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This time we're off to the Western Isles of Scotland!

In Conclusion

The trip was always meant as an experiment, to see if we were happy to stay away from home for an extended period and we could manage in the “confines” of the van. As regards the latter, of course, one of the main considerations when we bought “Bertie” was to have enough room for extended tours, and in this we feel we have been successful.

So, would we do it again? The answer is an unmitigated YES, although with the experience under our belts, it would be done slightly differently. To start with, we would leave a little earlier, although family commitments preclude before New Year. We would then travel directly to the far south of Spain, not in any particular rush, but so that we could get to the better weather sooner and then stay there for a longer period, perhaps as long as a month on a nice site to take advantage of the tremendous discounts.

After that we would look more at touring Spain properly – we missed visiting some of the larger cities, quite deliberately as this time it was an exploration trip. Once the weather started to improve we would then start heading north through Portugal – we feel the weather did not give us the chance to do it proper justice. Our intention would then be a slow return home, probably in early April, although this would also mean some technical changes such as MoT and insurance renewal considerations.

We came home with a list of fairly minor changes to equipment and kit taken with us. On stripping the van ready for service and MoT on our return, we realised that there was hardly anything we hadn’t used and so wouldn’t put back. Three weeks worth of personal clothes and bedding, taking the opportunity to use a site laundry every couple of weeks, worked very well (yes, we DID bring back unworn stuff but it was “just in case”).

Everything else appeared to go smoothly – drawing cash at machines as we went along isn’t the cheapest way of financing but we didn’t want to carry large amounts of Euros; perhaps we need to look at that. We were a little surprised that a goodly number of places we stayed at did not accept credit/debit cards.

The Gaslow refillable gas system was ideal as it was simplicity itself and, although there were not many filling opportunities in Spain (other countries being much better) our low usage, due to electrical hook-up and warm temperatures, meant it was never a problem. It was easy to work a gas-refill into our travel plans.

Navigation was easy; we used a netbook running Autoroute 2011 with the satellite navigation add-on for general way-finding and a basic Garmin nuvi250 satnav to generally forecast the road as we went along and then to find our destination. We carried Michelin National maps for general reference but found following the signposts was, mostly, the easiest way to get where we were going.

For campsites we had a fairly comprehensive database on the netbook, which could be called up as and when we needed it, the ACSI site books (very worth having, saved us quite a lot of money), the Caravan Club European sites handbook, All the Aires France and All the Aires Spain & Portugal, plus a couple of oddments picked up along the way. Additionally we carried the Rough Guides to Spain and Portugal which provided us with plenty of other information. We never booked a site in advance and only once were turned away, though a couple of times it was close….

So, what about the “numbers”? We kept a record of everything we spent.

We travelled 4341 miles and were away from home 58 nights. We used 742.5 litres of diesel giving an average consumption of 26.5 mpg. Fuel prices tended to be fairly even throughout the trip, generally the same numbers in euros as in pounds in the UK. Supermarket filling stations were always the cheapest. We refilled with 56 litres of gas costing £36.91 (66p per litre, shame the engine won’t run on it!), most of this used on the journey down and on the way back. We spent £545.59 on campsite fees, finding Spain much more expensive than Portugal (we spent hardly anything in France, using the Aires which, at this time of year, were usually free).

Our food costs were somewhat less than our normal – although we did take quite a lot of stuff with us, we still noticed that shopping in the supermarkets was a little less expensive than in the UK. We’re lucky in having a decent size fridge with a small freezer box that proved quite adequate for our needs and shopping regularly helped.

But the overall costs reveal the real story. Ignoring indirect expenses such as depreciation, insurance etc. but including our spending money (we’re not extravagant) the holiday cost us the princely sum of……… £37.23p per day, for the two of us. Not bad eh?

Roll on next year!

Tuesday 5 March 2013

This is the last leg of our trip, well the continental bit; we've still got the run home in the UK of course.

The route up to Calais is familiar to us, having done it at least twice before. Called in to Auchan to refuel with cheap diesel for the last time and also refill the gas, though we don’t actually need it.

All other errands having been completed, we then went to the harbour aire to park up for the day, arriving at lunchtime. And it was so warm, we got the chairs out and sat in the sun!

It's warmer than Spain!

This is a popular aire with motorhomers of all nations and we spent a pleasant hour chatting with the neighbours before getting chips from the chip van (we’re oh so Continental in our eating habits) for our tea. 

We were asked if Britain was a good place for motorhomers. Our reply was that we’re all over here, so draw your own conclusions!

Homeward bound!

And so we say farewell to France, together with Spain and Portugal (and not forgetting Gibraltar!) Hopefully it will not be too long before we are back.

(When we get round to it, we'll post a summary of our thoughts and observations, just to tidy it all up and make a permanent record)

Monday 4 March 2013

An early start to enable us to get back on schedule into a bright sunny day, if a little cold (like freezing?) at first.  A bit of cross-country then fast N and D roads quickly got us around Chartres (would have liked to have a look at this city but we don’t have the time to spare on this occasion) and on the road to Rouen. Unlike our journey down, Rouen was no problem, and we managed to get a glimpse of the cathedral.

Rouen Cathedral

From there it was another good fast run to Abbeville – we could have used the motorway, this section being toll-free but we stuck to our principles. Although Calais was within reach we decided not to stretch the day too much and headed for the coast at Le Crotoy, in the Baie de Somme. The book told us of a nice aire here so that’s where we aimed for. A quite large sandy park, overlooking the harbour was being enjoyed by several other motorhomes but we managed to get a good spot before the crowds flooded in – not really, it was plenty big enough for the 30 or so vans eventually parked up.

Across the harbour at Le Crotoy

A walk along the front and into the small town – not much happening until the season opens in 3 weeks’ time, though there will then be a good choice of restaurants, mainly seafood. Back to the van and enjoy a quiet night before the last, short, run up to Calais tomorrow.  It’s nearly over!

(Some consolation – we heard from our friend Tony that it’s pouring rain at La Manga!)

Sunday 3 March 2013

Another “get some miles behind us” day so it’s just a repeat of yesterday except that now we’re on typical French roads – long, straight and tree-lined passing through towns and villages.

Unfortunately it became apparent that although we could easily make our target area, there were no stopping places there! All the campsites we've seen are closed at this time of year, leaving only aires so a rethink. The couple we met at Millau had recommended Beaugency so a quick check of the map showed it would only be a short diversion, although we would (again!) be short of our target.

Not to mind, it’s now sunny and warm so an early stop wouldn't go amiss. And we were happy to do so as Beaugency is a lovely little town and has connections with St. Joan D’Arc. The aire is right on the banks of the River Loire next to a popular car park and petanque courts, both very busy.

The River Loire

St Joan D'Arc

The bridge at Beaugency

Tomorrow we’re going to have to do some serious miles.

Saturday 2 March 2013

Very cold overnight, ice and frost where the sun had not yet reached, but it WAS sunny so after the usual routine, back up onto the A75 to continue the run north. From Millau the road climbs steadily, peaking at over 3700ft.

However as we climbed so the weather once again decided to spoil the fun and once over the top we were engulfed in freezing fog with snow still lying in the fields and the trees frosted over. Brrrr!

Descending towards Clermont Ferrand the mist abated but the sky remained grey and cold. Once clear of this major conurbation we went back onto the D roads, which now became typical French, miles of long straight stretches interspersed with towns and villages. At our lunch stop we changed our plans for the route home to avoid Paris and instead head for Orleans and Rouen, mainly because there were few aires on our original route whereas there were plenty going via Rouen. To this end we noted what looked to be quite a nice spot at Moulins and after a bit of a fracas (trying to go to the wrong place!) found a very quiet ex-campsite by the river just over the bridge.

Still cold and grey, we’ll leave our usual exploratory walk tonight!

Friday 1 March 2013

A very wet night and well into the day. From Sant Feliu we headed on up to the border using ordinary roads and through the border town of La Jonqera – what an absolute dump of a place!

But from there on the scenery started improving as we got further into France. After a stop for lunch even the weather started improving and before long we were heading up into the area known as the mid-Pyrenees. After struggling through several small towns and villages, and being way behind schedule, we decided to take the A75 motorway. Okay, it’s against our principles but at least it was free and anyway we would only have been running alongside it on the D-roads.

As we climbed so the weather broke and before long we were once again in brilliant sunshine. Our rate of progress indicated that Millau was a good place to stop so we programmed the aire into the box. As we dropped down into the Tarn Gorge, in which Millau is situated, the scenery was spectacular. Bren tried a few photos from the van but, as always, they do no justice to reality. Here’s a couple anyway.

Dropping down to Millau

The Millau Viaduct carrying the A75

Settled in, cuppa and then a walk round this lovely town. We decided that this was an area we would love to come back to and explore properly.