Time For The First Service

So, after the French trip, the time has come for the 'vans first service.
I shall try the nearest Lunar dealership for a quote, but I have heard that mobile engineers do as good a job. Going to give it some thought.

We are planning to get away to Hampshire for the next trip, taking the grandchildren and thier bikes.
Have booked into the Caravan Club site at Rookesbury Park, looks a good option.

During the last trip, I experienced flakey Wi-Fi access, so I'm looking for an extender to use in the Caravan.
There is a great article on the Caravan Chronicles blog, using the Bear Extender. I've found a similar unit on Amazon, from Alfa, the downside is that it requires two USB ports to operate.
The Alfa is 1watt, as opposed to the 750mw of the Bear, but with an upgraded external aeriel, the Bear might be a better bet.

So the deed is done, and the Bear extender ordered along with an RP-SMA 2.4 GHz 9dBi booster aerial. Lets see what transpires, and I'll share the results when I've tested them in the field.

Onward Travels

Sunday 9th June

Today we decided to visit Honfleur. On the way, we must have stopped at every boulangerie to check out the bread and pastries, buying something it everyone it seemed. Honfleur is a beautiful little harbour town, where we had Moules & Frites overlooking the harbour. The weather had turned a little colder, but the Stella Artois helped.

As we wanted to get going early tomorrow, we packed the non essentials into the car, leaving just the awning etc to stow and the usual pre departure checks in the morning.

 Tuesday 11th June - On The Road Again

So after a quick breakfast, reluctantly we pulled out of Le Colombier and hit the short route onto the A28 and we were heading South.

Super clear motorway all the way, we cleared Le Mans and joined the A10 without incident, negotiated Tours, crossed the Loire River and exited the A10 at junction 25.

Following the campsite directions, it was a simple 30mins trip, via Ligueil to Camping De La Touché, happy days we thought, as there was blue sky and a temp of 23 degrees.

However, on turning into the entrance, our hearts sank. Through the gate, we were confronted with caravan storage to the left, and, for all intents, a caravan graveyard. Various vans were having work done or serviced, on axle stands with wheels off, or with covers fitted. No sign of reception, so I pulled further into the field where there were other occupied caravans, with owners sitting in the sunshine.

We parked up and went off to find the reception. In a typically French courtyard there was the sign we were looking for, in we went, to be confronted by a barking dog and the husband and wife owners. After the pleasantries, we were shown the facilities and told we can pitch anywhere we wanted, so we did.

With the van levelled, the awning went up in double quick time, why is this?  All connections made and before long we too were sitting in the afternoon sun with a cuppa. Loving this caravan lark !!

Now, back to the facilities, which can only be described as functional. They have added a breeze block extension to a French brick barn, this housing three washing up sinks, one for hand washing clothes, the washing machine and dryer, plus a freezer for ice packs etc, all of which have seen better days.

Attached to this are the washing and toilet facilities. The two male shower cubicles are the smallest I have ever seen, but the upside is that there is plenty of hot water. The ladies showers fare somewhat better, but not much. The site boasts Wi-Fi, but I think it is a self installed setup as it is virtually impossible to get connections even right beside the reception.

 It just proves you cannot believe what you read on reviews of the camp sites, as plenty of people rated the site as very good.

 I will, of course add my comments on our return.

Wednesday 12th June - Markets and Chateau

Today is market day in Loches, the nearest large town, so off we went. We found a parking spot, and after using my broken French on an unsuspecting French lady, ascertained it was free to park all day.

The market was huge, selling all the usual goodies, meats, cheeses, spices, olives etc, but so many stalls all along the various streets, all of which had been blocked off for the market, which turns out to be a two day affair.

We spend a couple of hours walking around, tasting all on offer, and getting the ingredients for our picnic as we had planned to go onto the Chateau Chenonceau in the afternoon.

Just a short drive and we were at the Chateau. Wow, I read this was probably the finest, and the only chateau built across a river, but it is breathtaking. € 11.00 entrance fee is a steal, worth so much more. The rooms are magnificent as are the two gardens, 16th century farm and the flower & herb garden.

We had our picnic by a stream, in 24 degree sunshine under the shady branches of Plane trees.

 

Thursday 13th June

It rained all day so we went to the supermarket and watched a movie in the afternoon.

Friday 14th June

Today is an early start as we are planning a trip to Oradour - Sur - Glane, a village that was the scene of a massacre by the Nazi's during their retreat towards the end of the Second World War.

The villagers were separated, the men into a barn, and the women and children into the Church.

The men were machine gunned in the legs and the barn set a fire, in the Church, the women & children thought they were safe, but it was locked and barred, and set a fire also. Only a few children managed to escape through small holes in the walls, the rest perished.

Today it stands as a memorial to the villagers, and has been left as it was on that day in 1944.

A new village, bearing the name has been built close by.

Saturday 15th June

After reflection on yesterdays visit, it was time to pack up again for the trip to Camping  Des 4 Vents, east of Paris.

The weather was sunny, we had our sunglasses on and Linda wanted to drive, so with a 320 kilometers in front of us off we went.

The thing that sticks in my mind is how great the driving and roads are, both the Autoroute, RN and D roads.  

Up over the river Loire again, past Orleans and heading for Paris. We found a great shortcut across country to pick up the A 4 Autoroute, finally heading for Crevecoeur-en-Brie.
 

 Well after the last site, it was a pleasure to arrive to a proper reception, and staff who were welcoming and helpful. We were led to our pitch by a staff member on a pink bicycle, and we had the caravan levelled and the awning up in under an hour. we were getting good at this by now !

 

The site is on the outskirts of the village, which has a couple of restaurants, Boulangerie and, as the girls spotted, tucked away with only a small sign, was a Chocolatiers workshop.
Of course, a trip was required, and purchases made. The various flavours were amazing, and all made by hand.  We decided to have a BBQ for dinner, and Neil did a terrific job, with a bit of help from me !!

Sunday 16th June

The day had arrived, Barbara & Linda were going to Disneyland Paris !!



Rather than park all day at DLP, I decided to drop them at the entrance, and it was like having a car full of kids when, as we turned off the motorway, Barbara saw the tops of the Fairy Castle and the hot air balloon.



So off they went for a day for Barbara to remember, and apparently she went on some of the bigger rides !!





I think they both secretly enjoyed themselves judging by the amount of bags they had when  we picked them up, and the excited banter on the way back to the site.

 

Monday 17th June

Today, a tough decision had to be made. Should we visit Fontainbleau or the Chateau Villandry?

As the former was a longer drive, we decided on the latter. And what a great choice, although Fountainbleau is better known, Villandry, I feel is more intimate.

The Chateau of Villandry is the last of the great chateaux of the Loire built during the Renaissance in the Loire Valley. The sober elegance of its architecture combined with the charm of its outstanding gardens make this one of the jewels of world heritage.

Villandry is one of the great chateaux built on the banks of the Loire during the Renaissance. It has the distinctive feature of being the residence of neither a king nor a courtesan, but of  Jean Le Breton, Minister of Finance for Francois I.





The gardens are fantastic, and it is said Versailles was inspired by them.

However, this poor chap was imprisoned below the Chateau. We don't know his crime, but those stairs look very uncomfortable to sleep on !







Tuesday 18th June
Today we moved to the last of our sites, Camping De La Bien Assise in Guines.
We left in glorious sunshine, heading North, and winding through some lovely French countryside before joining the A1 then the A26 heading for the Pas Des Calais.

We made good time, arriving and setting up around lunchtime. The site was easy to find as it sits on one of the exits to a large roundabout !!

The pitch was large, but not very private, as the hedges & bushes dividing the plots were only short ones. Still it was pretty level and had power and water adjacent.

Bien Assise is a very busy site, I guess given how close it is to Calais, it's used as a first or last site for the ferries and Eurotunnel.

There is a small shop selling the basics, a good bar and a fast food area, handy for snacks.
However, there is a superb restaurant adjoining the site, and we decided to treat ourselves and get dressed up for a special meal. And boy was it special. Farmhouse made Pate, followed by a steak that was so tender I thought I was in heaven. And the bill was less than 20 Euros each with drinks, a definite must do if you stay on this site.

Wednesday 19th June

The weather has taken a turn for the worse, with overcast skies and occasional rain.

A late breakfast and some down time reading and relaxing this morning.

After lunch Neil, Barbara and I decided to visit the remains of the only French location for both V1 & V2 Rocket launching sites called Le Blockhaus, hidden in the Forrest at Éperlecques.

Original launch base for V2 rockets You stand in the peaceful forest of Eperlecques near Watten, gazing up at the enormous threatening concrete bunker that looms over you. It was intended to shelter a factory for manufacturing liquid oxygen rocket fuel, and for assembling, fuelling, and launching V2 rockets. Why the site was chosenIn early 1943 the Nazi Todt Organisation looked for somewhere with a good electricity supply for the oxygen compressors, that could be supplied with materials by railway and canal barge. Thousands of slave labourers were drafted in to a gigantic building site.

Retaliation The V2 was Hitler's "retaliation weapon" - Vergeltungswaffen. - to be aimed first at Britain, and then later perhaps improved to reach the USA. It could have changed the course of the war, if Allied bombing raids had not been targeted to put it out of action in September 1943 - thanks to intelligence tip-offs from the French Resistance. On the 19th June 1944, 17 Tallboy bombs were dropped by the RAF.  These bombs left enormous craters, some of which were 30 meters in diameter, and shook the foundations of the Blockhaus to such an extent that a decision was made that 3 groups of compressors already installed had to be defused and evacuated.  On the 25th June, another 15 Tallboy bombs were dropped, and the impact site is still visible on the North side of the building. This is one of the many types of bomb dropped onto the site,  it's called a Disney Bomb. It was designed by the Royal Navy, and is intended to attack heavily reinforced buildings. It was dropped from 6,000m (3.7 miles)altitude, then at 1,500m, 4 small propellers were activated to bring it up to an impact speed of 720m/sec that's around Mach 2. It penetrates the roof, and once inside,  delayed fuses detonate the explosive which is designed to generate a blast capable of dislodging the bunker walls, thus caving in the roof structure.

Thursday 20th June

So on our penultimate day, we went to Cite Europe to stock up on goodies to take home.

The site is well placed for access, being only 10kms or so away. Stocked up on the usual booze, cheese & cakes, this will overload the van for sure. How I'll get it over the axle I don't know

Friday 21st June

Homeward Bound. Lazy morning packing up, dried off the awning and we decided to head off to the ferry terminal to see if we could get an earlier sailing, which we were able to do, so sailed for dear old Blighty at 13:00.

 

Nice and smooth crossing, and the sun came out to welcome us home.
Linda drove off the ferry and we hit the A 20, M20 M25 getting home around 16:00, so missed the usual Friday evening shenanigans on the M25 Southern stretch.



All in all, a fantastic first trip with the caraven to France, we covered some 1700 miles, around £100.00 in tolls, £250 in fuel averaging high 30's to the gallon. We are already planning next years trip, but will be a little more conservative in the distances, maybe just Normandy and the Vendee.

 

Were On The Road Again - In France

Dover Ferry Terminal 08:00 8th June

After a short run down the M25 & M20 here we are on the dockside at Dover Eastern Docks, waiting to load onto the DFDS route to Calais. This is the first time in a number of years I've used the ferry as opposed to the Eurotunnel. I must say the service has not improved !! Although the ferry is cheaper, next time we will certainly use the tunnel.

Loading onto the ship took a bit of time, but went smoothly, they really pack them in.

Calais has changed a lot since I was last here, great route straight onto the motorway, and how good are the roads over here, smooth and really not crowded.

Very soon we were bowling down the A16 in the direction of Rouen. Blue skies, temp of 21 degrees, and Texas on the CD, feeling life is good, when out of nowhere two red and yellow arrows passed us. It was like something out of Cannonball Run, as the Ferraris passed us followed by Porsche, Aston Martin, more Porsche's, a lone Lamborghini,  Jaguar plus a couple of Maserati's. There was one I didn't even hear until it had passed us. However in the old tortoise and the hare, we caught up with them at the services, and took the obligatory photos.

They all left in a mass convoy as we had a cuppa. Soon after we left, we saw, on the other side of the road, two Police cars heading a gaggle of the cars back to the services, and lo and behold it was the super cars we were looking at. Ah well money can't buy everything !!

As there is a diversion at Rouen because of the tanker accident at the St Mathilde bridge, I decided to take the A28 / A29 via Le Havre, and go over the Pont D' Normandie, wow is this a spectacular bridge !!

 

 

 

 

 

Linda was driving, so I got the chance to look down, wow this is a high bridge, and only 5 Euro 50 toll to cross it.

 

Finally we arrived at Le Colombier, it took a bit longer than I had anticipated, as I missed the turn in Moyeux, and had to go around until I found the route I needed.

Check in and pitching the van was quick, and Neil & I tackled the awning,

While the girls got the water !!

The site, we think is fantastic, the pitches are huge, all grass, the amenities block has great showers, the shop has most of the essentials, and takes orders for croissants and bread, all delivered fresh the next morning.

The pool is heated, a great bar in the round building, plus plenty of things to keep kids occupied.

 

 

Look out France here we come !!

OK, the time has arrived, it's off to La Belle France.
All the checks on the van have been completed, Passports checked, and credit cards charged

We sail from Dover and will be heading for Camping Le Colombier in Normandy for 3 nights before heading south, passing Le Mans, and no we are not taking the rig around the circuit !

We intend to visit some of the D Day beaches, Honfleur and maybe Rouen for the sailing Armarda the is visitng the area.

I have fitted the SANeF tag to the car, and wait to see if it makes much difference to the toll times.

Next update to come from Dover