, until we reach the junction with Route 15, which we achieve with only one small error. The map then shows a steep ascent, certainly no error there, the hill is 1 in 5 for about half a mile, a short level section, and then it goes up again for about a mile. We are off the bikes and pushing by now of course. Only moderate complaints. There are signposts, but, the places named are not on our map. We eventually find what we think is the way, but, soon realise, we are wrong. We are in a rather smart urban area, and there are two builders working on a property. Unfortunately, they are Portuguese, and, although very pleasant, they are as unfamiliar with the area as we are. Eventually, by sheer chance, or, was it excellent navigating by me?, we encounter the riverside park again, and are able to retrace our route, back to the campsite. Twenty three miles and we have seen lots of the Luxembourg countryside. Friday, 9th September 2016
The road selected by the Sat-Nav was closed. The diversion had a low bridge, too low for us, the Sat-Nav did not pick it up, resulting in a three point turn in a small village. The remainder of the journey was completed, Sat-Navless, and in more or less silence. Enough said on this subject, it is sensitive. Kathleen and the old-fashioned map got us here. We have been to Saverne many years ago, before our campervan travels. It is more or less as we remembered it, very pretty and lively. The site, Seasonova Les Portes d'Alsace, N46 43' 52" E7 21' 19", is an ASCI site, and, only 15Euro/night. It is also very pleasant. The weather is excellent, sunny, and 27C.
We have, what we hope, is an excellent spot, with a view of the nextdoor Equestrian Centre, where children are being instructed in horse riding.
One slight downside to the site, is, it is at the top of a rather long hill, when coming from the Town Centre. But, we have the scooter.
A ride into town, for coffee and ice-cream, and a chance to watch the boats on the canal which passes through the town-centre. There are two boats passing through the lock. It is apparent, that the two women, in the first boat, have never used a lock before! The big question is, will the well endowed woman lose her, rather skimpy, bikini top, as she struggles to throw the mooring rope over the bollard? Kathleen tells me, the woman has a pot belly, can't say I had noticed. The French chap, in the boat behind, shouts instructions to them, and, eventually, the succeed in exiting the lock.
Wednesday 7th September, 2016 One of our "plans" was to visit Saverne, a place we went to several years ago, when we were still working, and spent our holidays touring Europe by car. Last night, we entered the details into the Sat-Nav, to see how far it was from Le Cateau en Cambresis. At 300+ miles, a little bit more than we wanted to drive today was the answer. But, I did notice that the Sat-Nav calculated route took us via Belgium and Luxembourg.
I recalled, we had stayed at a rather pleasant campsite, in Luxembourg, on a previous trip, and so, it was decided, we would go to Luxembourg, approximately 150 miles. A combination of the one hour time difference, and, the previous two days of driving catching up with me (well, I am getting on a bit), means we "sleep in" and are not out of bed until a disgraceful 8:30.
Not to worry, a mostly traffic free journey, with a stop for a lunch break.
I don't usually make a "big thing" of driving "incidents", after all, for anyone who travels by road a lot, they are common place, the world is full of idiots, but, here is a supreme bit of idiot overtaking. This Renault Clio overtakes me, despite a large wagon, towing an equally large trailer, coming toward us at speed, on a single carriageway.
At least the lane markings are on his side! I bet he needed a change of underwear when he got home, at least, if he got home, with driving like that!
We arrive at Alzingen, Camping Bon Accueil, N49 50'22" E6 9'36", shortly after lunch-time. An ACSI site, 17Euro/night. It is sunny and hot, 27C. Video of Journey.
Tuesday, 6th September 2016. Canterbury Park and Ride, New Dover Road. The Canterbury Aire was remarkably quiet overnight, so, an excellent nights sleep. We are out of bed, not too early, breakfasted and ready to go by 8:00. It is surprisingly warm, but, cloudy. I walk across to the "office" building, where the payment machine is located, pay my £4, and the machine verifies the ticket, too allow us to exit the barrier, or, so I think. There are two exit barriers, side by side, as we arrive, another Campervan is at one barrier, with the occupant feeding their ticket into the slot marked "tickets". We pull up at the second barrier. It is clear, "campervan 1" has a problem, the barrier will not open. We try, no joy, the machine keeps displaying the message "ticket entered wrong way up". Despite trying all four variations of "right way up", no barriers open. In the few minutes this little pantomime has been in progress, two more vans have arrived to exit the barrier. There is a "help" button, this summons a "voice" which tells us resubmit the ticket in various orientations (all of which we have already tried). By now, we have a positive gaggle of excited OAP's, all anxious to be on their way. One lady suggests our chances are not good, since the "help" button is probably connecting us to a call centre in India.
Eventually, a pleasant chap arrives, he clearly had a very quick flight, or, he was not, in fact, in India. He examines our tickets, and has no explanation, other than, "they have changed the system recently", moral of the story, "if it ain't broken, do not fix it". The pleasant chap summons the control room, and, barriers are raised manually, to let us out. An easy drive to Dover, and, we are on the ferry at 10:00. But, dissatisfaction is in the air, normally, when loading, we are directed up a ramp and, onto the ship.
Today, along with dozens of other Campervans and Caravans, we are directed down a ramp and into the bowels of the ship. Worse is to come, we are not even in one of the middle rows, which will get off first, but, we get the worst of the worst, ie, last in the row, on the far right.
Kathleen is displeased. Otherwise, the crossing is totally smooth and uneventful.
We dock on time at 12:30, UK time, 13:30 French time. But, since we are, almost, last off the ship, there are several hundred vehicles making their way to the A25, and, they are all in front of us! True, we are arriving Dunkirk, not Calais, but, contrary to media reports, there are no hold ups, and not an immigrant to be seen.
We stop off for lunch and then drive to one our regular stop overs, LeCateau-en-Cambresis (N 50.10206, E 3.55513). It is sunny and a quite sultry 25C. Another culinary masterpiece is produced by Kathleen (and Patak's), in double quick time. The journey, Canterbury to Le Cateau-en-Cambresis
Excellent journey, traffic moving all of the way, amazingly, no road works, and, weather warm and sunny. We have been told about Canterbury, New Dover Road, Park and Ride. Amazingly for the UK, they have created a Motorhome Aire, where you can stop off, before/after taking the Ferry (or Tunnel, although it is some distance from the Tunnel). It is certainly proving popular, when we arrive, the designated area is full, and an "overflow" area is in operation (with spaces available). For once, Google let us down, the Postcode given did not take us to the correct place, Co-ordinates are N51 15'46" : E1 5' 57". It is simple to operate, on arrival, take a ticket, at the barrier. Shortly before you leave, pay using your ticket, at the pay machine. Machines take cash only (including Notes) and give change if necessary. This is not the end of the story, but, we do not know it yet, see tomorrows entry! This is I suspect the longest drive of our trip, at approximately 350 miles, with a brief stop for lunch, we arrive at about 17:00. Kathleen quickly dons her Masterchef outfit, and, with a combination of her culinary skills, and the advent of home freezer technology, has a Lamb Dinner, on the table by 18:00, as she never tires of telling me, she is a marvel. The Journey, as it unfolds.
We have not used motorcycle trailer for over a year, plus, experience so far with scooter and two full sized bicycles loaded, has not been trouble free. Trying a new method this time, making use of Thule bicycle carrier to make mounting of bicycles more secure (hopefully). We did a thirty mile trial run today (Wednesday 31st August 2016), and all appears to be well. Thursday, and it is the 1st of September, according to the BBC Weather report, this is the first day of "Meteorological Autumn", whatever that may be, at the very least, it means it is the end of Summer. It is certainly cooler in the mornings, and, the forecast suggests "unsettled weather, with showers". It is therefore necessary to get on with the final garden tidying, while the sun shines.
By Sunday, 4th September, the garden is looking a little dismal, in the steady drizzle, which has been falling for 36 hours so far, supposedly, it is going to be "brighter later!". But, the garden is tidy, if wet, and, I am sure, Claire (or someone) will ensure the grass is cut, in our absence. If it is possible, we appear to have done even less planning than usual! The "Plan", such as it is, consists of:
Travel to Canterbury, Monday, 5th September
We have been told, there are facilities to "overnight" at Canterbury Park-and-Ride, so, that is what we intend to do, we have no "just in case" plan, so, hopefully, all will be well.
Ferry, Dover -> Dunkirk, Tuesday, 6th September, 10:00am, so, that should be a leisurely start.
Drive east, towards Saverne.
whatever.........Strasbourg, Tournos have been mentioned ......
Tuesday, 28th June 2016 Another bus outing, this time to Matlock. This is slightly more adventurous, we need to take the bus to Ashbourne, then, take another bus to Matlock. It takes an hour to travel from Ashbourne to Matlock, and, small wonder, we go on a scenic tour via Carsington Water and numerous small villages, which are located along equally small roads. The bus leaves Ashbourne with four passengers, including us, one person gets off at one of the small villages. No-one gets on at any of the places we pass through, and that is it. Clearly, this is not a money making venture!
Matlock is a very pleasant surprise. A busy small town, all very neat, and with a beautifully kept park in the middle of town, South Shields Council, please take note. This brings back childhood memories of how South Shields parks USED to be. One point to note, Matlock is very hilly, it is built on the very steep valley side of the river Derwent. This becomes relevant. Having had our fill of strolling around Matlock, my thoughts turn to lunch, or, as Kathleen frequently tells me, my thoughts seldom stray too far from my stomach. A quick visit to Google turns up a pub which sounds promising, well recommended beer and pub food, the Thorntree Inn, is, according to Google, only ten minutes walk away.
What Google does not point out, is, that is ten minutes up a VERY steep hill. Fortunately, we find the pub, just before the mutterings become actual mutiny. Drinks ordered and food chosen, I wait, hoping it is not a disappointment. I can report, it is excellent, even Kathleen is impressed and says it was worth the walk (or, should that be climb?), which is high praise indeed.
Quite apart from the excellent food, the place has a friendly and comfortable pub atmosphere, and, of course, quite stunning views. Suitably refreshed, we walk back down the hill and catch the bus to Ashbourne. Whilst riding to Ashbourne, it begins to rain, very heavily, and, since we are due to return home tomorrow anyway, we decide we will leave this evening. A slight hiccup, we miss the connecting bus to the campsite from Ashbourne, and have to wait 1hr 20minutes for the next one. Coffee and cake in Dillons Tea shop, to keep out of the rain, and pass the time. This turns out to be a very pleasant experience with an unexpected reward, we are the last customers of the day, so, the waitress gives us free scones to take away with us!
Sunday, 26th June 2016 Kathleen dislikes missing Mass on a Sunday, but, there is no bus service to Ashbourne on a Sunday, and it is too far/dangerous to walk to Ashbourne. Cycling to Ashbourne is a possibility, the road should be quieter on a Sunday, there are certainly no buses running. Instead, we decide to do something which is rare for us, and take the van into town. We know there is parking alongside the start of Tissington Trail, and, that is within walking distance of the Church, plus, we can, cycle the Tissington Trail. A quick check on the all knowing Google tells us that Derbyshire County Council are far sighted enough not to have installed height barriers on their carparks, and it is possible to park the van there. So, they get a £4.50 parking fee, plus, the money we spend on drinks, snacks along the way.
I have the bikes unloaded and all ready to go for Kathleen's return from church. The Tissington Trail is an old railway line, so, the gradient is not too steep and any point, but, it is a steady up hill ride from Ashbourne to Parsley Hay, 13.5 miles later. Initially, the route is tree lined, but, there are more open stretches as we climb steadily. It is all very well done, the surface is good, firm, smooth and well drained, and, there are several picnic spots with tables and kiosks selling drinks and snacks.
At 10 miles, there are mutterings of "how much further?". Past experience tells me, this is a prelude to giving up. I need to employ some psychology to get us there. I check my watch, 12:30, we have been going at an average 9 miles per hour, according to my trusty Halfords Cyclometer.
I play my winning hand and suggest "why don't we just cycle until 13:00, and then turn around and go back?". Now, the arithmetic tells me, this is the same as saying "let us cycle for another 4.5 miles", but, it sound much less strenuous. So, we cycle on, and arrive at the end point (13.5 miles from Ashbourne) with 10 minutes to spare. My suggestion that we just cycle on for the odd 10 minutes is, not very politely, declined by Kathleen, I think "b----r off " was the exact term used. We cycle back to Ashbourne, 13.5 miles downhill, and round off with a very good "toastie" and coffee at the picnic area and cycle hire point, at the beginning of the trail
Monday, 27th June 2016 Having cycled 27 miles, yesterday, we decide on a less energetic day today. We take the Bus into Belper. Free of course for us "oldies", well, there has to be some advantage in being old! Belper is a reasonably pleasant place. It has clearly been an industrial town, but, the Mill has long since closed. It has the usual signs of decline, ie a surplus of charity shops, but, effective measures at rejuvenation appear to be bearing fruit. Overall, I would describe it as an up market South Shields, without the coast line, but, with it's building better preserved and in a better state of repair. One other point, because the bus journey takes us along A517, in the opposite direction to Ashbourne, we discover where the elusive Nags Head is. It looks to be a very pleasant pub, but, we will not be walking there!
