Crystal Palace 25-29 Oct 13

Crystal Palace Caravan Club site has been on my radar for some while now as it offers easy access to Rugby at the Stoop and is very close to the in-laws in Bromley. The site, however, is very popular and it is hard to get a booking, particularly with the ridiculous caravan club book-every-single-site-a-year-in-advance system. With the worst storm since 1987 forecast I thought that lesser souls and sorry shed-draggers would not be brave enough to venture out, despite it being half-term, and I rang the site on the off chance and got in! 

The drive down on Friday was uneventful, but I did make the mistake of going around the north and south circular road, which took forever. After the usual quick set up, I bumbled along to the local shops to have a quick look around, before boarding the bus to Bromley  to visit Father-in-Law in hospital. Debs met me at Bromley South station from work and we did our visiting duty and then headed back to the site on the bus that almost goes door-to-door (but through some really nice (not!) areas of London.

Saturday we were up early, showered and dressed and went to chat to the wardens to see if we could extend our stay by one day to save driving back in very high winds. Despite being Leicester Tigers supporters, the wardens were great and sorted us out. We wandered across Crystal Palace park (I'd forgotten how high Crystal Palace is) and caught the train from the very pretty Crystal Palace station to Twickenham via Clapham Junction to be first in the Webb-Ellis pub for a mega-breakfast and several pints of foaming ale. Despite the adds, Quins thrashed Sale and, happy, we journeyed back to the site for a good night's kip.  On Sunday it was off to Bromley and Orpington again for more visiting and that wonderful journey back through the badlands of "Sarf Larndarn".

On Sunday night the storm was due to hit. It was very windy. One small tree on the site was blown over and the TV mast howled like the banshee, but we survived the winds and Debs was up early to go to work direct from the site.  We walked across the wind-ravaged park (more branches down here), but Notwork Rail were not running trains so we walked back across the park and Debs caught the packed number 3 bus to Brixton and the tube to work, somewhat later than anticipated, but she got there. In the afternoon I did some shopping and then went across to the hospital again. met Debs and returned back via the same old route. Tuesday, Debs got to work with no problems, I packed up and we all met up again at home that evening, complete with the rotten cold that the Mother-in-Law kindly donated.

I have booked Crystal Palace again for December as the site is in a great location.

Chilford Hall 22-23 Sep 13

 

This was an unusual trip. We had been given a Christmas present of a day's wine tour and, after much consideration and planning, we settled on a vineyard 10 miles south of Cambridge purely for ease of access. We are glad we did!

 

On Saturday we were at the motorhome show in Lincoln, which was a bit of a disappointment as it was significantly smaller than the Peterborough show and there was quite a bit of old tat in the way of motorhomes on display (no Adria or Chausson on display). We did see a rather nice Hymer B544 though, but at over £70k a bit out of our price range, and the spitfire flypast was probably worth the journey alone.

Anyway, back to the vineyard. Up early, collected the bus from storage, put a few bits in the fridge and then the hour long drive down to Linton. We parked in the car park and wandered in for a coffee before the tour began. It really was a very interesting and informative day out, firstly wandering down to the vineyard itself to see the vines, with the guide going into great detail on the problems associated with wine making in the UK and the reasons for the layout of the vines themselves. It was then back to the Tudor barn for another interesting lecture on the winemaking process before we adjourned to the Bistro to sample six of the wines made at the vineyard - and excellent wines they are too! Lunch followed, accompanied by a bottle of wine, then we sat on the bench on the lawn in the warm sunshine and downed another bottle of excellent rose. By this time we were a little jaded so we adjourned back to the bus for tea and several cups of tea, before taking a stroll along to the vineyard again to watch the sun go down over the vines.

Back to the bus and enjoying the absolute silence of this remote location, we enjoyed a good nights kip before setting off back home in time for Debs to start work.

A great day out using the bus to its full advantage.

France 4-10 SEP 13

With a few camping cheques left over from the summer, plus a long period of non use due to rip off site fees during the school holidays, it made sense to hop across the channel to give Tom a chance to stretch his wheels.



Where's Tommy? The Aire at Cite d'Europe

The squeeze the maximum out of a 5 day travel ticket on eurotunnel we booked the 0130hrs crossing on the Thursday morning. The plan was to collect Debs from a work do in central London and then pile down to the tunnel. However, for a variety of reasons she didn't go to the do so we left home together, stopping at the Ashford outlet for a half hour then onto the tunnel to see if they would let us on an earlier train. It would appear that arriving at 2100 for an 0130 crossing means that you are classed as arriving a day early, so we we sent packing and ended up waiting at the services for some gopping KFC ( why does the thought of KFC never match the taste) and then a quick kip before arriving on the correct day for our crossing. On arrival, it was quickly into the cite de Europe aire for some shut eye.

 
 

The pitch at Chateau du Gandspette

 
 
Thursday was hot! We went into the massive Carrefour to stock up and then headed to our destination for the next few days, the Kawan site at chateau du Gandspette in Eperlecques. Quickly setting up on a nice pitch we had the sunbeds out in no time, caught up on a few more zzzzz then a quick swim in the pool and a couple of pints of Leffe Ruby in the bar in the warm evening sunshine. Bliss.

On Friday I got up early and did the cycle recce for the days activities, covering about 15km through some very pretty woods and villages. Eventually she got up and we cycled into Watten to poke around the market and walk up the hill behind the town to admire the view. After a well deserved pint of kronenburg devils brew in the local bar, we cycled back following on of the cycle trails in the area. In the evening it was out with the BBQ and an excellent steak meal.

The weather on Saturday was meant to be bad, but it was surprisingly nice, so we had breakfast outside, lazed around a bit then cycled off to the V2 bunker in the woods for a very interesting few hours looking around this monstrosity. We followed that visit with a visit to the restaurant on site for an excellent meal. Nom nom nom..

 

We have visited St Omer before, but as it was so close that on Sunday we decided to go again, even though it doesn't have too much to offer. We parked up in a nice spot next to the canal then trundled into town, finding what could be described as an agricultural fair in the local park. It was, in fact, very good with lots of very interesting things on display. Being in an area famous for its cauliflowers there were loads on display - and remarkably cheap too! We cooked croque-monsieur on our pitch by the canal before retiring back to the site for a lazy evening.

 

Monday saw us up and out and heading for the tunnel, a few more boxes of wine, a slightly delayed journey back across the ditch and then onto the Camping and Caravanning Club site at Folkestone. The site is located down a narrow, long track to a very nice location overlooking the beach. We decided to walk into Folkestone and really wished we hadn't. I am sure that it could be improved. On the way back the rain came down, the umbrella broke and we got absolutely soaked. Was it really only a few days back that it was so hot and sunny?

After a good nights kip it was off back home (via the Ashford outlet mall) and a big clear out of the bus ready for the annual service and habitation check the following day (which it passed with flying colours - huzzah!).

 

 

Sheringham 19-21 Jul 13

"The site is nice, but we have done this areas to death now and it is time to go elsewhere as it is just too far for a weekend away".

Famous last words after our visit to this site in May and here we are back again. I blame the beer. On the Motorhome Fun forum somebody suggested that the Sheringham Steam Railway beer festival is excellent - and excellent it is!

We left early on Friday and had time to pitch and walk into Sheringham to sample the beer and cider. A few (well, quite a few) pints later we staggered back after watching an excellent modern skiffle band and a not so excellent Jazz band, as well as undertaking a shedload of people watching. Norfolk is great for people watching (I'll say no more (NFN)). The festival was set up on the platform and it was fun drinking and sitting in old railway carriages, parked for the occasion.

On Saturday we decided that we needed some fresh bread and some crab to make sandwiches so we wandered into town again after just missing the hourly train from West Runton to |Sheringham. We had lunch in a pub, bimbled around town, had a few more pints at the festival, bought a crab and went to catch the train back, only to find that the hourly train was cancelled due to the later running of an earlier train!!!  How the hell can you cancel an hourly service. NFN again. We walked back - and ate our crab sarnie (yummy)

Sunday I cycled to the shop to buy the paper. It was shut until 9.30 (NFN) so I cycled to Cromer to get a paper. Knackered, I returned for breakfast, a read of the papers, a general relax and then a relaxing journey home.

"The site is nice, but we have done this areas to death now and it is time to go elsewhere as it is just too far for a weekend away".   Hmmm - we'll see


(NFN - Normal for Norfolk)

France 7-30 Jun 13

With nearly two year's experience under our belt we certainly had less trepidation facing this trip than last year's holiday. We even trimmed the load and, with our combined weight loss (both physical and in equipment) I estimated that we would have spare payload of over 100kg for wine and cheese!  This year we didn't even plan a route. We thought we would hit France and see where the wind took us, albeit we both wanted to see Honfleur and we always wanted to visit the Atlantic coast and the wine regions around Bordeaux.

Normandy cidre from a stone bowl - how rustic

As with last year, I set off on the Friday to pick up Debs at Ashford station, but calamity struck when the gas locker door knob broke when I was stowing ready to leave. Luckily I was able to drop by Kent Motorhomes on Bluebell Hill (near where we used to live in Kent) who were incredibly helpful and were able to fix me up with a replacement handle. On the plus side, last year I travelled down in high winds and rain - this year in glorious sunshine. The pick up went without a hitch and we set off for the tunnel, crossed the ditch and set up in the aire in the Citie d'Europe for a very good night's sleep.



Honfleur
 

On Saturday it was up early and a trundle along to Honfleur over the very impressive Pont de Normandie. The aire is almost in the centre of town and we spent a delightful day exploring this lovely little port, having a leisurely lunch by the harbour and test driving calvados and the local cider. We joined the hundreds of other motorhomes on the aire (£8 per night) and enjoyed a calvados fuelled kip. What was impressive was the baker's van and the fruit and vegetable lorry turning up on site. Who needs ice cream vans!

Pont de Normandie

I bet it's a real pain when the prices change

The next day we drove through the wonderful Norman countryside and arrived at a campsite in Angers, where we stayed for 2 nights to enable us to have a good old explore of the City. It was certainly worth a visit and could make an ideal base for exploring the Loire, but as the forecast wasn't too good we decided to move on.

By now, we had a sort of plan for the next few days. We set off for the Marais Poitevin but the weather closed in and we couldn't do the planned canoe trip around the "Green Venice". It was at this site that we parked next to Tom's twin brother and compared a few notes with the owners, who were very pleased with their bus over their last model, particularly the fixed bed.

Snap!

Marais Poitevin
 

The next stop took us across the Royan Ferry to Aquitaine and the Atlantic coast. It was amazing that the weather changed completely during the half hour crossing and it was like landing in a different country with warm sunshine and blue skies. French Ferry health and safety was also in evidence on this trip. Passengers are meant to leave their cars and go up to the deck for the crossing. However, they had loaded a German A class motorhome so close to the walls that the poor driver couldn't open the door and so he was stuck inside. Nobody appeared to be overly concerned.

On the Royan Ferry

After a quick drive we found a site on the Atlantic coast with a pitch right next to the beach. We will long remember walking over the dune and seeing the endless white beach and huge surf of the Atlantic. We used this site as a base for a few days whilst we explored the vineyards of the Medoc, visiting Chateau Beaumont and also going for a few long bike rides along the excellent cycle paths in this area. What was interesting was the Sunday morning market in the nearby fishing village. The locals came out in force for breakfast, which consisted of oysters and wine!  Likewise, the shop on the site sold excellent quality AOC Bordeaux straight out of barrels for a couple of euros a litre, so the days passed in a wine flavoured haze. If you like wine, then this is the area for you!


Oysters - for breakfast?

Where wine is nearly cheaper than Petrol!
 

The weather turned again, so we moved on to Bordeaux. It rained...and it rained...and it rained. We caught a bus into the city and we got wetter inside of the bus than we did outside. It leaked like a sieve. Water was running through the lights and electrics, but nobody seemed to worry. Bordeaux is lovely and we would like to go back, but perhaps in better weather next time!  That said, the campsite was a bit iffy. Being close to the big exhibition centre there were a lot of "suits" staying who were obviously working at what appeared to be a wine fair. Our pitch was on the exit road and there were large numbers of these  tossers  exhibitors racing round in their Audis at all hours. As an aside,  we have noticed that Audi drivers in whatever country tend to be the same. I am certain that the handbook says "you are the proud owner of an Audi. Please drive like an arrogant tosser on every occasion". Not generalising, of course.....



A very wet Bordeaux

Onwards and sideways to St Emilion and a very nice campsite just outside the town. We cycled into town and bimbled around for a while, got fed up with the incredible wine snobbery and hard sell of the "off licences", so headed back via a  vineyard where we bought a grand cru to have with "us tea". The wine was fantastic, exploding with flavour and we decided to return the following day to buy a few more bottles (but cheap it ain't!).

St Emilion

Next stop - the Dordogne. Off we went to Sarlat, where our aim was to have a really good meal in this wonderful medieval town. Tick - done! It was nice, but it started to rain again and we wanted some sunshine. The forecast for the whole of France was pretty miserable, apart from the Med and Provence, so in a mad moment, we decided that we would
get up early and sprint to the med, which we did, arriving in Narbonne in glorious sunshine in the early afternoon. This is the joy of a motorhome - it is just so easy to get from place to place.

Sarlat

We found a site next to the beach and set up there for a few days to explore the area by bike. It was warm and sunny, but very windy and as we ate outside we ended up chasing our lettuce down the beach. On Saturday the Lions were playing so we found a bar to watch the game, only to find the bar owner was an ex-Narbonne/Bezier player who had played against Quins in the recent past.

It was whilst parked up here that the fridge decided that it would no longer work on mains electricity (possibly due to the reverse polarity of a number of French sites). Obviously the 3 way fridge would run on gas, but I was worried that we may run out as the temperature was so warm. I needn't have worried - the fridge and freezer quite happily trundled on using very little gas which made me wonder why we pay extra for electric hook-ups in the UK when it is obvious that we are fairly self-sufficient. Another lesson learnt.

The beaches of Narbonne looking towards Spain (60 miles away!)

There are stacks of Aires in this part of France, so it would be a very cheap holiday option to come down here and park up for a while, particularly if you didn't need a hookup to run the heating.


All too soon it was time to head North, particularly as we were so far south. The first stop was over the fantastic Millau viaduct and a night stop in Millau itself. Funny town - quite pretty, but a bit "Fenny". The campsite was right next to the river and, again, there was a risk of flying biting insects so we kept ourselves shut in at night with the flyscreens down.

The fantastic Millau viaduct

The following day we did the very impressive drive up over the Cevennes towards Clermont-Ferrand and a stop in a hilltop castle near Issoire with wonderful views from our bedroom window over a wooded valley.

The journey North continued and we stopped for a refuel of diesel and fridge in Bourges and decided to stop in the dedicated motorhome parking spot for a mosey around Town, but we found the parking full of funfair and caravans, so we moved on to a little village called Quincy in the Loire where we stayed in a vineyard under the France Passion Scheme (and bought more wine).

Quincy

Further on up towards Rouen and we stopped in a totally crap campsite (Bel-Air in Louviers). We drove through the barrier and it looked a bit tatty, but we saw a number of Brit motorhomes parked up so we thought it may be OK. We paid up under the ACSI scheme, found our pitch and went looking for water. It was then we met up with the group of Brits, all standing around with their hands on their hips and shaking their heads in disbelief at the appalling standards of this site. In true Brit fashion, we had a good laugh at how the bogs made one person heave when she went to look at them and all decided that we would use our on-board facilities rather than chance the risk of Botulism, legionnaires or typhoid from the incredibly badly maintained facilities. This was great until a lone voice said "...but I haven't got on-board facilities as I have a trailer tent - and we are booked on for 3 days".

Pleased to leave that dump, we headed through the dreaded Rouen (one of the bridges was closed so we had a bit of a detour) and on to a site we visited, and really liked, on the Somme. The weather was perfect, the pitch the size of our garden and the restaurant provided a very nice meal for our last night in France.  This area really has a lot to offer and we have decided that we would like to come back here, particularly as it is so close to the ports.

On Sunday morning is was off to the tunnel, a few more bottles of wine, and joined the queues of Eastern Europeans heading for home. As ever, as soon as we hit British soil the holdups began. We'd been home less than 2 hours and already we wanted to be back in France.

So, in all, a great trip albeit the weather wasn't perfect. We drove over 2500 miles and averaged just over 30mpg, which, considering the load we had on, wasn't too bad. Going to France makes you realise what a bloody rip-off UK sites are and just how horrendous are the offerings in Tescos compared to the lovely fresh food on offer just across the water. Oh well - until next time....

Ready for the Tour de France

The Chunnel

She actually drove!

Norfolk 25-27 May 13

On Friday it rained. It rained some more and then, for a change, it rained again. We had spent some time negotiating the ridiculous Caravan Club booking system to obtain 2 nights at the Incleboro Fields site near Sheringham and we were really in two minds whether or not to go as it was a bank holiday and the prices are horrendous, plus the roads would be jam-packed. Anyway - go we did and arrived on site after a long 2.5 hour drive in quite heavy traffic, but at least it was dry!

After the usual indecisive meander around the huge site looking for a pitch, we eventually found a nice, near level spot quite near to the exit. We laughed at the caravans pulling in and trying to arrange wooden blocks to suspend their sheds up in the air to cope with the sloping pitches, and shook our heads at the attempts to take over the world with awnings, sunshades, windbreaks and various other paraphernalia.

On Saturday I unhitched the bikes and we cycled, cross-country, into Sheringham, where we meandered around, had a nice lunch in the pub, bought a lovely fresh crab for tea and then cycled back for a bit of a sort out of the bus ready for the next jaunt. We also managed to negotiate a further nights stay and the weather looked set fair for a change.

The following day we walked into Cromer, decided we didn't really like it all that much, and walked back along the beach, again buying Cromer crab for a nice sandwich for lunch (although the Sheringham crab tasted better). In the afternoon we had a bit of a relax in the sunshine and then, after dinner pootled around the lovely smelling hills (the gorse really whiffs of coconut at this time of year) to watch the sun go down. The only downside were the families along the row a bit from our pitch. The kids were fine - it is the mothers who insist on conversing with their offspring at a decibel level that any Guards drill sergeant would be proud of! Why DO they do that?  I thought children had sensitive hearing?

On Monday we were up and gone whilst the shed-draggers were still dismantling the huge circuses they insist on attaching to their vans. The queues of traffic heading for the seaside were a sight to behold.

The site is nice, but we have done this areas to death now and it is time to go elsewhere as it is just too far for a weekend away.