From the ferry to the forest. Across France in four, fabulous, free and very different overnight stops! Days 1-4

As we boarded the ferry in Newhaven behind a French campervan, it felt as though we were already abroad. This service has been run, financed and staffed by the French for some years now and we remain grateful for this route’s continued existence; 201 years and counting!

The feeling-French theme continued as we settled into our customary ‘first French supper’ in the dining room of the Seven Sisters, one of the two ferries that ply this route. This evening’s feast was ‘cou d’agneau braise, avec pommes de terre à l’ail’ – complemented of course by our usual shared mini bottle of red wine. It’s always a treat on this evening sailing to have a French cooked supper.

On arrival, we were more than a little apprehensive as we disembarked in the pouring rain (pretty much the norm for us!) as this would be the first time we had experienced the new EES (entry/exit system for non-EU nationals we had been reading so much about). However, with no digital fingerprinting/photo taking place, we were through faster than normal! The only bit of the EES system that did happen, was the absence of a date stamp, so we are now wondering how anyone is going to know how long we have been in the Schengen Area. At least that’s a problem we can kick down the road for a few weeks…

Auffay, our usual first free Aire stop for this ferry sailing, delivered as always, with our favourite spot just waiting for us in the driving rain. Still, we always say how cosy it is to settle into a warm van with rain pattering on the roof, so that’s what we did! Waking up, however, was a bit of a shock, as the temperature was cold enough for us to put the gas heating on, as the rain turned into hailstones, making more than a gentle pattering sound!

The drive south on our first full day was pretty typical for us. Not really a full day, as we seem to manage to depart no earlier than around 1100 whatever the weather! Luckily the drive was a mixture of sun, rain and more hail, with the varied conditions keeping us alert and engaged.

Our post-supermarket shop lunch stop delivered on our habitual clichés of baguette, paté, cheese and remoulade – complete with a gap in the rain for a sunny view from our dining room window…

We stuck to our normal approach to an overnight stop, waiting until about 1700 to see where we were, and what was within close distance for our onward journey the next day. Which is how we ended up in Vierzon again. It’s a classic staging post in terms of the different onward routes, and for us, a first in a good few years, by veering slightly eastwards, as we had made the momentous decision (informed to a large extent by the rubbish weather) of heading to Sérignan on the Med, one of our go-to places that we haven’t been to for at least three years and usually a reliable bet for some sunshine.

As we arrived at the Aire in Vierzon, we remembered that the best spots were in the access road adjacent to the nearby river Cher and weir, providing a calming and sleep inducing background noise. Except this time, as we pulled into the access road, we could see loads of campervans spread out in a line much closer to the river than we had been able to get to last time we were here. Mr B was convinced they must be on the other side of the river, but when he jumped out to look, he could see that they had all gained access vie a narrow ramp that we had previously thought was reserved for maintenance crews (the case last time we were here). So without further ado, we nipped up the ramp and joined the international mix of French, German, Dutch, Belgian and Swiss campers – in what turned out to be a much prettier and tranquil location!

We have no idea whether this is sanctioned or not – there is no mention of it on our Park4Night App – so only a revisit will tell!

Waking after a very calm, rushing water sound-assisted good night’s sleep, we had to switch the heating on – again – a very unusual event this far into the interior! Before long though the sun had made an appearance, so we decided to explore some of Vierzon whilst we could.

It’s a fascinating place, with a classic mix of very old architecture, well maintained public spaces, impressive memorials to both World Wars, and some shabby bits around the edges. We loved it enough that next time we are here, we may stay two nights, explore properly, and have dinner in a very interesting looking restaurant a short walk from the Aire.

For now though, with the clouds gathering, it was time to hit the road. Not without refuelling first – a mere €103 at €2.17 a litre. We had seen it as low as €2.09 and as much as €1.33, so it seemed reasonable enough and not that much difference in cost to at home.

Our next leg was a route we have not taken for a good few years, so much so that some of it seemed like a completely new adventure. The weather continued to tease us, with sun interspersed with more rain and of course, hail, helping to keep those nights nice and chilly! 

After a quick tactics over afternoon tea talk, we decided to head for an Aire we had first stopped at in the days that local municipalities used to send people around in the mornings with a leather satchel to collect cash! Fully expecting to find payment machines instead, we were pleasantly surprised to find it’s now completely free, and very well organised with free water, as well as grey and black waste disposal points.

Saint-Éloy-les-Mines is an old coal and silver-lead town, situated on a large lake/Plan d’Eau, which the Aire backs onto. With the sun just about poking through the clouds, we had time for a wander around some of the lake, with loads of people setting up for what looked like a night fishing event.

The Aire was wonderfully dark, and peaceful, with no lighting at all – another thing we really enjoy at some of these stopovers. And, much to Mr B’s delight, not one of our fellow campervanners left their awning light on overnight either, something that he has a real thing about, especially when it would otherwise be a perfect dark sky. Not that there was much sky visible!

We woke to a now predictably cold morning, with the heating going on yet again and rain gently falling on the skylights. We’d agreed there was no rush to get across France, but the weather wasn’t encouraging us to linger either. So with nothing more planned than picking up the free A75 at Clermont-Ferrand and heading south towards the coast, we set off.

These free motorways make a great difference to the distance we travel in a day, as although we still only drive at 55/60 mph, it’s a continuous run. Which is how we found ourselves at a very scenic service station much further south in the Cévennes mountains for our afternoon tea-time tactics talk. These rest areas are often in spectacular locations, and this was no exception, with not only the views to the mountains, but an arboretum and ‘geopark’ full of different examples of local rock types!

We concentrated, however, on finding somewhere not too far away for our overnight stop. It’s pretty unusual for us to do a fourth night in a row on an Aire, but we both fancied the idea, given how much we’d enjoyed our free stops so far, of trying another. We’d literally just passed a turn off to a free Aire, and there were a few urban ones close by in nearby towns and villages. But Mr B clearly had a mountain bee in his bonnet and kept searching. Until he presented Mrs B with an interesting question; how do you fancy one at a wolf sanctuary, where previous campers had commented on being able to hear the wolves howling at night? Never one to swerve a challenge, Mrs B agreed and before long we were off the A75 and heading into the mountains to a small village called Saint-Léger-de-Peyre, where our free stop promised amazing views – and wolves!

Within the hour we were pulling in to a small gravel Aire on the land of the wolf sanctuary, Les Loups du Gévaudan. The brainchild of a passionate naturalist, Gérard Ménatory, the reserve/park, was initially inspired by his rescuing of two Polish wolves in the 60s, leading to him eventually setting up the current semi-wild habitat in 1985. 

We knew none of this at the point we pulled in however, when we were faced with a totally non wolf related problem, more a cultural/stereotyping one, as our ears were immediately assailed by some very good, but very loud techno music coming from what appeared to be a mobile épicerie, parked a little into the woods with a huge, black wolf-like dog on guard. We take some pride in thinking we are broad minded, welcoming all approaches to travelling in vans etc etc, but having recently seen the amazing film Sirāt that featured van-based ravers, we were just a little anxious that the night might be a long, and noisy one – and this van was clearly equipped with a banging sound system rather than épicerie goods! 

After a quick chat we both agreed that we would take our ‘Marquis de Sade’ approach. A few years back, after visiting one of his residences and having settled into a nearby free Aire, we had been awoken by a very loud party nearby, and driven off at 3am when our tolerance levels reached critical! (In the end, we were broken by Plastic Bertrand’s ‘Ça plane pour moi’ on repeat…) 

With just one other non-techno playing van parked up, we focussed on sitting it out by admiring the views and the amazing number of large raptors we could see circling overhead (which we quickly ID’d as vultures, likely from the nearby vulture sanctuary) and had a tactics talk….

When suddenly, the throaty roar of a much travelled Mercedes 608 former épicerie van prompted a sigh of relief, as the potential ravers drove off, leaving us in splendid silence, until the wolves started…

Which they didn’t! We had a very quiet night with an amazing sky, unworried about raves.... Peaceful but cold that is, as the temperatures plummeted to 2c outside, and only 9c in Evie by dawn, when Mr B made a heroic dash to put the heating on before heading back to the warmth of the duvet. A lightweight duvet with extra blankets, having decided that we would leave the UK with a 7.5 duvet on the bed, and no hot water bottles either! Doh! We hadn’t considered that it might get a bit chillier than we were already used to at 1100m in mid May! A lesson learned for next time…

Impressed at the generosity of M. Ménatory in allowing campervans to stay for free (up to 48 hours) we did the decent thing and adjusted our plans by fitting in a visit to see his wolves. From a long history of rescuing a variety of wolves from across the world, the current set up blends teaching about wolves with an opportunity to see them almost as they would live in the wild. Up to a point, we thought, as we observed the wolves rushing out of the woods to be fed food pellets as part of an organised tour… And although they are fed raw meat three times a week (a regular draw for the vultures as well apparently) it would be fair to assume that the impressive high fences, and double prison style entry/exit gates for staff are a sign of the potential danger they still present to local farmers. Suffice to say that when we did hear them howling, we were glad they were the other side of that big fence!

These photos don’t really do the setting, or the animals justice, as the cold, dull weather gave a flat light to everything. But at least this was our first day without hailstorms, and with the weather looking better in the south, we headed off towards Sérignan; long overdue a revisit!

S&J 21.05.26

 

Another foray into France! And this time, hopefully beyond!

As the title implies, yet again we know when we are leaving, May the 13th, and that we will be back before Bastille Day as usual for a summer trip. 

But other than arriving in Dieppe with no idea how straightforward entry might be with the new EES border entry requirements, and late at night to boot, we are starting with nothing more than a vague idea of heading south towards the Occitanie region and then maybe drifting westwards into Spain. We both quite fancy exploring the northern coastline from Galicia back towards the French border, but we shall have to wait and see!

It feels good to be leaving the UK whilst the media are in such a frenzy about the Prime Minister - we can always check in with the news once we are about to return. It's such an indulgence to absent ourselves from a lot of what's going on in the world whilst we travel, tethering ourselves instead to friends and family, and being in the moment of day-to-day camper van travel.

As usual, we intend to update the blog every week or so. 

Thanks for reading and if you fancy commenting via the blog, or directly by email, that would be great!

Steve and Julie

Where are we? Unexpected detours and delays on the way home – yikes! Days 13-16

We eventually parked up without problem in a small car park on the river Nith on the outskirts of Sanquhar, with no-one else around, and the river just a few metres away. 

But the drive had been a challenge for Mrs B, with the windscreen wipers playing up intermittently. Heaving a joint sigh of relief that they hadn’t packed up completely, we settled in for a late supper, and were soon nodding off with the sound of the river providing a relaxing aural backdrop. 

Waking to a welcome blue (in parts) sky, had we more time we would have stayed to explore the small town, with its famous tiny post office (apparently the oldest working one in the world) and rich history (military, religious and commercial) and of course the walk right by us to the old castle on the Southern Uplands Way. 

But, already behind on our notional schedule that should have seen us much further south by now, we decided to head off across the border, wanting to make as much progress as possible during daylight, just in case the windscreen wipers misbehaved again… They were fine as we set off, and remained so as we crossed the border into England. But, as the rain started to fall and the traffic slowed on the M6, they stopped altogether – lucky for us near a service station, so we pulled in for Mr B to have a shufti. Of course, all it took was for Mr B to get the toolbox out of the garage, and ready the multimeter, having removed the plastic covers around the steering column, than they started working again! What an awesome auto electrician!

Mrs B used the time to have a look at what might be causing the traffic build-up we had experienced just before we pulled into the service station and, oh no! – the M6 was closed near Wigan due to an incident and all the diversions and alternatives were showing as gridlocked. Not trusting that Mr B’s magical fix would necessarily last, we decided to get off the M6 pronto and head for the coast – always a favourite with us in times of stress and uncertainty. With the chance of taking the slip road towards Blackpool upon us before we had chance to think of an alternative, we headed west, with fond childhood memories of the Illuminations suddenly making surprise appearances in our heads! 

With Mr B at the wheel and enjoying the relatively fast flowing traffic on the M55, it suddenly looked like we would be in Blackpool before we had any idea where we would be stopping. Luckily, Mrs B had been working her magic on P4N and she had found what looked like a strange and unlikely (in the UK!) cluster of authorised parking spots on the beach at nearby Lytham St Anne’s. 

There are at least five car parks that allow overnight parking (£10-£15 for 24 hrs). What a welcome change from the usual paranoia and outright bans elsewhere in England! Some have length limitations, but the general rule (according to travel blogs) seems to be that so long as the van fits in the motorhome bay, that’s fine. So after having a quick drive around four of them, we opted for the one at the end of the promenade and right next to a large lake. With signs saying maximum length of 5m, we tucked Evie in right by the beach, with her 2m overhang jutting out over a grassy bank, and hoped for the best…

With time for a quick stroll before darkness, we turned on our pumpkin lights (yup, Hallowe’en tonight!) and made the very unexpected discovery of a Spitfire overseeing our stay…

...leaving us determined to explore more in the daylight! 

Making short work of a delicious Osso Buco that Mrs B had made and frozen for one of those nights when we fancied a treat after a challenging day, we went full pig-out for pudding with a slice of the delicious Canadian style, Dutch apple tart Sue and Mrs B had made on Arran, topped with what else other than some magnificent Scottish Tablet ice cream…

Obviously the next day we had to walk some of last night’s dinner off, so we had a stroll along the beach promenade…

… and around Fairhaven lake, built in the 1890s, that our park-up backed onto, reading about the area’s origins as an early Victorian seaside resort…..

… and where we also learned more about the Spitfire (a memorial to a local pilot – and WW2 aviators more generally), apparently shot down in a Spitfire that had been built with funds raised by local residents during the war. 

Our drive homewards took us out along the prom and past the other authorised car parks – one of which has a black water sluice that can be accessed for £1 – top work Fylde Council! We stopped briefly at another Morrisons for great value diesel – and for Mr B to have another look at the wipers. Confirming that the fuse was OK but that it could be a fault with the relay(s) or the stalk itself, Mr B suggested that as the wipers were currently in ‘nothing wrong here’ mode, we press on and aim to get home later that day, where we could book Evie in to our local garage for a proper going over!

And all seemed to be going swimmingly, as we cruised past Birmingham on the toll motorway again, hitting traffic on the M42 but then gaining time once we got onto the M40. Chastened by yesterday’s unexpected delay, we were gutted to see when we checked ahead on Google that a chunk of the M25 had been closed – and the diversions and alternative routes were, just like yesterday, gridlocked! 

Not believing our bad luck, and seeing as we were close to the A34 junction that would take us south, we decided to turn off and see where we could get to. Which wasn’t that far, before darkness was upon us and we started to suffer from faulty wiper syndrome, anxious that with rain forecast, we didn’t want to risk driving far. The wipers had been packing up intermittently on the journey, but not yet packed up entirely again, so we figured we’d quit whilst we were ahead – in a manner of speaking!

With nowhere on P4N looking easily accessible in the dark, we made the unusual decision to park up in a residential area, just around the corner from our good friends Isabel and Dean in Newbury – which is exactly what we do when we go and see them! It’s a quiet street opposite a cemetery and we have stayed there a good number of times over the years. 

Announcing our unexpected arrival to our friends was an odd experience, but they very kindly invited us for some drinks and nibbles, so we had a good catch up before heading back to Evie for dinner and an early night, determined to get an early start and get home eventually! It felt a bit off key in the morning to be clattering about and making breakfast outside people’s houses, so we decided to get off early and check out one of the places we had seen on P4N but didn’t fancy finding in the dark.

Which is how we found ourselves at Whitehill near Kingsclere, south of Newbury, having breakfast with decidedly non-urban views! This would make a very good overnight stop – now we know where it is and have tried the access in the daylight!

The rest of the drive home was enjoyable, as once we had reached the A34/M3 junction we took one of our favourite drives home – the good old A272 – slow, pretty and no diversions! We often stop at the Cowdray Estate farm shop if we are passing, partly to see whether the excellent butchery there has any pig cheeks (a favourite for us but no luck this time) and partly to browse/marvel at the often eye-watering prices for some of the produce. Our favourite this time was a very small bag of ‘scorched dusted almonds enrobed in dark chocolate’ for a piffling £15! They do however, have a very good bakery and we left with some sourdough and fresh salad for lunch.

Enjoying our self catered and home made lunch in Evie, with views across to the Estate’s polo pitches and deer park, we reckoned that with no hold-ups, we should be home in an hour or so. Which we were, and although we hadn’t planned our detours, once safely home we were able to reflect on how much more of the UK awaits our discovery – perhaps we could plan some short adventures over the winter? We shall see! 

For the moment, it’s time to unpack, catch up with friends and family, and crack on with some essential work on Evie (we also have an intermittent gas heating fault to sort out). It’s going to be a busy winter!

As always, thanks for reading, and belated apologies for the delayed posting of the final two blog entries!

S&J 11.11.25

Arran – castles, caves, walks and wind – and making apple juice! Days 9-13

As the sun shone down on the ferry arriving from Lochranza on Arran, we were beginning to feel optimistic that perhaps we might just be in for another largely sunny stay with our friends Paul and Sue…

Second in the small queue waiting to embark, we started to appreciate the turn-up-and-go nature of the access to the mainland from this end of Arran, as we had been forewarned that the ferries operating out of Brodick, our onward route home, were subject to ‘change and cancellation’! We were struggling with the CalMac website to work out what our options might be (there was also uncertainty over the ferry we were about to catch and when it would actually move to its winter timetable) so we were looking forward to taking advice and guidance from our island living friends!

The ferry trip across to Arran was smooth and uneventful, with Mr B marvelling again at his phone tracking Evie across the water…

… that we were amongst a small and select group of travellers again (only 4 vehicles on this crossing)…

...and that again there were no shore crew to help disembark the vehicles, just the skipper’s skill in putting the ramp down in the right place, holding it against the tide, under the watchful gaze of a member of the crew…

As we drove off the ferry, we could see Lochranza castle in the distance, and although we have driven past on many occasions, Mr B had never been up close…

More of a fortified hall-house than a castle, and on the site of earlier fortifications dated to the 13thC, most of what is visible dates to the 1600s. Discovering that it had been used by Cromwell in the 1650s, Mr B was particularly animated as we have just finished reading the King’s General (another Daphne du Maurier novel and set in the English Civil Wars). Up close, as is always the case with historic and ancient monuments, its very easy to imagine the life and tribulations of the time – especially with the location here, out on the end of a narrow promontory and so very typically Scottish!

Arriving at Paul and Sue’s beautiful house is always a treat, not just because we know we are going to be well looked after, but because we can always count a noisy, tail-wagging and exuberant greeting from Clyde, their retriever/collie cross! And of course, there’s the walking – and as soon as we had finished lunch we were off to see the Lamlash (or Blairmore for the locals) stone circle on a short forest walk – of which there an enormous variety on the island! The circle is close to the main road, and almost hemmed in by the Sitka Spruce trees planted in the 30s and 40s – but recent clearance has at least given them a chance to assume some of their former majesty, where they had lines of sight, apparently, to other ancient sites on the island. Big fans of the Outlander TV series, we could easily imagine this as a location for the time portal...

Mr B is never really sure whether he has been to some of the locations we go to (Mrs B has spent much more time on Arran, and also has a better memory…) so he’s always excited to be out and about on the island. And on our next walk, along a lovely winding forestry track to the west and south of Brodick, he was indeed none the wiser of previous visits! 

It was at this very bench that Mr B was introduced by Sue to an App new to him, that he will be making a great deal of use of on his mountain bike rides and walks in Sussex – how to ID a bird from its sound or photo – not one of his outdoor strengths! And as if by magic (actually Paul spotted it!), whilst answering a call of nature nearby, he saw his first Goldcrest, Europe’s smallest bird, also ID’d by its call on the App by Sue.

After dodging the rain for a couple of days, we were lucky to get one of those beautiful, autumn blue sky treats, with the Holy Isle away in the distance…

...so we headed off down the coast to Whiting Bay and then walked inland to see the Glenashdale falls – a great riverside walk up to the 140ft double drop falls, the largest on Arran…

The walk is a circular one, and as we crested the ridgeline on the return leg, we had a great view back over the coast to Holy Isle from a different perspective…

...before turning inland to the Giants Graves, a couple of neolithic burial cairns which, although we have seen them before, never fail to impress…

It’s a lovely walk and we were very lucky to experience it on a sunny day!

Usually after a good yomp, we settle in for a lazy evening – not tonight though as we were going to be taking part in helping out with apple pressing. Sharing a press with their friend Jak, Paul and Sue are now annual apple juice makers – and we were lucky to be invited to take part…

Needless to say, the juice was delicious and we were chuffed to be given a bottle for our homeward journey!

The next day the wind picked up…

...and our anxiety levels started to rise in tandem! Would we get off the island? Time to take advice from our friends, who suggested we ‘go local’: as well as the ferry we had already booked, book another on a different day and to a different port! 

Once we had made our back-up booking, we had time for one last walk before we were due to sail – this time to King’s Cave near Blackwaterfoot away on the west coast. It’s associated with the legend of Robert the Bruce taking inspiration from a spider’s repeated attempts to build a web, to persevere with his fight against the English. Apparently, it was also known as Fingal’s Cave until the Victorian era, so I guess you can choose your legend!

Another aspect of going local with our strategy for getting off the island, was Mr B subscribing to CalMac’s text notification service. And as we were enjoying breakfast on our last day, his phone started pinging… our morning ferry, the Caledonian Isles, had been cancelled due to the strong winds, and the failure of one of its stabilisers needed to allow it to navigate the entrance to Ardrossan harbour! We were so glad that we had taken Paul and Sue’s advice, with our back-up boat, the Glen Sannox sailing to Troon the next day. Pleased that we had some extra time, we were busy chatting about dinner on our bonus night, when Mr B’s phone pinged again! We had been re-booked by CalMac for a later sailing that day on the Glen Sannox – yikes! 

Conscious that our back-up for the next day could be delayed or cancelled with the deteriorating weather, we took the softy-southerner option and, bidding our hosts fond farewells, set off for the port, realising that when we docked in Troon, we would need to find a place to camp up for the night in the dark, not knowing the area at all.

Grateful that the later ferry hadn’t been cancelled yet, we queued up in the rain with 30 minutes to go! Until we heard a tannoy announcement that the departure would be delayed owing to a technical fault and we would be updated in half an hour… And 45 minutes later we were given an update – a generator fault was being worked on, update to follow. It was only when we noticed that vehicles on the other side of the queue were turning their hazard lights on and boarding that we realised we were good to go – at last!

The Glen Sannox, whilst much maligned for its massive overrun on costs, delays in entering service, inability to dock at Ardrossan, and ongoing ‘technical’ issues, was, for us, a real treat! Built to a high standard and with plenty of space to sit with a good forward view, the crossing was eerily silent as the gas powered engines powered us over to Troon. 

Mr B had found a likely stop over on P4N in an interestingly named village on the A76 to Dumfries, Sanquhar, and after refuelling at a nearby Morrisons with the lowest priced diesel of our trip so far (£1.34 a litre), and with Mrs B at the wheel, we headed off into the unknown, grateful that we had made it back to the mainland and we were out of the woods with regards to delays to our journey home – or so we thought…

S&J 09.11.25