WEEK 4: Caumont-sur-Garonne to Les Sables-d’Olonne – 335 miles

Saturday 13th April 2019 – Caumont-sur-Garonne to St. Emillion. 40 miles

We came down through the middle of France to get to Spain, now we are zig-zagging our way up and as close to the west coast as we can to get back.

The birds this morning are noisy as we sit outside by the canal for a lazy breakfast. It’s lovely here, but we have to get a move on. Today we are going to St.Emillion and to a vineyard called Chateaux Arnaud de Jacquemeau. We are welcomed by a very kind elderly chap in his 70s who kindly shows us to our pitch and Hayley manages, in her best French, to arrange a tour.

It’s very quiet here and we are given a short tour. It’s lovely.

We buy a bottle of their GrandCru 2012. We have learnt a lot today about how wine is made, and happy with our knowledge we head back to Jess for a short rest.

The town of St. Emillion is not far from here so we set off for the short walk to the town. It’s a Saturday today so it’s packed with tourists. It’s nice, though and we spend an hour or two walking around this lovely town before heading back to Jess for a traditional French dinner of steak and frites, with a bearnaise sauce followed by a very nice runny brie.

Later we sit in the setting sun, next to Jess with a glass of the 2012 Grand Cru and watch the sun setting over the vineyards. Once the early evening chill sets in we go inside.

What a great day.

---

Sunday 14th April 2019 – St. Emillion to Blaye. 47 miles

You just can’t trust the weather at the moment, it’s spring of course so it’s very changeable. Today we wake up to grey skies and drizzle, completely different from yesterday. Time to leave this lovely vineyard. We are going to stop at a lighthouse on the Medoc spit of Bourdeaux. We desperately need water in our fresh water tank for showers and washing up, but we are having trouble. It’s a Sunday so we can’t get the tokens required to pay for the water at the aires, so we change our plan, and take a small ferry across the Gironde.

It’s a bit tricky this ferry as the entrance onto the boat is at the side rather than the traditional front or back of the boat, and it’s quite a small ferry to boot. We are taking the 15 minute ferry to the citadel town of Blaye, so after a bit of shuffling about to get on the ferry and we cast off. The weather has cheered up as well which makes al the difference. Once again we are going to a winery where we can get free water and electricity. We need water…

We disembark only to be in the thick of some heavy traffic in the town, it’s chaos. We soon find out that there is a wine festival on, which is quite popular. We slowly make our way through the town and finally we have arrived at the Chateau Marquis de Vauban and we are just in time for the 5pm tour. With enough time to get in to our pitch, plug into some power and more importantly, we fill up with water.

The tour was interesting and of course, as tradition dictates, we purchase a couple of bottles which we try in the sun next to the vineyards.

(This drinking wine next to the vineyard is becoming a habit. A very good habit!) We meet a lady travelling alone in a little red VW campervan with her dog.

---

Monday 15th April 2012 – Blaye to Bignac. 71 miles

Our toilet needs emptying, but we can’t do it here, the facilities are broken so sadly we do need to move on to somewhere where we can refresh the toilet. Sometimes camping life can be disruptive by simple things like this, things we take for granted at home or at a hotel.

We spend some time with our next-door neighbour in the VW who had a cold night last night. We had the heating on! We have breakfast together and say goodbye to Deborah and her cute little dog whose name we can’t remember!

Today we are going to a campsite which is run by an English couple. It’s supposed to be very nice with a nearby lake. We both feel like we need a campsite stop, and so does Jess. We like the free aires and being off grid, but you can only do it for three or four nights before you really need to get plugged into some power, take on fresh water, do laundry and just stretch out for a while, and that moment has now come.

We arrive at Camping Marco de Bignac. It’s lovely here, out in the middle of nowhere. The site is very green and meadow like with a lake, all the facilities that we need as well as some goats and geese.

Lovely. Once parked up on our pitch we get everything done, plug into some power to get things charged up, drop the grey water, fill up fresh and recharge the toilet. Even Jess gets a good cleanout. She deserves it. We all get a good airing!

We are located in an area that’s quite close to Cognac, our destination tomorrow. In the meantime, once we have taken advantage of all the facilities and given Jess some fresh air, we go for a walk.

We must come here again, it’s so peaceful and the walk around the lake is smashing, just what we needed. Hayley makes us a brilliant dinner of quesadillas, nice and hearty.

---

Tuesday 16th April 2019 – Bignac to Segonzac. 48 miles

The peace and tranquility of this lovely place was shattered last night by heavy rain. It’s really loud on the roof of the van, It kept us awake for most of the night, tired today so we got up late. After breakfast the rain has gone and it’s brightening up so once again we take a short walk around the lake, do another complete service on Jess and set off in search of a car/van wash. Jess is absolutely filthy. The rain and long drives have left her looking a right mess, we could also do with some diesel and LPG.

We find a supermarket that has both, the diesel fill up is fine but the gas stops after only dispensing 2 euros worth of gas, even though the bank has shown a pre-authorisation of 103 euro! We walk back to the supermarket to find a a manger or someone who can help us. It’s hard, very hard. Finally Hayley gets to speak to a customer service rep and with her limited French explains what has happened at the LPG pump. Hayley is then put in touch with a man on the phone, she has to explain it all over again about what happed at the pump, we think he understands what she is saying but unfortunately Hayley doesn’t quite understand his reply! We are in the middle of nowhere, nobody speaks English, why would they? The clue is in the name, pre-authorisation. We will just have to wait and see what happens over the next few days, hopefully it will only show the 2 euros.

Deborah, our lady neighbour at Chateau Marquis de Vauban, the one with the VW camper and the dog, recommended that we go to the Michel Forgeron Cognac house, where you can stay, get a tour of the Cognac brewing process and they will of course sell you some. We have to go…

After a short drive we arrive at the Cognac house, near Segonzac. It’s a beautiful old house with outhouses, a small green in front with a huge tree. We’re welcomed by a very friendly guy, who is the son of the family and he is accompanied by his puppy who is so very friendly but also scared. A lovely little thing who follows us. He follows us to our pitch but when we make a move to stroke him he runs off barking at us, then comes back again. Eventually he settles down and becomes our friend spending the afternoon with us. Del rolls around with him in the grass and he even get up on the step of the van for a little nosy inside. We like Sammy very much. He can come with.

Later in the afternoon, we are escorted by the lady of the house to a tour of how Cognac is made.

Very interesting and it’s all done at this place, grown, distilled and bottled. We try many different vintages of Cognac including a 50 year old one but we settle for buying a bottle of an 1989 vintage that we tried directly from the barrel. We also tried and bought a bottle of Pineau an apéritif of grapes mixed with a splash of brandy. Very nice.

It’s a lovely calm and peaceful place, we sit in the sun at the side of the van. It’s warm. Dinner tonight was a lovely pasta followed by a swig of our 30-year-old Cognac. The French know how to do it…!

---

Wednesday 17th April 2019 – Segonzac to Coulon. 65 miles

We had a lovely peaceful night last night, but there is always something. If it’s not raining it’s agricultural machinery rumbling about, and what a racket. Well it is what they do, they are not on holiday. It’s what they do…

Finally, at 9 am, we are up and having a lovely breakfast, we say goodbye to Sammy the dog and one of the sons waves us off. What a great place. It would be really good if we could come back here again next year. It’s so… French…!

We can’t come to the Cognac region and not visit the town. So we set off and find the town and get parked up in an aire for a couple of hours. The town of Cognac is beautiful, well of course it is… We have a coffee in one of the pretty squares and spend a good hour walking around. We still have a good drive ahead of us to get to Coulon. Coulon is supposed to be another one of those prettiest towns in France places. We shall see.

The journey feels like a slog. We encounter a couple of roadblocks and the roads are all ‘D’ roads (small), some are even single-track and not in the best of condition. Finally, we arrive at Coulon, feeling a bit beaten, but glad all the same to be here. The aire is huge, there is space for up to 80 vans and for 10 and a bit euros, you get a nice space with all of the facilities.

The town is a good walk down the river, so after we have settled in and serviced Jess we set off. It is very pretty, but is it one of the prettiest?

We are not sure yet. The river has lots of punts for hire, single, pairs or groups but they are very expensive to rent, not on our budget anyway. It’s a bit of a tourist trap really, it’s nice, doesn’t take long to get around but everything is so expensive. We manage a small beer and head back to Jess.

We need some exercise so we get the bikes down and do a 5km ride past, canals, fields and some swamp land that has the bike track on an elevated wooden route, brilliant.

A very enjoyable ride, but we are getting hungry.

Back at Jess, we get talking to the only other Brits here. Peter and Kay are from Poole and they are doing a short EU trip in their Romahome which they bought on the Isle of Wight… A great dinner tonight. A great day…

---

Thursday 18th April 2019 – Coulon to Les Sables-d’Olonne. 78 miles

We are not sure that Coulon is one of the prettiest towns in France. Yes, it is pretty, but we have seen prettier. The fact is, you can’t really move anywhere in France without stumbling on a pretty town. Another quick van service and we are off.

Today we are going to a campsite near Les Sables-d’Olonne. This campsite is one of those ‘family‘ campsites. Dubious. It’ll be full to the brim with families and kids. Loads of kids. Loads of noisy kids. We’ll give it a go.

We arrive and it’s a big complicated weaving mass of small roads and paths with pitches. The pitches are generous enough and it’s actually not too bad, and not too noisy. Quite pleasant really.

Time alone today. Del does a complete Jess the van clear out and clean up while Hayley gets her bike down from the back of Jess and sets off and does a 24km bike ride! The views are spectacular and she manages to cycle to the Port where the Vendee Globe boat race starts from.

The town is a very classy place with lots of long sandy beaches. It’s busy today, it’s the Thursday before the easter weekend.

Exciting day tomorrow. We were too late to do it a the start of the trip, but now we have our tickets for the Airbus tour at St. Nazaire. Yes….

---

Friday 19th April 2019 – Sables-d’Olonne to Fegreac. 78 miles

Busy day today. Lots of driving to do today. today we are going to see some German submarine pens, and an aircraft factory then after all that we need to find a nice quiet place for the night, so we are up early and we are away. It’s Good Friday today and we are warned that everywhere could be busy, so we need to be quick but at the same time make sure that we see everything.

We set off for St. Nazaire, but first, we need some fuel and food. We find a place but it just takes forever to do these two simple jobs today. We arrive at the aire, which is busy, but there are some spaces spare so we are in luck. We are parked near to the submarine pens and once parked up, we secure Jess and set off to have a look around them. They are quite impressive and imposing. Massive concrete structures that form huge entrances to loading bays for submarines. The Germans built them this way so that the allies couldn’t bomb them. They would be loaded with fresh crew and ammunition and then set off and be submerged and straight off into the Atlantic. The Germans were very good with concrete during the war. They built a lot of impressive stuff.

There is an old sub here from the 60s and for an extra fee, you can go on board. A crazy idea. Build a metal tube, fill it with torpedoes and men, and then let it loose underwater for days at a time! They are so basic inside but complicated. Full of tubes and wiring going off in directions. It’s very claustrophobic in here, you have to be made of tough stuff to be in here for days and underwater. Not for us…

There is a bus that leaves here rather conveniently for the Airbus factory. The only ticket we could get at short notice was conducted in French, no matter, Hayley will see us right. To be honest the tour is so impressive you don’t really need to listen to the tour guide. It is just amazing to see airliners being built from a green aluminium shell at one end to a gleaming, brightly colour painted aeroplane at the other end. We move from building to building and see the different processes at work. It is fascinating. Especially the wiring that goes on under the floor of an aircraft. We like it. Very good and highly recommended. More so if you can understand what’s being said.

It’s late afternoon when we make our way back to the rather industrial aire where we are parked. The smell from the factory is wafting over. We are very close to a major town and we are not that keen on staying here any longer now that we have seen what we come to see. It would be nice to set off and look for a place that’s green and clean. Hayley gets to work to see if she can find something.

At 8 pm we arrive at an aire with space for 10 vans. We get a space and it’s nice and quite a contrast from where we have just been. We are parked next to a river and a canal. It’s very peaceful, there is the added bonus of a couple of goats wandering around.

It’s going to be a peaceful night as the sun sets over the river and all we can hear now are croaking frogs. A perfect end to an interesting day.

WEEK 3: San Pere Pescador, Spain to Castelnaudary – 326 miles

Saturday 6th April 2019 – San Pere Pescador, day 2

We like it here very much. We plan to spend the rest of the week here in the Costa Brava before starting our journey back north and towards home.

The weather this morning is better than last night. After the heavy downpour, we wake up to clear sunny skies. It’s only a short walk to the beach so we stick our shorts on and go for a walk.

It’s breezy today so despite the spring sunshine it’s still quite cold in the wind. We head back to the van and have a good game of mini-golf. Del wins, but really wins!

There is a nice little shop here so we get stocked up with some extra provisions, then a pizza and schnitzel at the camp restaurant.

Back at Jess, it’s nice in the sun and we get some shelter from the cool wind. It’s a lovely peaceful day. After a beer or two, we take another walk to the beach. The visibility is amazing, so clear, crystal clear and the Bay of Roses looks absolutely stunning.

---

Sunday 7th April 2019 – San Pere Pescador, day 3

We have a good long lie-in today, but once up we have a healthy breakfast, for a change, and we just potter around the van for the morning doing jobs that we have let slide over the past few weeks. It’s a cold wind blowing from the north, freezing but we are still in our t-shirts and shorts, but not the Spanish, they have their padded jackets and jeans on while huddling against the wind.

After lunch we get the bikes our and do a good long cycle ride from San Pere Pescador to St. Marti Empuries then on to L’Escala. St. Marti is nice.

It used to be a Roman enclave and still has lots of Roman ruins with the original mosaic flooring. Really good. L’Escala is a typical Spanish fishing town. A lovely place which has had some renovation work done along the front making it more pedestrianised, but other than that it’s still the same L’Escala. In total a 24km bike ride! Good.

L’Escala is famous for its anchovies so we are on the lookout for some, unfortunately, the best shop that does them is closed… No matter we head for the front and have a nice ice cream, sitting looking at the bay and the snow-covered peaks of the Pyrenees. It’s that clear.

A lovely dinner back at Jess followed by another walk to the beach to look at the spectacular bay.

Tomorrow we are moving on to another place that we used to frequent on the boat.

---

Monday 8th April 2019 – San Pere Pescador to Cala Montgo. 9 miles

This morning the weather has cleared up some more, but there is still a cool wind blowing.

After breakfast we pack up and service Jess with fresh water, empty the grey water and refresh the toilet. Today it is a staggering 9 miles, 20 minute drive to a bay that we used to anchor in called Cala Montgo. We used to go there and anchor in the bay in the hot sun, bobbing about, using the tender to go ashore to buy pizza and ice-cream to bring back to the boat. We had some lovely overnight anchoring there, so today let’s see what its like on land. Being April places are still closed, so it’s very quiet and cool. We shall see.

The campsite is nice and quiet, not many people here, we get a nice pitch and settle in. We go for a walk to the bay and have a beer and reminisce. It looks very different now, the weather, the sky etc. all make it look different. Still nice though. We are looking for lunch and find a restaurant doing a menu del dia (menu of the day). We find one doing a paella and sepia for 18 euros. It’s cold so we head back to the van to get our coats and head back out but Hayley decides to make her own paella instead. We have a delicious paella outside in the sun, sheltered from the cool wind. It was wonderful, really tasty and really comfortable.

We are visited by a bird, which we toss little bits of bread to. Tiny little friendly thing with one leg! Poor thing.

---

Tuesday 9th April 2019 – Cala Montgo to L’Estertit. 15 miles

Heavy rain last night, very heavy. The weather is not great today. According to the forecast, it will be damp all day. No matter, we have a lovely breakfast of coffee and pastries at the camp cafe and once we are cleaned up and packed we move on to L’Estartit. Another short drive.

The campsite is supposed to be a similar rating as the Aquarius campsite in San Pere Pescador. No way… It’s a bit scruffy in parts and some of the shower/toilet blocks are not working. The site is also at the scruffy end of the town which is a bit of a walk away. There are other like-minded Brits here, escaping the UK and its Brexit woes.

Once settled in we walked around the camp. It’s okay but nothing like the camps we have been to in Costa Brava so far.

It’s a long wet walk to the town as we get the odd shower of rain. It’s cold too. We walk to the marina at the other end of the town and have a beer before doing the walk back. It starts to rain again. Oh well.

---

Wednesday 10th April 2019 – L’Estertit to San Pere Pescador. 20 miles

We are going to do a part turnaround today. Not far though. We are going back to the Aquarius campsite, the good one, the nice one. We have quite a pile of laundry building up so it will be a good place to get that done. It’s sunny but with good wind. We will probably do another day or two here. We shall see.

We get a different, quieter spot this time, with lots of space to get our washing line strung out as we take turns going to the washing machine. We will get the washing dry today. It’s windy today, very windy. Oh, and a pigeon manages to drop a poo on some of our clothes. Nice.

---

Thursday 11th April 2019 – San Pere Pescador, Spain to Castelnaudary, France. 141 miles

The weather is not good this morning, it’s very windy, fierce. The skies are grey and threatening. Not what was forecast? During breakfast we make the decision to get some miles under us today and move on, the weather is not great. The campsite is great, but there is only so much you can do here, so we say goodbye to the Aquarius Campsite. We liked it here. A very nice place.

Hayley gets the maps and books out and sets us a route to leave the Costa Brava and make our way north again, back through France and towards home. We have only been here for a week, it took a week to get here but it has been worth it.

The wind is fierce as we drive over a bridge that is exposed to the wind straight from the coastal town of Leucate which is wide open from the sea and the wind funnels up to the road at high speed. Nasty. It’s so strong that Jess is getting really pushed about on the bridge.

Del is at the wheel and doing a good job of keeping Jess in a straight line. We are heading to the town of Castelnaudry that is responsible for giving us a tasty French dish called cassoulet, a nice hearty stew, probably something that we need.

We are using another Camping Car Park, which uses a card an a barrier, very neat, very simple. We first met this system in Capdenac. By the time we get parked the weather has turned cold and grey. We are having a bit of trouble with the alarm showing errors, so we start to swap out door sensors and have a phone conversation with he manufacturers, Vanbitz. After a while and a bit of fiddling we are all up and working and Jess is secure again. All done in the rain.

We set off, it’s cold and damp, but we brave the weather and set off. We are located in a town which has France’s biggest canal basin located on the Canal du Midi. It’s massive and we are really close to it, but it’s so so cold. We have had enough and go back to Jess, we are soaking wet and cold. We get the heating on and soon thaw out. It’s not nice out there. Hayley looks up the best restaurant in town so that we can try some of this cassoulet. The best in town is closed but the second is open, Restaurant Chez David.

At 7:30 we step outside again, it’s stopped raining, at last, but it’s still chilly. We arrive at the restaurant which is small and cosy. It all looks very charming but has a small twist in that the waiter is a big skinhead with tattoos and the music playing is death metal, it’s not loud, but they are playing it all the same which is unusual. Hayley has a flambeed camembert,

Del a salad. We both have the cassoulet which was brilliant. Very rich, very heavy, so much so we can’t eat it all and we are offered a doggie bag (sac de chien?) to take the rest home. There was a little room for a Del to have a creme Catalan! Hayley is not sure about cassoulet. It’s a bit ‘meaty’. She says.

The walk back to Jess was cold and wet. By the time we got back to the van, the rain was heavy. We got back just in time. We are tired now and full…

---

Friday 12th April 2019 – Castelnaudary to Caumont-sur-Garonne. 143 Miles

Finally we wake up to sunshine. What a relief, the rain was getting us down a little. Today we are going to Caumont-sur-Garonne, we are going to a free aire there. We set off and after many hours of driving and some dodgy roads, (that’s what you get if you avoid the expensive motorways) we arrive at our next stop. It’s a long day but the drive is very pretty.

We drove through lots of lovely countryside, vast expanses of bright yellow rapeseed fields, green pastures and tree-lined roads. The French countryside is beautiful.

Once we get parked up we need some exercise after being sat down driving all day. It’s nice, the sun is out, it’s cool but the fresh air and the cycling brighten our day. Dinner tonight? The doggie bag from last night with a salad…! Yum…

WEEK 2: Luant, France to Empuriabrava, Spain – 483 miles

Saturday 30th March 2019 – Luant to Martel. 142 miles

Short on diesel and drinking water, we find a supermarket and re-stock, but while there we pick up a 1kg pot of potato salad. It’s very nice indeed. It’s quite a slog this getting south thing, but we are doing well. In about 3 or 4 days we should be in Spain! It’s mostly free motorway to our next stop. Today we are stopping at the medieval town of Martel, “The town of seven towers“, is a beautiful place.

The tiny local campsite is closed so we park in the aire across from the church and just outside of the town. We manage to bag a nice spot on the the green, it’s lovely here, very nice. We sit about and just laze about in the sun in our shorts. We will explore the town later when we go for dinner.

Dinner at the local restaurant was ok. We are a little early in the season as a lot of the places are still empty. We eat dinner at the Le Sans Lys. Hayley has duck, Del has steak. We finished with a very poor cheese board, unusual we thought. The French are supposed to be good at this cheese thing.

We have a nice evening walk around the town and end up in a bar that has some live music on. We have a couple of drinks and Hayley gets kissed by a rather tipsy Frenchman who is going around the bar kissing everyone! Just like the French that…

A nice walk back to Jess and a quiet night. Too much to drink though. And kissing…!

---

Sunday 31st March 2019 – Martel to Capdenac. 189 miles

Its a cooler morning today, but it’s bright and sunny. We need water desperately and we need to change the toilet! We set of towards the A75 and we try 4 aires. One is blocked by a visiting circus. Two have the water turned off! and the 4th has a rather steep and narrow entrance. We arrive in Capdenac which has a campsite that has a barrier and a card machine that requires membership. We pay the fee, but we can’t get in. A quick call to the management company and the barrier goes up and we are in.

It’s rather nice here, next to the river, with a main road running next to us but it’s not too noisy. The site is run by Camping Car Park. You pay a fee for a card that you swipe to get into the site. They run quite a few sites throughout France and part of Spain, so it might come in handy another time on the trip. We manage to do a full service on the van and we are facing the river. Nice.

We decide to get some exercise and drop the bikes from the back of the van and set off and head towards Capdenac le haut which is a winding road upwards that goes through a tunnel and pops out in the town of Capdenac on high. It’s supposed to be one of the prettiest villages in France however we are scuppered as the road up is very steep.

We are not fit enough for this so we give up and free wheel back done to Jess and have a lovely paella outside. All very, very nice.

---

Monday 1st April 2019 – Capdenac to St. Pierre La Mar. 165 miles

Not a great sleep last night, no idea why. We finally get up at 9 am. We need to service Jess again. We find a place where we can get diesel, water, air for the tyres and they have a vacuum cleaner here so we give Jess a bit of a clean up inside. We take the tight, winding road up to one the prettiest French towns, Capdenac. It was worth it. There was a place to park up there and we had a good walk around the town. We are now setting off for Millau and the famous viaduct!

The route to the Millau Viaduct is very twisty but pretty and finally the viaduct comes into sight.

It’s quite impressive, and spectacular as it spans the valley. Quite something. Del drives us over the bridge while Hayley takes pictures and just sits in awe at the construction of the bridge.

There is an exhibition here which is brilliant that tells the story of the viaduct, why and how it was constructed. Time to move on. We are heading to another aire in the town of Fleuny. Once near it’s a 5km drive on very iffy roads. It better be worth it, it better be open. It’s closed…!

We decide to drive on towards St. Pierre La Mar, on the coast. Again the roads around here are very bad, full of potholes, bits missing, twisting and traffic. We arrive at St. Pierre La Mar, which is full of camper vans, we can now see the Med. We have been driving for 6 days from home to the Med in Jess, which we have really enjoyed. We have seen some lovely places.

St. Pierre La Mar is a strange place. We walk into the town, it’s the beginning of April, spring, but the town is deserted, it feels very strange to walk around. A few restaurants are open but it just feels weird. We decide to go back and to eat dinner on Jess after we walk on the beach and look out to the Med. We are quite proud to get here. This is the area that we used to sail our boat Stargazer around and now we are here in Jess, our land yacht.

---

Tuesday 2nd April 2019 – St. Pierre La Mar, France to Port Vendres, Spain. 75 miles

After a quick service at the St. Pierre La Mar aire, we set off to find diesel and GPL (heating and cooking gas).

We find a station but it involves a lot of reversing and forwarding and reversing and soon it’s very busy. There is also a van wash here, Jess is due a good bath again, so for 12 euros she gets a good wash and once again she looks very respectable on the road as we zoom down the A9 motorway to make for the border town of Port Vendres. We stayed there many time on Stargazer, so we are looking forward to getting there.

We arrive at the town of Port Vendres and we are parked just at the side of the port in a nice little overnight parking spot. The police come in the morning to collect the payment! We set off for a walk to the town which was just as we remember it. A small fishing town/harbour with lots of restaurants around the perimeter of the harbour.

Its very nice, so nice we have a nice lunch out of crispy pork/salmon mousse and steak, all helped along with a red wine from the nearby town of Collioure. Lovely.

We spend the late afternoon back at Jess. It starts to rain, heavy rain but once it stops in the early evening we go for a walk along the harbour wall to the red light that we passed many times on our boat.

The sea is flat calm. It’s a lovely night. Tomorrow we will be in Spain.

---

Wednesday 3rd April 2019 – Port Vendres to Roses. 52 miles

At 8:15 a very polite French policeman turns up to collect the 6 euros for the overnight stay. Today we will cross the border into Spain and head for the seaside town of Roses, another place that we stopped on Stargazer.

We are attempting to to get there via Banyuls and Llanca. The road is over the hills and is very twisty and dangerous but we manage it.

We want to stop in Banyuls but we can’t find a space so we head on to Llanca passing the heavily graffitied border post. We are now in Spain, it’s taken a week. Another new country sticker for Jess.

After a trip many times round the one way system we park up in Llanca. It’s nice here. We used to stop here too so we know where to go. We go to a bar for some Spanish coffee and tortilla, bread and tomato. The Spanish do the best coffee, smooth and very tasty. We have a walk but the skies are getting very dark, but very dark, black in fact. There is a lot of rain on its way and things just don’t look the same in the gloom. It’s still great to be here though.

Time to set off for Roses. Not only did we come to this area by boat but we used to come here on holiday, we would hire a car and drive around the area and now we are driving around in our motorhome. Great. The campsite in Roses is in the middle of the town and is a bit tricky to find, once we get there we find that the campsite is quite tight. The roads inside are small, trees everywhere and the pitches are small.

We have laundry to do today and they have a washing machine and dryers here. You buy your tokens from the office, who are very friendly, but we find the the machine gobbles up the tokens and doesn’t start the machine. It takes ages, but ages to get the staff to give us some replacement tokens. It is lunch time and the Spanish tend to take very long lunch breaks.

We finally get the tokens and get our washing done just in time for the heavy rains to come again, but this time it’s very heavy and very miserable, not what we were hoping for. Grim.

Finally, the weather has changed, the rain has eased and stopped so we take advantage of this break in the weather and take the long walk into the Port of Roses. It’s a good walk. We need stuff for the van. We need a new pan and a mat for the van, if the rain carries on we need something to step in and out of the van without getting soaking wet shoes or boots in the van.

A great dinner tonight on Jess, fajitas, home made in the new frying pan.

---

Thursday 4th April 2019 – Roses to Empuriabrava. 7 miles

This morning we have lovely bright blue skies. That’s the thing about Spain compared to home. It rains heavy, and it can be really heavy, but then it just goes bright and clear unlike home where it just rains and stays grey, bits of blue sky then more grey and rain… Yuk! We set off for the short drive to Empuriabrava. Before we bought a boat we used to spend hours here sitting on the harbour wall just watching the boats going in and out, we loved it. More than 20 years ago!

The free stop in Empuriabrava is next to a refrigeration plant, but it’s a nice stop. There are other vans here so we have company. Once we get settled we get the bikes down, it’s been a while since we did that, and set of for a bike ride. It’s nice and flat here so we can get some good exercise. We are on our bikes for a good few hours exploring, we really enjoy it, seeing all the places that we used to go to all those years ago.

Now we are hungry but what to eat? Spain is good for a ‘Menu of the day‘ 10 to 12 euros gets you a two or three course lunch which usually can be very nice. We cycle back towards the van at the other end of town keeping an eye open for a restaurant to fit our budget, no joy, however there is a supermarket near where we are parked, they have a menu of the day! A supermarket has an outside restaurant that does a menu of the day, very classy!!

It fits our budget so we get a table and we have a wonderful lunch, we are not kidding, it was just perfect. Pan con tomate, iberico ham and calamares. We sat outside and enjoyed a great lunch in the afternoon sunshine with a glass of cava. Does it get any better?

Not far from here is an airfield that has a very world-famous and popular skydiving centre, so of course after a few drinks and a great lunch, we weave off on our bikes to the airfield. It has undergone some changes since we were last here, with a new building and a flashy cafe. We watch the planes take off full of folk who, 20 minutes later are landing on the nearby grass field. Looks great but not for us!

Near to the airfield is a new shiny aluminium building that does simulated skydiving. You put on a suit and step into this large glass tube, a big fan starts up and you get pushed up, floating about. Takes all sorts. Hayley is interested but not sure.

Back at Jess, Hayley decided that she will give the skydiving machine a go! Takes all sorts! We set off and she pays the fee and is soon dressed in a suit, helmet and some goggles. She steps into the machine with Alex, a very helpful chap from the venue, and within seconds she is pushed up the glass tube. She loves it as the speed is dropped and revved up making her go up and down, giggling and screaming as she is pushed up at high speed then drops like a stone. She has a great time.

There is an offer that allows you to go even higher and spin, it’s a bit extra but who cares, it’s not everyday you can do this kind of thing. She is shot up to 15m at high speed and coached how to spin down by the very able Alex. She comes out with her hair all over the place grinning and red!

After a good scream and a giggle, we go back to Jess. Cheese and biscuits tonight after our heavy lunch. A great day.

---

Friday 5th April 2019 – Empuriabrava to San Pere Pescador. 8 miles

It’s sunny but cool this morning. The refrigeration machine has been working overtime, it’s covered in ice.

We still don’t know what it does or why, but a tanker appears and does something then disappears half an hour later. Today we are setting off to San Pere Pescador. We have spent so many holidays over so many years there so we are looking forward to it.

We drive to Camping Aquarius. It’s a strange drive. We drove these roads so many times years ago and now we are doing it again in Jess.

We arrive at the campsite which is just wonderful. Nice big pitches, great facilities and near the beach. The staff are very friendly and we get settled in quite quickly.

We get the bikes off again, take a good bike ride to the town of San Pere Pescador and have a cold beer in a bar while trying to rent out our flat in London. We take a good walk and bike ride around the town. It hasn’t changed at all.

We cycle back and get to the campsite just in time for the heavens to open…! It pours down for the rest of the day. Hayley makes us a traditional Spanish stew tonight which is just fantastic…

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.

WEEK 6: Lorelei, Germany to Home, UK – 594 miles

Saturday 14th July 2018 Lorelei – Day 2

The band and crew have finally arrived, late. The bus bringing them here had a few problems along the way. They were supposed to be here before we arrived more than 12 hours ago, but they had fan belt and AC issues, so when they did arrive they were not in the best of moods.

Plus it was so hot that instead of using the normal AC generator, which was also broken, the engine had to be used to power the AC which meant the engine had to be all day and night, and the back of the bus was right next to us… Great. All we can hear all day and all night is the band bus engine…

Some of the crew come and admire Jess, taking turns to come on board to look at how we live, poke their noses into the toilet and shower, and bounce up and down trying out the seating arrangements. They are all very complementary so we set off in search of some lunch and a break from the bus engine.

After lunch and beer, we sit and watch the afternoon music but it’s far too hot. We find another toboggan run a small one. It’s ok but again nowhere near as good as the 3km one in Todtnau.

It’s late afternoon and Camel are not on stage until 10:30 tonight, so we go back to the van and try to relax, but the engine noise is driving us mad. Sometimes it goes off once the AC has reached temperature, but it soon starts up again. The back of the bus’s engine bay is also open to help with the cooling. It’s so loud.

Time for dinner. The day seems so long, it seems hours away yet before the band are on. We have a great dinner at the side of the van with the trees next to us.

It’s nice with a glass of red wine in the shade and the Volvo diesel engine from the bus next door!

Del goes back to work to do some more focusing in-between bands. Finally, Camel are on stage for a long 2-hour set. It goes down very well. The audience love them. The band are now in better spirits after such a bad journey here.

We help them pack up and get back to the bus and say goodbye. It seems to take forever for them to attach the trailer to the bus but finally they are done and they leave. Finally, peace at last. Bliss… We get 8 hours of Peace and quiet before it’s our turn to leave.

---

Sunday 15th July 2018 Lorelei, Germany – Landgraaf, Holland. 129 miles

Today is the day that we have to turn around and start to make our way back home. We have been away for 5 weeks and we have a week to get back home, de-prep Jess and put her back into storage until the next time. We love Jess. She has performed well on her first trip out, exceeded expectations, and given us no problems or issues at all. We are very pleased with our purchase.

Our return journey will take us up north to Holland and to the town of Landgraaf which used to be a large coal mining town. It’s not only the UK that’s had pit closures. It will also be a long journey today, we haven’t done a long drive for a while, 2 and a bit hours. We get packed up and do a full van service and a diesel and LPG top-up. We are ready for our last week. It’s been a nice couple of days, noisy, but nice.

Our stop in Holland is a campsite on a farm but when we arrive there is only one space left and it’s not in the best position, right by the gate, some old caravans and piles of bricks, so instead we head for an aire.

It’s a nice clean place, barriered entrance and nice pitches that we can choose from, but we are plagued with flies, loads of them. It’s hot, very hot, and we are still a bit tired from our noisy nights in Lorelei so we have bit of lay down. It’s too hot.

We watch the World Cup final. France wins… Well deserved we feel. Dinner was another one of Hayley’s paellas. It was absolutely delicious. Feeling a bit more revived and cooler, we take a walk into town. There is another festival on making a right racket. It’s the Neverland Festival. A bit more of a dance festival than prog rock.

Back at the van, where it’s now a little cooler, we find that we are plagued with flies in the van, 7 of them buzzing around. Oh well that’s camping for you.

---

Monday 16th July 2018 Langsraaf, Holland – Felleries, France. 123 miles

Del can’t stand the flies any longer and is up early. It’s hot already. We have a fabulous full breakfast before setting off. Today we are crossing another border into France and to the town of Felleries. Another 2-hour drive of mainly motorways to a lovely municipal campsite with lovely friendly French welcome from the staff.

Once we are installed and comfortable in our fly-free pitch we head off into town. It’s a Monday today and as is the way in France, most of it is closed. There is a nice old water mill here so we have a look around it. We are spotted by the curator and he very kindly invites us in for a personal tour of the mill. He starts up the mill and gives us a demonstration of the equipment, especially the foot operated lathe, which Hayley likes. It’s all very interesting and very nice of the guy to take the time and show us around. What a nice man.

There is a cycle track here that runs where there was once a train line. We thought that we would give it a go but it starts to rain.

We have a nice simple dinner and then back into the town. There is a jazz festival on and tonight it’s a 5-piece swing band.

It’s all very charming with festoon lights and small stalls selling crepes. Lovely.

---

Tuesday 17th July 2018 Felleries – Herlies. 81 miles

We have a nice long sleep in this morning. After breakfast, we are in search of a van wash. Jess hasn’t been cleaned for three weeks, she is filthy and covered in bugs. After a bit of internet searching and driving around we finally find one. Its a strange arrangement though. It look new, the wash itself is on a hill, and to get to it, and to be inside the wash area properly, the drive into it is a steep, almost 30 degree hill. It was a bit scary as Jess is side-on to go up and round into the wash area. Gulp! She’s in and washed. She looks lovely when she has had a bath.

We are running out of food so we need to find a good supermarket to stock up. We end up down a wrong street and faced with a hight restricted bridge of 2.7m, fortunately we find a side street to go down to avoid that. Very lucky. We could have been unpopular if we had to reverse all the way back up the street. Finally an Auchan supermarket. That’s a no go also as there is a height restriction there. Not doing well, until finally we find a huge Lidl with lots of space and everything that we need..

We arrive at the campsite in Herlies which is ok. Lots of static full-time caravans, some look like they have not been used for ages. The pitches are ok and private with high hedges surrounding your pitch. Too many noisy kids here, so noisy we move to another pitch.

We finally get settled in and go for a walk around the very nice town, which is open!

---

Wednesday 18th July 2018 Herlies, France – Poperinge, Belgium. 37 miles

It’s a lovely morning this morning. Peaceful as well, glad we moved. We have a smashing breakfast outside in the morning sun. We pack up and set off along the French/Belgian border and dive into Belgium and into Poperinge, the place where our first European adventure in our van started.

We do like it here. There are only a couple of other vans here so it’s nice and quiet. There are lots of forest walks around here so we set off. We stumble into a relic from the war, a V1 rocket launch site.

50-odd meters of angled ramp was pointed towards London which is only 250 km from where we are standing. It’s all very interesting as it is buried deep in the forest, and this one is not the only one.

We have a lovely dinner back at Jess with a few beers and walk along the road where we watch a fantastic sunset through the cornfields.

A lovely last night for our first European tour. Most enjoyable and most memorable. That’s what it’s all about after all!

---

Thursday 19th July Poperinge, Belgium – Home, UK 230 miles

Up early today, at 7 am. Today we are going home, but first, we have to stop at a wine warehouse to pick up our order, an order that Hayley placed a few days ago. We are picking up 10 boxes of wine, 6 in each box… That’s a lot of wine.

We are at the shop by 9 am, we have to pick up the order and then get to the Calais ferry port for check-in. The order is ready and waiting for us, so we get loaded up and get to the Port of Calais with plenty of time to spare, enough time to have coffee and croissants.

Other people have the same idea as one family has set up a full table and chairs outside their van and sit down to a full breakfast. Well why not?

The crossing was uneventful, calmer than our outbound journey 6 weeks ago. We are soon on the rough roads of the UK’s M25, and it is rough, very rough. A couple of hours later we are in Portsmouth for the final ferry to the Isle of Wight and home.

Jess is unloaded, and there is so much stuff in the van, when Hayley drives Jess back to the storage place she notices the difference, she feels lighter and easier to drive. Not surprised with all our stuff and an extra 60 bottles of wine!

Finally, at the storage park, we de-prep the last bits and pieces, drag her cover on and secure her safe from the elements.

We enjoyed our first European van trip in Europe. We saw a lot and learnt a lot. We look forward to our next trip. Whenever and wherever that might be…

Thanks Jess…

Visited 28 places in 6 Countries.

WEEK 5: Lahr to Lorelei. 321 miles

Saturday 7th July 2018 Lahr – Henridorff. 63 miles

Finally, the weather has changed, it’s lovely. So nice we shall have our typical German breakfast outside, just like everyone else. All the other vans, who are mostly German, are doing the same thing. A table with a tablecloth, a basket of bread, a plate of meat and cheese with a pot of coffee.

All the same, all very neat. We have only been in Germany for a few days and so far we really like it. Who’d have thought?

Back into France today though, and we will come back to Germany on another trip, maybe the next one, but for now, we have really had a nice time in Germany.

We are going to a campsite called Camping les Huttes, Wangenbourg however when we arrive the site is closed until 2pm, however we get told that the owner will not be back until tonight.

Odd, it’s a Saturday and the site is closed until tonight, We wait until 2pm but nobody turns up so we decide to move on, we are not getting in here today. Hayley is very good on the planning and finding places to stay and soon finds us another site, Camping-Piscine du Plan Incliné. It’s only 35 minutes away so off we go. We have washing that needs doing!

There is something very interesting here, only a 1km walk away. The Plan incliné de Saint-Louis/Arzviller. It was built to avoid 17 locks. It’s basically a lift for boats. A box 41m long travels up and down 45m high and is counter-weighted by 2 weights of 450 tonnes each!

We watch it going up and down a few times from a distance, it’s quite something. We check the opening times and decide to visit it tomorrow.

We are getting through the laundry which is helped along with a cold beer. We would like a BBQ so we make sure that it’s okay with the camp to go ahead.

We set up the bricks etc and light the BBQ tray and within seconds we have smoked out half of the campsite. We make our apologies to our neighbours who just tell us not to worry about it and to carry on. It soon settles down and we have a nice feed.

---

Sunday 8th July 2018 Henridorff – Pont a Mousson. 84 miles

It’s a lovely sunny, warm morning. we have a nice shady spot and have a full breakfast outside in the dappled sunlight. Nice. We take our time and clean up and pack up and do the short drive to the boat lift carpark.

We make our way up to the lift house and watch the whole thing, it’s much higher up here. Very impressive. A box full of water, with a boat sitting in it, is pulled up and down a hill. Amazing.

We visit the engine room and find the whole thing mind-boggling. We also find a toboggan up here, similar to the one in Todtnau, Germany, but it’s nowhere near as good. It was worth trying out though for 3.50 euros.

It’s getting hot, time for an ice-cream before we try another France Passion site, a chicken farm but en route we decide it’s far too hot to be just sitting in the van so we change our minds and find a campsite so we can get our chairs out and sit in some shade. Hayley finds us a paid for aire that is able to take up to 40 vans. We may not get in there but we try for it and we are lucky yo get the last spot right by the river in this very popular aire.

There is a lovely little town here with a massive imposing church. We walk around with another ice cream, before heading back and getting ourselves settled in, awning out and chairs.

Dinner tonight is Hayley’s paella, always a winner. It’s delicious.

---

Monday 9th July 2018 Pont a Mousson, France – Bon Accueil Alzingen, Luxembourg. 55 miles

We wake up to another nice, sunny morning this morning in the motorhome car park by the river. It’s nice really. Hayley goes off to the local bakery to grab some pastries for breakfast. She returns with rather more than she thought she had bought. 5 pastries in total, no idea how that happened.

Today we are setting off for another new country, Luxembourg. Neither of us has been there before so we are keen to see it. We plan to drive to a nice campsite just south of the city. Once we get settled in we get the bus to the centre of town and just wander around with no plan in mind.

We do get to see the important bits however, the impressive Notre Dame cathedral with its impressive stained glass windows. We just get the tail end of an organ recital, and of course there is the usual array of expensive shops. There is a fabulous view from the walled area of an unusual viaduct and all the houses below.

It’s time for lunch and we are now walking around looking for a menu of the day. All European cities have a menu of the day, but not here, we cant find one anywhere.

The normal menu is probably the most expensive we have ever seen so far. It’s very expensive. Down hearted and feeling poor, we make our way to the McDonalds in the hope that it will be cheaper there. Nope it’s just as expensive. We end up sharing a McDonalds meal. How sad is that? We are on a budget and even McDonalds is too expensive for us here. Now we feel even poorer!

We get back to the van and get the bikes off.

We are told that there is a very pretty route that goes into the town as well, so we thought that we would give that a try. We both consider ourselves as intelligent people, we have a van that we drive around Europe, good responsible jobs etc., but every 100m that we peddle we come across a sign telling us to go one way to the town only to find another sign saying the opposite. This goes on for quite a while. We could not find our way out of the campsite and onto the cycle track, so we just gave up!

We try a takeaway Flammkuchen or an Alsace pizza-style thing with cream and bacon. Not bad. We walk for a while and find a supermarket where we buy some beer and while there we manage to find a cheap bottle of Pastis that we take back and enjoy back at the van in the evening sun. We are visited by a grey tabby cat who gets a fuss while we are packing away for the night.

Tomorrow we are going back to Germany. Who’d have thought?

---

Tuesday 10th July 2018 Bon Accueil Alzingen, Luxembourg – Weinbau Otto, Schleich, Germany. 46 miles

We didn’t think it would be so soon, but today we are going back into Germany for a bit of a look around, so after a simple breakfast we get cracking. We want to go to the Mosel river and try some white German wine. Our first stop is a stellplatz belonging to a winery.

It’s another grey day but that doesn’t stop us enjoy the drive through the beautiful Mosel valley with its steep hills of vineyards. Some are very steep, 65 degrees. It would be interesting to see how they harvest the grapes in those conditions.

We are near a large dam and a hydroelectric power plant and there is good cycling to be had here, so again the bikes are released form the back of Jess and we are off on a 5km bike ride to the town of Mehring, where we have a drink before heading back. At a nearby winery we try three wines and buy a bottle of dry white wine. The wineries here are different to France. They are either very modern and new or traditionally beautiful, in this one the two owners are having a sausage BBQ in Hawaiian shirts.

The weather has turned a little cool now, so we stay in the van for the evening and watch some ‘telly’ on the iPad. France are in the World Cup final.

---

Wednesday 11th July 2018 Schleich – Ellenz Poltersdorf. 43 miles

Good sleep last night. So good we are up quite late, 9am. Today we will stay at our first German campsite, so far all of our stops in Germany have been paid for aires, which has been very nice, but we are due a good campsite. We are heading to Beilstein, ‘The sleeping beauty of the Mosel‘. The drive is spectacular again, better than yesterday as the sun is now out and the steep Mosel valley vineyards just look amazing!

We arrive at the riverside campsite and the description is not wrong. As you look across the river towards Beilstein the scene is just as they say, The sleeping beauty of the Mosel. It looks unreal.

We are given a pitch right at the river’s edge, the whole place is a bit rustic in parts, not quite what we expected, full of potholes. If it rains it might be tricky. We have to pay extra for electricity, which is quite expensive. No matter we are only here for one night and we have the budget.

We take the tethered ferry across the Mosel and into the steep quaint town of Beilstein.

After walking around for a while and getting an ice cream we slog up the hill to the castle where we are rewarded with spectacular views of the Mosel Valley winding through the steep vineyards.

Back at the campsite we visit the on-site restaurant for a couple of giant schnitzels and beer – delicious.

---

Thursday 12th July 2018 Ellenz Poltersdorf – Burgen. 13 miles

Normally not much happens on a Thursday but this Thursday is different, we need to empty our grey tank as the one here is not usable so after we do a rather chaotic supermarket stop we drive around looking for somewhere to service the van. There are lots of pretty towns and we find two aires but non of them have the facilities that we need.

Today we are going to the town of Burgen and to a hotel called Hotel Schmause Muhle where they offer overnight parking for a small fee. It is located next to a small stream, you can use the hotel facilities, they have fresh water and hopefully a place to empty the grey water. Oh, and they have a shower.

It’s very nice here, we get a nice spot right next to the stream after we empty the grey water tank and fill up with fresh.

We are now all set for a comfortable overnight stay. The local town is very nice and we stop at a coffee shop for coffee and cake, and apple pie. A big piece of apple pie, but very big…

Across the road from Jess is the local restaurant which offers an all you can eat buffet or menu. It’s a very strange place. It’s the usual dark wood, red & white check table cloths and the heavy wooden chairs with a heart cut out of the back! While eating you are being stared at by an enormous collection of owls, from large wooden carvings to tiny ceramic figurines.

Very odd but charming all the same. We’ve never seen so many owls in one place before. We have a nice dinner there before heading back to Jess, hopefully for a good night’s sleep.

We are not alone, there is a very nice dutch couple staying in the carpark with us.

---

Friday 13th July 2018 Burgen – Lorelei – 24 miles

Del works on occasion for a band and this weekend they are in concert at the Lorelei Festival they are appearing on Saturday night as a headline act and Del is going to stop by, do the lights for them, paid of course, and then move on to our next stop on Sunday. So today we are not in a rush as we have a space reserved for us backstage, with power with all the other tour buses. Should be good.

As we are in no rush today, are we ever, we do a 38km detour to the longest suspended pedestrian bridge. No doubt that will be broken in the future. It’s the called the The Geierlay Suspension Bridge is 360m long and spans right across a valley. It’s high. We park up and it’s a short walk to the bridge, we pay the fee and off we go. Yes it’s long and yes it’s high and when you get to the middle it bounces quite a lot.

We liked the bridge. German engineering at its finest. We get back to the van and make the short drive to Lorelei and the Night of Prog 2018 festival. To get there we have to cross the Rhine which means a ferry, a very expensive ferry, but that’s the way we have to go.

On the way to the ferry we must have taken a wrong turn because we end up on a steep 18%, incline, downhill, we are warned at the top not to go down if you are over 2.8 tonne, but we did, and we survived! We are 3 and two bottles of wine tonnes!

Finally we arrive at the festival and we are shown where to go for the next two nights. It’s a nice spot amongst the trees to our door side so it’s very private, the tour buses and trucks are on the other side.

Once we introduce ourselves we are given a handful of beer and food tokens. We enter the festival and the afternoon music has already started so we use our tokens to get a beer and sit and have a listen in the glorious sunshine before having a walk around the site. The view from the perimeter fence at the other end of the park is amazing. Our location is very high up, and the view is of the Rhine twisting and turning through the valley with spectacular vineyards each side.

What a view, what a place to have a show! Hayley likes the band Antimatter from Liverpool.

We have dinner at the catering tent, it’s all very simple but nice. Back at the van Hayley settles in for the night while Del has to go to work at midnight to program up the show for his band who are headlining tomorrow night.

WEEK 4: St – Hirtzbach, France – Lahr, Germany. 106 miles

Saturday 30th June 2018 Hirtzbach to Hunigue. 27 miles

Saturday morning and a race is on to get to the local bakery just in time to grab the last two pastries! It’s a very short drive today, all 21 miles of it. Today we are going to Basel. Basel has three borders, France, Germany and Switzerland. Could be interesting. We are also staying there for 4 nights and Hayley booked it many weeks ago. It’s an ideal jump point, Del has to fly back to the UK for a meeting, the flight is tomorrow, so Hayley will be holding the fort until Monday night.

We arrive at the campsite but our first impressions are not great. It’s a little bit scruffy, expensive, no wifi and it has a bit of a “hippy commune” feel about it, nothing wrong with hippies except the tie dye trousers.

Anyway, we get settled in our spot and we set off for a walk and to walk on the “Three Countries Bridge“.

We walk over to Germany and then over the border to Switzerland (it’s H’s first time there) which is a little bit on the industrial side, so we don’t stay too long.

Back to Germany for a beer on the banks of the Rhine then back to Jess, in France.

It’s hot. Very hot, too hot. We don’t have much shade where we are. Not today.

---

Sunday 1st July 2018 Hunigue. Day 2

Del is picked up by the owner of the campsite, who, on the side, runs a cab service to the airport which is only 5km away but charges 20 euros for the privilege. It’s an early departure, the meeting is in the afternoon and he will be back tomorrow, ready for our departure on Tuesday.

Hayley is left alone and decides to walk before it gets too hot. She has downloaded an app for the local transport, has worked out how the trams work, and makes her way into Basel town centre, which is deserted, well it is a Sunday. The Rathaus (town hall) is quite unusual. Basel Munster is a spectacular red stone church and the town itself is very pretty.

She needs money, but can’t find an ATM. Unusually they won’t dispense less than £70! It’s so expensive here that you’ll need that and more to get by. She has no currency, getting hungry ad thirsty so heads back to France and to Jess. It’s starting to heat up. Back in Germany, there is an ‘all you can eat‘ Chinese restaurant, very disappointing. It’s hot… 35 degrees.

Back at Jess, a large motorhome has parked next door which offers a little bit of shade. An ice cream van has turned up, the roof has to hinge open so the guy selling can stand up to serve you. Very cute.

In the evening it’s still hot, still 35 degrees!

In the evening it’s still hot, still 35 degrees!

---

Monday 2nd July 2018 Hunigue. Day 3

In the middle of the night Hayley is woken up by Del back in the UK. He’s supposed to be coming back today but has to visit the doctor. She re-books the flight to Tuesday morning and confirms another hotel room for him tonight.

At 11 am it’s already unbearably hot. She goes to Germany to do some shopping and on return picks up the laundry from the lady at the campsite. Handy, quick little service.

It’s far too hot to do anything, so Hayley gets the awning and chairs out and tries to grab some shade and stays with Jess, feeding the friendly birds who are also probably feeling the heat too.

The only good thing is that now the weekend is over the camp is peaceful and quiet. The site was packed over the weekend including a motorbike club. She is missing the countryside. It is a bit noisy, busy and expensive.

Hopefully Del will be back tomorrow.

---

Tuesday 3rd July 2018 Hunigue. Day 4

No more phone calls overnight and none this morning. Del will be back today. Hayley wakes up to a rather miserable day with grey skies, rain and thunder. A respite from the heat which is welcome.

It’s confirmed, Del will be back but not until 6 pm tonight. No matter, that’s good, so she has a nice big breakfast of eggs, bacon and hash browns.

By midday the weather has cleared up a little so she takes a walk to the German town of Weil am Rhine. Not much to it so she jumps on a tram to Basel which is very different, there is life here today, it’s busy, a quick look at the ‘Middle Bridge’ and off to the Marketplatz where she buys a pair of new boots! It’s starting to heat up again and she is in jeans.

On the river, on the Swiss side, there is the famous ‘Four Ferries‘, which is well worth a look. It’s a motorless boat so to get across the river the boat is tethered to a wire that stretches across the river which pulls the boat across. It’s very tranquil, all you can hear is the sound of the river rushing by. Nice.

She gets the tram back to Germany the takes the short walk back to France and Jess. Del is due back at 6 pm. The manager picks him up and delivers him back safely, at last, a day late…! We have a beer and dinner and chat for ages until late. It’s a nice evening.

---

Wednesday 4th July 2018 Hunigue, France to Todtnau, Germany 33 miles

We are leaving today. Thank god, as far as Hayley is concerned. She has been there for 4 nights, it was friendly and interesting enough but it was too long. Time to move on, before she goes mad! Today we are going to Germany. Goodbye France, but not for long, we will be back.

We service the van with fresh water and set off for a supermarket so we stock up with food and drink. Germany are out of the World Cup, shame, so the Lidl is selling off World Cup branded beer cheap.

An hour later, having driven through the very picturesque German schwarzwald, we arrive at the charming town of Todtnau and find the ‘stellplatz’ which is already occupied by a couple of Spanish vans. It’s very nice, surrounded by trees. It does have the main road behind us but it’s not too bad. Once settled in we set off for a walk. Hayley is very happy to be in a new place after her unscheduled extra day in Basel, and she is back in the countryside.

This is a skiing town. It’s very pretty with a large two-spire church dominating the charming town square.

We are going to take a walk to a nearby waterfall that is popular with visitors. On the way we get distracted by a shiny metal track weaving down a hill, it looks very odd and we can’t figure out quite what it is. As we get closer we soon discover that it’s an alpine toboggan track! A massive 3km toboggan, and to get to it there is a chairlift. This we have to try.

For a very reasonable 10 euros you can take the chairlift up with the amazing views of the surrounding hills and the town of Todtnau getting smaller behind you, very small though, the lift goes high and a long way.

The return back down the hill is on the toboggan. Bargain. It’s fast, very fast. Hayley is off and away and has to stop on occasion as she is catching up with people ahead of her. She’s quick.

We really enjoyed the Hasenhorn Toboggan Run. Brilliant and such great value.

We carry on with our walk to the waterfall, 2km.

It’s very impressive but the walk has worn us out so when we finally get back to Jess we crack open a cold beer and paddle in the cold water pool which has been installed by the council where we are parked for walkers looking to cool off their feet.

---

Thursday 5th July 2018 Todtnau. Day 2

The rain is hammering down hard on the van this morning. Finally it eases off so we make our way in to the town for breakfast which was delicious. A good German breakfast of bread, cheese and cold cuts of meat with coffee. Excellent. The rain is about to start again so we head back to the van. It’s supposed to ease off later so we just stay in doors until then.

At 2 pm the rain finally stopped so we set off for the toboggan run again. It didn’t fail to impress again. It was strange going up in the chair lift today, it’s still cloudy so it feels odd to be going up and entering the clouds when it is suddenly misty and quiet.

No time wasted and soon we are bombing down the hill on the toboggan run, out of the clouds and into a partly sunny day.

We find a supermarket, a Penny. Similar to an Aldi, so we pop in and buy a few essentials. Back to the van to get the boots on and go off for a hike. Hayley is still a bit achy from yesterday but we manage a small walk which is good. It’s still cloudy but back home we manage a small beer outside just in time for dinner. We like it here in Todtnau. Shame we are moving on tomorrow.

---

Friday 6th July 2018 Todtnau to Lahr 55 miles

We wake up to heavy rain again this morning. Seems to be the thing here, rain. We need some good weather, the rain on the roof can send you a bit mad after a while. We have a good hearty breakfast, service jess with fresh water, change the toilet and drop the grey water. It’s been a great stay here, very enjoyable. Toboggans, waterfalls, quaint little towns and good walks. What more could you ask for. We were going to a campsite, but the weather is not great so it might be better to just find an aire. They do have them in Germany but unlike France, they charge a small fee for them.

After 2 hours we arrive at the town of Lahr. It costs 6 euros for a spot which is well maintained, hard standing and very clean. It’s already busy so we are lucky to get a space.

It’s a bit like a car park for vans but it is very nice. Finally better weather, it’s hot so we get the bikes down and set off for a bike ride.

We do the 7km ride to the nearest town called Seelbach, a very pretty town. We find a local bakery or konditorei for coffee and cake (cafe und kuchen), well when in Rome. Black forest gateau is the local cake. Not Hayley’s favourite.

The skies are filling again with clouds, dark clouds. We pre-empt the coming rain and get back in the van just in time for it to pour down with rain with the odd rumble of thunder.

The couple opposite us have popped their swimwear on and are having a free shower in the rain! Well, why not?

WEEK 3: Saint Julien du Sault to Hirtzbach – 286 miles

Saturday 23rd June 2018 Saint Julien du Sault – Chablis. 33 miles

Another beautiful sunny day today. Before we leave we take another walk into the town and buy some pastries for breakfast. We do like it here, it’s such a lovely place and popular as the aire is full. We would like to stay another night but we want to move on east to Chablis where we are going to another campsite that we visited on our trial motorhome outing last year. Camping du Serein is in the town of Ville du Chablis.

It’s another nice short picturesque drive to the campsite but once there we quickly get settled in after a rather lengthy time, as usual, deciding where to pitch.

We will get the hang of this and it will get quicker picking the right spot. We take a walk into the town which has a rather attractive entrance to it with two old but well looked after turrets. We buy some unusual Chablis that has been aged in acacia barrels.

We buy some fruit and veg and head back for a fantastic dinner that ends with some rather nice cheese with fresh figs.

---

Sunday 24th June 2018 Saint Chablis – Lezinnes. 23 miles

It’s warm but cloudy this morning, warm enough to have breakfast outside. It’s a nice morning. We get cleaned up, empty the grey water tank, and fill up with fresh water. We are also a bit low on diesel so on the way we need to fill up.

Today is the shortest drive so far. We arrive at the campsite which is immaculate, a beautiful place.

There is supposed to be good cycling here so we get the bikes down off the back of Jess and do a good 11 mile round trip bike ride. Not bad.

It was a great day for cycling and the day has gone by so fast. We get back to Jess and shower and have dinner. We manage a short walk into the town where we get a fuss of a few cats that are wandering around the town. A very nice day.

---

Monday 25th June 2018 Lezinnes – Vouecourt. 82 miles

We are up early. By all accounts there is supposed to be a heatwave, but it hasn’t reached us yet, it’s still very pleasant though. We have breakfast while we watch some campers who are camping using a bike. Not for us that. Cycling all day, loaded up with panniers full of your stuff that you take out every day and put away every day. Nah! Not for us that.

Today we are going to the beautiful river side village of Vouecourt, which is back in the champagne region. The campsite is right on the river which are very popular spots, but we are able to bag a pitch right on the river bank.

It’s absolutely gorgeous. Right on the river with a view of a small, very old bridge and a charming little church. We like it here so much that we book for two nights. It has a cycle track that runs along the river and the canal, so we will get some exercise while we are here. We get settled in and just relax by the river watching the ducks with a chilled glass of champagne. We hate Mondays.

Dinner is a homemade paella, which Hayley is now an expert at. It’s delicious and we have such a fantastic view to enjoy it. Lovely.

We have been out now for almost two weeks and everyone that we have met in France has been very nice and friendly.

---

Tuesday 26th June 2018 Vouecourt. Day 2

We had a good sleep last night, very good. It’s quite hot today. We have a relaxing breakfast of many things, eggs, hash browns, cheese and jams, quite a feed. By the time we have breakfast, watch the ducks and clean up it is now 11:00am and by now its getting quite hot, but we are determined to go for a bike ride. But first let’s have a look at that church.

We get the bike off the back and prepared and set off along the canal. It’s great for cycling here, flat and easy, with the odd lock every now and then. We arrive at the small village of Buxiemes. Not much here, just a pretty church and a bar. Life! We pop in and have coffee and sit in the shade of a lovely flowery courtyard. Very nice. Onwards.

After continuing for a little while longer we turn around and make our way back to our van. In total we have cycled 17 miles. Not bad in the hot sun, and it is hot.

Back at our mobile house, we take advantage of the free washing facilities and catch up on the laundry.

Dinner is outside by the river and to accompany it we open our bottle 2008 vintage Foureur champagne, the place with the little tight courtyard and Excalibur the black cat. A great day today.

---

Wednesday 27th June 2018 Vouecourt – Contrexeville. 73 miles

It’s 9am and it’s already hot, very hot while we have our boiled eggs outside with the ducks. We sit in silence for the last few minutes as we take in this lovely spot, the view, the smell, the light, it’s brilliant.

Today we are going to Contrexeville and Hayley is driving. It’s a challenge, very narrow, tight, windy roads. Steep, hilly towns and cyclists to avoid, but Hayley just takes it in her stride and gets us safely to the campsite in Contrexeville. On the way we give Jess a wash. She needs it, she’s dirty and the heat is making the dirt stick.

We arrive at the campsite and we get a lovely friendly welcome. We are also getting better at picking pitches at the sites and settle for a nice grassy, shady spot.

Contrexeville is famous for water and the water plant here has a direct pipeline to Vittel nearby. We find a LeClerc store, we need water tap adapter, Hayley needs a new mini jack cable and we also need some toilet chemicals. We get everything at this store and at a good price.

We didn’t sleep very well last night, it’s hot. So bed early tonight. There are chickens roaming around the campsite. They are quite popular here, roaming chickens.

It’s getting windy here tonight, so dinner indoors tonight.

---

Thursday 28th June 2018 Contrexeville – La Thillot. 40 miles

A bad night sleep last night, not sure why. It’s still hot. We need to do some shopping so we get going and spend 45 euros at the local LeClerc supermarket, we also take the opportunity to fill up with diesel.

Its a windy day today and it’s Dels turn at the wheel. He’s fighting against the wind as Jess gets buffeted about. An hour and half later we arrive at the campsite. It’s now 1:30pm but we have to wait half an hour, French lunch time.

We are are aware that the scenery has changed now. The view looks very Alpine-esque with pine trees, chalets and lots of hills.

---

Friday 29th June 2018 La Thillot – Hirtzbach. 43 miles

We are heading eastwards hence the scenery change, we are heading towards Basel, trying to get there for tomorrow. We are in the Alsace area which has changed hands 5 times between the French and the Germans since 1600 so the buildings and the names of the towns are starting to sound a bit Germanic.

We are heading towards a town called Hirtzbach, very german sounding. It’s a free aire that was once a railway station. The old railway lines have been converted to cycle ways. Time for some exercise!

Once settled in to the aire we get the bikes out and cycle to the next town called Hirsingue. Hayley spots a nice little restaurant which has stopped serving for the day but we book a table for two for tonight. We cycle back and just relax on Jess. It’s hot again. As the afternoon goes on we find that we are become swamped by cars. Every carpark and street space is filling up. Whats going on?

Time for dinner, it’s still quite warm. We set off and have a nice cycle back to the town and the restaurant that we have booked into for dinner. The restaurant is called “Le petit grain de sel“, The little grain of salt. The bike ride is lovely in the early evening sun.

Dinner out tonight was wonderful. Vegetable tart/tomato burger for starters, followed by lamb/pepper steak, ending with a rather delicious, and very alcoholic cherry ice cream with lots of kirsch. Wonderful.

We manage to cycle back in the sunset, a lovely place to stay and a lovely and dinner!

WEEK 2: Popperinge, Belgium to Saint-Julien-du-salt, France – 315 miles

Saturday 16th June 2018 Poperinge, Belgium – Mecquinies, France. 109 miles

After a good night’s sleep we get up to an inclement and cloudy day. Yesterday we planned out some of the trip, so today we are going back into France to a place called Mecquinies and to a France Passion stop. France Passion is simply a farm or vineyard where you can stay free of charge. You don’t have to but it’s a good idea, to buy something from the host you are staying with, so a bottle or two of wine, some cheese, whatever the host specialises in really. Today we are going to a goat farm called Chevrerie de Sabotiers. They specialise in goats and goat’s cheese. Nice.

First stop, beer shopping. We have timed it wrong again and have to wait an hour. We kill time in the coffee shop while the queue forms to buy the beer.

It really is popular. We buy two boxes of their strongest beer, Westvleteren 12 for 46 euros. Pleased with our purchase we go back to the van and start the 109 mile drive to the goat farm, but first we have to stop at an Auchan, a fabulous French supermarket.

On route we did try and see if we could get into anther France Passion stop, a chicken farm, but we couldn’t raise anyone so we move on to the goat farm. We find the farm after overshooting the entrance. It has a very narrow, long entrance so Del has to reverse slowly all the way to our pitch after being greeted by the very friendly farmer.

Like our last stop this is a rustic working farm. There is just stuff scattered all over the place, fam machinery, bales of hay and building with equipment and animals in them.

There is a small town near by, no shops but we still go for a walk. It’s lovely here out in the French countryside. We go back to Jess and sit outside with some of our recently purchased beer and plan some more stops for our trip, always with a view of the goats of course.

It’s a lovely farm. There is a barn where some goats are being milked, so we watch them for a while and fuss them, they are so friendly, clearly used to having people coming to see them every day. We go and see the pigs in another barn who are just as cute, if a little dirty. Thats pigs for you.

We meet the farm collie, ‘Mis’, a lovely friendly dog who comes with us and the farmer’s wife to buy some cheese.

Hayley buys some tarragon cheese which we have with a veggie burger for dinner. Delicious.

We like it here. The farmer is nice and welcoming, with lovely animals and great cheese. We should sleep well tonight.

---

Sunday 17th June 2018 Mecquinies – Rozay – sur – serre. 149 miles

Today will be another first. Today we are going to stop in what is called an ‘aire‘. These are normally free overnight motorhome stops. The French are really good at this motorhome thing. The free stops sometimes have water and discharge facilities all for free! Today we are going to try one in the town of Rozay – sur – serre to an aire called ‘Aire de Camping car des portes de la Thierache‘. It’s a bit of a long drive today, 159 miles.

After the 1-and-a-half-hour drive, we arrive at this beautifully landscaped aire. There are already a couple of vans here, which we like. It’s good to have company. There is a 4km walk here so we get our walking boots on and go for a good long walk. The walk is not well signposted but is great, lovely countryside here.

Sadly the water here is not working, no matter. We sit at one of the picnic tables with a beer and plan tomorrow’s trip, it’s a lovely sunny afternoon. Dinner tonight was pasta and some of yesterday’s cheese. Just before dinner, we are joined by a flock of hens who just appear and started pecking and wittering their way around the visiting vans. Sweet.

There is a petanque (bowls on a gravel patch) space here, and we have some balls that we had from our boating days, so of course we have a game in the setting sun. Hayley wins…

---

Monday 18th June 2018 Rozay – sur – serre – Ambonnay. 152 miles (via Chamery)

We slept well last night. As we are waking up we can hear the chickens warbling away outside the van.

It’s grey today but we attempt to have breakfast outside with the hens. It’s trying to rain. We use the limited facilities of the aire and once done we set off for some diesel. Jess needs a drink too!

Today we are stopping at another aire in the town of Ambonney, northeast of Paris, southeast of Reims. There is a town near our destination called “Bouzy” pronounced ‘boozy’. Most apt. We are going to Ambonney via the town of Chamery.

We stopped at the aire in Chamery and after a spot of lunch we take a walk in the town which is very pretty with a church and the town is full of flowers which sits in a valley of premier cru champagne vineyards.

Beautiful. Being Monday everything is closed, we are the only ones, apart from a cat, walking around. The only other sign of life is a small courtyard with some goats and chickens.

After a bit of research, Hayley finds a France Passion, a champagne house called Champagne Dominique Foureur.

After a short discussion we make our way to Ambonnay which is only half an hour away. The champagne house is located in a very tight small courtyard which is very very old, it’s so pretty and welcoming. We have to get the van into the courtyard.

We are welcomed by the host, who is very friendly and forgiving to Hayley for her good attempt at French… We get the last spot behind a german couple in a van who are regulars here.

Del is at the wheel, with Hayley keeping a good eye as Del slowly and carefully reverses Jess into and through the twisty and tight entrance and into the courtyard to our spot.

Very tricky but he does it and as a prize, we are welcomed by the owner’s black cat, Excalibur who is really friendly and hangs around with us as we give him lots of fuss and attention.

No time is wasted as we join a tasting session and soon we are savouring 6 local champagnes. The lady host is very kind to us and speaks perfect English as she shows us around.

We buy two bottles of blancs de blancs, a 2008 vintage and we enjoy a glass of two with a fabulous dinner in our parking spot.

We are joined again later by Excalibur for another couple of minutes of fussing before he leaves us. A great day today. Very enjoyable. We loved it.

---

Tuesday 19th June 2018 Ambonnay – Verneuil. 40 miles

A great night stay. We are continuing the champagne theme today and we are are going to a champagne house in the small town of Verneuil which is only a short drive. So we take our time this morning and get some lovely croissants for breakfast. We have wound our way out of the tight space dodging the cats and dogs roaming around in the courtyard. We liked it here – nice champagne and we also bought two tiny Champagne glasses. Hopefully, they will make it home without getting broken.

The drive is very picturesque, beautiful. First though we need a wash, or rather Jess does. Her first wash.

The countryside is fabulous. We arrive at Champagne Jacques Copin where they have free overnight parking with all the facilities. You can stay for free but it is customary to buy something, even if it’s just a bottle of the cheapest champers. We are welcomed by a very charming chap who shows us where we can park for the night. We get settled in, plug in some power and very soon we are having a show around.

After an hour or so we go back to the shop and buy two bottles of their traditional brut. Very tasty. It’s been a bit cloudy for most of the day but by dinner time the weather has improved. We have accumulated a pile of red peppers so Hayley knocks up some quesadillas which we enjoy with a glass of the local champagne.

Tonight we watch the BBCs Absolutely Fabulous episode where characters Edina and Patsy go to the champagne region. You can imagine how that went. Very very funny.

---

Wednesday 20th June 2018 Ambonnay – Dormans. 30 miles

After the last two days of champagne tasting and drinking, we decide to have a day free of alcohol and to find a nice campsite where we can spread ourselves out a little. Today we are going to a municipal campsite in the town of Dormans which is just a short drive away.

We have a lovely breakfast outside in the warm morning sunshine in the grounds of the Copin champagne house with a view of the vineyards. It’s nice here. It’s getting warmer. It’s 10:00 so we set off. Today we need to do some shopping. There is a height restriction at the supermarket so poor Hayley has to carry the shopping up the hill in the heat. Whew! Poor thing. It’s also time to do some laundry, the campsite at Dormans has facilities so we will probably get that done today. It’s hot though.

The campsite in the town of Dormans is very nice and the guy who welcomes us in is very friendly. We buy some laundry tokens, washing is building up. After a few changes of mind we settle into a nice shady pitch, settle and spread ourselves out.

We take turns doing the laundry and it all drying on the line on our pitch. We are now proper campers! We like it here very much so we decide to stay for another night. Lunch was outside of cheese and apples with a glass of white wine spritzer. Going well the alcohol reduction. It’s so nice though in the shade sitting lazing about in our chairs under the awning. Smashing.

The peace and tranquillity is soon broken by a bunch of guys, probably 10 of them taking turns shaving each other’s hair with clippers. The noise, whilst not loud, is annoying, but really annoying! After about an hour and a half, but what felt more like 7 hours they stop… Ah, peace again at last.

---

Thursday 21st June 2018 Dormans – Montmirail. 22 miles

The weather is quite different from yesterday. It’s cloudy, windy and raining. At least we have clean fresh laundry. Our plan was to cycle along the river Marne and to have a BBQ, but it looks like now that won’t happen, not here anyway, so we decide to move on. Hayley finds us another champagne house to stay and visit and it’s only 22 miles away.

Again there is free overnight parking at Champagne Champion in the small town of Montmirail. It’s a very small town, rustic and the surrounding countryside is amazing. Miles of rolling hills are just vineyards for as far as the eye can see. It’s quite a view. This family run champagne house produces 20,000 bottles a year.

We are welcomed by a lovely elderly lady, with a limp, who directs us to the back of the house to park up. There is only enough space for three vans but the view is absolutely stunning. It has been Hayley’s wish to sit in her van and sip the champagne from vineyard that we are staying at, well today she gets her wish. We are right next to the vineyard, we can’t get any closer.

For 14 euros we buy a bottle of the local pinot noir champagne and we can stay for free. We need some exercise so we get the bikes down from the back of Jess and cycle around the beautiful countryside. The sun is shining and it’s just lovely. We have a quick look at the deserted town of Montmirail.

Back at the van we have a fantastic dinner and crack open the champagne that we bought and gently sip it as we look at the vineyards where the grapes came from that are right next to our van. Splendid. It’s the longest day today as we sip our champagne in the evening sunshine while wandering around the vineyard. It doesn’t get better than this.

The toilet’s getting full. Not great if you are drinking champagne, Where is that lady? Where can we empty it?

---

Friday 22nd June 2018 Montmirail – St. Julien du Sault. 73 miles

We wake up today to a beautiful day today, a clear blue sky and sunshine. We are moving out of the champagne region today, for a while. We stock up with more of the local champagne, 4 bottles of reserve and 2 traditional. The lady here is very nice and we say goodbye to her and her lovely dog, June.

Today is a special day, well it’s special to us. Today we are driving to the small town of St. Julian du Sault. It’s one of those free French aires. Our first experience of a motorhome was here in France when we hired a motorhome. It was that trip that we decided to change from having a boat to having a motorhome and it was this stop that we stopped at first, so we have a special fondness of this town. It’s a typical French town, just charming.

Hayley’s at the wheel today and we have a lovely drive through the countryside. After a tight squeeze with a truck at the entrance of St. Julien du Sault, we are in the aire. The French have some strange rules, one of which is priority to the right. Quite simply it’s a bit scary. If you are on the main road sometimes a vehicle can just join from the right and you have to give way! Terrifying sometimes. Hayley was good as usual and there was no incident, we just jumped a little when a car just pulls out in front of us… Whew!

Soon we are in the aire and we park in the exact same spot as we did with our hired van last year. Fantastic.

The aire is almost full of other French campers and a few Germans. We like it here. After we top up we take a walk into the small pretty town. It’s a market town, with lovely little shops and a very smart town hall. French town halls in the main are very nice, called a “Marie” they are quite splendid, dressed with colourful flags and flowers.

We like it here. It’s just how we remember it when we first came.

WEEK 1: Home to Poperinge, Belgium – 233 miles.

Wednesday 13th June 2018 – Home to Folkstone. 139 miles

A big day today. We have a pile of those blue IKEA bags full to the brim with stuff.

There is a lot of it and it all has to go into Jess the van, we hope. Our first day on the van for our first driving holiday. We have weeks ahead of us and we have no plan. We bring Jess back to the house after staying in the local campsite and stock her up. A few of the neighbours admire her, she does look good in the sunshine, all new and shiny. All of our stuff, clothes, bedding, towels, personal effects, just about fits and the fridge/freezer is jam packed.

We are on the 3pm ferry to the mainland. We are off to a campsite in Folkestone, requiring us to take on the M25.

The campsite is located down a very narrow bumpy road, but once in it’s lovely, complete with a view of France. Once settled in we take a short walk to the beach with a bag that has some chilled beers in it. We sit on the beach and drink them in the sun looking at the coast of France in front of us – our next stop.

So far so good. Tomorrow we take the ferry to Calais.

---

Thursday 14th June 2018 – Folkestone to Stal’ t Bardehof, Poperinge. Belgium. 53 miles

We had rain overnight, heavy, constant rain. It has rained almost every day so far since we picked Jess up from Edwards Motorhomes in Worcester. Every night we have had rain. It’s been a running theme so far. It’s windy and generally a foul start for our first crossing over the channel with Jess. We have breakfast in the van, clean up and we set off for the Port of Dover. France here we come. We board the ferry and tuck Jess into the belly of the boat.

She looks quite small in there as we walk away and make for the stairs to find somewhere to sit. The crossing is quite lumpy with a large swell.

The sea has calmed a little as we enter the Port of Calais, however once we rejoin Jess and set off, the sat nav has decided not to work, so unaided we have to make our way off the ferry, through the port and into France with all of the trucks bearing down on us.

After 45 minutes we cross the border or at least we think we did. There are no signs or any kind of clue that we have crossed from France to Belgium except for two policemen in a car who just smile and wave at us. Easy. We are in Belgium and making our way to a farm called Stal’ t Bardehof in the Belgian town of Poperinge.

The roads are getting smaller bumpier. As we approach the farm the camber of the road is so steep that we fear that maybe, just maybe, we might ‘bottom out’. We didn’t have to worry about getting a space at the campsite, there is plenty of room in this rustic working farm. They have all sorts here, horses, ducks and there is a rather meaty sheep standing guard at the entrance to the shower block. The host is very nice and shows us where to pitch our van.

It’s a short walk to a Trappist Monk Abbey but it’s shut so we take a stroll back stopping at a local bar for a couple of Belgian beers. Well, when in Rome. We have a Westmalle Trappist beer which is 10% proof and we can feel that 10% in our legs as we walk back to the farm and Jess just in time for dinner and another couple of beers.

We sit outside. The sun has come out. It’s lovely here.

---

Friday 15th June 2018 – Stal t’ Bardehof, Poperinge. Belgium.

We like it here, its nice. We slept really well and we are ready for a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs and salmon. The area around here is very flat and very quiet, ideal for biking, so we get the bikes off the back of Jess for the first time and set off for the nearby abbey hoping that it will be open today. The Abbey is regarded internationally as brewing the best beer in the world. The abbey is called Saint Sixtus Abbey, so we set off to have a look and to hopefully buy some of this world famous beer. It’s closed on a Friday. Guess what? It’s Friday… Shame.

We decide to try and cycle to the town of Poperinge and on the way we stop for a drink from a very Japanese-style vending machine cafe, that just sells everything and almost anything. ‘Sandi’s Vending Corner‘ was a good stop for a drink before carrying on with our bike ride to Poperinge. It’s further than we thought so we give up. It’s hard work.

We get back to Jess and roll out the awning for the first time and spend a lovely, lazy afternoon planning the rest of our trip. Hayley knocks up a massive and tasty paella.

We sit outside until 10 pm and play chess. We have daylight here until quite late.

Another great day, even if the abbey was shut. Again.