Well it was time, time to go on our annual touring holiday, please read on. Pictures are available via the link on my page to webshots.Thursday 14th
Our first day of the holiday, yipee, After a good night’s sleep on the Wednesday night we were up at the crack of dawn and on our way. Not before we had stopped at Subway Crewe for some breakfast. We set off about 8am and hit the motorway. The good thing about travelling in the school holidays in midweek is the lack of traffic. On our way we made a phone call to our fellow travellers tick (bill) tack (Chris) and toe (granddaughter Stephanie). We had never been on a holiday with others before. Our only previous sort of break with others was with Nikki’s mum and dad for a weekend. So to spend a complete 18days away with others would be quite interesting. We met Tick and co at the Dartford services on the m25 and were way ahead of schedule. We decided we would head straight for Dover and see if we could get an earlier ferry. On arrival at Dover some 4 hours before we were due to travel we attempted to check in. This we were told would lead to a charge of £60 or we could come back in 2 hours and go for free. The latter is what we done. On the boat young Steph who was experiencing her first time abroad was dead excited and appeared to love every minute of the journey. Our two hardy travellers George and Harley just took it all in their stride as they were now very accustomed to the Dover- Calais crossing. On arrival in France still ahead of schedule we decided to head for an aire that we found during our skiing trip. A 3 hour drive took us to the aire at Cateau Cambresis that is not in any books we have. The aire is a well kempt aire with parking for 5 vans neatly laid out. About 3.5 hours from Calais and we never touched a single toll road. On arrival the French vans on the aire were quite surprised to see two British vans pulling up after midnight, especially as all the spaces were taken. However a bit of to-in and throwing led us to squeeze in to the end of the aire to get a good nights sleep. Although the electric points were taken we were quite happy to sleep there the night. The aire is on quite a main road and not really that noisy but I’ve slept in quieter places.
Friday 15th
We awoke nice and early in order to try and make for our first site. The site Bernie Riviere is a very popular site with the Brits and a large commercial site. Situated between Compiegne and Soissons it is in a beautiful part of France and with only being 4 hours from Calais and 1.5 hours from Paris it is not hard to see why its so popular with the English. Normally a friendly welcoming site, on this occasion the check in guy was quite grumpy as we had not brought our confirmation of booking in and he could not find a record of us. Any how we were lucky to get a couple of pitches, not in the best location but a couple of pitches next to each other. Whilst booking in to the site I spotted a couple of other Funsters, Mark and Sharon alias CLS had stopped on they way back from Spain for a couple of days fishing. This could only mean one thing…… An initial drinking session. Mark and Sharon had their kids with them which was a good start for George and Harley as it gave them some kids to knock about with and keep them amused. Even if as George pointed out, they were Girls!!! They did however get on very well and took off to the great swimming pool complex. This site also gave us the opportunity to check out our new investment. The Movelite xl drive away awning. This was truly a classy design that gave tick tack and toe a good deal of fun watching us put it up.. It was however straight forward and gave us loads more room with less hassle in my opinion than the safari room of the fiamma. It’s easy to move your van without having to pull everything down. Although of course we never did.
Saturday 16th
We awoke to glorious weather, far better than what we were led to believe was going to be the case. Mark whom had pitched down by the lake at the best fishing spot had got me thinking about doing a spot of fishing. I had my kit with me and decided to go and have a bit of fun with it. Bill came down armed with his Netto fishing kit and every lure known, in it. Unfortunately for Bill there was to be no sharks in this lake!!! So we got started and sat and waited. enjoyed the regular coffees provided by Sharon and waited some more. I got a couple of little fish and then just when I thought it could not get any worse, or more embarrassing, I hooked on to a monster!, well not so much as a monster in size but more of a battle to see if such a small fish could stay on such a big hook. It was the smallest fish I had ever caught and led to extreme embarrassment. The fish was no bigger than 2 finger nails. so the less said about that the better. Nikki had spent the day with a walk in to the town with Chris and the kids had disappeared somewhere but like most sites that are family orientated you know there safe. They eventually of course came home hungry so we decided after tea we would nip in to town and see the fairground attractions and have some fun with the kids. After watching the kids mess around on the dodgems and trampolines we set back to the vans to sit and have a nice quite drink or two. If you haven’t visited this site before and you like a spot of fishing and have kids I can thoroughly recommend it. It has plenty to do and with regular trips to Paris and Disneyland it should keep all amused.
Sunday 17th
After awaking and letting the kids have a bit of a swim we headed off about 2pm. We said our good buys to Mark Sharon and co and headed off to what we hoped would be a night at Parc verger. A site owned by a member of motorhome fun. However with us deciding not to use any toll roads on the way and having to do the customary smoke/food and scenery stops it was obvious we had bitten off more than we could chew. We ended up just short of Blois and stayed on a very nice if not busy aire in Beaugency This aire was set amongst a backdrop of outstanding beauty. Just by the Loire river with stunning views across a bridge and in to a super little town. On arrival there was just enough space to squeeze two vans in to, although we later found out that there was plenty of space to be had further down the river. The French really do know how to make the most of there Aire system and we can only wish that the English would do the same. We walked in to the town for a little look around and admire the architecture of this fine little quaint town. The kids walked in with us and even they too were amazed by how nice the place was. Having a good look around we settled sown for a nice peaceful sleep. The weather had remained really kind to us with most days being very sunny and only little bits of cloud here and there.
Monday18th
On awaking and tripping in to the town to get the customary Baguette and croissants we headed off further south. A long drive looking again to get to Parc verger saw us not get as far as we had hoped. Mainly due to the amount of stopping and starting and supermarket sweeps we had to encounter. The main reason however was that our plans kept changing as we were driving. One minute we were heading for one place and then our minds were changed. We eventually settled for what can only be described as a wonderful municipal camp site in the middle of a forest just south of Guret. The site was so peaceful and quiet but with little to do for the kids. No play area, nothing. We were the only English there and the site was extremely cheap. An excellent shower block and not a sound to be heard other than the crickets cricketing and the odd bird singing. I spotted an owl sat on a tree, something I had not seen before. During the night we were awoken to that most annoying sound of all the one you get when in a motor home, rain, lots of it and very heavy.
Tuesday 19th
We quickly packed everything away and set off. We were heading to Bugge in the Dordogne, with a little detour to show tick and co just how beautiful this region of France was. The site we chose is a 3 star site that we have used before on the Dordogne river. The site has good facilities, a pool a bar and a good place for the children to play in. However what it lacks is the useful facility of a decent toilet. If it had such it would without doubt be a 4 star site. A lovely location with loads to do on your doorstep. After the driving we had done recently we decided to make this a 3 night stop to recover ourselves and relax a bit.
Wednesday 20th
This was to be an adventure day. I opted to get out on my bike and do 20 + miles to keep my hand in so to speak. On my return we decided on doing some canoeing and Kayaking down the Vezere river. For just 50E Myself, George and Harley along with Bill and Steph hired 3 boats and set out on a 14 KM 3+ hour row down the river. It’s not the first time we have used boats this way to explore an area, but with Bill’s last Canoeing experience being with the armed forces some 40 years ago and Steph never having been near water before it looked like it could have been a bit of a blast. The Minibus took us up river in typical French driving style. A 15 seated minibus was turned in to a bus that would of not looked out of place driving through Africa, you know the ones I mean where people sit on the roof. After getting dropped off we launched in to the water. With George in his own Kayak and Harley in with me, Steph screaming as she got in with Bill. It was a long row, the water was mainly flat calm with a few places where is was quite fast, not as fast as we had had on previous experiences. But with George in his own boat and nearly managing to roll it twice it was probably for the best. The sun remained beating down and this made the Canoeing experience really pleasant. On our return we sat outside the van chatting away and enjoyed what was now becoming customary, My bucket BBQ. a £5-00 job from Woolworths that was serving us just fine.
Thursday 21st
This saw an uneventful day in glorious weather where we sat and ate, played some Badminton, Me and George played some French lads in a competition. We lost only marginally but bear in mind I hit 40 this year and George 12 I thought we gave them a good game. We swam in the pool, and followed this at the night time with a trip to the bar area to listen to a good old fashioned music night.
Friday 22nd
On the road again, this time all the way down to Soustons on the Atlantic coast, the best part of the holiday awaited us. The weather for travelling was good, cool and wet but drying out as we reached our destination. The original plan was to get on to Souston’s aire. We firstly though tried the aire at Vieux Bocau Unfortunately this was solid. On arriving at Soustons aire, this too was chocker. We therefore headed for Messanges aire. Although this has no facilities it does have adequate parking and is a stone throw away from the beach. We arrived on the aire to Bill and I practicing our synchronised MH parking. with the two co-drivers shouting unrealistic directions to us. after eventually finding our parking spots we headed up for the beach to get some surf. The boys and I were straight in and it was just how we had dreamt it, fantastic. After a little bit of surf some nice sand and some great Gaufres (waffles with chocolate) from the shop on the top of the hill we headed back to the vans and the aire. This aire is free, completely free, there is a fantastic view upwards to the stars and the crickets again speak loudly. We chatted briefly to a German motor homer travelling alone by herself accept for her worm ridden dog. Her opening comment was to take the piss out of us sitting in a line outside our van. It made us realise how nice it is to travel, and with a bit more time on our hands we could of just joined her for a few days.
Saturday 23rd
On awaking I got out on my bike and headed off in search of a tabac. 10 miles later I found somewhere at Vieux bocau, this place is lively and very hippy, and happening with the surfers. I could not wait to bring Nikki with me to explore it. On my return to the van we headed on to our main destination. The site at Messanges called Le Vieux port This site has it all. A very large site with many families and static’s A fantastic swimming pool complex and access direct to the beach. Red squirrels roaming freely about and the odd rabbit to say hello to. The only issue is the price, at £40 per night it’s not cheap, but it makes up for that with what it has to offer. You could be in a lively resort if you wanted or having peace and quiet in your van and Only 1.5 miles from vieux bocau. We arrived early and asked for a pitch. Fortunately they had space. A decent bit of space for us and our fellow travellers. good sized pitches. and we were in luck. We nipped off to hire Nikki a bike and set up our van for a 3 or 4 night stop. The weather again was corking hot. The surf was ace, and the kids were away. Bill then hired a bike that resembled a penny farthing, and hired Steph a bike that made her think all her Christmas’s had come at once because it had lights. Nikki and I went on a ride to town to get a cake and left the boys happily playing at the pool complex. On there return we hit the beach for some more surf and then came back to get some takeaway food before going down to the entertainment. The entertainment consisted of men on stilts dancing and small children doing some traditional French dancing. Great to watch and good fun to see. On our return back to the van for a little night cap it became apparent that this was the latest night we hah had. at 12.30 we retired to bed and headed for the land of nod.
Sunday 24th
On awaking and doing my customary sitting out side the van for a tab and to await tack to bring me out my daily fix of caffeine. It became apparent that there was a major flaw in our pitch emplacement. It was directly opposite the bottle bank. Of course with the amount of drink drank on holidays and the fascination of both young and old have with not placing but smashing bottles in to the bottle bank this made bonjour bill, a little irate. I then awoke all in the van and insisted they come down to Vieux Beucout to experience some French life. We cycled there and back with Harley peddling like mad on his little green bike to try and keep up with us on our superior big bikes. He did however keep at it and the exercise done him good. On arrival we sorted out some cakes and had a little walk around the town for some culture. The afternoon came all too soon and we then nipped off for some more exercise in the shape of swimming. We went in to the pool complex and the boys forced me down the slides that they absolutely love. We spent a good 3 hours at the pool swimming and catching some glorious rays which we were now beginning to take for granted. The weather was really now becoming the star of the holiday. Following our swim the boys promised me they would come to the beach with me. However they complained of feeling too tired so I jumped on the beach train alone and headed off my self. On arriving there was a rescue helicopter coming in to land after someone had been fished out the water. It reminds us all from time to time just how dangerous these coasts can be. Thankfully though they are well guarded by superb beach watchers and lifeguards resembling something from Baywatch. When at the beach there was not much surf and I opted to not bother going in. George and Harley then came up to meet me with mum and we sat and watched the sun disappear in a way that always pleases me. To watch it go across the ocean and disappear. With plenty of pictures taken we returned to the van to get changed and get ready for some night-time entertainment. On every holiday children never cease to amaze you with some of the stuff they say. I was drinking a cheap bottle of Jack Daniels named Old Virginia. George then popped up with the comment he thought it was strange drinking something called Old virgina !!! Anyhow we headed out to see the disco, entertainment before returning to the MH for a good nights sleep.
Monday 23rd
Awoken in the middle of the night by really heavy rain. As per usual we ended up parked under trees so when the rain stopped we still ended up being subjected to rain drops even when the rain stops. Got my morning fix of coffee from Chris and headed off in to vieux beucout to get some cash out and stumbled across another nice looking aire. Good facilities and a short walk from the beach. Any how will have to remember next time to go there. In vieux beocout there was a fantastic market selling all the local produce as well as some normal holiday place tat. The boys headed off to get there normal swimming and slide fix before joining me down the beach to catch some surf. The surf was excellent with some great size waves. The evening was spent walking in to the entertainment for a quick look around before heading back to the van to discuss our moving on plans. The problem we have is that we are 700 miles from Calais experiencing some corking hot weather and only 4 days to go. We have opted to stay local tomorrow and check out the site at approx 1pm before heading up to Mimizan Plage a 2 + hour journey.
Tuesday 25th.
Another day and another change of plans. The boys are being extremely lazy and despite paying top dollar for a site they do not want to use the facilities. We therefore checkout at 12 but not leave the site until 2pm. We head off to our chosen destination of Mimizan Plage where we know there is a big Aire for up to 100 vans. We head off up toward the coastal path and on route come across another major find. A quad bike adventure playground. Me being me had to stop and have ago. Of course the kids had a go too, including Steph whom had never been quad biking before. I really enjoyed it of course and only again in France can such a care free attitude be adopted. We eventually arrived at Mimizan plage, not a particularly nice area but nether the less an aire costing 11e. Finding a place proved difficult as many German Mhs had decided to pitch up awnings taking up two bays. After a little recognisance I opted to drive at someone’s awning whom promptly got worried and took it down to make space. Bill on the other hand just opted to squeeze in to a small place and crash his van against the paying hut. His third scrape this tour, not bad for a man who drives big arctic’s. We were promptly greeted by a couple of surfers whom had been staying for 4 weeks as well as a couple from Swansea trying out there van for the first time. We then spent some time exploring the ocean and checking out the waves. Although the beach was not as nice as we had become accustomed it was pleasant. We then settled off to sleep.
Wednesday 26th
The morning was woken by the sound of the bread van beeping. A couple of croissants later and we were on our way we left Mimizan which in all honesty smelt a bit. We had decided to drive all the way up the coastal road to Bordeaux. We would then be heading for an Aire Vivizonne. As the day rolled by and the sun got hotter and hotter, we started to get more and more tired. The trip was broken up with the normal stop for the obligatory fag and shopping expedition. At about 2pm a quick look through our numerous camping book gave us a site at a place called Couhe, just south of Poitiers. What a surprise. We invested in the ACSI camping book a while ago and with this a 35e site was changed in to 14e. The site was a right little gem, where did it come from? It had a great swimming pool complex, with great slides to entertain the kids, the pools were open till midnight. The site was set on a lake with fishing to be had and also a river that could also be fished. After a spot of fishing and some relaxation by the lake, the kids meanwhile enjoying the swimming pool I opted to do us a BBQ. Now I’m well known for my BBQs but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Our BBQ which was now out for its 5th adventure this holiday, was a coal bucket BBQ, With the lighting of this the neighbours all ran for cover and the locals were not sure if the fire brigade should be called as I disappeared in to a ball of smoke. However I tried to explain to everyone that this was quite normal for my BBQing skills. I did then finish off with the best burgers ever, not sure if this was because the burgers brought in by Chris were so good quality or if it was in deed my BBQ skills. After which we settle in for a good night sleep.
Thursday 28th
On awaking in the am with my customary cup of coffee brought to me by Chris we packed up and prepared to move on. Of course this was not before we had to listen to the customary grumpy old man complaining about the noise on the site!!! The problem with travelling so far south is of course that you have to travel back home so far north. We decided to make the most of this travel day by getting a good shift in behind the wheel. We then made a stop at Tours for a McDonalds via a little tour of some pretty little villages. After which I decided that we needed a good spurt to make some time up, so auto route it was, 17e later for only 95 kms we ended up in the back of beyond. WE found a camp site just north of Orleans, not a bad location but a right rip off. It was just simply a stop over place, hardly anyone stayed for more than a night. And at 28e a night a big lot of money for a little bit of land, however it did have a swimming pool. Aires in this part of France are a bit scarce, and looking at most of this part of France it is not hard to see why. Nothing of significance happened this night, in fact it was an early night ready for our move right up north to Calais and our Ferry,
Friday 29th
Well it was up and at it. All day spent looking for supermarkets with cheap wine and we never stopped driving till we reached Calais. We took several scenic detours some planned and some just for the adventure. We arrived at the ferry at 9pm and were aloud to catch an earlier ferry. This was ace. It meant we arrived in the UK at 11pm, half hour to get off and I opted to drive all the way back home arriving at 4am. We had said our goodbyes to Bill and Chris, and of course Steph. I awoke on Saturday to that really painful feeling, you know the one? The holiday is over, I cleaned and polished the van and fixed the annoying little things that happen when away for a couple of weeks and settled down to plan our next trip. Not sure when or where but it will come soon. We love our MH, she’s is really great. She keeps getting smaller as we get bigger, but still we love her. She never missed a beat all the way there and back. Bless her. We thoroughly enjoyed taking some fellow Motor homers with us on this trip. I had my initial reservations but on the whole it was great to have company. I’m sure they all enjoyed themselves as well. Until next time.
Haganap/panagah
