Category: Katy Kangoo

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.

Moments in history

stitchesoftime4 Comments

My second stop in France was at the little town of St Valery sur Somme. I had already planned to stop at the aire there, which was a paid for one that had very good reviews, as it was only a short drive from Wissant. This was my route, avoiding toll roads and motorways.

I had a quick lunch stop en route, at the Plage du Ploques (Seals). There weren’t any there but it was a gorgeous place for a picnic.

I was so glad that I did visit St Valery as the town was absolutely gorgeous, and gave me an unexpected glimpse into a period of history that I don’t know much about. It always interests me how easily things can change, and what would have happened if certain events had never take place, and this little town certainly played a major part in England’s history. More about that in a bit.

The aire cost me 12 euros for the night, and was a large, nicely laid out area, accomodating about 100 vans, with trees between each parking zone. There were some facilities such as electric in some areas, bins, water and waste disposal, and access was controlled by a barrier.

You paid on the way out, and unfortunately the barrier came down too quickly as I was coming from the payment machine, so I was helped by a very kind French council worker who was there with the bin men, who opened the barrier for me. Barrier issues were to become a bit of a feature of the next few days and I was constantly helped by very kind French campers!

It was only a short walk into the very pretty town, down some tiny cobbled streets with very cute cottages. I loved all the shutters, and you will see lots of pictures like this in the coming posts!

The town is on the banks of the river, and as such was an important port. There were lots of people out enjoying the beautiful weather, and taking boat trips. Such stunning skies for October 15th.

The town houses were beautiful, so many beautiful details in stonework and balconies. And of course some all important lovely doors!

I went for a little wander and found an information board that told me that this place was where William the Conqueror took shelter after a storm destroyed his fleet, while he was on his way to invade England. He managed to get the fleet repaired, and took the relics of St Valery from the abbey in a procession to ensure a favourable outcome for his second attempt.

The rest as they say, is history, and he was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066. How things might have been different if this trip had failed, or the saint’s blessing had not worked. Thus for the next few hundred years the town was involved in many battles between the French and English, and changed hands several times. Joan of Arc was also imprisoned there, before being taken to Rouen.

I walked from the port area along the river and up to the old medieval part of the town, the gate and some of the walls are still there. The church has a very unusual checkerboard design in the stonework.

The church was beautiful inside, lots of gorgeous windows and models of ships, as the place has always been heavily connected to shipping.

There was some lovely needlework as well, these beautiful stitcheries near the altar were gorgeous.

There was also a recreation of the Bayeux Tapestry above the doors, this commemorates the story of the invasion, and William’s battle with Harold at Hastings.

A beautiful place, and such a great introduction to travelling through France, the countryside was so lovely, and the roads so quiet. Absolutely loved it.

I hope you have all had a good Christmas if you celebrate. We had a very quiet but enjoyable time. Unfortunately I got a horrible cold just before it, which has now turned into a persistent cough, so I am having a very quiet few days in, with lots of duvet and fleece time, and hot water bottles. I am not too sad as it gives me lots of excuse to sit and write and stitch.

We will be busy again next week, with more trips out planned for my very last week here before I return to the UK. It has gone so fast. I will try and get back for another post before I leave, but if not will next be writing from the UK. See you all as soon as I can. In the meantime, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

So close I could almost touch it!

stitchesoftime2 Comments

My final campsite was just outside Folkestone, on the edge of the cliffs, with beautiful views of the white cliffs, not the really famous ones, just some smaller ones. It was a fantastic location, you could hear the waves from the campsite, and the views were stunning.

The access road was a little steep and narrow, but once I got used to it that was fine. I have no idea how people get their large motorhomes down places like this, so glad that Katy is tiny!

This is where I started to get really excited, especially when on a couple of days it was so clear that I could see France. I was watching the ferries go over every day, and counting down the days until I left.

Aside from the lovely castles I did visit quite a few other places in Kent and I really loved the beaches. From the previous Canterbury campsite I had driven to the coast near Whitstable as I had seen this beach Botany Bay, on Google Maps.

It was stunning, the erosion has left these amazing chalk pillars and they looked wonderful against the blue sky and sea. I had a brilliant afternoon at this beach, even having a little paddle as it was that warm.

I also went to the official site of the White Cliffs of Dover, another Trust property. There is an excellent café and interpretation centre, as well as three second hand bookshops! By that point I had emptied one of my footwell storage boxes in the van, so was able to bring back lots of books to Spain, so I bought 6 from their bookshops.

It was a lovely walk along the cliff path, to the particular section of the cliffs that are the iconic White Cliffs. The whole of this stretch of coastline is beautiful and I will return at some point to go further west as I know there are some other amazing places to visit. For now it was a little picnic, watching the ferries leave for France.

I had opted for the tunnel, as it was faster. The advantage of only having a little van is that it is cheap to take her on the tunnel. I was so excited about the whole thing and it was so simple, I actually got there in time for the previous shuttle so from arrival to being in France was about an hour. Here is me being very excited waiting to set off.

A bumpy 35 minute ride later and we were in France. I had opted for an aire just 30 minutes down the coast at Wissant, a little village that has been used often as a embarkation point for England.

Most of the aires that I used I found through the Park4Nite site and app so here is the link for this one if anyone is interested. I parked up, and went for a wander, and when I came back was talking to my neighbours, who had recognised Katy from one of the campervan groups I am in on Facebook!

This was a free aire with some services, and only a short walk to the village. I celebrated my arrival with a glass of wine next to the beach, and enjoyed watching the ferries from the other side. I could also see the White Cliffs from here, you can’t tell from the photo but they were very clear.

In terms of the driving I can honestly say that the change to driving on the right came really naturally. I think because I do spend a lot of time in Spain cycling, and navigating for family I am very used to it.

As many people told me, French and Spanish roads are brilliant to drive on, there is much less traffic, and I had some beautiful routes, especially in Normandy. I wish I had a dash cam to show you all of the beautiful places that I drove through, as there was some stunning scenery.

I will be back soon to show you the adventures of day two in France, it is still lovely and sunny here so I went for another cycle ride earlier, with views of my beloved mountains. Whatever you are doing have fun, take care, stay safe, and thanks for visiting.

A whole lotta love …. for Katy Kangoo

stitchesoftime5 Comments

I have just been to my very first vanlife festival, Slumber on the Humber. This is a new festival for this year, with a focus on mental health and raising money for Mind.

It has been an absolutely amazing experience, in every respect. The festival was only a small one, but brilliantly organised with music from local artists on two stages all weekend, a market and an excellent wellness tent, where I took part in a drumming session which was brilliant.

It was great to meet up with some of the women from my campervan Facebook groups, who I have previously met at Upton and App Fest. I also met so many other wonderful people.

I had applied to be in the show field as I wanted to let people know what you can do with a small van and an even smaller budget. I was a bit nervous when I turned up on Thursday, especially as there were some really amazing vans there.

There were only two microcampers there, myself and a Fiat Doblo, named the Blue Midget.

I was parked in between a jeep in camouflage and a very large overland truck so there couldn’t have been more of a contrast between the vans. I said to the owner of the jeep that it looked like he was Action Man and I was Barbie.

Some of the people were full time in their vans and many others weekend users. Like many van owners there were lots that had been people’s lockdown projects, in itself a great boost to their mental health during that time, to have a positive focus that they are now really enjoying.

I also met Martha and the Van Dwellers, who travel with their two dogs and a cat. They have a stunning zebra decorated van.

I was really excited to be near Florry The Lorry. I have been following Katherine and Chris for a while on Facebook and was so keen to see the lorry in real life. It is an incredible home, and even has a bath! Go and look at their pictures on Facebook.

They were so welcoming and invited me to join them around their campfire which was really nice, as I got to know them and my neighbour Paul, in the truck. He has a You Tube channel called Off Grid Nomad, which I’m looking forward to watching.

There were also a family, four girls and their parents who converted an old bus into a home and moved in last October. Their aim is to save on rent and eventually be able to buy some land for a tiny house build. I love that van life can enable people to do that. They have a Facebook and YouTube called, ‘Six in a bus’, if you want to follow them.

Everyone was so nice about Katy and I know that I have inspired a few other women to kit out their own vans as well. People were very complimentary about the needlework, and the use of space. It was so lovely to meet so many people who understand how I feel about having a van and being able to travel.

There were lots of large lorries there as well. One of my favourites was the one with a tailgate that turns into a garden with astro turf and table and chairs. The red van is being developed by a young couple into a home complete with a garage for a motorbike.

I know that vanlife won’t be the answer to everyone’s housing issues, or mental health concerns, but there is no doubt that it has given a lot of people somewhere to live, a way to retire early, something to work on, a way to travel and that can’t be a bad thing can it?

At my first music festival with Jacky about 6 years ago I was listening to a song by an artist called Doozer McDooze. It was called, ‘ I don’t wanna go home, I wanna stay like this forever ‘. It was about that feeling when you have been at a festival and are so happy, you really don’t want to have to pack up go home and go back to work on Monday.

The lovely thing is that I don’t, I just get to move on to another great location. I am now a few miles down the coast in Lincolnshire, at Mablethorpe. I am looking forward to some beach walks and possibly seeing some seals, in the local sanctuary as it is the wrong time of year for them to be here in the wild.

I am also very excited that my friend Sharon, from Marsden, is coming to join me for the weekend. She wants to buy a campervan so is testing out some to decide what she wants. She has rented one and will be arriving on Friday.

I will be back later in the week with updates on the Trust properties I visited in Herefordshire. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.