Category: France

The best aire of the trip.. with bonus goats!

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My final two nights in France took me north to the shuttle at Calais. I had wanted to revisit Arras, about 1 and a half hours from Calais for many years as we stopped there briefly on the way to Disneyland with the children about 25 years ago. Arras is where the green flag is at the bottom of this map.

I remembered that it was a very beautiful city, full of Flemish influences, as it is near the border with Belgium, and there was a lot of trade between the two countries in the medieval era. Arras was actually briefly part of the County of Flanders in the 1400s, and was also at one time part of the Spanish Netherlands, until it became part of France again in 1640. Much of the town was sadly destroyed during Word War 1 so has been rebuilt, and there are a series of medieval tunnels under it that were used to help defend the city.

It did not disappoint, and neither did the lovely aire that I found in advance, more on that later. I arrived just before lunch and then it was just a short walk though to the Place de Heros. This, and the neighbouring square, La Grand Place, show European architecture and culture at its best. The beautiful buildings, all the little shops and bars looked so lovely in the afternoon sun.

There was even a fab patisserie, sadly I was so full from lunch I didn’t have any room for the delicious cakes they had there.

At the end of the second square, there is the stunning town hall and belfry, topped with a golden lion, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was originally built starting in 1463, but had to be repaired after war damage. It is such a gorgeous building, resembling a cathedral, and you can go up the tower of the belfry if you want to.

It was a wonderful afternoon, and I’m so glad I got to visit again and have a wander. I had noticed that it was on my route back to Calais when planning, and when I saw it had a very nice aire thought it would be a perfect stop.

The aire was within a short walk of the town, just off the ring road and although it was in a busy location, the place itself was beautiful and peaceful, bordered one side by some small holdings, I could see turkeys and geese from my park up, and on the other by the River Scarpe.

On the banks of the river path there was a small herd of goats, fenced in between the aire and the path, who were having great fun talking to visitors. The aire had lots of space, toilet and shower, and was only 13 euros without electricity. It really was a wonderful stopping point and I would recommend it if you are in the area.

The following day it was just a short drive to Calais, I was aiming for an aire in Calais itself, but it was closed for renovation, so found myself back at the one I originally stayed in last October, the very first stop of the trip, at Wissant, just 20 mins drive from Calais. This aire is still free at the moment, although they are installing electricity and other services. It is quite large and backs onto a small area of woodland so is very sheltered.

It was a bit damp at that point, so after having a nice chat with my neighbour, from Belgium, who was on her way to where I had been near Barcelona, I had a quiet afternoon in the van. I was sorting my visits for when I got back to the UK, and while looking at the map book realised just what an epic adventure this had been.

You don’t sometimes realise what you are doing, until you have done it, but looking at the map I have travelled so many wonderful miles and seen so many amazing things. I have drawn my route in on the photo below, starting in October last year with the French coast part, and coming back via the Spanish one.

Thank you Katy, who is now fully rested and has had a good service, for being the best little vanlife van. I love her to bits, and can’t wait to be reunited with her soon.

Looking at the map as well, I think I’ll go for Belgium and Northern Germany for the next Europe trip, look how tiny Belgium is compared to how far I have driven in the last 6 months! Might even be able to pop into Luxembourg as well 😉

Then it was an early night, and an early start for my last sunny drive on French roads, onto the shuttle and voila England! Here is the now obligatory shuttle selfie!

The journey back in the UK started with the M25 with roadworks, which was a bit of a shock after all those lovely empty French motorways. However I had a brilliant week visiting family, and going to some of the areas we used to travel to when I was a child living in the Cotswolds. I will tell you more about that next time.

We have had some very unseasonal weather here, high winds and torrential rain, which have caused serious floods, so I have been mainly in getting house admin, and lots of knitting done. I have also added to my wool stash, with persuasion, and for a good cause, as the knitting group had a large donation from the husband of a knitter who had died, so I am putting that to good use with more charity hats.

Until next time, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting, over 1800 people last month, so a huge thanks to you all, it means a lot.

Stops by the river

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After leaving the park up near Guedelon I had quite a long drive to my next park up area, near Reims. At this point I was only a couple of days away from my shuttle booking, so had long driving days, with not much opportunity for sightseeing.

I had chosen a stopping point about halfway for lunch, almost at random, as there were some nice lakes and a river. I was planning to stop further on at a wildlife area but then spotted a wonderful medieval gateway, so parked up and had a wander.

I was in the small city of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, a popular area for boating, and water activities, and with some of the most impressive city gates that I have seen. They date from the 13th century, although one was rebuilt in the 16th century, and are set each end of the main road through the city. The city had a long history of being a defensive position for the kings of France in the early medieval period.

It was a beautiful walk along the river Yonne, not only were the gates very impressive, but there was a fortified tower next to the river as well.

As always there were some lovely buildings, with fabulous doors.

I love the detail on this old door, where the plants have grown over it and fallen off, leaving just the residue of their seed heads.

This is what I most enjoy about travel, especially the trips that I have been doing in Europe, so many unexpected lovely things en route. It has been such an adventure, one that I will remember forever.

As usual I had a choice of park ups identified for the night, but chose to go to a paid aire at a small town called Chateau-Thierry, on the banks of the River Marne. You can see the location just at the top of the map below.

It was a beautiful little place, with showers and toilet, as well as a washing up area, for only 8 euros a night. I spent a very peaceful night there, after a walk along the river.

I do so love spending time in Katy, she is looking wonderful now, with her new crochet bunting and new tins. I need to take a photo of my latest tin, and the last one, as I am now completely out of space, but in the pictures above you can see the new one that my friend Linda, in Spain, gave me last year, just below the fabric bunting. She collects vintage tins but passed that one on to me as she thought it was perfect for Katy.

It was so lovely, just sitting in the sun, reading and knitting. I am really enjoying my time here in Spain, but am so excited to get back to travelling in a few weeks, I have so many wonderful places to explore this summer.

Life here has been nice and quiet, with lots of crafting time. I am knitting quite a lot for charity donations, mainly premature baby hats, and in preparation for our Christmas fair for the food bank charity here. I shall be back at the weekend, with the last of the posts from France, of the final days of the trip.

Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

The old and the new, the stone edition

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As you may know, I have been a medieval re-enactor for the past 21 years. In that time I have visited many, many castles, in various states of repair, and been privileged to camp at some of the most beautiful ones in the UK as part of our events.

For us as re-enactors we spend a lot of time in what is know as experimental archaeology, which is taking the archaeological evidence that exists, and in our case evidence from written accounts and paintings, and trying to recreate garments, weapons, fighting techniques, encampments and battles. One of the places that has been on my wishlist, and that of I think every other re-enactor I know, is the castle of Guedelon in France.

Guedelon was started in 1997, as an experimental archaeology project, to try and build a castle, using only 13th century techniques. It is impossible to describe the scale of the project, I have watched documentaries on it, and seen lots of pictures, but visiting was a dream come true, and I am so glad that I realised that my route would take me near enough to visit. The castle is located near to Orleans, at the lower green flag on this map below.

Seeing it was amazing, from the nearby quarry, where all the stone is cut and moved, to the scaffolding and pulleys needed to work on the higher levels, just absolutely mindblowing.

There is no end date for the castle, as there is no idea when it will be completed. It was fascinating to see how they were working on the higher levels of the towers.

Aside from the castle itself, which is a feat of engineering like nothing else that I have ever seen, there is a whole village surrounding it, full of the craftspeople needed to support the stonemasons. Basket weavers, carpenters and blacksmiths, work as they would have done, making and mending tools and equipment to support the stonemasons.

There are a few concessions to modern heath and safety, such as face masks, eye protection and sturdy boots, but otherwise it is how it would have been circa 1315. In this photo below the blacksmith is using the giant bellows on the left to enhance the flames, that was fascinating.

My favourite part of the village was where the painters and dyers work. They are using only natural dyes and available minerals, to produce all of the colours needed.

The paint workshop had fantastic displays of how they grind all of the minerals to make the 15 pigments they are using. They are currently painting panels to cover the windows, and one of the finished rooms inside the castle had already been painted.

It was a very emotional experience for me, not only seeing the work that all these hugely dedicated people are doing, but also thinking about the many cultures that still use these methods of construction, for whom this is daily life, not some experiment.

Nearly 16 years ago I was lucky enough to be part of Project Nepal, a Scout led initiative, where after two years of planning and construction training, a group of 40 of us flew out to a Nepalese village and built a school hostel, using many of the methods that these craftspeople were using.

The quarry reminded me very much of the pile of stone that faced us when we arrived, that we sorted into size, and we used wooden scaffolding and mud mortar. We were working with the local people, and every day women from the village came to teach us how to use the mud mortar, and build the walls, while the local stonemason trimmed the blocks.

Due to time constraints we did have access to one modern stone saw, but as the fuel for that also had to be brought from the nearest road, five hours walk away, we could only use it sparingly. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and the two weeks I spent living in the village some of the best times I have ever had. Definitely a life changing experience. If you would like to read more about this, I have two pages on this blog, one on the project itself, and one on the time in Nepal, which you can access from the top of the main page.

The above picture shows the 8 women from the Scout group, and the local women we worked with, just before we left the village.

For my overnight stop after the wonderful trip to Guedelon, I drove a few miles so a very lovely little village, to another Park4Nite find, in the village of Triegny.

This was a brilliant park up, with a bonus toilet which I wasn’t expecting, in a very quiet, peaceful, and very pretty village. Although the park up is free, they ask for donations to help fund trips for the local school, and that you use the local facilities, which I was very happy to do. After a lovely restful night, and a trip to the village shop the next day, I continued on my travels.

I am coming to the end of blogging about my trip back through France, just a couple more posts and then I can get back to all the ones I need to catch up on. There may actually be some crafting posts sometime soon, as I have been spending some lovely time knitting, and at my sewing machine. I can’t remember when I last posted anything that I have made! I also have some fab Trust houses to show you from my time in Surrey and the Cotswolds.

I will be back soon with more French medieval gorgeousness. Until then, have fun, take care, stay safe, and thanks for visiting.

The old and the new, the textile edition

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It was while I was at my friend Cate’s checking my route on the map, that I realised I was going to pass very close to the town of Aubusson. For anyone who is into textiles, you will recognise the name as being famous for thousands of tapestries, made in this town and the nearby ones, and they had a museum! So of course I had to go and visit.

Aubusson tapestry was designated in 2009 as one of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity aspects, and the museum is just a small part of the preservation of the heritage, along with preservation of other aspects of the craft, and exhibitions in the area.

Aubusson itself is a very gorgeous little town, with an essential river running through it. As in my home village in Yorkshire, once famed for its woollen mills, access to water is vital for the industry, and you could still see the mills around the river area, as well as the buildings that now house the original designs, or cartoons, for the tapestries.

As well as examples of the heritage of the weaving, apologies as they were understandably in low lit, glass cases. so no good photos, what was really interesting was the focus on the process of weaving, and the tools of the weavers.

Tapestry has never been one of my favourite textile forms, I think because most of the ones that I encounter in National Trust properties and castles are faded, and the subject matter is generally not that interesting to me. However I have always appreciated the huge amount of time and effort it takes to create these woks of art.

It was especially lovely to see photos of the weavers, both from the display of the historical archives, and the weavers working on current projects.

They had two exhibitions of modern weaving, which were really impressive. The first was of illustrations from a Japanese artist called Hayao Miyazaki. I am familiar with these, through my son Jake’s interest in anime, and these were illustrations from a film called The Moving Castle.

The level of detail here is amazing, the colours are so rich and the way that they have been blended is stunning, look at how the cloud has been woven over the other colours here. Just amazing work.

The other exhibition focused on illustrations by Tolkein, again such beautiful colours. It was also really interesting to see the back of the Rivendell piece.

Seeing these modern pieces really makes you realise how stunning places like Hardwick Hall must have looked when their tapestries were first hung in the 1600s.

Abusson also offered a free park up, in a car park just outside the town, with free water, free electric, and a lovely backdrop of woods and a little stream, so Katy and I spent a peaceful night there, once again very grateful for the foresight of French tourist boards.

A lovely, and totally unexpected day, and I am so pleased that I managed to visit. My next post will be about another unexpected visit as well, to somewhere that had been on my wish list for around 20 years.

I have had a great week with Sue and Ange, here in Spain. We have had lots of pool time, delicios tapas, and been to visit Cartagena, one of my favourite local cities. They are now in Granada for a few days, visiting the Alhambra, and I will see them briefly before they return to the UK. Meanwhile I have a fox outfit to finish knitting before they get back, there was a major error with a pair of dungarees so they have had to be unravelled, and knitted again ;-(

I will be back soon with the next unplanned stop en route. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

29 years later …..

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I left Cahors for a short drive into the Dordogne. One of the reasons for choosing this particular route, aside from seeing the beautiful countryside and towns of this area, is that my friend Cate has lived here for many years. Cate is another friend from Huddersfield Polytechnic days, in fact she was the very first person I met, in my halls of residence, the day I moved in.

We have kept in touch for nearly 42 years, but haven’t seen each other since her wedding in Ireland, 29 years ago. As I have mentioned before, one of the best things about retirement is the time to go and re-connect with people face to face, last year Dave in Cyprus, and Helen in Devon, and Ange and Sue over the past couple of years in Scotland and Yorkshire, and now in Spain!

It was another stunning drive, as you can see from the map above I was driving into the heart of the natural park of the Perigord- Limousin region, and it is the most amazing countryside. I am definitely going to see about getting a dash cam for my next European trip, so that I can capture more of the scenery as I drive. France is especially beautiful at this time of year, although the weather was not brilliant, the wisteria was in bloom everywhere and the clouds just added to the drama of the rivers and wooded valleys.

I stopped in Souillac, a little town on the Dordogne, for coffee and a wander. At this point I had decided not to use motorways for the middle of the trip, excellent though they are in Europe I was keen to do more small roads, and this little town was a lovely break in the journey.

Cate, and her husband Billy, bought a derelict farmhouse and barn in a tiny village in the Dordogne, and have spent the last twenty years rebuilding it. The views are amazing, and they grow most of their own food.

We had a lovely, if a little damp, walk with her two dogs, though the country lanes here. It really is a completely idyllic place to live, and I can see why so many British people have chosen to move here.

Cate was an estate agent before she retired so she knows the area very well, and took me to see some of the most beautiful places in the area. We went to the little town of Brantome for lunch, which has some gorgeous houses around the abbey and the river.

The abbey had the longest candles that I have ever seen. I always light two wherever I visit, one for the living, and one for all my friends and family no longer here.

We then went on to St Jean de Cole, one of the prettiest villages in the area, complete with a privately owned chateau. Cate had sold most of the houses in the village, and was based here during her career, what a gorgeous place to work!

I love the contrast of the blue shutters with the pale stone, and the wisteria on the houses here.

As well as the sightseeing, we had a brilliant catch up, and lots of lovely food. It was so nice to see her, and hopefully it won’t be 29 years until we see each other again! I know that I have said this many times before, but I am so lucky to be able to do this, and live this wonderful life.

My poor colleagues at the university went through a dreadful time last summer, with the closure of the department, and losing about half the staff to redundancy, and the same is happening again this year, with a further round of course closures and job losses. I feel so sorry for them, as I know how hard they have all worked, and it seems so unfair, especially after the stresses of the Covid years. I am eternally grateful to have been able to leave at a time of my choosing, and to have the life that I have now.

I will be back again later in the week, to share a surprise textile treasure, that meant a slight alteration to the route, that led to a wonderful extra visit to somewhere very special. More details in the next post. Until then, have fun, take care, stay safe, and thanks for visiting.

Sur le pont …..

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I was lucky enough to learn French from the age of 7 to 16. so my French is actually a lot better than my Spanish. One of the things I remember doing was lots of singing, including the song, ‘ sur le pont d’Avignon’… which means on the bridge at Avignon. I didn’t get to Avignon this trip, but I did get to see a stunning medieval bridge in the town of Cahors.

When I was route planning for this trip I had some fixed points that I needed to be at, but the rest was just looking in the general direction of where I wanted to be. That was how I found Cahors, which is the blue symbol just above Montauban on the map below. As soon as I saw it had an old bridge, and a park up, I added it to the stopovers list and I was really glad that I did, as it was a beautiful place to spend an afternoon.

The town is on the River Lot, in a wooded valley, so the drive in was lovely.

The park up that the town council have created only has three spaces, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to get in there, but there was a car park listed near it. I missed the sign for that the first time, and after a lovely detour up the sides of the valley, and some very steep roads, I spotted the sign on the way down.

This is why I love travelling in France, not only was there a large car park, but also a free bus into town in you wanted it. The park up also came with added chickens, sadly it was a bit wet the morning after so I didn’t get any free eggs for breakfast as they were all hiding.

However, I did meet some very nice fellow van lifers parked up next to me, a French man who had been fossil hunting nearby, the region is famous for pterodactyl fossils, and a French and Lithuanian couple who had just come back from 6 months in Spain. I love meeting people on the road, it is so interesting to hear about everyone’s travels. It is one of the best bits of van life.

The park up was a short walk from the river, so I wandered along the park beside it for a while, then into the town towards the Pont Valentre bridge. It was built in the 1400s, when Cahors was a very important town on the river for trade, and is a World Heritage site.

It is an absolutely stunning construction. There is a weir just beyond it, so boats pass through a lock under the end tower. You can take a boat trip up the river, and there were lots of people enjoying that and the little cafes along the river bank.

After the bridge there was time for a wander around the old town, there were so many gorgeous buildings, some in need of a lot of restoration, in the oldest part, and a beautiful cathedral.

It was a perfect day on the trip home, one that I will always remember. I was enjoying the driving so much, and it was brilliant to be off the motorways, and back on more rural roads. Just perfect van life!

I am back in Spain now, so fingers crossed my internet will stay stable and I can catch up with the many, many posts I have waiting. I have friends arriving on Sunday for a week, the same people I have just spent time with in Scotland and Yorkshire, so that will be brilliant. Before they get here I have to finish a dress and shoes for a fox, as one of them has just had a first grandchild. It is lovely to be back home, I would say chilling, but it is about 25 degrees, so a perfect temperature for relaxing.

I will return soon with more of beautiful rural France, until then, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Life in the slow lane

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I am now on day four of my trip back, day two of driving in France, and am loving it. The few days I was back in La Marina were busy with seeing friends, celebrating Mum’s birthday, and getting the van ready for the return trip.

Katy has some new crafting decorations, completed this time in Spain.  It is getting to the stage that she is more a mobile craft display than anything else!

We had a macrame workshop before Christmas at the sewing group, and I was inspired by a post on Instagram to make this little hanging tray. I am so pleased with how this has turned out.

Ellen also helped me to make a crochet flower garland, and it looks beautiful. She did most of the complex ones, but I am still very pleased with my efforts. 

I have been really enjoying the driving  it takes me a while to get back into it after 3 months away, and as I have been doing mainly motorways so far, it has been Katy and I tootling along in the slow lane, admiring the castles along the way. The last two days have been especially exciting at we have had views of the Pyrenees. 

I can’t believe how much my confidence has grown doing this journey to and from Spain, it has been so good for my driving skills. I often miss turns, or am not sure about motorway junctions but I have learnt to just stay calm.

The first stop was at the La Brisa Aire in Peniscola.  The original plan was to visit the castle there, but traffic jams meant that I arrived very late. Apologies I can’t put in links to the site while using the app to write this post, but found this on Park4Night and it was €9.50 a night.

I did have a lovely lunch stop off though, at a nature reserve near Valencia. 

The village of El Palmar is built around a series of little canals, and the villagers used to use these little barges for fishing. There are still lots of the the thatched houses along the banks of the lake.

Now the main trade is tourism with lots of people coming for boat trips, or lunch at the many restaurants and bars along the canal.

A shorter drive the next day took me to just outside Tarragona, to a lovely stretch of beach called Torrembada. I had a very peaceful night in this pine tree aire, at Area 340. This one was more expensive at €16, but it was right next to the beach.

I also met a cute cat at Reception, and got a great idea for more van decorations.  I have been collecting stones, so now just need to get painting!

After the excitement of crossing the border, I ended up in the very cute little village of Port Vendres, at an aire just the other side of the port. This one was €8 a night.

It was beautiful weather, so I had a wander round and a cheeky vin blanc to celebrate my successful border crossing.  You may remember that Katy was only allowed to stay in Spain for 6 months, so we had to leave by the 24th April !

After a very windy drive today, which was definitely all in the slow lane, I have been able to come to somewhere I have wanted to visit for about 20 years, the cité at Carcassonne! Ever since I started re- enactment I have wanted to come here, and it was amazing. 

Even though I have seen so many photos if the walls, I wasn’t expecting there to be so much inside them. This next photo is from Wikipedia,  in the absence of a personal drone 😀

The medieval cité is now quite touristy, with lots of bars, cafes and gift shops, but it gives you a real sense of what it was like in the 1300s.

The views from the ramparts were amazing, luckily it was a clear day, with wonderful views of the Pyrenees.

I now have the luxury of a hotel for the night, with WiFi, so am taking advantage of it to do this post. Tomorrow is starting the non motorway part of the trip, up through the Dordogne, which I am so looking forward to.

I have another week in France before my tunnel crossing and am looking forward to more tootling through the French countryside.  There may well be some more châteaux coming soon!

Meanwhile have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting 😊

Perfect park ups

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If you watch as many van life videos as I do you are going to come across a, ‘real van life’, one telling you all about the less glamorous side of van life, the dodgy park ups, the joys of finding somewhere to empty your toilet, and the problem of having your van, and therefore your home in the garage for repair.

However there are always the perfect places to go, the Instagram worthy shots, and the sheer joy of being in a wonderful place, for free or very little money. I was lucky enough to have some very gorgeous park ups after the time I spent on the campsite at Surgeres. It helped that the weather was really lovely for the next few days as well.

A short drive from Surgeres, through beautiful countryside full of small châteaux and vineyards took me into the Gironde area of France. I had already planned to visit this aire as it looked great from the pictures on Park4Nite, and it did not disappoint.

It was located right next to the port, in a little village called Mortagne-sur-Gironde, at the mouth of the river. There was lots of space, no barrier and some friendly sheep for Katy to talk to! This cost 8 euros for the night, and there was a toilet and shower block on the other side of the harbour.

I loved my little wander around the village. The port was full of boats, and busy with people walking and visiting their craft. As it was off season none of the cafes on the harbour side were open but I was quite happy just walking and admiring the cute houses, with their shutters and lace curtains.

At the end of the harbour I found this little treasure of a postcard museum. It was just a tiny room, but what a wealth of gorgeous pictures.

There was great interpretation as well, and it was a fantastic way to record the history of the fishing industry here.

After a peaceful afternoon and evening, with quite a few chats with French families walking past about the size of my camping car 😉 and my travels, I spent a lovely night here. Part of what I did every night, apart from checking the route, and the weather forecast after my previous experience, was to check my next park up. The reviews on Park4Nite are very useful for this, as off season aires can be closed for refurbishment, so checking last minute really helps.

Because the forecast was really good for the next few days I decided to change the next stop, and head for the beach again. I have been following various Instagram van lifers, and one couple, Billy and Leanne, had done this route a couple of weeks ahead of me, so I chose the next stop based on their recommendation. This also meant I had another fantastic driving day, this time through the pine forests near Biscarosse, and past Europe’s biggest sand dune, the Dune de Pilat, picture from Google. I visited the area many years ago, so didn’t stop, but really enjoyed the views of the dune from the drive.

The aire was located in a pine forest, right next to the beach at Biscarrose, and was absolutely gorgeous, definitely one of those, ‘I am really living my best life right now moments’. It is a large aire, and can accommodate 150 vans but as it was off season there was plenty of space.

It was 12 euros a night and you pay before you go in. Getting out via the barrier was luckily very straightforward this time, and there were toilets at the site and near the beach.

After a walk on the beach, taking far too many pictures of clouds and waves, I had another wonderful afternoon and evening sitting reading, and then doing my cross stitch.

The next day was a short journey a little further down the coast, to a small seaside resort called Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains. I had already planned to visit this aire as well, partly as it looked like a really nice location, and it was really beautiful.

The drive there was again fantastic, I went through so many cute little villages, with chalet style houses. The aire cost 12 euros, and was partly car park style and partly wooded. You pay when you leave but by this point I was getting good at barriers so had no problems! There was water and waste facilities, and toilets a short walk away.

After a yummy lunch of goats cheese, olive bread and salami I went for a wander. The resort is built around an artificial lake, and has lots of shops and restaurants. It was still quite busy when I was there in mid October, there appear to be many people living there year round, or who have holiday homes there. The houses were all these cute chalet style that I saw so much of in the area.

I also bought another little van to add to my collection. These are all stuck to the windowsill with velcro. Out of shot I have one from Cyprus, then from the right there is one from Tokyo Disneyland, two from the Slumber on the Humber vanlife festival, and now a French one. I think I have space for a couple more!

By this point I was about halfway through my journey, and feeling very comfortable about both the driving and finding places to stay. Everyone told me that it would be easy, and I was able to get to the stops with very few issues.

Flexibility is definitely a good idea though, although I had park ups planned for each night of the trip before I left the UK, I probably ended up only using half of the ones that I thought I would. Park4Nite is an excellent resource, as is following You Tubers doing the same route as you. You also have to bear in mind that even out of season popular places can be really busy.

I chose to use paid aires, rather than free ones quite a lot in France, as I liked having the access to water, rubbish and toilets, and had allocated some of the budget for that rather than try and find free ones which might be busier. When travelling in Katy I rarely eat out, as I am happy to do my sightseeing during the day, then go back to the van, cook, and spend the evening in.

Even though France can be expensive, I shopped in Lidl, and didn’t use toll roads other than a couple around Bordeaux. Although I paid for most of my French stays, this part of the trip only came to about £100 for accommodation and tolls for the 10 nights, which I think is very good value.

I will be back again soon with the next part of the travels, leaving the beautiful forests and vineyards that I had been driving through for the past few days, and on to some more very exciting adventures. Until next time have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Feats of engineering

stitchesoftime4 Comments

So after some lovely days of driving in France, with sunny weather and glorious views, I decided that I would modify my route and head for the coast sooner, to take advantage of the lovely sun. I was also a lot more confident at this point, so decided to use the motorways for the first time as well. I hadn’t been checking the weather forecast, so wasn’t really aware how bad things had been, and started driving only to hit what I think was the tail end of Storm Babet!

Suffice to say it was a bit of a challenging experience, as once I had got onto the motorway the weather got really bad, and visibility was very low. I just followed a lorry, as at least I could see that, and pushed on. I was feeling very proud of myself for coping with all of this, and the weather was starting to clear as we got nearer the coast, when out of the gloom arose this, pictures from Google.

I had checked the route on Google maps, but hadn’t realised that it was going to involve crossing France’s longest bridge, a wonderful feat of engineering at St Nazaire. I’m sure the views would have been stunning if I could have seen anything, I was just concentrating on hanging on to the wheel and getting Katy across as it was very windy! It is just as steep as it looks from that second photo.

Once safely across I headed to the new park up that I had found on the coast, only to find it completely deserted. As it was down a very small lane, and had a barrier, I decided to look for something else close by, and thanks to the lovely Park4Nite app found a free aire next to the Tourist Office at Bourgneuf-en-Retz.

It may not look like very much, but it had a toilet, and it was a lovely safe spot to spend the night. I was very relieved to get here, and had just made myself a cup of tea when a very kind French woman came over, and asked my if I wanted a hot drink and to sit in her van. She had seen me arrive, and as I was only in my little Katy, was concerned that I wouldn’t have anywhere to sit or a hot drink.

We had a little chat about the weather, and I assured her that I was fine, She too had been driving earlier that day, and had stopped as it was so bad. She then decided to carry on her journey, as the weather had started to clear up a bit, so left the aire after we had talked. It was so kind of her to check that I was ok, that is the thing I love most about travelling and van life, the kindness of strangers. It had not been the most fun of days, but I ended it very happy.

I was booked into a campsite at nearby Surgeres for the following two nights. I had planned a rest stop here as I had wanted to visit the area around La Rochelle for a long time. I have flown over this area many times and loved the look of the coastline.

Unfortunately there was still some bad weather the following day. I did get over to the Isle de Re, driving on this marvellous bridge, thankfully the views were brilliant as it was sunny at that point.

I spent a happy hour visiting the old ruined abbey there, and admiring the views across the bay.

As the weather was then getting worse I head for my campsite and actually did manage to pitch the tent before it got really wet! The campsite was lovely, with a mix of lodges and tents, as well as sheltered pitches with access to bbq areas and seating. The stay cost me £15 a night, and it was great to have access to showers and toilets, luxury.

I had chosen this campsite as it was next to the town castle and an amazing church. I was lucky the next day as the weather cleared up for a couple of hours so I went for a walk. The castle dominated the little town, it was originally built by the Duke of Aquitaine for defence, as you can see from the walls and the main gate. It was later more residential and was modified to include a very grand 17th century gateway. It is now the town hall.

The church was one of the most beautiful I have seen, again an amazing feat of engineering and craftmanship, especially given the era that it was built in. The stonework on the main façade was absolutely stunning.

Sadly it was closed, so I can only imagine how beautiful it was inside. Both church and castle date from the 12th century. As with much of this part of France it was briefly under English rule, as the lands were owned by Eleanor of Aquitaine, who married Henry 2nd of England.

The town was very pretty and I had a little wander around some of the lovely buildings before heading back through the park, where there was a poetry trail. I love this little hand door knocker, I saw many of these on my travels.

A really lovely couple of days, despite the less than auspicious start. Thankfully I didn’t encounter quite that much rain after that, though the experience did give me a lot of confidence in my driving. I am in the process of planning the route back through France for April, and my camping adventures this summer, and am so looking forward to travelling through France again, such a beautiful country.

In my next post I will share with you the last few gorgeous park ups in France. I had some really stunning places to stay and absolutely loved the travelling. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Fairytale locations

stitchesoftime2 Comments

After leaving St Valery – sur – Somme, I spent two days driving through Normandy. I really wished that I had a dash cam installed, as the countryside and the villages were just amazing. It felt like driving through a set for a Beauty and the Beast movie, with gorgeous half timbered cottages and farmhouses everywhere. The roads were fantastic as well, miles of straight roads through woodlands and little villages, and I loved it.

The first day there was a lot of driving along the banks of the Seine, around Rouen. I was aiming for an aire by the side of the lake, but it seemed to be closed for refurbishment so I used Park4Nite to find this paid for aire on the banks of the Seine, in a little village called La Malleraye-sur-Seine. It was 8 euros for the night, and as I had been driving most of that day I didn’t do much when I got there but chill and watch the barges on the river.

The following morning was definitely one of those wonderful van life moments when I got up early to find the most magical sunrise, so sat with my cup of tea watching the colours change until it was time to leave.

Again I was helped with the barrier by a very kind man who had been walking his dogs, and came back as he saw I was stuck. One of the only issues I had as a solo driver, with the steering wheel on the wrong side, was that sometimes it was tricky to punch in codes or licence plates at the barriers as I couldn’t reach and had no co-pilot! The same was true at the few tolls I used.

The following day I was headed for La Ferte Mace, another paid for aire that I found through Park4Nite before I left the UK, but booked online the night before. This one was 9 euros. I had planned most of my route in advance, but not the stopping points, as I didn’t really know how far I would want to drive on each section.

The previous evening I had identified two castles, using my printed map book, so headed for those, as they were great stopping off points, as well as giving me more lovely rural driving. By this point I had not used any motorways, just minor roads.

The first castle really was like something from a fairy tale. This is the Chateau Saint – Germain – de – Livet. Sadly the castle is closed for renovation at the moment as its main roof beams have fallen in. This means that you can only tour the grounds, and have a short talk (in French) outside the castle. It does mean that it is free to enter at present. The drive there was beautiful, and I parked up next to this gorgeous little church.

It was such an amazing place, helped by the most beautiful sky, and so I spent the time walking around the moat to take pictures, meeting some friendly peacocks on the way.

The second castle was a short drive away, so I got there in time for a picnic lunch in the grounds before it opened again at 2pm. This is the Chateau de Carrouges and is well worth a visit as it has beautiful gardens as well. This one was 6 euros for entry.

Even though it is a very grand castle, originally defensive and later a family home, inside felt very liveable. I loved the portraits of the family, the owners had commissioned the same style of portrait to capture their ancestors and there was a wealth of gorgeous costume in these portraits.

I ended the day at the lakeside at Ferte Mace, again having lovely chats with some of the campers there, in English and using my slightly rusty French. People were always keen to stop and chat, I think the novelty of Katy helped, the first statement was usually along the lines of, ‘c’est un petit car-de- camping’, to which I always agreed 😉 Especially when we were parked next to some huge motor homes!

I am now back in the UK, house sitting for my daughter for the next 3 weeks, so taking the time to catch up with blogs, writing and kitting. Ellen was over in Spain with me last week, she had her first driving in Europe experience as I got her insured for Katy, so she took me and her Granny out for lots of adventures. Like me she loved the driving, and didn’t have any issues with being on the other side of the road. She is now continuing her adventures in Europe for the rest of this month, so I hope she has an amazing time.

I shall be back in a couple of days with more driving through France adventures, this is the bit of the trip that really challenged me, so I will tell you all about it then. Whatever you are doing have fun, take care, stay safe, (and warm, I am so not used to this 7 degree weather!), and thanks for visiting.