Europe – turnrightoutofportsmouth

Next stop on our Italian Adventure: Exploring Lucca and Pisa

The next stage of our Italian roadtrip taking in Lucca and Pisa 🙂

We set off from Celle Ligure hoping for a relaxing, picturesque run along the coast road to our next destination near Marina di Massa. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be; the road was far from picturesque or relaxing, so after suffering the clogged outskirts of Genoa, we decided to jump onto the toll road, which turned out to be surprisingly affordable (14.30Euros to go 73 miles). We looked forward to arriving in Marina di Massa, but were unfortunately rather disappointed on arrival.

The campsite, Camping Giardino, was not what we had been expecting and trying to find a supermarket was very frustrating involving cycling along a busy, uninspiring road to find a Carrefour Express with very poor produce ☹

However, the next morning brought a renewed sense of optimism as I ventured out for a short run along the coast. I ran the other way to where we’d cycled the previous day, which offered some slightly more promising scenery. We were in need of a rest though and chose to chill out by the van and around the pool for the day. We forgot to take our swimming hats though and chose not to use those that were offered to us (they’d clearly never been washed…)

We had some British neighbours for the first time and they told us about the region’s abundant marble quarries of Carrara. We had seen much evidence of this on our drive, seeing huge marble slabs waiting to be transported. Our neighbours had a motorbike with them and went up to undertake the quarry jeep tour, which they said was amazing.

After a restful 2 nights we moved on, passing through the much nicer area of Marina di Massa just a mile or so up the road…

Our next stop was the enchanting city of Lucca, a place that quickly won our hearts. We stayed at the dedicated motorhome parking area of Parking Luporini, which was absolutely perfect 😊

We had a quick wander down to the town in the evening but saved our main exploration for the following day when we were greeted by a vibrant and bustling atmosphere. Having to negotiate the city’s streets, competing with an eclectic mix of bikes, mopeds, delivery vans and even rubbish trucks was most certainly an experience! Even the supposedly pedestrianized areas were not immune to the bustling energy of daily life.

While in Lucca, I took the opportunity to collect a unique souvenir—a fridge magnet crafted by the talented artist Maria Guida. It serves as a charming memento, capturing a piece of Lucca’s spirit that I will keep with me.

Sadly, our visit to the iconic Torre de Guinigi was thwarted by its closure for maintenance. Nevertheless, we found solace in the city’s beautiful cathedral, its architectural splendour a testament to Lucca’s rich history.

For lunch, we discovered Undici Undici, a quaint restaurant with a mesmerizing view of the cathedral. The ambience was enhanced by the warm hospitality of a lovely waitress, who added a personal touch to our dining experience.

Later in the evening, as the sun set, we embarked on a bike ride atop the city walls, immersing ourselves in the vibrant tapestry of Lucca’s evening activities. The walls were alive with walkers, scooter riders, and an abundance of runners, all enjoying the shared space and the city’s unmistakable charm. From here we were able to appreciate all the sights of Lucca from a different perspective.

I wanted to start the day with a run along the city walls, but found myself succumbing to exhaustion from all the walking the day before!

From Lucca, we had just a short journey onto Pisa, where we finally fulfilled our long-held dream of seeing the leaning tower. The tower did not disappoint, and we realized that pictures alone cannot do justice to its unique lean.

The cathedral and baptistery in the Piazza dei Miracoli were equally impressive. We learned that the leaning tower started leaning during its construction but has been stabilized to prolong its lifespan – it’s thought by a further 300 years.

After enjoying a drink just outside the city walls, we walked along the city walls before finding our way back to the motorhome parking area, Camperisti Pisani, which had the added bonus of an old, abandoned running track nearby – so at least I managed to get a run in this time 😊

Our next destinations were Florence and Siena, and I will include details of both in my next post 😊

Note: for more photos see my instagram & facebook posts 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/turnrightoutofportsmouth/

https://www.polarsteps.com/turnrightoutofportsmouth/7279815-italy-etc-2023

A Scenic Road Trip: Chianocco to Cuneo to Celle Ligure, Avoiding Toll Roads

We all know that embarking on a road trip offers us an opportunity to explore hidden gems and embrace the freedom of the open road. In this post, I’ll take you on a journey from Chianocco to Celle Ligure, avoiding the toll roads.

Along the way, we stopped overnight in the charming town of Cuneo, with its fascinating history and laid-back atmosphere. From there, we continued to Celle Ligure, where the initial black gritty beaches morph into something a little more inviting.

Chianocco to Cuneo: We took the scenic route towards Cuneo, having made the decision to avoid toll roads wherever possible. At this stage we were happy with our decision and were finding that the roads weren’t THAT bad (certainly no worse than the toll roads in Portugal!)

Upon arrival in Cuneo, we quickly found our free park-up (okay there was a slight hitch, but that was our fault!) – at first it appeared to be full (as there was a sign on the barrier (which was up) saying ‘Complet/Full’). However, it wasn’t and in addition the terminal for payment was broken so we weren’t able to pay our 5 Euros – we would happily have paid as we had all services, including electric. We shared the sosta with a few occupants who did appear to be, shall we say, very at home there – they were quite loud, checking on anyone arriving and even cutting branches off the trees!

From the car park, a lift takes you up to the heart of town, where the enchanting Via Roma awaits.

The first thing we noticed though was a sign detailing a 5k running route along an avenue and back – I fully intended to take advantage of this in the morning. But it was raining. Hard ☹ (I had also thought that I might take advantage of the swimming pool – but I didn’t do that either!!)

We strolled along this beautiful street (Via Roma), lined with beautiful architecture and many shops. This is where we found a Vodafone shop and managed to get 100gb of data 😊

We then made our way to Piazza Vittoria, a central square known for its lively atmosphere and the poignant speech given by Ducca Galimberti when Mussolini’s regime fell. This historical moment is deeply etched into the city’s identity. There is a recreation of the speech being given on the balcony where it happened. Read more about Ducca Galimberti’s story here.

We then visited the magnificent Duomo di Cuneo, where we were fortunate enough to wander in during an organ practice, the sound reverberating through the grand cathedral. We took a moment to admire the intricate details of the church’s architecture and soak in the peaceful ambiance.

Cuneo to Celle Ligure: Moving on from Cuneo, we headed south (again avoiding the toll roads) towards Celle Ligure. As we hit the coast road, we noticed that the beaches were of the black gritty variety. As it was raining still I don’t think we had the best views of the Ligurian Sea!

However, on arriving in Celle Ligure we realised that here the beaches were different, being of sand. Not quite golden but certainly a more appealing hue 😊

This was quite a hard drive along the coast roads, and we had to head towards the motorway to reach our aire, this time navigating a series of switchbacks up the hill (this holds no fear – Calv drove the Mont Cenis Pass!!)

Once set-up and fed the rain eventually stopped and we ventured out down the steep hill (already with the dread of having to come back up it!) to explore a little of Celle Ligure. This is a coastal town exuding charm and character with multi-coloured villas, street art and a walk/cycle tunnel (Galleria Crocetta), a unique attraction housed within a former train tunnel. This repurposed space now occasionally hosts various exhibitions, showcasing contemporary art and cultural events.

It would appear that in Italy you may have to pay to visit many of the beaches – we have noticed signs showing short stretches where it’s free. We also noticed that in just a short stretch of the seafront Celle Ligure had 2 lidos. It was a very relaxing wander until we had to make our way back up the steep hill to our van!

In summary travelling from Chianocco to Cuneo to Celle Ligure without taking toll roads is certainly achievable and provides a delightful journey through history and coastal charm. Cuneo’s rich heritage, highlighted by the lift to town, Via Roma, Piazza Vittoria, and the Duomo, offers a taste of Italy’s past contrasts with Celle Ligure’s seaside vibe, but both were worth a visit in their own right.

However, I think, with hindsight, that we should have driven further east from Chianocco before taking the road down past Genoa as we headed further South.

My next post will look at the last week or so, including staying near Cassara and the marble quarries (we didn’t visit – we just needed to stop!) and then moving on to Lucca, Pisa and, presently, Florence 😊

Note: More photos can be found on my instagram, (https://www.instagram.com/turnrightoutofportsmouth/) and facebook (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100028126913740) pages

A Scenic Journey South through France by Motorhome, Avoiding Tolls

Our roadtrip through France this time is purely with the aim of getting to Italy. However that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the journey 😊 Not for us a whistlestop tour of toll road plazas and the parting with copious sums of cash along the way.

No, we prefer to take our time (within reason) and experience all the beautiful countryside and charming little towns that France has to offer.

In this post, we will take you on a journey through the southern regions of France, specifically focusing on a motorhome adventure that avoids toll roads. Along the way, we will share the free (or at least cheap) overnight stops that we used along the way, including Guarbecque, Muizon, Chaumont, Sennecy-le-Grand, and Bourgneuf on our way towards the Mont Cenis Pass into Italy. Full disclosure – until we got to Bourgneuf and met @Happy2Dream (Gary) we thought we were going through the Frejus tunnel…

We came through the tunnel from Folkestone to Calais simply because I had Tesco Clubcard Vouchers to use and it only cost us £8. It’s not the best route for us – we would usually come on the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe (although Portsmouth to Caen is far more convenient!)

We didn’t want to drive too far on the French side, and it was just as well that we’d already researched where we were going to stop, as you’re straight onto the motorway when you disembark the train!

1^st Stop – Guarbecque: A little village in Northern France as we embarke on your journey south, the small village of Guarbecque mad for an ideal first stop. The area alongside the canal offers a free overnight stop for motorhome travelers.

However, the area was taken over by a temporary bar and stage which nearly put paid to our plans, until a car parked by the little climbing park left and we were able to tuck ourselves out of the way for the night, watching the massive barges as they passed by creating giant swells

2^nd stop – Muizon (2 nights here): This wasn’t quite so straightforward… We headed to our 1^st choice of stopover, only to find it completely taken over by gypsies. They had even blocked the entrance with a van, and were busy routing pipes to any water source they could find. We quickly re-routed to a city stop that Calv had found – cue panic (mine) over the 1 way system (until I got my head round it) and then an inability to get into the Aire. Helped by a local we got in to find it full and not really suitable for our size of van.

So we had to stop for a few minutes, in which time we found a spot a few miles out of town which led us to head to Muizon, which, it turned out, was a charming little village and provided an excellent base for exploring Reims.

We were quite happy to leave the van at the Aire and hop on a train (station about ½ mile away, taking under 10 minutes & 14 Euros to get to Reims).

We’d never visited Reims before, but knew it was famous for its breathtaking Gothic cathedral and Champagne houses. We visited the cathedral, catching a mass confirmation in progress – we then visited a bar and I felt the need to partake of a glass of the bubbly stuff (which was very nice indeed thank you very much!)

Then it started to rain…. Actually that’s a bit of an understatement – we had a massive thunderstorm!! It was absolutely spectacular, but sort of brought the day to an end – and there wasn’t a train back to Muizon until 4.25pm (it was a Saturday)

3^rd stop –Chaumont: Continuing southward, we stopped at Chaumont, a charming town situated along the canal. Here, we found a peaceful spot by the water to park up for the night. We had to pay for this one (shock/horror!!) A whole 8.44Euros… We took a leisurely walk along the canal (it’s also a cycle path and runs for miles), watching the locals fishing and listening to the frogs (we didn’t manage to see any though)

I ran the other way alongside the canal in the morning managing a respectable 2.8miles. I know I should have completed a 5k, but I just didn’t have it in me ☹

4^th stop – Sennecy-le-Grand: On leaving Chaumont we drove for about half hour before reaching Langres, which had been our 2^nd choice for a stopover. On seeing the walled town as we passed by we decided it was lunchtime, so we stopped and had a wander 😊 So glad we did – it was an absolute delight!

Once we arrived in Sennecy we felt like royalty parked up next to the Castle! We already knew this area, having stayed a couple of miles away at Chateau d’Eperviere a couple of times.

It was a lovely stopover but very near the road. It would have been nice to visit the SAS museum, but sadly it wasn’t open. We did go for a short walk in the evening taking in some of the lovely buildings (as well as the castle, the church and the trees with holes in their trunks).

5^th stop – Bourgneuf: We decided to take the ‘wiggly’ route (maybe we should rename the blog ‘The Wiggly Way’??) towards the Alps. Calv definitely enjoyed this more than the more straightforward routes, and it was a lovely route, taking us through the Tunnel de Chat and passing by the Lac de Bourget on exit (we stopped for lunch here 😊) Pedestrians and cyclists have their own 1500m long tunnel!

Bourneuf itself is a tiny village in Savoie on our way to the Frejus tunnel (or so we thought) Here, we had a lovely stop-over in the shadow of the Alps.

This is where we met Gary of @Happy2Dream and we ended up going to the local bar with him, chatting with the locals (a couple of young lads keen to learn a little more English and help me with my French). One of those evenings that will be forever remembered fondly.

When hearing that we were going through the tunnel Gary’s response was ‘Why??’. His van wasn’t much smaller than ours and he advised that the Mont Cenis Pass was perfectly doable for us, and we decided to travel over it together (he later told us he wasn’t intending to go that way at all, and was absolutely shattered the next evening!!) (The drive over the pass will have it’s own separate post)

In conclusion, driving south through France, while avoiding toll roads, allowed us to experience the country’s diverse landscapes, quaint villages, and rich cultural heritage at our own pace.

Along the way we visited War Cemeteries and learned about the 1^st tanks to be used in the war.

All in all, a long, but enjoyable, first week on our latest roadtrip which cost us 8.44 Euros and our fuel!

3 weeks between Malaga and Marbella in a motorhome

A short summary of 3 weeks on the south coast. It gets more interesting once we leave this area (but we have been before, so see previous posts for more detail)

We already knew that we were heading for Cabopino when we got south, the only question was for how long. It started out as 7-10 days but ended up as 3 weeks – I’m not quite sure how this happened, but it did mean that we were able to have a night out with Steve and Denise’s friends for Steve’s birthday before we left. Apart from that 7-10 days would have been more than enough.

We really didn’t get out and about much as we don’t have the car with us and it’s not cycle friendly unfortunately.

So, where did we go?

Well we went, on the bus of course, to Marbella old town, La Cala market (Calv and I walked the 5 miles back) and Fuengirola. Other than that we just had walks and trips to the beach and, of course Happy Hour down at Jorge’s on a Friday 🙂

Buses are really cheap over here. It cost us just over 6 Euros per couple to get to Marbella and back, less than 3 euros to get to La Cala de Mijas and just over 3 euros to get to Fuengirola. Very good value 🙂

Marbella old town is definitely worth a visit with a number of lovely squares. La Cala de Mijas has numerous bars and eateries together with a lovely beach. Fuengirola is surprisingly nice as well with a long promenade along the beach.

We also got back to ‘running’ (both of us) and I did a fair bit of swimming.

I’m sorry it’s a bit boring, but it does get better once we left Cabopino and started seeing new sites. I will try to update much quicker now!!

Santander to the Costa del Sol in a motorhome – how to enjoy this journey :)

Parked up at Area de Autocarvannas in La Guardia de Jaen

Last time we took the ferry to Spain in January 2017 we went into Bilbao and had to then spend 5 nights at our 1st site in Zaurutz whilst waiting to get my tablet back (I’d left it in our cabin…) This wasn’t a major issue though as we were taking our time to reach the coast, via Pamplona.

This time however (January 2022) we docked in Santander (after a nightmare journey – read about it here), and the intention was to travel in the most direct manner south. Together with our travelling companions, Steve and Denise, we decided on the next night’s stop each evening. Actually, let’s be honest here, Steve and I found each evening’s park up between us!

We decided on 3 overnight stops before reaching the coast – it can, of course, be achieved quicker, but we wanted to enjoy the journey and see some new sites on our way.

So the 1st leg was Santander to Aranda de Duero just south of Burgos, roughly 150 miles in total. We stopped in an approved area with services, by the river and had a wander into the lovely little old town across the river. I also met a lady who had the misfortune to have had the same horrendous crossing as I experienced – only this poor lady hadn’t benefitted from the comfort of a cabin 😦

The following day we made it a further 125 miles south to the beautiful town of Aranjuez just south of Madrid. We had been somewhat concerned about negotiating our way around or through Madrid, but it was Sunday and we decided to head straight through (on the motorway of course!) You just need to keep your wits about you and make sure you follow the signs for Cordoba/Granada. I think I was more stressed than Calv trying to ensure I got the navigation right!

This time our stop off was by the side of a river, and just before a campsite (Camping Internationale). We parked up and headed straight across the bridge to the Palace Gardens to follow the river into town. Sadly the Royal Palace was closed, but plenty of bars were open, and we took full advantage. This is a lovely place and we would happily return for another visit.

We had a slightly longer journey the next day (about 175 miles) heading to an Area de Autocaravannas that I’d found in La Guardia de Jaen– it looked wonderful but some of the reviews suggested that we might struggle to reach it in our van. We decided to give it a go anyway as we were coming from the north. Absolutely no issues were experienced and this spot is an absolute gem 🙂 We stayed 2 nights in the end. The only problem was that it took us 3 attempts to find the little supermarket open, and the only bar open at all while we were there was a very local one – Calv poked his head through the door and said it looked like someone’s front room filled with men (exclusively) smoking and drinking.

We saw a red squirrel in the trees in the valley by the area, and Calv and I walked up to viewing point high above us – a very steep climb; one of those that was as bad coming down as going up! We also walked around the town and up to the castle (sadly closed), around the back of the castle to the church (similarly closed) where there were additions tacked on where families were living, down to the garage to get drinking water – there was another bar here that was actually open – entailing another steep climb back up to the van.

The guy in the van beside us also stayed a few days and he used to go off cycling for miles while his wife sat in the sun relaxing 🙂

Click on the link above for advice on how to arrive at this area (i.e. we would recommend that you don’t try and come through the town itself, you need to approach from the north, which might entail going past and then coming back on yourselves). This is probably the best free stopover we have ever stopped on (although Algodanales in the hills north of Ronda comes a very close second 🙂 )

A 2 night stopover at La Guardia de Jaen

After La Guardia de Jaen we headed for the coast and 1 last free night (in Cala de Mijas) before arriving at Camping Cabopino for a few weeks. We had to go via Granada having found a Caravan Dealership where we could buy ACSI cards (we had ordered ours before christmas but they hadn’t arrived before we left home).

This final stint we did in 1 hit (apart from the stop to buy ACSI). We know the free area in La Cala (de Mijas) well from previous stays, but on arrival we were shocked at how many motorhomes were there! It’s normally very well policed, but they were spilling over outside the accepted area – there must have been 3 times as many vans as would normally be allowed 😦 We decided to stay for 1 night however (it’s very handy for a night out)). We were now able to head out to do a proper shop – we tried the Aldi (not too keen tbh), and then headed back out to Lidl in the morning for the bits we couldn’t get in Aldi!

A meal in El Gusto (because Biddy Mulligan’s shut the kitchen at 5pm – their loss, we discovered El Gusto next door and will return!) was most welcome and very, very good.

We did see last week that the car park has now been cleared of the excess motorhomes and there is just the corner now available (as per usual – there’s still about 30-40 vans in there though)

Bringing the shopping home in La Cala de Mijas

We’re now settled at Cabopino for a few weeks and in my next post I’ll tell you about trips to Marbella Old Town and La Cala de Mijas (on the bus!)

Portsmouth to Santander on the ferry

We have now spent our first night happily in Spain. I have now recovered from the nightmare crossing!!

This is the 3rd time we’ve crossed this way – twice to Spain and once home. We never intended to do it again after the last time, but of course we’re not allowed to traverse through France at the moment….

Our first crossing to Bilbao back in January 2017 was wonderful. We were confused as to what everyone was going on about when they said how awful it was. I didn’t have to retreat to the cabin once, except to sleep of course.

Our second crossing was 10 weeks later out of Santander. This time I managed a few hours out on deck before having to admit defeat as we navigated the bay of biscay. I then couldn’t get up for the rest of the crossing! Although I was able to eat a little and drink.

This time. This time…!! Wow. Well it was relentless almost from the start. Boarding just before 10.15pm I did actually see the public areas as we had a quick drink before going to bed just before midnight – I was already needing to lay down. And that was it tbh. I barely moved for the next 32 hours. Not because I was being lazy you understand, I simply couldn’t get upright, not even to sit! During those hours I managed to eat a quaker breakfast bar (it took me all day), drink half a can of coke, a cup of green tea and half a bottle of water. Heading to the loo was a bit of an issue as I had to be upright, obviously (sadly those bodily functions don’t shut down in times of stress)

Yesterday when we parked up for the night at Arando de Duero, I met a lady who suffered the same as me but was far worse off, only having a seat, not a cabin.

Calv said the boat was very quiet in the public areas and that the food was ‘okay’. I think this crossing was particularly awful due to the weather – when I snatched the odd 30 seconds looking out of our window – all I could see was high seas with peaks and troughs constantly roiling. The boat was beaten on all sides all the way – it was truly horrible. 🤢

There was a highlight. I managed 30 seconds of watching a large school of dolphins jumping in and out of those waves (before I had to lay down again) – that was a real privilege 😊

Anyway the conclusion is that I never want to do that crossing again, ever. So we’re really hoping that France will let UK nationals drive through by the end of March. Please, keep your fingers crossed for me! Thank you 😁

European Tour cut short by Coronavirus Crisis

Did you start a European holiday only for it to be cut short? Here I talk about our recent experience of exactly this. Here’s hoping everything will be able to go back to normal soon and we can all start visiting each other again xx

When I wrote my last post we were newly in France with the 1st set of closures put in place (i.e. non-essential shops and business closed), but with the local elections set to go ahead the following day. We felt fairly confident that our plan of making it to a site in the South of France and sitting out any further measures, should they occur, was still achievable…

Obviously this isn’t what happened! However, it was a couple of days before this became clear – and it was rather sudden!

So I thought I’d give you a whistle-stop summary of our whole trip in just the 1 post! So here goes…

Days 1 & 2: Friday 13th & Saturday 14th March 2020 (perhaps there was a clue here?)

We arrived in Dieppe aboard a pretty empty ferry after a slightly bumpy crossing, and shared the Aire with a number of other vans (mostly French), before taking a walk around Dieppe (already socially distancing ourselves) and then spending a 2nd night in the same Aire. (I wrote a post covering this already – click on the link above)

Day 3: Sunday 15th March 2020

We made the decision to use proper sites rather than free aires ‘just in case’, thinking that we would be able to stop on a site once we were there, and also to go further than we had originally planned. So I looked through the trusty ACSI book and found a site in Sully sur Loire, about 100 miles south of Paris, Camping le Jardin de Sully (You’ll be able to see my review here when I’ve written it!)

For us this was a long journey being 200 miles as we normally aim for under 100 miles. Little did we know at this point that we would be driving almost 900 miles in total in the next 5 days before we made it home…

The campsite was lovely, and pretty empty, although there was another English couple in their caravan who were heading home via the tunnel because they had medical appointments and wanted to ensure they got home for them.

The French were out and about in droves taking walks along the river, and even in the evening the youngsters were congregating in their cars in car parks as they couldn’t go to cafes and bars. We know this as we went out for a walk in the evening once, or so we thought, everyone else had gone home! We were able to avoid these groups and walked for a few miles, crossing the bridge and finding the chateau (and the town Aire) and several closed bars and restaurants. It looks like a lovely little town and we have no doubt that we will one day return to explore the area by cycle (the cycle path system is very good)

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Day 4: Monday 16th March 2020

We had been thinking of staying here for a 2nd night, but in the end decided to crack on further South. On checking out I told the lady what we were hoping to do – in hindsight it would have been nice if she’d mentioned that President Macron was due to address the nation that evening with an important announcement. But she didn’t, and we had contacted 2 campsites that both said they were fully open… So we headed off further South.

225 miles further south to be precise to Vielle Brioude, south of Clermont Ferrand and Issoire. We chose to take the toll motorway this time, as we were going so far. Then I forgot to press the button when paying to explain that we were a camping car (the rate will be changed if you do this). In my defence I was intent on seeing if my Halifax Clarity card would work this time (as it didn’t the previous day when we used a short section of toll, and I’d had to use my debit card); and I just completely forgot… It probably cost us about 15Euros, maybe 20… I won’t forget again!

Just before our destination we stopped at an Intermarch to get some essentials, and top up with fuel. The supermarket was very busy with several items unobtainable, but we managed to get everything that we needed, and set off again to find the campsite.

A couple of wrong turns and slightly unsuitable roads later we found it, Camping de la Bageasse, which looked much nicer in the photos than in reality!!

We were the only unit there (although there were a couple of chalets in use), and once we’d chosen our spot and found electricity that worked (by now our fridge had stopped working on gas), we settled down for the evening.

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In the evening the lady from reception came to see us to explain that the campsite was possibly to close in the morning after the president’s address. Instead of waiting we spent the evening trying to book a ferry home. We had problems with booking the DFDS ferry from Dieppe, and thought that we’d managed it, only for the site to crash on us again. So we booked a ferry into Portsmouth on Brittany (at an extra £100). In the morning though I had an e-mail from DFDS confirming our booking!

Thankfully Brittany Ferries were brilliant and cancelled our booking with an immediate full refund. The receptionist also confirmed that the site was indeed closing and anybody on it being asked to leave.

Day 5: Tuesday 17th March 2020 (midday lockdown)

Approximately 425 miles to go, but 2 days to do this (our ferry was Thursday at 05.30am – changed from 6.30pm Wednesday foc by DFDS Ferries).

We chose to avoid the toll motorway this time as we had a bit of time. But it did seem to take forever; so we ended up doing the last 30 miles or so on the toll; I remember to press the button this time and saved 9 Euros. We were stopped once, just after midday, at a routine checkpoint on a roundabout – a show of our ferry booking and my ‘nous allons au bateau pour aller chez nous’ did the trick, and we were soon on our way with a smile and a ‘bonne route’.

We were then held up driving through a small town where we had to pull into a car park. There were 2 other British vans in there with us. A French lady also pulled up and started talking to me – I did pretty well, in that we sort of understood each other and she told me what had happened (sadly a little boy had run out into the road and been knocked over), but she just kept moving closer and closer to me! In the end I had to run into the van saying my tea was getting cold! (nb: I don’t understand why the police in France need to carry massive guns when attending a traffic incident in a small rural town though..)

I’d found a likely overnight stop in Mery sur Cher, west of Vierzon, and we were so happy when we made it there. Absolutely perfect spot behind the village car park, but with a toilet, electricity, security lights and little individual pitches as well as the normal amenities. The barrier had been removed meaning it was all free as well (although we would happily have paid). I hadn’t been so happy in days!

Day 6: Wednesday 18th March

The traffic increased as we made our way further north, although eerily quiet as we drove through Orleans. Driving past Chartres I was, again, amazed at the size of the cathedral – you can see it from miles away and I must see it in reality 1 day!

From Rouen the traffic really picked up, and once in Dieppe we managed to get a little lost as we had never approached from this direction before 😦 This time we were 1 of only 3 vans in the Aire – we think most people turned up late and waited in line at the port.

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Day 7: Thursday 19th March 2020

An early start (4.15am) to catch the 5.30am ferry. We were pretty much at the back of the queue (see main photo – which doesn’t really show just how many motorhomes there were).

An uneventful journey home. 2 members of staff were operating the coffee machine for everybody as you got on (free), but there was no food being served.

All in all we were pretty happy to get home, although obviously absolutely gutted that all we had achieved in our week away was 2 fairly long walks and over 900 miles driving…

If things improve in the next couple of months however we will head off again, even if it’s only for a few weeks.

Stay safe everyone – and remember, this too shall pass and normal life will resume. Maybe at that point we’ll all be a little more grateful for our normal freedoms 🙂

Travelling during the Coronavirus Outbreak – Our experience so far

By ‘so far’ I actually mean join us from the beginning of our trip! We left the UK yesterday on a pretty empty ferry out of Newhaven, bound for Dieppe. To all intents and purposes it would appear we left in the nick of time, as much of Europe is now beginning to close their borders.

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Now before I go any further I do feel the need to defend ourselves for going ahead with our trip. It’s not a decision we made lightly, but we don’t regret it for a second. Even though we are fully aware that we are unlikely to be able to visit all the places that we were hoping to (mainly Croatia, but this entails a trip through Italy so fairly unlikely – although we do have 5 months, so you never know…), we are currently heading down towards the South of France – where would you rather be stuck? Continue reading “Travelling during the Coronavirus Outbreak – Our experience so far”

Coronavirus and Travel Plans – To Go or Not To Go…..?

So here we are at the end of February with a planned date to leave for Europe of 5th March… Our plans? Head down through France to Italy, take in Rome and Venice on our way through Italy to visit Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany and Belgium.
Hmm – little spanner in the works now called CoronaVirus means our plans are up in the air – what to do?

Do you ever get that feeling that you should be more excited for your upcoming plans than you are? And then something happens that suggests you were right not to be excited – you’re pshycic – you knew all along that this might happen (or not, as the case may be). Ever been there?

Well, I suspect that we’re not the only people in this position currently. Only perhaps we are slightly more fortunate in that we have nothing booked and we can just do what we want, when we want – to a certain degreee anyway.

What am I talking about? Well our plans for our next trip were well underway – in sofaras we ever plan. This time the plan was catch a ferry, possibly on 5th March (we haven’t booked it yet), pootle down through France, finally crossing the Millau Viaduct on the way; head into Italy and down Continue reading “Coronavirus and Travel Plans – To Go or Not To Go…..?”

Campsite Reviews aimed at motorhomers.

Honest 1st hand campsite reviews from the perspective of motorhomers with a fairly large unit (and often towing a small car). Currently covers sites in the UK, Spain, France and Portugal – hopefully in the future we will be adding sites in Germany, Italy, Croatia, Austria, Switzerland and beyond!

Hi to all you motorhomers out there (and caravaners, but being motorhomers ourselves we know what they need :); well we know what we want/need and suspect many will have similar wants)…

We have, so far, visited sites throughout Spain, France and the UK. This spring/summer, coronovirus allowing, we are hoping to add Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Germany and Belgium to that list (and perhaps Switzerland, Lichenstein and Luxembourg…)

Within each review will be contact details, location details (ie. GPS co-ordinates), access issues and anything that’s particularly good or bad about the site. We will also include links to blogs giving you ideas of where to visit during your stay (this might be on foot, by car or bike).

Every site for which there is a review has been visited by us. Many of them have been found via the ACSI card book, but we are now starting to branch out and there are reviews for the free overnight stops that we have found (some of them just amazing and not limited to 1 night – Algodonales springs to mind; we stayed 4 nights with electricity provided…)

Knowing what’s important to us we are going to use a set format to complete, with key questions (access, pitch, facilities etc.) + the description set up under ‘The good, The bad and The ugly’.

Please do comment with your own views of any campsites I review that you have also visited – it’s quite possible we’ll have differing views! Any suggestions for other campsites or parking areas are also very welcome 🙂

Just a bit of background information on our set-up then:-

We are Mandi and Calvin and we have a 2012 Bessacarr E769, 8.56m long and 2.3m wide. We have been using the ACSI book for our travels on our last 2 European trips, and have found it invaluable (although we have had to resort to the internet a couple of times).

We have also invested in an Aguri SatNav for this trip (the one we had previously, from a different manufacturer, proved to be completely useless!!)

And, of course, if you find the campsite reviews helpful you might enjoy our blog cataloguing our travels!

I will be adding to these whenever we travel 🙂

Happy travelling 🙂

Jump straight to relevant reviews below – separate pages created for each country – simply click below for relevant list (most recent trip is shown first):-

SPAIN

FRANCE