Our only daughter is getting married in June, so obviously we are heading off in that direction.
Once again we seem to be driving up through France when chaos reigns. Our ferry is from Dieppe on the 15th, and there is a general transport strike planned for the 14th, added to which there is a blockade of the oil refineries leading to the garages being out of fuel. The lorry drivers (as usual!) are having sporadic and random blockades of the roads, there are rising floods in the North, and the euro 2016 football tournament will be halfway through as we pass, so I hope that Spain are through by then (we have Spanish number plates)
Before the wedding we are going to GAS IT in Caernarvon to pick up and fit a refillable gas bottle and all the ancillaries to enable us to continue afterwards down the Rhine valley to Switzerland, where we can see 4 days of the Tour de France cycle race, then a quiet leisurely drive through France and Spain to home.
Well that’s the plan - lets see if it works!
TOTAL TOUR STATISTICS
- Distance travelled 7473km
- Travelling time 147hr 53min
- Amount of fuel used 697·14 litres
- Cost of fuel used €786·07
- Average fuel consumption 9·32 litres/100km (30·31mpg)
- Nights away 73
- Nights in free aires/stellplatz 19
- Nights in paid aires/stellplatz 27 at a cost of €231·51
- Nights in campsites 5 at a cost of €96·59
- Nights wildcamping 6
- Nights in France Passion 2
- Nights parked up for wedding 6
- Nights in paid overnight parking 5 at a cost of €47·17
- Nights in free overnight parking 3
- Books read 15
- Average cost per day of overnight stay and fuel €17·33
- Average cost of overnight stay €5·60
Wednesday 08/06/2016 Home to Teruel
N40°19’54·0’’ W001°05’32·6’’ Free aire, no services, no electric.
394km in 4hr 34min
We had to make room in Cervantes for 2 very, very posh wedding outfits, a new suit and shirt, and various new shoes. Obviously we couldn’t roll them up as we do with most of our other clothes, so I re-arranged the ski locker to take a full length dress, and all the rest fitted in too.
We plan to be away after the wedding for maybe 2 months, so it was quite a job packing all we thought we would need - only time will tell if we were right.
We finally left home at 11:00am heading for Teruel on some great roads. We settled into Teruel at 4:00pm, and after a quick shopping trip to Mercadona (just across the road), we took advantage of the 35° weather and sat outside in the park next door - wonderful.
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| Teruel - a great overnight parking spot |
There was lots of activity in the park with people of all ages, from toddlers to pensioners, playing football in the sun. The weather here is so good that almost all activities are based outdoors - no wonder the Spanish have so many sporting champions.
Thursday 09/06/2016 Teruel to Jaca
N42°34’04·4’’ W000°32’42·5’’ Free aire, full services, no electric (yet)
328km in 4hr 1min
Last night we inadvertently parked alongside an automatic water sprinkler. Consequently, at 4:00am, the side of the van was vigorously sprayed every 5 minutes for an hour, making a hell of a din - I fully expected the decals on the van to be missing this morning, but all was OK.
However, we are just a bit tired now, so will have to get some quality sleep tonight.
Driving on some excellent quiet, well-surfaced dual carriageways and motorways today, we were in Jaca by 2:00pm
Our plan is to enter France with a full tank of fuel and a full 13kg bottle of gas. The fuel because of the fuel shortage in France, and the gas because we only have one bottle of gas with us - we are picking up a re-fillable LPG 13kg bottle in North Wales (I sincerely hope!!). We would like to have as much as possible left in the Spanish bottle when we get to North Wales, then we have a reserve between when we run out of LPG in Germany/Switzerland/France and when we re-fill it.
There is a new aire in Jaca on the site of the old one. It has been tarmacked and marked out with spaces for 24 motorhomes, and on the other side of the fence is the parking for the buses. There are full services (electric not working at present) and a barrier on both entrances (currently permanently open so it’s free at the moment, but it’s planned to charge to stay here)
One word of warning though - if you are at all allergic to tree pollen stay well away from here in May and June - the tree pollen is horrendous. Just look at the amount of pollen on the floor of the aire!
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| Pollen - and lots of it! |
A very considerate Spanish van parked next to us (in an empty aire!) and gave us the benefit of his generator noise for an hour at tea time - what a star.
A visit to the excellent town of Jaca found us sampling some wine in Bodegas Langa in the church square - fantastic place (the bodega and the town)
See today’s full photo gallery here.
Friday 10/06/2016 Jaca to Sauternes
N44°32’05·4’’ W000°20’34·0’’ Free aire, full services, no electric.
283km in 4hr 57min
A little chilly last night in the early hours of the morning (by our standards!), but overall a very quiet night - I expected the buses to be off and away at the crack of dawn, but no - they were still here at 9:00am. We filled and emptied at the nice new service point here, then climbed to the Somport tunnel and out the other side to France through some stunning scenery.
The transition from warm Spanish sunshine in Jaca to overcast rain and drizzle in France was quite marked, but we realise we are biased.
There were some mixed roads today, some straight and fast, others slow and poorly surfaced. We entered 3 options into the sat-nav for tonights destination. The first one was fine, but we thought we could “get a bit further” so we went to the second one. On arrival we found you could only park there from 7:30pm on a Friday to 6:00am on a Monday, so we were a bit early.
Our third choice was an aire for 4 vans in Sauternes. We thought it could not be THE Sauternes famous for the wine, but were suitably impressed that it was indeed THE Sauternes, full of bodegas and degustations of the sweet white wine. We are not lovers of sweet pudding wines, so declined their offers, but did end up in the village tabac for a couple of beers - some great old signs in there to compliment the great old village - very old, very quaint, and very desirable (and very quiet).
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| A lovely village, and a great aire |
Our aire now has 6 vans on it and still has room for more. Just a word of warning - don’t follow the motorhome signs in Sauternes - they just direct you down a very narrow road to the service point, from which there is no way out - only the narrow road you have just come down. The aire is straight on along the main road at the motorhome parking sign.
See today’s full photo gallery here.
Saturday 11/06/2016 Sauternes to Basses
N47°02’32·4’’ E000°07’04·3’’ Free aire, water, no electric.
338km in 4hr 49min
It was a strange night last night - here we are in an idyllic setting in a beautiful village miles from anywhere, and someone arrives at 2:30am in a car for a chat with someone in a battered old van that was here before us.
30 minutes later all was quiet except for a beeping noise every 4 seconds. We checked all our alarms - CO monitor, fridge door open, low habitation battery, alarm clock - but nothing. It was either coming from one of the vans on either side of us, or it was an extremely persistent bird with a monotonous call - our money was on the bird. Earplugs gave us some respite and allowed us to get some sleep.
There were mixed roads today starting with 45 minutes of constant town after town, followed by 3 hours of 100kph motorway and dual carriageway.
Some TV reception today was top of the list to see the penultimate day of the Criterium du Dauphine - a one week cycle race in the French Alps. Chris Froome is second at the moment, and it would be nice to see him win.
Our first stop of 3 was at a roadside aire in Chalais, but no TV reception.
On to Loudun for a town centre aire for 2 vans, but again no TV reception, and quite a public place. So on to number 3, a farm just off the D759 which let you stay in their inner courtyard where they also had 2 gites. The working farm, complete with cows, was on the other side of the farmhouse.
On to Loudun for a town centre aire for 2 vans, but again no TV reception, and quite a public place. So on to number 3, a farm just off the D759 which let you stay in their inner courtyard where they also had 2 gites. The working farm, complete with cows, was on the other side of the farmhouse.
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| In the gite car park |
As forecast by the weatherman, it rained heavily when we got here, so it was a day inside for us - unfortunately no TV here either!
Sunday 12/06/2016 Basses to Chartres
N48°26’11·4’’ E001°30’01·2’’ ACSI campsite, €17, full services, showers and toilets
259km in 3hr 59min
A quiet night on the farm and on the road by 9:00am
It´s Glyns’ birthday today and she has reached the ripe old age of ** years (if I told you she would kill me!)
As a birthday present we are going on a toll road to Chartres (€16 for 100km) and are staying on a campsite at Camping les bords de l'Eure, which gives us an easy walk into Chartres where we plan to explore the World Heritage Site cathedral.
The only problem is that it has been persisting down all day, and shows no signs of abating. We took waterproofs and umbrella and set off for Chartres, hoping to find a cafe with a TV to watch the final day of the cycling. We did find one and asked if we could watch the cycling and he said yes. He duly switched it onto the football (Euro 2016) so everyone in the cafe started watching it - not exactly the result we wanted.
The cathedral lived up to all the hype surrounding it, showing the huge scale and intricate carving of the stonework, with the added bonus of an American Choir from Atlanta singing, which added greatly to the atmosphere.
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| A stunning entrance |
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| and a fantastic interior |
Walking back to the campsite the heavens opened again and 2 drowned rats arrived back at Cervantes at 6:00pm - wet through isn’t the word.
See today’s full photo gallery here.
Monday 13/06/2016 Chartres to Pont de L’Arche
N49°18’21·6’’ E001°09’22·9’’ Paid aire, €5, full services, no electric.
132km in 2hr 9min
A traumatic exit from the campsite this morning, which we only just made.
We made the mistake of parking on grass yesterday - there being no other choice. It rained continuously until the early hours of this morning so the ground was super saturated. I has an escape route planned, but other vans had blocked my exit.
We persuaded one of the offending vans to move, and just, just made it onto some hardstanding with the driving wheels spinning all the way.
Watch my lips when I say “never again will I park on grass”
The drive today took us around some major towns which had more than their fair share of HGVs on their roads, so progress was somewhat stop and start.
We finally arrived at Pont de L'Arche where we had stayed before, to find a brand new aire next door to where we had stayed on the old one.
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| A good aire has become a very good aire |
There is space here now for 12 motorhomes with full services for €5 for 24 hours.
A second visit to the excellent cathedral confirmed that the ornate outside complements the more restrained inside, but is still mightily impressive.
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| Breathtaking detail |
The sun eventually showed its face at 5:00pm after constant rain - no wonder there is flooding on the River Seine (just outside our door!) You can see where the water level has been at its highest on the river bank - frighteningly high - the aire only just survived being flooded.
See today’s full photo gallery here.
Tuesday 14/06/2016 Pont de L’Arche to Dieppe
N49°55’51·1’’ E001°05’12·7’’ Paid aire €12, full services, limited electric.
97km in 1hr 35min
Rain all night, rain all morning, but we still managed a walk across the bridge to see some wildlife (mink or otter?)
After a visit to the boulangerie for bread and cakes, we circumnavigated Rouen and were soon on the road to Dieppe - the last leg!!
There used to be 2 places to park in Dieppe, one being the paid aire, and one the free parking in the seafront car park. We heard or read that the free one had closed, so we went to find it to see for ourselves.
It is still open but is no longer free. It now costs €12 for 24 hours and has full services with no electric. It is very exposed with great views of the sea and coastline, but with winds of 70kph forecast for tonight (wrongly as it turned out!) we thought we would give the other aire a try.
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| We couldn't be nearer the ferry! |
It was also barrier controlled at €12 for 24 hours with full services and free electric. However the electric points are limited - there are only 2 stands containing 4 sockets each in an aire with marked spaces for 58 motorhomes, so its first come first served.
There seem to be many single young men walking through the aire, all seemingly headed for the water taps to have a drink, wash their hair or wash their clothes. I assume that they are migrants from the tented village on the far side of the ferry port. They don’t seem to be any trouble, but their very presence is a bit disconcerting.
Not withstanding that, we fully locked, alarmed and secured Cervantes (drop the bed down and it covers both side plastic windows - no way in), left the radio playing so it could be heard from outside, and set off for the town of Dieppe.
There was lots of activity on the fishing quay where the days catch was being unloaded from the boats and put straight into vans for delivery today to markets, wholesalers and restaurants.
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| Fresh? - you bet! |
Reading the menus of the many quayside restaurants, all featured heavily on fish, some even naming the boat the fish had been caught by.
As Glyn’s birthday had been spoiled by torrential rain in Chartres, we decided a nice meal would be in order, so plumped for a lovely family restaurant where moules frites and mackerel in mustard sauce were the mains, cheese en papillote with salad were the starters, and homemade biscuits, creme pattissiere, strawberries and cream were the sweets. With an excellent bottle of Muscadet and plenty to watch on the quayside, this was an excellent choice.
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| This is the starter! |
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| Freshly caught mussels - excellent |
A walk to the ferry terminal afterwards gave us some free WiFi in reception, and told us that tomorrow’s ferry was as scheduled, then it was back to Cervantes for a siesta and some last minute planning.
See today’s full photo gallery here.
Wednesday 15/06/2016 Dieppe to Abingdon
N51°39’58·6’’ W001°16’39·7’’ Paid overnight parking, no services, no electric.
218km in 3hrs 18min
A nice quiet night in Dieppe with the now obligatory rain, and after filling and emptying we were in our queue by 10:30am
We were duly loaded, and found ourselves at the front of the ship i.e. the first out when we docked. The crossing seemed to fly by, and in no time at all we could see the white cliffs.
No problems with customs here (we were searched in Dieppe and all cupboards, lockers and doors were opened) so we were soon in our first traffic jam of the day.
We are spoilt in Spain with the quality and quietness of the roads, and queuing to get through a set of traffic lights when the lights change 4 times before you get through them is unheard of.
Calm thoughts and plenty of Pink Floyd got us to Southampton, where we could pick up the motorway and have a reasonably good run to our destination - a lorry park in Abingdon that accepts motorhomes too - £7·30 for 24 hours. There are lots of HGV’s here, but they all seem friendly people, and we feel quite safe here.
Thursday 16/06/2016 Abingdon to Caernarvon
N53°08’43·7’’ W004°16’21·4’’ Paid overnight parking, £5, no services, no electric.
424km in 5hr 51min
The lorry drivers fired up their engines at 6:00am this morning, so we were up at 6:30am (we read the clock wrong - we hadn’t put it on UK time so thought it was 7:30am!)
It was motorway all the way today, but unfortunately not motorway speeds all the way. The weather was atrocious with monsoon rain making it difficult to see - never mind drive through.
However, we eventually made it to Caernarvon and went searching for GAS-IT so we knew where to go tomorrow. It’s a good job we went because it took some finding, but once there we introduced ourselves to Warren, and asked him for any recommendations on where to stay tonight.
He suggested the coast only 2 miles away from where we were, but once there we found that every car park had a “no overnight parking” sign, so it was pretty obvious they did not want any motorhomes there.
We defaulted to the long stay car park next to Morrisons, on the banks of the Menai Straights. After a phone call to the advertised number to confirm we were OK to park there, we picked a large bay to stay within the lines, and ended up with a brilliant view of the sunset over the water.
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| A good sunset from here |
I have my list of parts for the visit to GAS-IT tomorrow at 10:15am, so aim to fit it tomorrow lunchtime in wherever we end up!
A walk up the steps to Morrisons saw us stocked up on Quorn and veggie sausages - there are some things we miss in Spain (but not many!)
See today’s full photo gallery here.
Friday 17/06/2016 Caernarvon to Llanberis
N53°06’58·9’’ W004°07’06·3’’ Paid overnight parking, £14, no services, no electric.
54km in 1hr 14min
Rain, rain, rain all night long again, but thankfully it stopped before we set off for GAS-IT, only 15 minutes away.
Warren, our salesman, was as helpful as he could be - a top man. He examined our gas locker and got me the correct lengths of fill and supply hose, and also swapped the filter I got to the other hand so it was a better fit - nothing was too much trouble, and he certainly knew exactly what he was talking about.
For the sum of £240 I got an 11kg refillable bottle, an angled in-locker bracket, a removable straight fill point with a UK adaptor, a 0·75m fill hose, an in-line filter and 2 replacement filters, a pigtail to the regulator, a 2 way T piece with non return valves and an elbow to make it fit better, a set of 3 European adaptors with bag, and a leak detector spray.
90 minutes later everything was fitted so we headed for Bangor to fill up with LPG.
I didn’t have the nerve to let the 80% cut-off valve kick in, and stopped the fill at 22 litres. We parked in Tescos car park where I checked for leaks (Glynis standing well away on the other side of the car park) and found a very small one on the fill pipe to bottle connection, which was soon nipped up and stopped. We then fired up the fridge and gas hob - all working perfectly!
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| I fitted this in 90 mins with basic tools - so anyone can do this |
We are now in a car park in Llanberis at the foot of Snowdon. There was no one in the entrance box to take the £7 off us, so I went to the adjacent hotel who own the car park to see what the story was.
We were able to stay overnight at a cost of £14 - the UK is definitely not a motorhome-friendly country in terms of overnight aires and parking!
It was overcast and quite cold today, so a visit to the pub (£5·50 for 1 1/2 pints!) gave us some free WiFi.
Saturday 18/06/2016 Llanberis to Rhuallt
N53°15’51·3’’ W003°23’48·7’’ ACSI campsite, £17, full services, electric, showers and toilets.
91km in 1hr 39min
It’s 4:00am in the morning and our once empty car park is filling up rapidly with vans of all shapes and sizes, with lots of noise and activity. We saw signs yesterday for “Snowdon Rocks” - a music festival on today in various locations, and yesterday evening 4 portaloos were delivered to this car park - are we in the middle of a rock concert?
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| A bit busy for 5am |
As the morning progressed (we were up at 4:15am) it transpired that today was the Welsh 3 peaks race, the first peak being Snowdon, the 2nd was a 30 minute drive away, and the 3rd was a 2 hour drive away.
Talking to some of the support people in the vans, the first racers should be back here in 180 minutes, and sure enough at 6:45am the first 4 runners arrived back in the car park, where the smell of sausages and coffee was all powerful.
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| The helpers are working as hard as the runners |
The vans were all pretty much gone by 10:00am, when the day trippers started to arrive and fill the car park - it was time for us to go.
We took the scenic route through Betws-y-Coed to our ACSI site in Rhuallt and were there by 1:00pm, after a detour to do some shopping.
It was a gloriously sunny day which we spent outside reading the Saturday Guardian - a rare treat.
See today’s full photo gallery here.
Sunday 19/06/2016 Rhuallt
N53°15’51·3’’ W003°23’48·7’’
Some noise from the restaurant was soon cured by earplugs last night, and we awoke to a bright, fresh morning.
It’s my birthday today, so we went on a celebratory walk up to the top of the Clwydian hills just behind us. It was a fantastic view until, in the distance, we could see the rain clouds approaching. Soon it was persisting down, so we donned our cagoules and headed back down again.
Back at Cervantes, Glynis announced that she had booked a table for us at the adjoining White House restaurant - fantastic.
Just before we were about to leave I heard a car pull up onto our pitch next to Cervantes - very strange I thought - maybe checking on our booking arrangements I thought. On opening the door to ask them what they wanted, I was confronted by.........our daughter Hannah!!!
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| A really unexpected surprise - brilliant |
What a brilliant suprise for my birthday. She was accompanied by Glyn’s sister Bronwyn and her husband - another suprise.
It turned out that this was all organised by Glyn, and was a total, lovely suprise for me. We all had a superb meal in the restaurant, and after cake back in the van, we said our goodbyes until Thursday when we will meet again.
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| ....and a lovely cake as well |
The rain persisted all day, so no outside time today, which gave me an opportunity to write up the blog.
See today’s full photo gallery here.
Monday 20/06/2016 Rhuallt to Chester
N53°11’03·1’’ W002°53’41·2’’ Paid overnight parking, £5, no services, no electric.
66km in 1hr 6min
After a really quiet night it was time to pack up and move on. Despite the non-stop rain we did everything we wanted and were moving by 10:30am
Our first stop was the outlet village of Cheshire Oaks, just north of Chester. Glynis had a few last minute things to get, and I wanted some quality shorts for the summer. I got some Craghopper shorts from Regatta outdoors, and also a pair in Jack Wolfskin, so that’s me sorted.
Parking for the motorhome is free here in the coach parking area, but unfortunately we cannot stay overnight. Our final destination was the Little Roodee car park, just outside the city walls in Chester, and on the banks of the River Dee.
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| A good, spacious car park nearly in the middle of Chester |
Traffic was a little busy to get there, but nothing serious. To take advantage of overnight parking for £5 you cannot arrive before 5:00pm and have to leave by 9:00am, so we were there at 5:05pm and parked up for the night.
There were another 5 motorhomes there so we were not alone. A walk along the Dee revealed an enormous stone built bridge with a single span - the biggest one in the world at 61m (200ft), beyond which was the very green and tidy Chester racecourse.
From the van you could also see the city walls, so a very cheap and central position.
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| A very impressive bridge |
From the van you could also see the city walls, so a very cheap and central position.
See today’s full photo gallery here.
Tuesday 21/06/2016 Chester to Tarporley
Glynis’ sister’s drive
34km in 44min
There was a slight cock-up with the leaving times this morning - the actual leaving time on the notice board was 7:00am. We never looked because we thought the time given in the website (9:00am) was correct - obviously our fault for not looking, but also their fault for giving the wrong information. When we paid at 8:55am we were charged another £5·50 for the period 7:00am onwards, so a total of £10·50.
We had some time to kill, so went to Broughton retail park, right next to Broughton airport where the Beluga cargo plane we had seen last night landed. It carries the right wing built at Broughton for the A380 airbus to Toulouse, where it is assembled with other parts from Spain, France and Germany - truly a Europlane.
We are staying with Glyn’s sister before the wedding, who has kindly organised parking for Cervantes on next door’s drive, so that is parking sorted for the next few days.
A fabulous lunch with great views over the Cheshire plain followed the posting of our postal votes for the EU referendum - we’re staying in!, then recuperation and regrouping to recover for the coming days.
Monday 27/06/2016 Tarporley to Sheffield
N53°22’18·9’’ W001°34’50·1’’ Paid overnight parking, £4, water and electric.
118km in 2hr 20min
After a brilliant wedding which went without any hitches and was hugely enjoyed by everyone, we are back on the road on our way to our ferry across the North Sea.
As those of you in the UK are already aware, finding places to park a motorhome overnight is almost a full time job. After lots of searching on the internet, Glynis found a website which listed overnight parking by county.
We were away from Bronwyn’s at 12 noon and were headed for a pub just outside Sheffield which had spaces for 5 motorhomes - a credit to the owners of “The Three Merry Lads”
By the time we got there the pub was shut (unusual in this day and age) but someone was outside cleaning, so we had a quick word and confirmed that it was OK to stay overnight - no problem.
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| A great view from this gem of a parking spot |
By the time we got there the pub was shut (unusual in this day and age) but someone was outside cleaning, so we had a quick word and confirmed that it was OK to stay overnight - no problem.
The sun was out and the playground next to us was being well used as we sorted the van into something like normality.
The cost here is £4 per night including water, plus another £4 if you want electric (16amp!) If you eat in the pub (which we did) the overnight fee is waived. The meals are approx £10, and use locally sourced meat and produce, and are excellent.
We returned to the van to watch the sunset and see England lose miserably to Iceland at football - up to their usual standard then!
See today’s full photo gallery here.
Tuesday 28/06/2016 Sheffield to Cambridge
N52°11’41·3’’ E000°02’08·0’’ Campsite, £17, showers, toilets, electric.
262km in 3hr 38min
Despite the house next door to our car park playing music far too loudly, a combination of very late nights and very early mornings meant we were in bed and asleep for 10:00pm
We awoke at 8:00am without either of us having got up or woken up - very unusual for us, so we must have needed the 10 hours solid sleep.
Our destination today was Trumpington park and ride car park, just to the west of Cambridge. Prior to that we called in at the Camping and Caravaning site at Great Shelford to empty and fill with water. As a non-member it would have been £28 to stay here, but they asked for donations for use of their services - what a great attitude. We then went on to the park and ride which, according to their website, lets you stay overnight, where we were met with a barrage of conflicting information. A call to information at the barrier informed us that we could NOT stay overnight under any circumstances, and if we were still there after 6:30pm we would be fined - welcome to Cambridge!!
A search on the sat-nav showed Highfield Farm as being reasonably near, and a phone call confirmed they had hardstanding pitches - no grass for us in this weather!
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| Highfield Farm saves the day |
We were there in 15mins, and after confirming that we could get into Cambridge from here (bus stop at the bottom of the lane and regular hourly buses) we booked for 2 nights, no electric for £17 per night. The lady running the campsite was so helpful and funny, it showed us the opposite side of the don´t care attitude in Trunpington.
Nicely settled onto hardstanding and watching Wimbledon with food and drink, we are looking forward to going into Cambridge tomorrow.
See today’s full photo gallery here.
Wednesday 29/06/2016 Cambridge
N52°11’41·3’’ E000°02’08·0’’ Campsite, £17, showers, toilets, electric.
A 30 minute ride on a double decker bus into Cambridge along some very narrow country roads was the start of our visit to Cambridge.
We were there for 9:40am, so had a cup of coffee and WiFi until the Tourist Information office opened at 10:00am
We bought a walking map for £2 which listed all the colleges and churches and their histories, and gave us a comprehensive list of the main attractions in Cambridge and the route on which to see them.
The forecasted rain just held off until we had seen everything we wanted - some stunning architecture, and churches going back to 1025 (the tower of St Benet’s church), whilst the colleges ranged from 1284 (Peterhouse) to 1596 (Sidney Sussex College)
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| Just as we imagined it |
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| Imaculate buildings in imaculate grounds |
We were back at Cervantes in the pouring rain at 3:30pm to dry off and see today’s Wimbledon.
The campsite here is brilliant - all facilities are first class - showers, toilets and pitches. Way out in the country it is super quiet and very sheltered from the strong winds by the high conifer hedges. The staff are wonderful and so helpful - all campsites should be like this!
See today’s full photo gallery here
Thursday 30/06/2016 Cambridge to Harwich
N51°56’39·9’’ E001°15’02·6’’ Overnight parking at Harwich ferry port, free, no services, no electric.
141km in 2hr 21min
We awoke to a brilliant, sunny morning, so decided to take the 1·5 mile farm walk. The farmer has mown a wide strip in his crop around the perimeter of the farm to walk on, and the views are superb. The wildlife is also very varied as is the flora, both in the fields and the hedgerows.
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| A great idea to let you walk through the fields |
A full fill and empty at the campsite and we were on the M11 at 1:00pm.
We went to the seaside in Harwich to check out alternative parking if our first choice fell through. There didn’t seem to be any restrictions on the roadside parking, so this is a possibility.
We did some last minute shopping for us and for some friends in Spain, then went to our final destination - the ferry terminal in Harwich. We had phoned them previously to confirm that we could stay overnight - yes was the answer, no problem - just park over to the left hand side as you come in. This we did and were soon joined by 5 assorted vans and caravans.
There was no-one here who could confirm we could stay overnight, although the man loading the cars for the late ferry thought it was OK.
We have an early ferry tomorrow morning so we are busy preparing for an early start.
An Irish 4 by 4 towing an enormous caravan has parked alongside us (why? - there are acres of room to park anywhere here!), followed by a transit van. A 22kg gas bottle was produced out of the transit (driven by his wife?), stood at the front of the caravan and then connected up to it´s gas pipe! I almost told him about refillable gas bottles, but he didn’t seem the most receptive of people, so I left him to it. I wonder if it will last them and the 2 kids for their time across the North Sea - it seems a bit over the top to be followed by a transit van! He then used the next 60 minutes to attempt to connect a 50m long length of electrical cable to the caravan electrics. When he had finally finished he opened the bonnet of the Toyota Landcruiser, attatched some jump cables between the battery and an inverter, and plugged the cable into the inverter - nothing! His wife didn’t sound too pleased, and after another 60 minutes he gave it up as a bad job and went to sit in the caravan in the dark. I did consider moving due to the obvious fire risk, but decided to stick it out. Talk about Heath Robinson!
See today’s full photo gallery here
Friday 01/07/2016 Harwich to Schiedam
N51°55’08·9’’ E004°23’37·1’’ Paid aire, free from 8pm to 9am, so you just pay the fee up to 8pm, no services, no electric.
27km in 38min
An early start saw us in the queue by 6:45am, then through passport control to loading. A longish wait whilst all the lorries were loaded, but once on the ferry it was time to explore.
It was a very well equipped Stenaline ferry with lots of seating (and lots of noisy teenagers) which gave us chance to move around to different areas.
There was free WiFi on board which meant we could look for a place to stay tonight. We have the ACSI book for campsites, but practically every site was on grass. It was raining all the way over, and is still bucketing down now at 7:30pm, so no grass for us.
Campercontacts (a Dutch company) came to the rescue, and having WiFi we could look at the location of all their nearby listed aires. There was a great range to choose from, and we settled on one by a canal, underneath a windmill.
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| A perfect setting for an aire |
The pricing system here was a tad confusing, even with the english translation - we had to ask the advice of a Dutch couple next to us (they all seem to speak English - how embarassing for us) what the procedure was.
The aire is free from 8pm to 9am, so you just have to pay from when you get here to 8pm (assuming you are staying overnight). The cost is minimal - if you paid for all day it would cost you €7, half a day is €3·80, and an hour is €1·90 (or a fraction of an hour down to 1 minute). We paid €3·17 for 1 hour 40 minutes.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Saturday 02/07/2016 Schiedam to Wesel
N51°39’36·7’’ E006°35’37·8’’ Paid stellplatz, €9, free services, paid for water and electric.
188km in 2hr 39min
We watched Wales trounce Belgium at football last night - hooray (Glynis is Welsh!!!). Still flying the flag for the UK, they are now in the semi-finals.
A quiet night with constant light drizzle turned into a morning of heavy rain, and torrential rain on the motorway - difficult to see and speed down to 40kph.
We had a quarter tank of fuel, and no prospect of any off the motorway, so bit the bullet and paid €1·25 per litre on the A12 in Holland. As expected, when we got to Germany the price was €1·10 per litre - who was to know?
Our destination today was an ACSI site in Wesel, and after stocking up at the local Lidl, I decided to interrogate the sat-nav and search for Bordatlas POI’s for anywhere local to stay. It came up with many options, one of which was right on the banks of the Rhine.
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| A great stellplatz, even in the rain |
Clearly signposted it was a doddle to find, and was on gravel-covered grass, so no problems with mud. The system of paying was one I’d never seen before. You took an envelope from a holder on a wooden hut and filled in your details - date, time, length of stay, registration number and pitch number, put the original in the windscreen, then put the carbon copy and €9 into the envelope and posted it into the adjacent letter box.
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| The tiger mosquito has made it to Germany - and is on our stellplatz! |
There must be 30 vans here all taking advantage of these great facilities (at half the price of the campsite). Electric is available at €1 for 1·5kwH, and the fresh water and black water disposal is also to pay for (€2)
The Rhine is very busy with freight barges, and there are river cruises available from outside the riverside bars and cafes.
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| Huge river barges here - this one is pushing 6 containers |
See today’s full photo gallery here
Sunday 03/07/2016 Wesel to Andernach
N50°26’29·3’’ E007°24’30·2’’ Paid stellplatz, €7, full services, electric.
196km in 3hr 4min
We spent last night watching Germany v Italy on TV. It went to penalties which was exciting, but goodness - what a mess they made of them. I thought England were bad at penalties, but I think even they could have scored more than these two!
Germany eventually won and the celebrations around us were “boisterous” to say the least. All good natured, but very loud - earplugs to the fore!
It’s been almost constant rain since we got here, but the grass we’re on has a top layer of gravel, and I’m only 1 metre from the road and we have reversed onto the ramps, so all looking good for getting off.
However, that was child’s play compared to the rain we drove through today - I have never seen rain like it - we were almost at a standstill on the motorway - absolutely horrendous to drive in.
We are relying on the sat-nav for stellplatz locations, but the descriptions are a bit sparse, so a solution was needed.
We stopped at a motorway petrol station and the shop had many maps and a couple of stellplatz books. One was very general and included things to see and do, and the other one was a pure stellplatz book with a location map of all the stellplatz’s, but only for South Germany, which luckily is where we are, and where we are going.
At €20 it was a bit pricey, but we’ve already gained from it by switching to a stellplatz mentioned in it at Andernach - right on the banks of the Rhine, with a brilliant, impressive approach on an elevated ring road. All parking is on hard standing in a purpose-built car park with plenty of room for the 50+ vans here. Entry is a bit tricky to find, but plenty wide enough for even the biggest vans.
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| A very detailed stellplatz book - just what we needed |
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| A touring book with some great ideas for places to see that are motorhome friendly |
At €20 it was a bit pricey, but we’ve already gained from it by switching to a stellplatz mentioned in it at Andernach - right on the banks of the Rhine, with a brilliant, impressive approach on an elevated ring road. All parking is on hard standing in a purpose-built car park with plenty of room for the 50+ vans here. Entry is a bit tricky to find, but plenty wide enough for even the biggest vans.
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| A fantastic aire on the banks of the Rhine |
The stellplatz we had originally identified from the sat-nav was on grass and inland from the Rhine, so the book was a good buy.
All the frontline views were taken, so we got a second line with a reasonable view. The Rhine here is like the M6. Barge after barge - the amount of freight taken off the roads by these barges is impressive to say the least.
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| Never fails to raise a smile |
See today’s full photo gallery here
Monday 04/07/2016 Andernach
N50°26’29·3’’ E007°24’30·2’’ Paid stellplatz, €7, full services, electric.
Heavy intermittent rain had us in and out of the van today.
We set off early for town centre coffee, and on the way booked a river trip to see the worlds highest cold water geyser, preceded by an hour long visit to the science and geology behind it - very interesting. There were lots of interactive things to keep the children amused - all in all, very well put together.
The current on the Rhine here is very strong, and the river boat more or less floated to where we were going. A short walk had us at a pile of brown-stained rocks, and sure enough, 5 minutes later, a spout of water shot 60 feet up into the air, all powered by CO2 produced by the molten magma below the earth’s crust.
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| Impressive - and right on time |
Back at the aire a space had opened up on the banks of the Rhine, so we moved to the front line with a fantastic view of river life - there are boats galore on this river.
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| The view from our windscreen - priceless |
Lidl is only 500m away, so after a quick stock up it was time for the Tour de France, day 3.
The Rhine is a proper transport corridor - not only the river, there is a railway line (both freight and passengers) on either side, an “A” road on either side, and a motorway on either side.
We picked up a great guide today of the whole of the Rhine valley - places to see, must go-to towns, and town plans to help you round - got from the Tourist Information Centre in the Geyser Experience building.
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| A very informative guide to the Rhine... |
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| ...that opens up to show the whole of the Rhine |
See today’s full photo gallery here
Tuesday 05/07/2016 Andernach to Bacharach
N50°03’18·5’’ E007°46’19·4’’ Paid stellplatz, €9, full services, electric €2·50
76km in 1hr 44min
The river cruiser that docked in front of us last night had gone by 7:15am when we got up.
Last night we decided to abandon the motorways and drive on the main roads next to the Rhine to get some views.
We weren’t disappointed, having seen some stunning wooded V-shaped valleys with picturesque castles perched on the skyline, and all the time the Rhine dominated in the valley bottom with its constant flow of cruisers and freight barges.
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| One of the biggest of the many river cruisers on the Rhine |
Our destination at Bacharach had a great write up in the guide we’d bought, and the stellplatz there also sounded excellent. On the way, as Oberwesel also had a great write up, we thought we would call in there to look at the 2 stellplatz listed. We couldn’t find the first one, and the second one was a run-down, scruffy campsite on grass, so we swiftly moved on to Bacharach.
The GPS co-ordinates in the stellplatz book seem to be quite general, so when we got a motorhome parking sign fairly near where the stellplatz was supposed to be, we pulled into it. It was deserted, with an automatic pay machine telling us it was €19 to stay overnight. This didn’t agree with the €9 cost in the book, plus we could stay in a campsite for €17!!
After a walk around we discovered the correct stellplatz 300m further down the road, outside the adjoining campsite.
At reception we paid €9 plus €2·50 for electric (so we could cook and freeze batches of Patatas Pilar for future meals) and had a front line (10m away) river view - perfect.
At reception we paid €9 plus €2·50 for electric (so we could cook and freeze batches of Patatas Pilar for future meals) and had a front line (10m away) river view - perfect.
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| You can't get much closer to the Rhine than this |
Rain threatened and was forecast for the afternoon, so we had a sit outside Cervantes to watch the river traffic until we were forced inside.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Wednesday 06/07/2016 Bacharach to Nierstein
N49°51’27·4’’ E008°19’23·1’’ Paid stellplatz, €9, full services, paid electric.
65km in 1hr 7min
Today we didn’t have to leave until 3pm, and as a bonus we awoke to the sun streaming through the windscreen from a cloudless blue sky.
Our guide book told us that the old castle had been refurbished and was now a youth hostel. So, always one for a view from heights, we found the path up from the town and started our ascent.
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| A fairy-tale castle on the banks of the Rhine |
With easy-going underfoot we were soon there with a magnificent view of the Rhine in both directions (and of Cervantes in the stellplatz) - what a place for a youth hostel!
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| Magnificent views down the Rhine |
On the way down we stopped at a ruined abbey next to the church - very impressive, then went into the church which was very understated, but was the better for it.
Bacharach is a lovely, authentic, compact village giving you a genuine view of a typical Rhine settlement. With not too much souvenir tat, it was very restrained with some excellent buildings with real age and heritage.
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| Bacharach is just as you imagine a town on the Rhine to be like |
We moved on to a stellplatz in Nierstein which was behind a wine producer/restaurant approx 2km from the Rhine. We are surrounded by vines and have an uninterrupted view over the Rhine to Frankfurt (30km away) where we can see the planes taking off - many of them transatlantic ones.
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| Nice and quiet in the middle of the vines - just as we like it |
The restaurant does not open until 5pm, but the good news is that we have TV reception to see the Tour de France (no TV yesterday) and also watch Wales play Portugal - come on boyos!
The temperature has ramped up today and we could finally eat our evening meal outside - result!
See today’s full photo gallery here
Thursday 07/07/2016 Nierstein to Kehl
N48°33’47·3’’ E007°48’50·1’’ Paid stellplatz, €8, full services, paid electric.
207km in 3hr 15min
We are trying to drive as close to the Rhine as we can, but often this is not possible due to no roads! We are also trying to stay overnight as close to the Rhine as possible - again, not always possible. Today was a case in point. We tried to stick with the river, but were forced onto the motorway, and today’s destination at Kehl was as close as we could get - approx 500m away.
Today is an absolute scorcher with the temperature in the high 30s - just right for us. After parking up we took a walk along the Rhine and half way over the foot and cycle bridge - the vehicles and trains use a separate on. It looks good for cycling so we may take the bikes over to Strasbourg tomorrow.
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| The cycle-friendly bridge - no cars allowed! |
The stellplatz today is on gravel, opposite a sports centre with paid for electric. A Dutch van was just about to set off as we parked next to him, and he very kindly told us that there was 1·5Kw left on his electric which we could use if we wanted - what a nice man. We can do without electric ever in this sunshine, but we took it anyway to give the gas a rest.
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| Plenty of room on this stellplatz |
We started our journey down the Rhine in a very industrial part through Rotterdam, Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Koln, then at Konigswinter it becomes very pretty until Bingen, where the industries in Mainz and Mannheim intrude once more.
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| Drink that beer before it gets warm! |
Where we are today in Kehl is excellent next to the Rhine with lots of open parkland and lakes, and is very, very cycle friendly.
We can also pick up French TV in HD so the tour looks great - a hat-trick for Cavendish today.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Friday 08/07/2016 Kehl to Colmar
N48°04’49·7’’ E007°22’30·9’’ Paid stellplatz, €15, full services, electric, toilets, paid shower.
80km in 1hr 27min
We are booked in at Kehl for 24 hours, so have to be away by 2:30pm
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| This door is closed! - what a great idea |
It’s another gloriously sunny, warm day, so the bikes were off the back and we were soon on the banks of the Rhine heading for Strasburg.
The French beat the Germans at football last night so the stellplatz was very subdued, and German Kehl was a big contrast to French Strasbourg - the border runs down the middle of the Rhine!
Kehl and Strasburg are the most cycle friendly places we have ever been, with cycle paths everywhere (all signed) and car drivers giving you great respect - what a refreshing change.
Our main destination was Strasbourg Cathedral and it didn’t disappoint. What a building, both outside and in, and would you believe it was free to get in!! They asked for donations as you left - some gave, but many ignored it. Everyone would willingly pay €1 to get in, which would net them 000’s in a week - much more I imagine than a donation box (which they could still keep at the exit).
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| What a building! |
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| Breathtaking inside |
There were big groups of 25+ with a leader telling the group what was what. We must have seen 10 of these groups in the hour we were in there - all different languages - Japanese, Norwegian, English, Dutch, Chinese. Maybe they had their own deal with the cathedral - I hope so because it is a fabulous building which must take a tremendous amount of upkeep.
Bron had told us how pretty Colmar was, so that was our destination for today. The aire was an all-inclusive €15·44, only the showers being extra at €3.
Right by a canal with boats on, the setting where we were was very picturesque, but some people opted to park further along and have a great view of the flats opposite!
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| Another fantastic location for an aire |
France 3 in HD let us watch the Tour go up the Col d’Aspin (much sunnier today than when I rode up it) with a great win for Steve Cummins - a British rider with Dimension Data, a South African team.
Early evening had us in the middle of Colmar, and quite right Bron, it is a lovely place. Very well presented with many authentic, old buildings, there was a surprise around every corner.
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| The pretty town of Colmar, just in France |
A beer in one of the many cafes gave us the strength for the 20 minute walk back to the van, where Remoska was soon in use cooking Patatas Bravas and veggie sausages - yeah!
We were outside tonight until 10:30pm - a proper summers evening!
PS - Don’t arrive late at this stellplatz, because you won’t get in! The gate is locked at 9:00pm and does not open until 8:00am, so if you don’t want to park outside (like 3 vans did tonight), get here before 9:00pm
See today’s full photo gallery here
Saturday 09/07/2016 Colmar to Titisee
N47°54’24·2’’ E008°09’42·3’’ Free overnight parking, no services, no electric.
80km in 1hr 35min
We had a leisurely morning outside with pan au chocolat from the bread woman and coffee (ours) before setting off today.
The Rhine has become a bit remote, not being able to drive next to it for the greater part. We therefore decided to head east into the Black Forest to a stellplatz we had identified from our new guide book.
The place in question was called Titisee and was next to a lake. The journey there was a slow affair - roadworks on motorways, traffic lights through the villages, and a Saturday volume of traffic into the Black Forest.
We made it eventually, and are now parked in a designated spot for motorhomes outside the car park for the swimming pool and leisure complex. There are 6 more motorhomes here at present, with more arriving by the hour.
We have manged to park uphill, so don’t need ramps, although we do need the awning out to keep the fierce sun at bay.
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| No services, but still a great spot |
We have manged to park uphill, so don’t need ramps, although we do need the awning out to keep the fierce sun at bay.
A walk of 1km into the town of Titisee revealed many, many tourist shops full of “souvenirs” which we politely declined.
A lakeside biergarten with a great view won us over for an expensive beer, but well worth it for the location.
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| Thirsty work this touring |
Unfortunately we have no TV reception here, so I will have to catch up with Mr Froome and his exploits when conditions permit.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Sunday 10/07/2016 Titisee to Waldshut
N47°36’40·6’’ E008°13’32·7’’ Paid stellplatz, €12, full services, paid electric.
52km in 1hr
Woken by brilliant sunshine this morning, we decided that today’s priority was to have some TV reception.
A reasonably sized place was sure to have good reception and being on the banks of the Rhine once again was a bonus - both of these criteria were fulfilled in Waldshut.
The stellplatz is owned by, and across a quiet access road from, the campsite next to the Rhine. The pitches are huge, marked out by length of motorhome, and all on block paving.
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| An excellent stellplatz with all the campsite facilities available - bargain |
All the facilities of the campsite (restaurant, toilets, showers etc) are available to the stellplatz users.
We took a walk along the Rhine to the road bridge across it, the border being in the middle of it. A German border post on our side, and a Swiss border post on the other side made sure you weren’t going anywhere without being checked.
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| Germany one way... |
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| ...Switzerland the other |
I have the feeling that our refillable gas is about to run out. We have had approx 14 days use from it, and the “gauge” is now on the red. The gauge is notoriously inaccurate so is a general indication only. I really want to let the gas run out so I can accurately predict when it will run out in future, after we refill it. We have the option of electric hook-up here (2Kw for €1) and also what is left in the Spanish gas bottle. Everything is permanently connected, so the only thing to do is to turn the refillable off (when it runs out) then turn on the Spanish bottle - job done!
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| Paddling in the Rhine - don't get swept away! |
What a day for British sport today - Chris Froome in the yellow jersey in the Tour de France (he must have got it yesterday when we had no reception), and Andy Murray winning Wimbledon.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Monday 11/07/2016 Waldshut
N47°36’40·6’’ E008°13’32·7’’ Paid stellplatz, €12, full services, paid electric.
We had planned to go to Interlaken prior to seeing the Tour de France in Switzerland, but the weather for the next 4 days is horrendous - negligible visibility and constant heavy rain, so no views at the top of Wengen. Instead we will go after the Tour de France, and meanwhile explore the lower Rhine valley.
Our stellplatz here is excellent, with use of all the campsite facilities.
We took the bikes along the Rhine cycle path into Waldshut and discovered a lovely little town - a great central shopping street with an arch under a building at either end as its entry and exit.
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| Arches at both ends - very impressive |
Really old buildings decorated in the traditional German fashion with painted fronts and floral window boxes gave this town a genuine old feel with a modern twist.
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| One of many painted houses |
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| A traffic-free main street - yeah |
It was such a nice place we decided a lunch overlooking the river valley flowing into the Rhine would be a good idea - excellent food in a great setting - couldn’t be better.
After a shopping expedition to C&A we headed back to Cervantes, and just in time - I had just finished loading the bikes when the heavy rain started.
2 hours later and its still going - just as heavy, but the outside temperature is 25° so it’s very humid. (Gas still going strong - day 15)
See today’s full photo gallery here
Tuesday 12/07/2016 Waldshut to Weil am Rhine
N47°35’10·5’’ E007°37’05·1’’ Paid stellplatz, €9, no services, no electric.
70km in 1hr 16min
Constant, heavy rain gave us interrupted sleep, but it actually stopped when we got up at 7:30am. At least it wasn’t thundering and lightning like it was last night at 10pm!
After an empty and fill we were on the road to Weil am Rhine, where we planned to visit Basel from.
The stellplatz was marked out for 6 motorhomes in the car park of a leisure centre, where you paid your €9 fee for 24 hours. They also gave us info on buses to Basel (every 30 mins from a bus stop 10 mins walk away), and a 2 for 1 ticket to enjoy the pool at the leisure centre.
The bus was as described, and we were soon in Basel with its mix of cultures, styles and languages - Basel is at the centre of 3 country borders - Germany, France and Switzerland, although it seems to be mainly Swiss.
We soon sussed out where the old town was, and walked up streets lined with houses from the 13th century until we got to the Minster - what a building!
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| The red sandstone minster of Basel |
The outside was stunning, and the inside was fairly plain (by Spanish standards!) but the old red sandstone spoke for itself. The stained glass windows were spectacular, but the over-riding impression was one of accessibility. You could go up and touch a stained glass window - usually they are remote, only reached by the zoom lens of a camera. You could go onto the altar, behind which was an unbelievable display of ancient books - the Basal manuscripts were written here which translated the new testament and made it available to the masses - a fantastic display.
You could go into the crypt and see genuine frescoes on the vaulted roof and walls, and you could look (soon to be accessible) into the burial ground beneath the crypt. No church, cathedral or minster we have ever been in has given us access like this - absolutely first class!
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| Very, very high ceiling in this impressive building |
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| It's not often you can get this close to a stained glass window |
You could go into the crypt and see genuine frescoes on the vaulted roof and walls, and you could look (soon to be accessible) into the burial ground beneath the crypt. No church, cathedral or minster we have ever been in has given us access like this - absolutely first class!
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| One of 6 frescoes on the vaulted roof of the crypt |
There were many old buildings, some open, some private, but mostly it was a very large shopping centre housed in some fantastic-looking buildings.
The language was a non-starter with me. French was no problem, but German and Romanche (a Swiss orientated version of German) was unintelligible.
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| A decorated building from Roman times |
The language was a non-starter with me. French was no problem, but German and Romanche (a Swiss orientated version of German) was unintelligible.
The bus back was challenging - we boarded it to be told we had to buy a ticket before we got on - ticket machine on the corner. Fine, we thought, then came across the machine.
It had English as a language, but the questions were still unanswerable - what is the destination of the bus you want? do you want zone 1 or zone 2? (no mention of where they were!) do you want a day ticket? are you going more than 4 stops? We had kept our inbound bus tickets so knew which stop we wanted, but that was not a question we were asked!
In the end we just guessed, paid 4 Swiss francs over our inward journey, and the bus driver never even looked at our ticket. It could be so easy couldn’t it, if they just asked a passing foreign tourist what questions did they need to ask in order for them to provide you with a bus ticket (a map on the screen would have been useful!!)
We are still on our own here now and a little bit exposed, but I’m sure we’ll be OK for tonight.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Wednesday 13/07/2016 Weil am Rhine to Villers-le-Lac
N47°03’21·3’’ E006°40’15·0’’ Paid aire, €8, full services with paid water, no electric.
171km in 3hr 33min
We were on our own last night, but had a very quiet night (apart from the rain hammering on the roof) and left early this morning.
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| Very quiet, and a bit isolated in Weil-am-Rhine |
Our destination today was Villers-le-Lac in France, but 95% of the travelling was through Switzerland. We had to go through Basel after going over the Rhine, which was busy to say the least.
The sat-nav put us on the A2 motorway eventually (although it was set for no motorways), but something in the back of our minds was saying we needed a vignette to drive on Swiss motorways.
We pulled off as soon as we could and consulted the front of the ACSI book and sure enough - you cannot travel on any Swiss motorway without a vignette. We are expecting a fine in the post when we get back!
The main roads were much more interesting, and the final mountain road we took to get here was excellent - good surface, fast, and steep (both up and down)
The co-ordinates for the aire from our aires book were well out, only having one decimal place for the seconds, so the aire took a bit of finding.
The sat-nav came to our rescue and showed us where the cluster of icons was that placed the aire 500m from where we were.
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| Proof reader needed for aires book |
The sat-nav came to our rescue and showed us where the cluster of icons was that placed the aire 500m from where we were.
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| Finally made it to the aire |
The price is €8 per night, although it is free if you take the boat trip (at €15 per person)
There are already 8 vans here with more appearing hourly.
We’re still waiting for the gas to run out! (day 17)
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| An impressive church for a small town |
We passed 3 iconic Swiss watch manufacturers today - Rolex (who had an enormous modern building), Longines (in a very old building), and Cartier (in, as you would expect, a very expensive building). Swiss watch-making is alive and thriving.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Thursday 14/07/2016 Villers-le-Lac
N47°03’21·3’’ E006°40’15·0’’ Paid aire, €8, full services with paid water, no electric.
Bastille day!!!
Today the Tour de France finishes on Mont Ventoux, so TV coverage is a must today.
The weather is forecast to be bad, so we decided to stay where we are and take the boat to the local waterfall attraction, thus saving us the cost of staying tonight.
It was raining for 80% of the time we were there and on the boat, but the boat had big windows and a panoramic roof, so plenty of views to be had.
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| Big windows gave us a view through the rain |
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| The waterfall was spectacular |
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| An atmospheric journey through the murk and rain |
The Tour de France was dramatic as the Mistral wind had got up and was so strong at 60kph, they had to abandon the finish at the top which is very exposed in all directions.
The finish was now 6km from the summit at a place called Chalet Reynard.
Chris Froome broke away with 5km to go and took Richie Porte and Nairo Quintana with him. Quintana soon dropped back, but Porte stayed with him and was soon leading Froome up the mountain.
Disaster struck at 3km to go when a stupid camera motorbike stopped and Porte had no option but to run into the back of it, which also brought down Froome who was very close behind. Porte was able to re-mount and carry on, but Froome’s bike was unrideable, so he started running up the hill whilst his team car made its way up to him. They eventually got another bike to him, but he’d lost too much time and the yellow jersey.
There is going to be a mighty big inquest about this incident - I’m sure the Sky team will put in an official complaint - we will have to see what happens.
I think everyone must be having tomorrow off as well as today’s bank holiday, because there is hardly a space left on this aire - it is really busy.
Day 18 for the gas which is still going strong, and we even had the heating on today it was so cold!!
On checking the altitude we’re at we found we were at 800m, so no wonder its a bit parky - it’ll be snowing soon!
See today’s full photo gallery here
Friday 15/07/2016 Villers-le-Lac to St Claude
N46°23’07·6’’ E005°51’45·7’’ Free overnight parking, no services, no electric.
153km in 3hr 25min
The gas is due to run out today?? If it follows the pattern of the Spanish bottle.
The nearest LPG station shown on our route South was at Super U in Champagnole, so that is where we are headed first.
This is the first time I had refilled it, so was unsure which adaptor to use in France. A trial run next to the pump got me the correct one and it was soon screwed onto the high pressure filler hose. Gun connected and green button pressed, I was imagining putting 20 litres in, but the pump stopped at 17·52 litres (at least I now know that the 80% cut-off valve works). This means that either there was 4·5 litres of gas left in the bottle, or the first fill was bigger than the subsequent ones would be.
I really wanted to let it run out so that I could see exactly how much it would take to fill it, but that was only for my own curiosity, so no problem. I was a bit dubious about it running out in Switzerland and not finding an outlet for LPG, or if I did, not having my credit card accepted because Swiss Francs were required.
Still, we are now full again (hopefully with mostly propane in this mountainous region of France) and that is all that matters. (It cost us €12·60 for 17·52 litres - bargain price!!)
The roads today were fantastic to drive on, with excellent limestone scarp scenery and trees as far as you could see. It was a real pleasure to get here today - fantastic travelling.
The aire at St Claude gave us free water, but the location was literally 3 metres from a busy main road, so we decided to look around.
A notice on the bourne said we could park in any car park after 6pm, and take up as many spaces as needed and stay overnight with no problem - “welcome to our city”, it said. What a refreshing attitude to motorhomes - well done St Claude.
We toured the city and found most of the car parks were full to bursting, but did find one at the base of the old town with 3 vans already in there, so we joined them.
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| Overnight parking in the forward-looking St Claude |
We took a walk up the very steep hill to the old town and went into the white cathedral - very nice with a tremendous feeling of solidity and some excellent stained glass windows.
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| Beautifully carved choir stalls in the cathedral |
The town itself varied from very run down, almost slum-like, to state of the art, high class buildings.
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| Great views from the town (Cervantes in the car park below) |
We found a bar with a double bonus - it was showing the Tour de France and it had free WiFi. As expected, there had been an appeal yesterday, and Froome and Porte had been given the same time as Bauka Mollema, so Froome was still in yellow.
It transpired that the motorbike I had wrongly called stupid yesterday was not to blame - it was the 10 times more stupid “fans” who would not let it through so it had to stop.
The Tour de France really need to get a grip of the “fans” who run alongside the riders shouting “encouragement”, trying to take selfies of themselves, dressed so that they can get themselves on TV, and generally being a complete pain in the a**e, as well as compromising the safety of the riders.
Maybe NOW something will be done by the organisers to control it.
The bathroom tap in Cervantes seems to have stopped working, although the others are all working OK. I can hear the micro-switch working, but it is obviously not sending a signal to the pump to start working. I will have a further look at it later on. (When I got home in mid August, after watching John Wickershams excellent YouTube video, I dismantled the tap and found a broken wire to the micro switch. It’s now soldered together with heat-shrink tubing over the top, and everything works perfectly again).
See today’s full photo gallery here
Saturday 16/07/2016 St Claude to St-Paul-en-Chablais
N46°22’36·0’’ E006°37’12·3’’ Paid aire, €12·20, full services, paid electric, washing machine, and dryer.
129km in 3hr 47min
Our objective today was to get to a washing machine and do some washing. All ACSI sites are now out of the scheme so are charging full price (whatever that is).
Our first task was to get out of St Claude - no easy task based on the traffic yesterday, and so it proved. We took one wrong turn (badly signed!) and it took us 10 minutes to get back to where we were. After that it was all plain sailing (or driving) over some fantastic mountains and down some wonderful valleys - absolute perfection (apart from the oncoming French drivers who struggle to keep on their side of the road - but I’m nitpicking here). Take a look at today´s elevation map to see what I mean.
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| A great view of Lac Leman and Mont Blanc from today's roads |
We were in France until we got to Geneva - what a joke it was driving through there. We had set the sat-nav for no motorways, not having a Swiss vignette, but it still tried to send us on them (they are signposted in green, and the A roads in blue, so just the opposite of most European countries)
Every sign we followed seemed to lead us onto the dreaded things, and we were just about to submit and get on one to get out of Geneva when - halleluja!! - a sign for Thonon and Evian - take me down that road. Our first campsite was lakeside in Evian and when we got there the queue for reception booking in was out onto the main road with at least 12 vehicles - and we hadn’t even booked!!
A 3 point turn had us on our way to our banker - an aire from the French aire book that was part of a campsite, well inland.
We had often seen these in the book that said “Nuitee au tarif du camping” which we always took to mean you paid the camping price. However, Camping Pre Bandaz was, perhaps, the exception.
A 15 minute drive up an exceptionally steep hill and we were at reception. The man showing us round said it would cost €12·20 - I had to get him to repeat it twice because I couldn’t believe it.
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| The fantastic aire in St-Paul-en-Chablais |
For 2 people and one motorhome staying one night, with use of showers, toilets, fresh water, grey and black water disposal, magnificent views and WiFi, the cost was €12·20! The washing machine was €3·50, the dryer €1·80, and electric if needed or wanted was €3 for 6amps.
The only downside was the grass, but it is rock hard here, and no rain forecast for 3 days - result!
See today’s full photo gallery here
Sunday 17/07/2016 St-Paul-en-Chablais
N46°22’36·0’’ E006°37’12·3’’ Paid aire, €12·20, full services, paid electric, washing machine, and dryer.
After a very peaceful night in this fabulous setting we woke to the sound of the bubbling brook, just behind the van.
Another gloriously sunny day was in prospect, so after a morning coffee we set off to explore the village. We were met with a typical French scene in the church square - stalls all around the outside selling fruit and veg, fish from Lac Leman, local bread, home-cured meats, pastries, local cheeses, and a bar in the corner doing a roaring trade.
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| A busy Sunday market doing a good trade |
We bought some bread, cheese and pastries, and having previously bought a canteloupe melon, we bought some hand-reared, home-smoked pork to go with it, which I sliced wafer-thin.
With our homemade picnic we went back to Cervantes to prepare it and add some wine, then we were off to find the most picturesque spot we could to eat it in. We ended up sat at the edge of a hay field with a fabulous view of Lac Leman one way, and the village church the other - perfect.
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| The church was a surprise - very ornate for France |
With our homemade picnic we went back to Cervantes to prepare it and add some wine, then we were off to find the most picturesque spot we could to eat it in. We ended up sat at the edge of a hay field with a fabulous view of Lac Leman one way, and the village church the other - perfect.
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| Our picnic site - what a view! |
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| The church spire from our low position |
Home by mid-afternoon to watch an exciting stage of the Tour climb the Col de Columbier mountain and see Chris Froome maintain his lead.
The sun was still shining at 9:00pm with an outside temperature of 22° - this is our sort of weather.
3 loads of washing washed and dried (by Glynis!) and we are set for whatever the next few weeks bring.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Monday 18/07/2016 St-Paul-en-Chablais to Col de la Forclaz
N46°04’07·3’’ E007°01’31·9’’ Wildcamping on Tour de France route, no services, no electric.
101km in 2hr 38min
Another glorious day greeted us this morning, so we were happy packing up and getting ready. This is an aire we would definitely return to - such a beautiful area.
We were low on food and drink, so a Lidl and Super U were first on the menu, followed by some cheap French diesel (well cheaper than Swiss diesel anyway), then along the coast of Lac Leman to the Swiss border.
The scenery down the Swiss glaciated valleys is something to behold. Towering snow-covered peaks on either side, and a wide valley bottom dominated by crops and vineyards.
We were unsure where we were finally headed today, the Tour de France route map and directions being a bit vague.
We knew roughly the climbs they finished on and were soon climbing out of Martigny with a vertignous sheer drop just outside Glynis’ window - watch a YouTube video of the climb here. The scenery soon changed to thick woodland, and we were on the lookout for a good viewing spot to park on, which we found on a hairpin bend, 7km from the summit of the Col de la Forclaz at 1500m high. There is a downhill after that, followed by an Hors category climb (too high/steep to be classified as 1st category), but we are happy where we are on a steep hairpin bend with plenty of room and a fantastic view.
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| Almost the first here, so we've bagged the best spot |
The flags are flying - we also have a Swiss flag flying by request of some Swiss campers across the road, so all systems go for Wednesday!
The road was supposed to be closed at 6pm, but at 7:30pm there were still lots of vans piling up - some stopping with us (5 vans in all now) and some trying to find parking further up. The first rule of Grand Tour watching in a motorhome is “the further you go up the mountain, the less parking there is and the smaller it is” - we have the balance just right here.
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| There is a spectacular view from here |
Unbelievably we have TV reception here so saw the Tour finish today, and we will be able to see the Tour finish after they pass us on Wednesday.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Tuesday 19/07/2016 Col de la Forclaz
N46°04’07·3’’ E007°01’31·9’’ Wildcamping on Tour de France route, no services, no electric.
After a really quiet, really dark night, it was another gloriously sunny day.
Last night the Swiss police knocked on our door and asked for our identification papers. I showed him my passport and he wrote down all the details in a book, then did the same to the other motorhomes here.
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| 2 police cars to check out the 2 of us here |
Today another 2 motorhomes have joined us here - no sign of any police taking details. If they are serious about taking the details from every motorhome on the mountain, they will need a lot more manpower and time. Personally I think they were jobsworths - just doing it because they could.
As we were on a mountain and I have the bike on the back, I felt it only proper that I should ride to the top. It was only 5·75km, but it took me 44 minutes to get up (but only 8 minutes to come down).
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| Great views down to the valley from here |
This is the penultimate 1st category climb. After this there is a 6km long Hors category climb to really sort the riders out.
Our flags attracted a British couple from the Isle of Wight to park next to us with a couple of great dogs. It’s their first time at the Tour, so it’ll be interesting to see what they think.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Wednesday 20/07/2016 Col de la Forclaz
N46°04’07·3’’ E007°01’31·9’’ Wildcamping on Tour de France route, no services, no electric.
Well, today is Tour de France day, and the weather looks superb.
We have a great view on this hairpin bend, now along with many day visitors and passing cyclists. A guy parked next to us was doing the Zurich Ironman triathlon on Sunday - a 4·8km swim, 180km on a bike, and a marathon. He said he was 20 stone in 2008, so took up running as a hobby - wow!
We are parked parallel to an entrance to a group of houses going up into the forest. A very nice lady talked to us yesterday and wished us well. Today she brought us a half bottle of local wine, and said she hoped we enjoy the tour - now there’s hospitality!
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| The kindness of strangers never ceases to amaze us |
The cyclists were very fragmented when they passed us here. The yellow jersey of Chris Froome was covering all the moves, and we were able to watch on TV when Richie Porte accelerated off the front, and was soon joined by Froome, losing no time, but gaining minutes on Quintana who couldn’t follow Froome and Porte when they accelerated.
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| Froome covering all the moves |
We had bought some 250ml cans of Coca Cola, some 200ml bottles of water and some sweet biscuits from the local supermarket, and had them on a table outside the van for any passing cyclist or walker to take if they were short on energy or dehydrated. We got rid of quite a few (cold from the fridge if anyone asked for them) to cyclists and walkers.
Later on, as the stragglers of the Tour passed us, Glyn held out a cold Coke can for any rider to take. A welcome rider snapped it up and opened it when he got to the straight after the hairpin bend. It’s nice to know we’ve helped someone struggling up this big mountain.
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| I know what it's like running out of steam on a big climb - hence the offer |
Later on, as the stragglers of the Tour passed us, Glyn held out a cold Coke can for any rider to take. A welcome rider snapped it up and opened it when he got to the straight after the hairpin bend. It’s nice to know we’ve helped someone struggling up this big mountain.
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| Looks like Glyn's got some takers here |
Most of the vans have gone tonight, just us and a couple more until tomorrow when the next adventure starts.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Thursday 21/07/2016 Col de la Forclaz to Col de Joux Plane
N46°07’46·4’’ E006°42’37·9’’ Wildcamping on Tour de France route, no services, no electric.
119km in 3hr 5min
After overnight rain we woke to a cloudy but blue sky, and packed up ready for the next viewing of the Tour de France.
Our way out was further up the Col de la Forclaz, then into the valley and up the other side. This scenario was to be repeated many times on this journey - the elevation graph looks like sharks teeth!
We had the prospect of another 3 days of Tour de France watching “off grid”, so had to find an aire de service to fill and empty.
Chamonix provided this service, but we had to queue for 30 minutes - I think other people had the same idea as us, but we were in no rush.
We passed very close to where today’s 17km individual time trial up a constant 10% slope started in Sallanches, in fact so close that we had to turn around and find an alternative route because the road was closed.
Another series of amazing roads with sights to take your breath away - a glacier overhanging the valley we were driving down!
Then we were on the climb up to Le Joux Plane - a brutal 10km climb with hardly any respite which we took in 2nd gear for the whole way. We had to stop at one point, and getting back into 2nd was touch and go - very, very steep.
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| This glacier is just above the main road - amazing |
Then we were on the climb up to Le Joux Plane - a brutal 10km climb with hardly any respite which we took in 2nd gear for the whole way. We had to stop at one point, and getting back into 2nd was touch and go - very, very steep.
By the time we got to the top we had seen nowhere to stop, so we joined the throng at the top by the lake with an amazing view.
We thought we were quite early here at 1pm on Thursday for a race on Saturday, but alas no - there must be 250+ vans at the summit taking up all the designated car parks, and also the available roadside parking, and then the grass. This Tour de France is very popular!
We thought we were quite early here at 1pm on Thursday for a race on Saturday, but alas no - there must be 250+ vans at the summit taking up all the designated car parks, and also the available roadside parking, and then the grass. This Tour de France is very popular!
We managed to find a parking place on the road only 1 ramp required on the first step, opposite the restaurant, and only 20m past the summit - fantastic.
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| A great position on top of the Joux Plane |
I know I ask a lot from Glyn, and she did go very quiet on the way up, and was obviously a bit stressed, but once in a safe place we settled down and enjoyed the scenery - one in a million - I couldn’t be more proud of her.
We have an ace view sat on the chairs outside Cervantes - it really is a privilege to be here.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Friday 22/07/2016 Col de Joux Plane
N46°07’46·4’’ E006°42’37·9’’ Wildcamping on Tour de France route, no services, no electric.
What a difference a day makes. Today we have rain and low cloud. We can’t see the top of the hills above us, so have no chance of seeing the valley below.
I know we have been spoilt up to now, but this weather is really miserable. It stopped about 10am, so we decided to make a move 300m upwards to the top of the ski lift above us at 2000m high.
The path up was unfeasibly steep in parts - it must have been 30%! Not bad going up, but you really had to watch your step coming down - thank goodness for walking poles. There were some fantastic 360° views from the top and the weather was kind with frequent breaks in the cloud cover, and even some sunshine.
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| Walking poles - lifesavers |
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| An epic view from the top after a hard climb |
Back at Cervantes a couple of hours later we were able to sit outside and enjoy some sunshine, but not for long - a heavy rainstorm had us inside for the next couple of hours.
We have no TV reception here, so I may go to the restaurant opposite and see if they have a TV we can watch whilst having food and drink there, as today’s stage is a mountain top finish on Mont Blanc.
Success - there was a TV in the outside tent so I was able to see Froome crash on a wet and slippery descent just before the final climb, then continue on a team-mates bike (his was unrideable) to finish only 10 seconds behind Quintana, so he still has a lead of over 3 minutes.
Tomorrow’s stage should be attack after attack, being the deciding stage before the finish in Paris (which is why we’re here)
There is now no more room to park at the top and the barriers are out, the last one in the line just outside our motorhome.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Saturday 23/07/2016 Col de Joux Plane
N46°07’46·4’’ E006°42’37·9’’ Wildcamping on Tour de France route, no services, no electric.
A dull grey morning greeted us for the day of the Tour de France.
It had been raining for most of the night, and it certainly wasn’t stopping today, and was quite cold with it (10°)
The mist kept rolling in reducing visibility to 10m. Theses were the conditions that Chris Froome fell off in yesterday - I hope that will not be repeated today.
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| Looks like a summers day in Manchester |
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| We have a great view of the summit here |
The publicity caravan came through in torrential rain, thunder and lightning, and everyone was soaked to the skin.
I managed to get a view of the TV in the tent, and saw that only 20km away there was full sun in the valley. Froome and his protecting team-mates were only 10 seconds behind the 3 leaders passing us, and there is only 12km to go to the finish in Morzine, so if he can stay upright on the descent he is certain of winning his third Tour de France in a row - some achievement!!!
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| The 3 leaders crest the summit |
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| You can just see Froome behind Glyn's clapping hand |
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| Wet through and very tired |
The Brits here showed themselves up afterwards with some pathetic singing attempts which unfortunately went on into the early morning - a shame really.
Other than that, it was a fantastic spectacle that is the Tour de France - the greatest free show in the world.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Sunday 24/07/2016 Col de Joux Plane to Sixt-fer-a-Cheval
N46°03’25·6’’ E006°46’50·5’’ Free aire, full services, paid electric.
91km in 2hr 27min
Bright and sunny this morning - a day too late but never mind.
The view of Mont Blanc is spectacular, especially through the bird-watching scope.
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| A clear day to see Mont Blanc |
Packed up, we were down the mountain into Morzine in no time Our destination was a McDonalds in Cluses to get some internet and catch up with friends and family. We had emptied our black water at Les Gets, but they had no other facilities there, so after a fruitless search for internet in various cafes we set off for Cluses. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn off the McDonalds roundabout and found ourselves on the slip road to the toll motorway - no escape now. We had to go one junction then come back on the N roads to where we had started.
Not a frequenter of McDonalds, I was amazed at how busy it was - it took me a good 20 minutes to get served, although that meant that Glyn had a good internet connection, so it worked that way.
We expected our aire at Sixt-fer-a-Cheval to be high in the mountains with a stunning view, but it turned out to be at the head of a valley next to an Alpine fast-running river upon which busloads of people were rafting down - a section of the aire was sectioned off for them to launch their rafts.
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| Some nervous rafters here |
Unusually for the French the motorhomes were parked too far away from each other - 2 motorhomes were taking up 3 spaces, and another had the awning out to its full width, taking another space up. The usual shrug of the shoulders told us we would get nowhere, but luckily a motorhome was just going so we stole into his spot.
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| A selfish motorhome... |
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| ...and another one |
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| But luckily someone was just going as we toured about for a spot |
We managed to sit outside for an hour, but heavy rain for the rest of the day put paid to our plans to see the village.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Monday 25/07/2016 Sixt-fer-a-Cheval
N46°03’25·6’’ E006°46’50·5’’ Free aire, full services, paid electric.
No rain this morning so off to Sixt-a-fer-Cheval to explore the village. A very comprehensive Tourist Information Office gave us lots of maps and history for us to mull over as we had coffee by the river and watched the rafters go by.
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| Coffee with a view! |
We decided, as it was bright and sunny, to walk to the Cascade du Rouget - a massive waterfall coming off one of the enormous mountains surrounding us here.
We could see it from our coffee chairs by the river - it didn’t look that far away. What we thought would be a quick 10 minutes took us 30 minutes, and that was to the wrong waterfall!! The Cascade du Rouget was another 4km up the valley, so as the weather was so nice we pressed on to that.
Excellent walking through varied conditions - wooded tracks, valley bottoms, and precipitous crags landed us at the waterfall.
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| Huge rock faces dominated the skyline |
Spectacular isn’t the word. A column of water hitting a shelf of rock, then falling again to some broken rocks, then racing down to the river below.
Our picnic of bread (from the artisan boulangier in Sixt-fer-a-Cheval this morning), cheese (our fridge) and wine (kind lady on Col de la Forclaz) was wolfed down with a fantastic view (and a lot of spray) at the foot of the falls.
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| Wow! is the only way I can describe this |
We took a different route back (thank you maps.me) to visit the first waterfall, and get back to Cervantes after 12 excellent kilometres.
We managed an hour in the sun before the afternoon rains once again drove us indoors - no wonder these trees look so green!
See today’s full photo gallery here
Tuesday 26/07/2016 Sixt-fer-a-Cheval
N46°03’25·6’’ E006°46’50·5’’ Free aire, full services, paid electric.
Thankfully the rain stopped overnight and as there is so much good walking around here, we decided to head the other way today up to the Cirque de Cheval at the head of the valley.
There was a footpath that went through the woods on the other side of the valley which we set off on. It was very wet and muddy in the shade of the trees. We persevered for 3km, but it was very hard going so we defaulted to the road - it is a dead end at the top so the road is not too busy.
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| The wet, muddy, overgrown track |
There are many waterfalls to see - some coming from hundreds of metres up to provide a stunning spectacle.
We didn’t quite make it to the very top of the road, but it was a nice walk back by the river.
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| There are some stunning high mountains here |
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| The circle of mountains at the head of the valley |
Prior to the walk we had been to the village to get some bread and cakes, and to get some WiFi from the very helpful information office, where we downloaded TV and radio programmes from BBC iPlayer - a very handy tool called Avast Secure Line (a VPN) as an app on our machines allowed us to do this, and also remain secure online.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Wednesday 27/07/2016 Sixt-fer-a-Cheval to Samoens
N46°04’37·7’’ E006°43’23·8’’ Free aire, no services, no electric.
14km in 26min
It’s time to move on today, but first, after filling and emptying (the fresh water tap is the slowest one I’ve ever seen!), we drove to the head of the valley that we hadn’t quite reached yesterday.
There was a toll booth marked on the map which we thought was a throwback to some ancient by-law, but to our surprise when we got there, they wanted €8 for a motorhome to drive 2km to the Cirque.
A swift U-turn later we were headed for Samoens which we had briefly skirted before heading up the Col de Joux Plane.
It was much bigger that I had imagined and was a busy, bustling, ski town, now full of rafters who had rafted down the Giffre river.
We are surrounded by high mountains off which jump people with paragliders which float about above our heads - fascinating to watch with a lot of skill needed to safely control one.
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| A dangerous piece of kit if you get it wrong |
We are in a free aire, next to a chair-lift to the top of a mountain above us. We can see 5 tower cranes at the top, so some sort of construction is going on.
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| This chair lift seems to go on for ever |
The aire is a vast car park with room for 100+ motorhomes if needed, with fantastic views of the surrounding mountains.
We thought the daily 5 o’clock rain was coming today, but it seemed to skim over our heads, although the higher ground above us was clouded in rain clouds - and rain?
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| The huge car park in Samoens |
There don’t seem to be any services here - no cassette emptying facilities, no grey water drain. There are electric boxes with water taps, but the taps are dry and the boxes are locked shut with no visisble means of putting any money in. Maybe they are closed for the summer.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Thursday 28/07/2016 Samoens to Saint-Gervais
N45°53’14·6’’ E006°42’46·4’’ Free aire, full services, paid for water.
47km in 1hr 19min
Today we had a priority to get some washing done, and we had just the place in Maglands at a supermarket called Super U which had washing machines in the foyer as you went in (we had spotted this feature when we stopped in here a week ago on our way to the Col de Joux Plane)
First however, we had spotted a garden in the middle of Samoens that claimed to have a viewpoint - that was our first point of call.
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| A plan of the amazing botanical gardens in Samoens |
The garden was created in 1906 by an entrepreneur of a lady for her time called Madame Cognac-Jay. It is a botanical garden used by students for research and study, and all the specimens are labelled with their Latin names. There is a tarmac path which winds up many levels in a hairpin bend fashion, each corner giving you a better view than the last. Some of the trees were outstanding such as the Sequoias from America that were so tall.
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| All plants were described and labelled |
Then on to Super U, where an 8kg load of washing cost €5, and to dry was €1 for 10 minutes. During the 40 minute wash we did a big shop in Super U, then had a bite to eat while the washing was drying.
Next stop was Saint Gervais-les-bains where we parked in a free aire next to the ice skating rink (the Patinarie) along with 20 other motorhomes.
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| Plenty of room here today |
We explored the lovely town with a very helpful Tourist Information Office who gave us a timetable of the Mont Blanc tramway, which is a cog railway which runs up Mont Blanc to a height of 2300m, where you can get out and walk to a glacier.
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| Where we're going tomorrow |
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| We can see where we're going tomorrow from our aire |
We’re booked on the 9:20am train tomorrow morning!!
See today’s full photo gallery here
Friday 29/07/2016 Saint-Gervais
N45°53’14·6’’ E006°42’46·4’’ Free aire, full services, paid for water.
Well - what a day!!!
We were at the tram station at 8:00am to catch the 8:40am tram to Nid d’Agile (the eagle’s nest).
The 2 carriage train ran for an hour using a cog rail in the middle of the 2 ordinary rails, and went up some unfeasibly steep inclines to get into the shadow of Mont Blanc.
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| Where it all begins |
The 2 carriage train ran for an hour using a cog rail in the middle of the 2 ordinary rails, and went up some unfeasibly steep inclines to get into the shadow of Mont Blanc.
The scenery and views, both on the way and at the top, were breathtaking - what an adventure.
Glynis had done some meticulous internet searching to make sure the weather was perfect, and of course it was - bright sunshine with a few clouds for contrast.
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| Inside one of the carriages - basic but adequate |
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| The tram at the top at a crazy angle |
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| If you want to stay the night! |
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| This chamois lives up here |
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| Trekking on top of the world (well Europe really) |
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| Our transport down |
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| The indescribable Mont Blanc |
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| with an unusual lenticular cloud above it |
The descent gave me some palm-sweating moments - the first descent followed by a sharp curve over fresh air was like the big one in Blackpool, except if we failed to take the corner we were headed 1000m down into the valley below - great fun (I think), but no-one seemed in the slightest bit bothered.
I’m not too good with heights, and this is my alternative to get as near Mont Blanc as possible without swinging about in a cable car 300m above the floor - I’m afraid I can’t do that (unless my life depended upon it)
There was a very strong smell of gear oil in the carriage, but no-one seemed bothered, so I played along and was not bothered either.
The feeling of actually being on the slopes of the 2nd highest mountain in Europe was one of great privilege, and to actually walk on the snow you could see from far off in the valley below - well - an experience not to be forgotten.
The tramway to Mont Blanc cost us €36·50 each, which is a bargain for such an experience.
Glyn finally found a hairdresser who would just cut her hair - nothing else. Most of them offered wash, cut and dry which ended up in €50 territory.
After her cut and some WiFi in the local Tourist Office, we went out tonight to a local restaurant we had spotted advertising wood-fired pizzas - and boy, were they good!
See today’s full photo gallery here
Saturday 30/07/2016 Saint-Gervais to Les Houches
N45°53’32·3’’ E006°49’00·1’’ Paid aire, €16·50, Full services including electric and WiFi.
23km in 39min
Moving on today we wanted to empty and fill, but looking at the state of the bourne and how people were using the fresh water to flush out their cassettes, we passed on the water and just emptied.
It´s Saturday today and parking must be at a premium because cars are piling into the aire and parking everywhere - no room now for motorhomes.
We are in the high Alps, which I thought would be a good place to get some LPG (more percentage of propane at these altitudes), and found a garage only 2km from where we were headed for - Les Houches.
The filling went fine (although I had to reverse in against the flow of traffic) and it took 16.27 litres (for €12·67) before the cut-off valve kicked in.
I’m really pleased with this system, and the fridge is the coldest its ever been - superb.
Les Houches is a paid aire costing €15 per night and €0·75 per person. It is controlled by a barrier which opens when you have paid. You get a code on your receipt which will open the barrier for you to get out and use the services (which are just outside the aire)
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| An aire with a view - and what a view |
The view from here is unbelievable, and we spent ages watching the nearly vertical cable car going up to the Aiguille de Midi where there is a glass-floored balcony over a 1000m drop you can stand on (I don’t think so!!)
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| Is that a cable car going up that mountain? |
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| The close-up is even more scary |
The weather when we got here was excellent, giving us fabulous, uninterrupted views of the mountains right in front of us - stunning.
As forecast, the rains came at 1:30pm and the weather closed in - well this is the Alps, and we are at 1080m
See today’s full photo gallery here
Sunday 31/07/2016 Les Houches to Passy
N45°55’10·3’’ E006°42’11·7’’ Free aire, Full services in €2 bourne.
21km in 36min
Last night we managed a walk and to eat outside between showers, but come 9pm the heavens really opened with thunder and lightning and really heavy rain - it was difficult to sleep.
I, of course, slept right through most of it, but the lightning was truly a bit frightning - so bright and near it woke me up.
We were headed today to an aire in Passy on the other side of the valley, which was located in the car park of the Super U supermarket there.
We got there at 11:30am, and sure enough, there was a bourne but no dedicated motorhome parking - you could just park anywhere in the car park. However, the Super U was open and there was not one parking space to be had - even for a car.
It closed at 12:30pm, so we manouvered our way around the car park and finally got out to park in another retail park 1km away. There was only one shop - an up-market Decathlon with lots more different brands - the walking and skiing section was huge. We bought some more footstools and various other bits, then after the Super U had closed we went back to an empty car park.
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| The empty Super U car park (at last) |
It had a car wash which we used to clean 6 weeks of road grime and dead flies off Cervantes - now pristine again.
On cue at 4:30pm, thunder and lightning and torrential rain swept down the valley engulfing everything before it. The temperature dropped by 8° and it got very dark - it doesn’t mess about here - when it rains it really rains.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Monday 01/08/2016 Passy to Plaine Joux
N45°57’04·7’’ E006°44’20·5’’ Paid aire, €10, full services, paid electric.
16km in 33min
This morning we did some shopping in our Super U when it opened at 8:30am.
Glyn is unsure whether or not to go on the Chamonix cable car over the Mont Blanc range to Italy (and back!) I am definitely not going because I can’t think of anything worse, but I fully encourage Glyn to do it 100% if she wants to.
To this end we are today staying in the area and going up to the ski station at Plaine Joux at 1340m. The 10km drive up from the valley was quite steep with numerous hairpins - a great drive up.
The aire had a choice of tarmac or gravel. We chose tarmac due to them having electric (we need to recharge the toothbrush and the camera batteries) for only €1·50.
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| A rather large mountain just behind us |
After paying our €11·90 (€10 to stay with services, plus €0·20 each tourist tax) we watched the paragliders take off over the edge of a cliff, some very experienced, and some looking like they had never done it before.
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| I've done this once, and just once |
We are facing the Mont Blanc range and the weather is kind today so it is in full sun, and is an awesome sight. We have been sat outside Cervantes just staring at it for over 2 hours now.
The binoculars give you a good close-up view, and the bird-watching scope is even better. We could see skiiers and walkers coming from the summit down to a refuge built on the edge of a precipice - wow!
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| You can stop in some fantastic places in a motorhome - and this is one of them |
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| Footprints on the top of Mont Blanc |
There is a Lac Vert only 1km away so we took a walk in the sunshine to it - a very peaceful lake surrounded by high mountains. Then back to Cervantes to once again sit and take in this magnificent view - absolutely gobsmacked - I can’t believe we’re here.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Tuesday 02/08/2016 Plaine Joux
N45°57’04·7’’ E006°44’20·5’’ Paid aire, €10, full services, paid electric.
We saw the sun set watching Mont Blanc yesterday, and saw the sun rise watching Mont Blanc today, although we have been asleep inbetween.
This place is so good we had to stay another day. I’m sorry, but words just can’t describe the view we have in front of us - we are so lucky to be able to come and stay here, and we really do appreciate it.
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| I can't describe how special this is |
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| Just stunning! |
It was 10° outside this morning (we are at 1340m or 4000ft) and 14° inside the van. The windscreen was dripping inside, so the heat went on and it was soon clear to reveal that awesome view again.
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| We can even see our cog tramway from here |
Unfortunately it didn’t stay that way and the top was in cloud all day.
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| It couldn't last, and it didn't |
We decided to gain some height to see if things would improve, so set off up the mountain behind us to finally stop 260m higher at 1600m. A steep walk up and a steep walk back, but the 3 hours it took us gave our heart and lungs a work-out and gave us an insight into how high we really are - awesome.
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| Now we're even higher |
See today’s full photo gallery here
Wednesday 03/08/2016 Plaine Joux to Faverges
N45°44’58·6’’ E006°17’10·1’’ Free aire, full services, no electric.
190km in 2hr 45min
Another quite cold night gave way to a startling blue sky and the Mont Blanc range in full sun.
As predicted by Glyn, today was full sun with scattered clouds, so perfect for the cable car ride over Mont Blanc.
We had some internet from a local cafe and discovered that there was a 3 hour queue for the cable car leaving from Chamonix, so many other people had the same idea. We decided to go to Chamonix aire, which is the car park for the cable car.
When we got there at 1:30pm the car park was closed because it was full. As one car left the entry light changed from red to green and one car could enter. We eventually made it into the car park, but it was mayhem. Cars were parked in any available space, making manoeuvering the motorhome problematic, to say the least.
Glyn was distraught, not because of the cable car, but because of the chaotic crowding and seemingly no road out. We managed to tentatively make our way through the madness to the exit without any scratches - how, I don´t know!
We obviously hadn’t factored August into our plans - we filled and emptied here 10 days ago and the car park was 1/4 full on a lovely sunny day.
We drove to an aire on the motorway to regroup and decide what to do. It was of course Glyn’s decision because I had no intention of going on the cable car anyway, and after a good think, weighing up the volume of people on a sunny day in August, she decided to cut and run to possibly return in July or September when numbers are not so huge and a sunny day doesn’t mean chaos.
Our plan after the cable car ride had been to go west (young man) to either Ugine or Faverges, both of which had aires. We brought the plan forward and stopped in Ugine. Although the aires book said 10 places there was actually 1 place and that was on the filling and emptying point (according to the man behind the tourist desk) - not very practical.
We drove the 10km to Faverges, through a lovely town into an aire by the stadium. A great free aire with free services, and we got the last free place by the entrance and were soon outside in the sun, planning our next route to adventure.
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| The excellent aire in Faverges |
See today’s full photo gallery here
Thursday 04/08/2016 Faverges
N45°44’58·6’’ E006°17’10·1’’ Free aire, full services, no electric.
There seems to be a lot to see and do here in this pretty town, so we decided to stay here a second night.
After a spring clean of the inside of Cervantes, we paid the Tourist Information Office a visit and got some info on what to see and where to go from some very helpful people.
There was a cave and waterfall in a gorge 1·7km away, and you could also go into the chateau on the hill and go up the tower. The waterfall was accessed via the main road which was very steep and had no footpath, so became quite dangerous. It was obviously meant to be reached by vehicle, so we turned back and went to the chateau.
They had 3 rooms full of exotic butterfly, insect and moth specimens which were very interesting and quite scary.
The tower had been refurbished and now sported a wooden floor at the top, overhanging the tower. Bizzarely enough I went up by myself, and was handed some viewing notes and a pair of binoculars as I paid my €2. The steps up were great, the wooden platform a bit rickety, but the views were excellent.
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| Scary insects - one of hundreds of display cases |
The tower had been refurbished and now sported a wooden floor at the top, overhanging the tower. Bizzarely enough I went up by myself, and was handed some viewing notes and a pair of binoculars as I paid my €2. The steps up were great, the wooden platform a bit rickety, but the views were excellent.
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| The refurbished tower - very smart |
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| With some equally good views |
Back home we sat in the sun until the rains came at 7pm, along with very strong winds.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Friday 05/08/2016 Faverges to Trevoux
N45°56’25·0’’ E004°46’00·4’’ Paid aire, €5, paid for services at campsite.
190km in 3hr 47min
Still raining this morning, so we decided an early start was needed to beat the morning rush for the services. That and some cheap fuel from Carrefour saw us on the road at 8:20am
The description in the aires book made an aire at Nantua sound really nice, so off we went along some great roads. However, when we got there the weather was shocking - torrential rain, overcast, cold and wet. In nice weather it would have been fine, but with no chance to get out and see the town, it was not for us this time.
Continuing over the mountains we were soon in rural France amongst the sunflowers and sweetcorn, and the rain had stopped.
Our new destination was Trevoux on the banks of the River Saone, outside,and attatched to, a campsite nearly in the water (and sometimes is - there are evacuation procedures on the notice board for when the river level rises)
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| Some previous flood levels on this river |
An aire outside has space for 5 motorhomes (2 of us here at the moment).
We walked to the town to find a really old fashioned town with some very modern building thrown into the mix.
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| Dappled sunlight on this small aire |
We walked to the town to find a really old fashioned town with some very modern building thrown into the mix.
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| The lovely River Saone |
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| Some unusual figures on top of this car-free river bridge |
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| The excellent town of Trevoux |
We like this place and have decided to stay another night.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Saturday 06/08/2016 Trevoux
N45°56’25·0’’ E004°46’00·4’’ Paid aire, €5, paid for services at campsite.
N45°56’25·0’’ E004°46’00·4’’ Paid aire, €5, paid for services at campsite.
A quiet, warm night, and more sun this morning. The bikes were off the back, and after fixing a puncture we were off on the riverside track.
It was not all that it seemed. Some was on a busy road with a narrow pavement, then some on shifting gravel, then a negotiation of thick mud and deep puddles - not exactly what we had been expecting. We called it a day after 3km and came back to Cervantes. It was by now 12 noon, and we figured that anywhere in France would be shut between 12 and 2, so I did some bike maintenance, then at 2pm we set off on foot for the chateau at the top of the hill.
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| The old city walls - tremendous history |
There is some tremendous history in this town, and many information boards on every street corner to tell you what happened and when. The chateau was no exception, but unfortunately was only open from Monday to Friday, so we had to look in from outside the walls - it did look very impressive though.
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| A shame the chateau was closed - it looked really interesting |
Our circular walk up and down the hill took us 2 hours, with some great views of the Saone valley with the rolling hills of Beaujolais in the background (our destination tomorrow)
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| Great views from the top |
A late afternoon sat in the sun rounded off a lovely day in Trevoux.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Sunday 07/08/2016 Trevoux to Salles-Arbuissonnas en Beaujalais
N46°02’24·6’’ E004°38’16·3’’ France passion site (free aire de service 500m away)
20km in 33min
We were packed in like sardines here last night - some arriving at 9pm, so I doubt they paid, so we were off as soon as to the Beaujolais region on the opposite bank of the River Saone.
Once through the industrial part of Villefranche-sur-Saone we were in true Beaujolais country with vineyards as far as you could see.
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| The beautiful Beaujolais countryside |
Our destination was a France Passion site in Salles-Arbuissonnas en Beaujolais which also featured in the French touring book we had. There was also an aire de service here by an ancient railway viaduct, which was great for grey and black water disposal, but had an unknown fresh water connector and no means of turning the water on or off!
The France Passion site was only 500m away and we were soon on the ramps next to the adjacent gite.
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| An excellent setting here |
The village was excellent with an information board on every corner (in English and French) and the church had so much history, displayed to perfection in the Priory next door with a series of exhibits and information posters.
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| A great example of how to display your history and heritage |
Back at Cervantes we were wondering about the long yellow hose attatched to the barn next to us, when along came the owner (Franck Large) to welcome us. The water wasn’t drinkable, he said - arable only. We told him about the strange water connector at the aire. Ah, he said (it was obviously not the first time he had been asked about it!), if you put a male hoselock connector into the opening, water will flow.
We asked about his wine and were immediately taken to his cellar where we had a tasting of his award winning Beaujolais Villages - superb. Also amongst his prizewinning wines were rose, white and sparkling Cremant wines. Our good friends John and Eileen back in Spain are great fans of Beaujolais Villages, so we bought a box of 6, plus 2 rose and 2 Cremant - what a great day.
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| An impressive tasting cellar |
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| Beaujolais Villages - coming your way John & Eileen! |
When asked about harvest time he said September 11th - I guess he has to book all the relevant services for that day - pickers, transport, food and drink and all the pre-harvest preparation that is neccessary.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Monday 08/08/2016 Salles-Arbuissonnas en Beaujalais to Fleurie
N46°10’38·6’’ E004°41’32·9’’ France Passion site, water and electric.
25km in 41min
We tried the water this morning in the aire, and as Franck said - the water flowed!
Yesterday was such a good experience we decided to do it all again. First we needed some shopping so a detour to Belleville found us a Lidl, so we’re all restocked now.
There are so many places to choose from in the France Passion book, we just had to go by the descriptions and choose one we fancied. A producer inbetween Fleuries and Villie Morgon caught our eye, and after a short drive through some beautiful Beaujolais countryside we had the pick of anywhere to park - beautiful views in all directions, so it was just a matter of getting Cervantes level.
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| The vines look fine, but the harvest will be poor |
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| Vines as far as you can see - fantastic |
The lady we saw told us that this years harvest, for her, was a disaster after 2 massive thunderstorms destroyed the majority of the grapes. This year will be a pass, but they still have some 2014 and 2015 wine to sell, so we’ll be seeing her later.
There is a magnificent view to the West from here, and Mont Blanc is just visible through the heat haze on the horizon.
It’s another glorious day, and we really could sit and look at this view all day - in fact I think we will!
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| It's that Mont Blanc again |
The church at the top of the hill finally broke our resolve and 40 minutes later we were at the top with a fantastic 360° vista - well worth the effort.
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| A climb to get here, but well worth it |
See today’s full photo gallery here
Tuesday 09/08/2016 Fleurie to Roanne
N46°02’14·4’’ E004°04’58·1’’ Paid aire, €6, free grey water, €2·50 each for fresh water and black water disposal.
73km in1hr 39min
Rain overnight, and it’s now time to make a move further west.
Roanne is a place we have never been near, so a nice aire on the quayside looked just the job.
The drive through the Beaujolais villages was excellent - what a great part of the country. Onwards through towns and villages we came to Roanne at 12 noon and found the aire was superb with very large pitches and plenty of room (until latecomers started encroaching on the spaces inbetween).
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| A great location for an aire, and the pitches are huge |
WiFi was a big objective today, and a walk into Roanne to the Tourist Information Office suprised us with very fast, free WiFi - they also supplied a separate room to sit down and relax in and surf the net.
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| A great example of a trompe l'oeil in the centre of town |
Next up was the cathedral which didn’t disappoint. Huge stained glass windows dominated throughout and gave an impression of opulence - just what the people who built it wanted.
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| Opulence personified |
Back at the aire the sun had appeared, so a nice afternoon watching the boats passed a couple of hours.
Whilst in Roanne we searched out the Troisgros brothers’ restaurant which unfortunately was closed for a month in the summer, so we couldn’t book a table with them. Many years ago we searched for this restaurant, but unfortunately we were in Rouen, not Roanne - similar pronunciation, but hundreds of kilometres apart!
See today’s full photo gallery here
Wednesday 10/08/2016 Roanne to St-Haon-le-Chatel
N46°03’48·5’’ E003°54’47·4’’ Free aire, free services, no electric.
17km in 28min
We moved on from Roanne this morning, but not very far. In the Tourist Office we had picked up a general leaflet that described the surrounding villages. One in the foothills of the Massif Central sounded excellent, called St-Haon-le-Chatel (which we had already identified as an alternative to Roanne if for any reason we didn’t stop there) which was a medieval village on a hilltop.
The drive there was through lovely countryside, and the aire itself was perfect. Able to take 3 motorhomes it was set in grassland, but still only 5 minutes walk from the village.
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| The enchanting aire in St-Haon-le-Chatel |
We arrived at 12 noon and went straight to the village to look around. Narrow, cobbled streets, old timber-framed buildings - some not changed from the turn of the century (20th!) and informative pictures and narratives on some of the buildings really gave the village an ancient feel.
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| A surviving medieval house |
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| Quaint streets with information boards |
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| Original period detail everywhere |
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| The large manor house dominates |
We stumbled upon the town hall square with just one restaurant advertising menu du jour (starter, main,sweet, wine and coffee) for the incredible price of €14. The place was filling up rapidly, so we bagged the only remaining table for 2 on the terrace, and quite frankly didn’t expect anything special for that price, but boy, how wrong we were.
The food was outstanding, the service exemplary, and the value for money - unbelievable!
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| Room for 2 on the terrace |
There is only us here on this great aire - good for us, but other people are missing out on this.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Thursday 11/08/2016 St-Haon-le-Chatel to Jarnages
N46°11’01·4’’ E002°04’54·3’’ Free aire, full services, no electric.
187km in 2hr 54min
We spent the early morning exploring the delights of the village. The medieval walls are still intact, and we walked along a path that follows the outside perimeter of them. Some of the houses actually use the walls as one wall of their house, and we saw houses in round watchtowers and gatehouses. All very well preserved and beautifully kept.
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| A house in an original tower... |
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| ...and one in the town walls |
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| The most unusual wood carving we have ever seen in a church |
The village was busy preparing for a 3 day festival starting tomorrow, so tents and stalls were going up in the village square.
I can’t believe that we were the only ones to take advantage of this great free aire in this lovely, historic village - the others don’t know what they’re missing.
On the road again, and this time going east and passing the Massif Central to the north, we were headed for Jarnages, a small village 3km off the N145.
First we decided to get some more gas. It was not due to run out for a further 7 to 10 days, but the further north in Europe you go, the larger the percentage of propane to butane you get. Our fridge runs much better on propane than on butane, so the more propane in the mix the better. If we had left the refillable until it ran out we would have been in the south of France, with I guess a very large percentage of butane, so we decided to fill up today as we are geographically in the middle of France.
It only took 10·85 litres to fill the bottle (€8·14), so we can change to the Spanish bottle when we get back to Spain, and thus have some mostly propane gas in the refillable for when we swap the Spanish bottle.
The aire we are on is by a lake and is excellent. We are on grass, but it is brown and rock-hard, and no rain is forecast, so fingers crossed!
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| Plenty of grass here, but hopefully no rain |
See today’s full photo gallery here
Friday 12/08/2016 Jarnages to Treignac
N45°32’40·2’’ E001°48’04·4’’ Paid aire, €1, paid for services and electric.
112km in 2hr 2min
The weather is really warming up as we head west and south - I had to clean the bugs off the front of Cervantes this morning - always a sure sign.
The aire is fine apart from one important point. The bourne for the services is at the only entrance/exit, and when in use it blocks the exit, so we had 3 vans this morning queueing up to get out, whilst another van filled his water tank with a watering can - madness.
Driving today was on the D940 to Treignac - an excellent driving road which was unusually quiet - we hardly saw any traffic.
The scenery was spectacular through woods and valleys with some quite steep gradients both up and down.
The aire at Treignac is a large open space with a river at the bottom, mainly on grass but there is some shale and tarmac if you want it.
It costs €1 to stay the night! To use the bourne costs €2 and there is limited electric points at €2·50.
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| This is a massive aire - you can park where you like |
It costs €1 to stay the night! To use the bourne costs €2 and there is limited electric points at €2·50.
It’s 30° today, but we still walked the 1km into Treignac to discover an ancient town with some great old buildings including an old granite watchtower you could ascend and look over the town.
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| The solid granite tower with a spiral staircase to the top |
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| and a great view from the top |
The church was lovely and surprised us by having modern art-deco style stained glass windows. They had a date of 1959 on them so were quite modern, but they looked totally in keeping with the church.
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| We were surprised at this, but it fitted in |
See today’s full photo gallery here
Saturday 13/08/2016 Treignac to Cahors
N44°26’19·7’’ E001°26’21·7’’ Free aire in overspill car park for 40 motorhomes. Full services in aire 500m away, no electric.
174km in 3hr 4min
An early start to get to Cahors at a reasonable time was thwarted by the standing traffic on the E9 motorway all queuing to get onto the E7 to Bordeaux and the west coast. After getting through 5km of standing traffic we finally got onto a decent road which was very fast, but severe corners slowed us down on a regular basis.
We were headed for Cahors because today is our 39th wedding anniversary and Cahors would provide a range of restaurants to choose from.
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| A proper square in Cahors |
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| A nice fountain roundabout, just before the bridge |
The true aire at Cahors has full services but can only take 5 motorhomes, so from July to September the town allocates 40 spaces in a car park 500m away.
It’s 33°+ today, so proper summer weather. We got to Cahors at 1:30pm, so we’re rushing to get some lunch in a restaurant.
Our first choice was taking bookings for next week - they’re full today and closed tomorrow, so we had a wander and settled on one on the main street.
A waiter took our food and drink order, but 20 minutes later nothing had appeared. A second waiter then took our order again, and eventually brought our drinks. Another 10 minutes went by, then he told us one of our choices was off - we chose again and waited and waited. At last Glyns’ salad arrived, but my fish had turned into Croque Monseiur. They took mine away, and Glyn was just about to start when the waiter came back and whipped hers away, circled the terrace, then gave it her back, only to take it away again 10 seconds later and give it to someone else!! The spirit of Fawlty Towers is alive and well in Cahors!
Both meals eventually appeared and to be fair, were very good. It’s a good job we’ve got a sense of humour!
It was 36° back at Cervantes, so time to chill out.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Sunday 14/08/2016 Cahors to Grisolles
N43°49’43·7’’ E001°17’54·3’’ Free aire, full services, €2 for 100 litres of water, no electric.
101km in 1hr 40min
It’s another baking hot day here - 30° at 10am - great.
A look around Cahors was first on the list. It had the fabulous granite Valentre bridge, started in 1308 and just as good now as it was in 1378 when it was completed - very impressive.
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| The excellently preserved Valentre bridge |
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| is even more impressive close up |
There is lots of history in Cahors to see, and again, a very heplful Tourist Information Office - what an organisation.
We’re heading due south now for home, and out of our aires book had chosen one in Grenade. The roads to get there were fast and smooth, the D820 being as fast as the A20 toll motorway.
When we got to Grenade the aire was frankly a bit of a dump. The places next to the bourne all said reserved on them, leaving only a couple of spaces. Right next to it were wagons and caravans from a fair or a circus, so we decided to retrace our steps and look at an aire by the Canal Lateral in Grisolles, which Glyn had cleverly spotted on the way to Grenade.
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| An excellent surface at the Grissoles aire |
Result - big, level,tarmac pitches behind a cultural centre (closed on Sunday) with a free bourne (no electric) and re-cycling bins. It is a 2 minute walk to the canal, and a 5 minute walk to the centre of Grisolles.
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| A canal you can walk alongside indefinitely |
The church in Grisolles was stunning - very imposing and so cool in this heat. Very high multi-arched ceilings and huge stained glass windows were truly impressive.
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| Hot outside, very cool inside |
It’s a quiet time now in the shade to plan tomorrow’s move.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Monday 15/08/2016 Grisolles to Sauveterre-de-Comminges
N43°02’01·0’’ E000°40’02·0’’ Paid aire, €6, services cost €3.
146km in 2hr 42min
An amazing Dutch set-up arrived last night - a Renault double cab flat bed with a fifth wheel, towing what looked not far off a full sized container trailer - very impressive to look at, but I imagine a bit limited in where you can go with it.
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| I should imagine this is custom made and unique |
We are heading to the foothills of the Pyrenees today to Sauveterre-de-Comminges, having already stayed in the superb Bertrand-de-Comminges on a previous trip.
It took a bit of finding on some interesting roads. The aire is actually through a now disused petrol station to an area behind - part grass and part gravel.
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| We eventually found the entrance through here |
Today in France is a national holiday, so no-one is here, in fact no-one is in this small village as far as we can see - it’s very quiet, which is fine for us.
The cost is €6 but there is no-one to pay - it’s a good job we don’t need the services.
It looks like it’s just us in this remote aire in this glorious weather.
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| An odd place for an aire - you would struggle getting a big van in here |
I spoke too soon on both fronts - we were joined by 2 other vans, and it started raining, thundering and lightning so much for so long, I had to move Cervantes from the grass to the gravel - not getting caught out again!
See today’s full photo gallery here
Tuesday 16/08/2016 Sauveterre-de-Comminges to Bagneres-de-Luchon
N42°47’44·1’’ E000°35’56·6’’ Paid aire, €4, paid for water and electric.
35km in 42min
There was still no-one here to pay this morning, so we just had to go without paying - it must have been a busy bank holiday Monday.
We have crossed the Pyrenees by many different routes, but one we haven’t done yet is via the Vielha tunnel, so to get somewhere near to stay overnight, we chose the aire at Bagneres-de-Luchon. It was quite near (I think it was the earliest we have ever arrived at an aire - we got there at 9:20am!) down the road along the river valley, and the aire was quite well-signed.
When we drove in it looked a bit like a gypsy encampment - tables, chairs, tents, washing, kids, dogs, very loud people shouting a lot, - a bit threatening if I am honest. We were a bit stuck now because there are no other aires around here, so we went further into the car park to a friendlier, more motorhome-centred parking area and stayed there.
A walk to explore the town then followed - a deceptively large town supporting many shops, restaurants and hotels.
As we parked we could see a cable car going almost vertically up a hillside to Superbagneres - a ski station and a popular finish for a stage of the Tour de France. As luck would have it we came across the bottom of the cable car, and for some insane reason I suggested we get it to the top! 23 pylons later and some very sweaty palms we were at the top with some fabulous views right up the valley to the plains of Toulouse and beyond.
We are at 1800m here and the town below us is at 630m, so that’s some vertical gain in approx 2km linear distance! The ride down was marginally better than going up, but I’m glad I did it - after all, you can’t go to the Alps and the Pyrenees without going in a cable car, can you?
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| The valley way below |
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| Our road out tomorrow |
We are at 1800m here and the town below us is at 630m, so that’s some vertical gain in approx 2km linear distance! The ride down was marginally better than going up, but I’m glad I did it - after all, you can’t go to the Alps and the Pyrenees without going in a cable car, can you?
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| So, so steep |
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| Best to keep your eyes shut here |
We had a celebratory meal in Bagnares-de-Luchon at a great little bistro, then back to Cervantes for some well-earned relaxation.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Wednesday 17/08/2016 Bagnares-de-Luchon to Tamarite de Litera
N41°51’46·2’’ E000°25’41·2’’ Free aire, full services, no electric.
163km in 3hr 2min
Hooray!! We’re finally back in Spain today where the roads are quiet and well-surfaced, and the drivers are considerate and sensible and don’t tailgate you at 100kph (well most of them!)
We were going to use the services this morning, but they were in such a state we didn’t bother (the gypsies had gone very early this morning surprisingly enough).
We made a choice to go over the Col du Portillon on the D618 instead of going back the way we had come to get to the N125 and the tunnel. It was straight up to the border with Spain at the top of the hill, then straight (many hairpin bends actually) down again.
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| The Spanish valley road from the top of our climb |
The tunnel was 2 lanes going south and one lane going north (and free), but the inside lane was temporarily closed to traffic to allow cyclists safe passage through the tunnel - a nice touch to protect the cyclists.
Thereafter the roads were fast but curvy with quite sharp corners for the speed of the road.
We found the aire in Tamarite-de-Litera with no problem, and as we had the whole car park to go at, we parked facing west so that the fridge would be facing north to give it a bit of help in this 35° heat.
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| Plenty of room here |
I swapped onto the Spanish gas bottle today as we are in Spain. It was as easy as turning the Spanish bottle on, then turning the refillable bottle off. There was no interruption in the gas supply - seamless.
At last we have Spanish TV and can watch the rest of the Olympics without the so-over-the-top, ridiculously biased French coverage (if no-one French was competing they would spend 40 minutes in the studio “analysing” the latest French participation).
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| A free seat for the football through our window |
We’re really looking forward to coffee and toast & tomato in a roadside restaurant tomorrow morning.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Thursday 18/08/2016 Tamarite de Litera to Teruel
N40°19’54·5’’ W001°05’31·8’’ Free aire, no services, no electric.
335km in 5hr 25min
Off today on some fantastic roads - the N211 was exceptional with some great wooded scenery and enormous hills, then onto the equally great A226 - superb.
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| We travelled through some lovely countryside today |
A stop in Fraga was called for as it contained the first Mercadona we had come across, to get the well-known staples of mouthwash, tortilla and Pata Negra Grand Reserva €2·99, or 4 for €10)
We arrived at our chosen aire in Cantavieja at 2:30pm, parked up, and went to explore the hilltop, ancient town. It was obviously siesta time, so no-one was about, and even the front door of the church was locked.
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| The excellent hilltop town of Cantavieja |
Everywhere along the streets were beefed-up steel barricades, and we deduced from a poster in a shop window that this weekend was their fiesta, and it would involve bulls running through the streets.
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| The very substantial steel barricades |
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| It's fiesta time, and it involves a lot of bulls |
The aire was in the plaza de feria - not a good place to be when it’s fiesta weekend, and sure enough, when we got back to the van, they were setting up some enormous speakers which they tested when we were there. It was definitely time to move on, as the itinerary said the music started for real at 12:30am.
A Belgian couple had just joined us in the aire, so we told them the situation and they followed us to the old standby of Teruel along some equally good roads.
The Mercadona there took another bashing to provide us with tuna steaks, tortilla and rucula for tea.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Friday 19/08/2016 Teruel to El Palomar
N38°51’26·5’’ W000°30’12·3’’ Paid aire, €10, full services, showers and toilets, paid WiFi and electric.
241km in 2hr 57min
Today we would be nearly home and our destination was L'Olleria, a small town to the west of Valencia.
We found the aire OK - it was 3 roadside parking places, a drain and a tap on a main road. As we got within 20m of it, we passed an enormous square full of chairs and a stage - festivities tonight!
We passed on both the on-street parking and adjacent noise to go to El Palomar, another small town just 13km to the south.
The gates were locked when we got there, but with 2 phone numbers to ring on a notice outside, we soon had entry thanks to a very helpful man from the local council who runs the aire. He was upfront and honest with us, and said their Moors and Christians festival was on this weekend, and there would be music until 3am. We were approx 1km from the centre of town where the music would be, so should be pretty muffled (we have earplugs and at home we live 500m from the town feria, so are well used to it)
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| A fantastic facility provided by the town of El Palomar |
The aire has large pitches on gravel and is €10 per night. Lightning fast WiFi is €2, so with that we were happy.
It is very secure here - the only way in or out is with a keyfob, given to us when we paid.
The town is very sleepy and quiet - gearing itself up for the festivities I don’t doubt.
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| This square will be buzzing tonight |
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| Keep cool and enjoy yourselves |
It was motorway all the way today, so lots of miles in a short time, and the temperature is in the mid to high 30’s - yeah! In fact the Spanish Met office website had the temperature in the village still at 38° at 8pm!
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| Yeah!!! |
A tree full of bee-eaters put the hat on a great day here, fulfilling Glyn’s long-held desire to see an example of this exotic-looking bird.
See today’s full photo gallery here
Saturday 20/08/2016 El Palomar to Home
184km in 2hr 24min
Home again, and time to relax into the Spanish way once again after a truly momentous trip. As on previous trips Cervantes performed flawlessly with not a moments problem, and we have been up (and down) some very high, steep, and long mountain roads. The only problem we had was the bathroom tap stopped working in France (the kitchen tap and shower worked OK), so a minor inconvenience and easily fixed. This is our longest trip to date at 73 nights, and it was fantastic!
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