Tuesday 8 January 2013

Finished the last remaining bit of loading, locked up the house and on our way by 11.00. However as we are only going as far as Terry’s mum in Navenby (Lincolnshire – exactly halfway to Folkestone) had time to call in to the HSBC pensioners coffee morning for an hour then a little bit of shopping for mum before actually getting on the road by 12.45.

Little to add, an uneventful trip with mixed weather and our usual break at Wetherby – although we had to forego the “oggies” as they were shut! Arrived 4.30ish and spent a pleasant evening with Mum.

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Again no rush as the Tunnel booking is for 3.20pm, so on our way by 10.15 and a steady motorway cruise. We heard on the radio about delays to freight traffic on the tunnel so decided not to stop for lunch but go straight through. As it turned out there was no delay on domestic traffic so as we had arrived over an hour early we were put on a one hour earlier train – which we almost had to ourselves!

This meant an extra hour on the French side but as we intended to stay overnight at Calais, we used it to refuel and have a late lunch before getting parked up. There is a choice in Calais – Cite Europe m/h parking area is quite popular, the official harbour Aire or another aire we found out about at the marina. More out of curiosity, we went looking for the latter first and found it quite easily. However it was just a huge parking area, empty but for one m/h that looked sort of abandoned! On the basis of “if it doesn’t feel right” we decided we would rather use the harbour site, even if it was a little noisy with the ferries going in and out. Only a handful of vans were there so we parked up and settled down for the night. Not all that noisy and the sound of waves breaking against the sand was quite restful!

Thursday 10 January 2013

Oh dear, it must have been that cheese. Terry awoke with severe stomach cramps which developed into sickness and diarrhoea – no question of driving today. So dosed up with suitable medicine (we always carry a good variety) it was back to bed while Bren settled down with her puzzles and ferry-watching.

Better by mid-afternoon, nevertheless Terry was still not up to driving so we decided to stay put for tonight as we are in a good position and the servicing facilities are still switched on – though nobody ever came to collect any money.

Friday 11 January 2013

Terry much better this morning, though still somewhat sensitive but now Bren was feeling a little queasy. Hmmm, water tank? Nevertheless we both were able to down some breakfast and were ready to carry on. It had started to rain during the night and we had to put up with showers whilst servicing Bertie.

Our plan was to take our time heading south, avoiding the motorways and see where we ended up. We’ve always worked like this when there is no time limit and it means if we see something, or feel like a break we can just pull in. Again out of curiosity, we followed the coast road out of Calais towards Boulogne rather than use the motorway and found it very pleasant, if slow. Worth keeping this in mind for the future. Approaching Boulogne, we felt that going through the centre would take too long so up onto the motorway for a couple of junctions before joining the old N1 (now D901) south.

We use Bren’s notebook computer with MS Autoroute for navigation as we can plan a rough route beforehand and it also shows us places of interest and more detail of our surroundings than the ordinary satnav. We also use the route-tracking feature and hope to be able to include our actual routes in this blog (when I’ve worked out how to do it!) We use the satnav to watch the road ahead and also to keep an eye on our speed – it’s impossible to see the kph readings on the speedo.

Our route today is via Abbeville and Rouen then towards Le Mans, with a target overnight stop at the Aire de Service we found last November in Alencon. Abbeville was busy but we avoided the centre but the slow start meant that by lunchtime we were not as far along as we had expected so to save a little time jumped onto the autoroute to Rouen (non-peage). This was a good move because a bridge was closed in Rouen and the traffic was awful – at least the motorway got us close in. We then spent around 20mins of stop-start traffic, occasionally cutting up French drivers when we got in the wrong lanes (!) before getting across the river Seine and onto the Le Mans road – when the rain started to bucket down in brilliant sunshine, making the overhead signs unreadable! However we only had to do one more late (!) lane change before we found the right road. Note to selves – Rouen is a lovely city but avoid like the plague if you’re not actually visiting.

For much of the time we paralleled the motorway, and the roads were almost deserted. Of course we have to keep slowing down for villages, roundabouts etc. but it is a much nicer way of seeing the real France – although we do sometimes wonder where all the people are!

As the afternoon wore on, so the weather dried up and the sun came out. It became clear that we would arrive in Alencon just as it was getting dark, so our overnight stop was decided. Followed the map round to the Aire, to find a couple of cars using the spaces – illicit meeting? They moved off later so we moved onto a more level space and settled in. The borne (service point) was closed and the water turned off, but we serviced this morning so no matter tonight. We only need somewhere safe to park.

Saturday 12 January 2013

Heavy rain overnight but otherwise quiet. Trouble is, at this time of year it is still dark at getting up time!

The plan today is to carry on towards Bordeaux via Le Mans, Poitier and Angouleme, so after usual preparations we’re on our way. The weather is still very damp but showing promising signs and the roads are relatively quiet. We have found it is just as easy to navigate by following the road signs and generally this agrees with the “planned” route. Le Mans came up quite quickly and we found ourselves passing right by the F1 Circuit then onto the famous Mulsanne Straight where we got up to, ooh 90kph!

Again, everywhere seemed deserted, even the Centres Commerciale (out-of-town shopping areas) whereas in the UK they would be heaving! We identified a couple of Aires de Service on our route so took the opportunity of calling in at one to see if we could get any water. Alas, not unexpectedly, the water was turned off but we still emptied the loo, just in case.

Our next idea was to take a lunch stop near a McDonalds and use their Wi-Fi to update the blog and get emails. The next on our route was quite close to Poitiers where there was also an Auchan – cheap fuel and we’re down to ¼ tank so fill up today as tomorrow is Sunday and chances may not be so easy. Cheapest fuel we’ve seen – but no McDonalds! This was further down the road at another Centre Commerciale, and just to prove me a liar, this one was absolutely heaving! Parked up and had lunch but we could not persuade their Wi-Fi to talk to us before the battery ran out! Someone’s trying to tell us something! (If you’re reading this we’ve obviously been successful somewhere).

So push on. We had identified an Aire, recommended on the forum, along our route, which was now the N10, a fast dual carriageway, at Couhe. However it appeared a lot earlier than we had planned to stop so gave it a miss. A rough calculation showed we would be in the area of Angouleme at the right time and Bren identified 3 Aires which were in the book and looked as if they might be open. So programmed the first into the satnav, at Nersac, which is where we are now parked up, along with 7 other vans – and the water is turned off! The electricity is free however, but as all the others were already plugged in, despite offers, we declined – bet it’s not long before someone overloads it!

In between showers, even though it was dark, as we have been “sitting” for ages, we felt a walk was in order. Nersac is not large in itself, though it does have surrounding residential and industrial areas, and is a typical small French village with winding narrow streets round the square and church,  the buildings looking like they have been here for centuries.  Very basic but quite attractive, even in the cold and dark, but although there is a bar/brasserie, Bertie beckoned!

We had hoped to be a little further on by now but, hey, there’s no rush so time-out.

Sunday 13 January 2013

More rain overnight but as it was Sunday we had a lie-in! Eventually on our way and as the weather is mixed, without resorting to the motorways we more or less decided to push on. A quick stop for a map and some lunch a little later were the only real highlights of actually quite a pleasant run down the very quiet N10. What we should have done, however, was amend our planned route because although we really couldn’t avoid Bordeaux, lack of forethought caused us to transit Bayonne and Biarritz which, while both being attractive enough places, we felt we’d leave for another time.

We did spot an Aire in Biarritz so stopped for a look with a view to possibly staying overnight, but apart from really being too small to fit in Bertie, it was right in between the railway and main road and consequently quite noisy. Maybe for a day visit in the future. So as a quick check of the books showed very few campsites open, we pointed ourselves at an Aire in San Sebastion.

All I can say is thank goodness for Garmin! The written directions inconveniently failed to mention there was not actually an exit 9 off the motorway – it went from 8 to 25! – and in trying to get back we ended up climbing the side of a mountain on a narrow road that quickly became impassable! So trust in the satnav and we eventually found where the instructions were wrong and the Aire appeared just as it got dark, together with a rainstorm. Never mind, parked up for the night with a few other Spanish and French vans, for the first time actually spending some money on parking. 3 euros.

So we are now perusing the Rough Guide to Spain to decide what we are going to do next. We could really do with a weather forecast but have not been able to get an internet connection up to now. Think that is going to be our next priority.

(Later) Got a roaming connection, but it’s cost £20 just to download the emails! Stuff that!