WEEK 1: Home, UK to Luant, France – 600 miles
Monday 25th March 2019 – Home, East Cowes to Waverley Park, East Cowes. 0.25 miles!
Many months of planning have finally come together for today and our next journey in to Europe with Jess our 6m home on wheels. We hoped we would have used her more since our last trip out, which was back in the summer of 2018, almost, but not quite, a year. It’s been a busy and eventful year so time was gobbled up with no time for Jess. No matter, we start today, our second European van trip.
When we say planning we use the term loosely as our plan never quite goes to plan, but we have to start with something. Our idea is to drive through France, with haste, and get into Spain and visit the same places on land that we visited by boat. We want to explore parts of the Costa Brava, then turn around, back up through France somewhere then home. Well something like that. Let’s see how it goes. Time to get Jess bathed and ready.
Del loads up Jess at home white Hayley goes off to do a full shop and stock up. We have a long trip today. Less than half a mile, as the crow flies, to a campsite called Waverley Park which is just behind our house. It’s useful to go there overnight. It is a good location for the ferry and to prepare and make sure that everything is working before we set off.
The spot we are given is perfect. A fully serviced pitch with a great view of the Solent. We have a lovely evening there, after restocking and checking everything. We sit in the front of the van, windows open, sipping Spritzers as the sun sets. Very nice.
Tuesday 26th March 2019 – East Cowes, UK to Poperinge, Belgium. 216 miles
Up bright and early this morning 7 am. We get breakfast, clean up and just stop at home for a shower before driving to Fishbourne for the ferry to Portsmouth. Finally, we are on our way. We arrive at Fishbourne only to be told that our ticket is invalid! Not a great start. Hayley sorts it out and we finally board the 10 am ferry.
The Brexit argument still rumbles on, with no deal made and the deadline of three days is fast approaching. In case of a no deal we are concerned about traffic in and out of Dover.
It could be chaos. In its wisdom the UK government have set up a trial on the M20 motorway called “Operation Brock”. In the event the roads are empty. There are lots of trucks lined up to go into Dover Port as we all as the Eurotunnel.
We arrive at the Port of Dover, with a quick check in and are just waved through by French customs and told which lane to go to to board the boat. It’s empty. There are a few lines of trucks but we are the only motorhome and three cars. Very odd. We can’t understand whats gong on. Maybe people are just staying away until the deal with the EU is struck or not. Never mind Project Brock. More like Project Fear, as it looks like holiday makers are just staying away. For us it was the best and easiest jump from the UK into Europe.
On the boat, it’s quiet too, very quiet. All the truck drivers are in their own lounge that’s provided for them, and there are probably 5 families in the lounge. We like this!
We disembark and head north east towards Belgium. We are heading for a campsite that we have stayed at before on our first trip. It’s a working farm in Poperinge, Belgium called Stal’ t Bardehof. It’s getting dark just as we arrive and we find that we are the only ones here. We like it here. It’s been a long and partly stressful day what with the ferry ticket being invalid and the fear the Operation Brock will blight our journey, but everything in the end was good. Tired, we settle in for the night. We are trying to get through France quick to Spain, so we will be doing some miles starting tomorrow.
Wednesday 27th March 2019 – Poperinge, Belgium to Buigny les Gamanches, France. 214 miles
This morning we are woken up by a squeaky cockerel attempting or practising his call. We have a leisurely breakfast when we get up at 8:30 am. Lots of miles to do today, so after fussing with some horses at the farm we set off. We are going to Buigny les Gamanches, directly south of Calais, southwest of where we are.
Our drive takes us through many small French towns, some very cute, some not so cute. Along the route, we make several stops buying water, pastis and some thermal cups so that we can have hot or cold drinks on the drive down to Spain.
Our thinking is to break up the trip with a stop at a France Passion stop in the town of Pierrecourt, however when we arrive at the stop we can’t find anyone, so without too much of a wait, Hayley finds another stop for us. It’s another France Passion stop, an organic cider producer, called le chant des oiseaux (Bird song). It’s set up a little like a French aire with places for 8 vans, it’s very smart and when we arrive we are welcomed by two dogs, excitable dogs… We think they are Irish Wolfhounds. Despite the owner shouting at them to ‘come back‘ they take no notice and continue to bark, run around, tails wagging at the thought that two new humans have turned up and will probably fuss them.
The town is small with not much here, but after a drink of the local cider and a chat with the very friendly owner, we have a look around. It’s a short walk but pleasant.
Once we get settled and have fussed the dogs, one of them decides to come on board to inspect the inside of our van, much to the irritation to the owner, but to the amusement to us. The dog leaves when another van comes in, which means he has to bark and run off welcoming the new arrival. Some people would probably not like that, a dog barking at them, but they were just daft, daft as brushes. They just liked people turning up, to walk around their vans and if possible get inside to have a look.
Back at Jess, we have another sip of cider as the sun sets over the orchard. A very nice day.
Thursday 28th March 2019 Buigny les Gamanches to Chartres. 140 miles
It’s a lovely morning this morning and we now know why this place is called Bird Song, they are loud, very loud but its nice to hear. We are not far from St Nazaire which is where the Airbus is made and they offer an excellent tour of the plant, however we have left it a bit too late to book a tour. Doh! We are also not too far from the D-day beaches that we would also love to see. So we have to decide. D-day beaches or do we just go down the middle of France and head towards Spain. We flip a coin. No D-day beaches today. We are going south. Our next stop will be Chartres, southwest of Versailles.
We are using the motorways today and stop at a fritterie, chip shop, wagon. Very popular with French truck drivers, however, we just want a small tray of chips and not what the truck drivers eat which is extraordinary – simply it’s a half-meter baguette stuffed with chips and you can have melted cheese drizzled on top. It’s called an American. Really!!
The campsite, Camping Les Bord de L’ Eure is very nice in Chartres, right by the river.
The town is very nice with a rather impressive cathedral currently undergoing extensive renovations. Back at the van, we have a great dinner in the evening, watching and feeding the ducks. This is what it’s all about. Del shares his rice cakes with a pheasant. A very nice day and stay.
Friday 29th March 2019 Chartres to Luant. 141 miles
Brexit day. Will there be a deal or not? A possible three hour drive today to a lakeside aire near to the town of Luant will put us half way through France. So after a nice outdoor breakfast in the sun and listening to the birds, we pack up and set off. It’s a beautiful day today. Again we are on the motorways, which can be expensive. It’s a long monotonous drive but after two and half hours we arrive at our stop, a lovely spot by a lake, where other vans are, and we have a very nice lunch before setting off on a walk around the lake.
We do get a bit lost and finally get our way back to the van after an 8km walk.
When we get back, other vans have arrived, which we like, it’s nice to have some company. It’s dark, very dark. The stars are amazing here.
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