We are staying tonight on a municipal site for motorhomes only, it is situated on an island with River Moselle flowing down both sides.
We are parked next to the River Moselle.
Metz is a city in the North Eastern Grand Est region with gardens and leafy promenades along the Moselle and Seville rivers. The Gothic Metz Cathedral is famed for its massive amount of stained glass windows.
As usual the interior of the Cathedral was a huge attraction and quite rightly so, but …….
Another, church, cathedral, famous building, that Layla and I have sat outside.
After viewing the Cathedral we wandered off into the rest of Metz, there were some high end shops selling expensive clothing and items such as fountain pens at over €2,000. We decided not to blow the holiday budget but I did buy a jar of jam for €3.40. However when we stopped for a beer each it did cost €10.20, got to get used to it before we hit Switzerland.
The site of expensive beer🍺😊Wall art next to a school.Sun dial on the side of a building. translation “Passerby take your time otherwise it will take you.”A wonderful macaroon/ cake shop.
We later met Alison and Peter by chance on the Esplanade Arsenal, and we had another drink before wandering back to the van.
Our 172 mile journey today took us through an area that is sadly populated with First World War Cemeteries. We came across one at Souchez which we felt we couldn’t drive past without stopping and paying our respect.
The entrance gateway.According to this information 7,660 soldiers are buried here,
As you walk along the headstones it becomes apparent how many soldiers buried there were unidentified, often their regiment is known but not their name. There were many Canadian soldiers buried here.
We stopped for lunch at the outskirts of Cambrai where there was a marina next to the river, we spoke to an English couple on their boat that had been exploring the rivers and canals of France for over 25 years.
Getting through Charleville Meziers to tonight’s stop was a bit of a nightmare so it was comforting to find out later that Alison and Peter had been forced by poor road signs into making the same mistake as us when almost at the aire we are stopping on.
Together again.View from Homer.
After our evening meal we jointly agreed to walk along the river and into town, it was a good decision as it turned out to be a very pleasant place.
To and fro over the pedestrian bridge, a while apart.
The bridge led us to a street that took us to the heart of the town, it was late evening and the street lights made everything look magic.
The situation of the aire and the beauty of the town made the long drive worth it.
The day started easily with a short drive to Dover, the ferry departure had been brought forward from 12.05 to 11.30a.m. which was a bonus. We were first to drive onto the middle deck and parked right at the front, the ferry wasn’t crowded another bonus came when it departed at 11.15 a.m.
Before, during and after the ferry crossing.
We are staying tonight at a free aire at the town of Bergues, we have stayed here at least three times before, but it was the first time for Alison and Peter. Bergues is a commune in the Nord department of Northern France 9k south of Dunkirk and 15 K from the Belgian border. The town has an amazing belfry with a Carillon of 50 bells which ring every 15 minutes during the day. ( Interrupts conversation quite regularly). The town ramparts are 5.3 k long partly medieval and partly restored at a later date.
When we walked into the town we found they were celebrating the 80th year of being liberated by Canadian forces in 1944. There was a display of photographs of local people of the time, images of the damage caused by the fighting etc. In the square was a brass band which were playing some marvellous music.
A display of old cars.The bells.The bell tower.I’m not sure what this image was about.
In the past Michelle and I have had a welcome to France drink in a local bar and today we continued the tradition. by visiting the same bar.
The barman was a cheerful soul who was more than happy to try out his English.
We spent a lot of today on a variety of motorways that led us from home to tonight’s stopover in Kent, can’t say it was an enjoyable journey but it was a means to an end to get close to Dover.
The site is a small 5 van site situated near the village of Pluckley which is known for it connection to The Darling Buds of May. It is well kept with short mown grass and ornamental trees and as the sun was shining on our arrival it was a bonus to be able to sit outside and soak it all in.
A little while later we were joined by Alison and Peter who had a marathon drive here from Lancashire.
Tomorrow it’s a short drive to Dover to catch the ferry to start our European tour.
Two of our friends from home, Caroline and Arthur are spending two weeks here on Anglesey in a rather nice bungalow.
They kindly drove to our site from Benllech picked us up and drove us along the coast showing us RedWharf Bay until we arrive at The Four Crosses Pub near the Menai Bridge where we had an excellent Sunday lunch.
After lunch they took us back to the bungalow where we were treated to cake and cream before being chauffeured back to Homer.
Monday 12th August 2024.
The weather this morning wasn’t as good as the previous days, it was grey and we had a little rain late morning. However it soon cleared up and we decided to do another coastal path walk but in the opposite direction. There wasn’t a welcoming village/ pub on this stretch so when we came across a deserted beach we decided to stop and spend time there, walking wasn’t so easy today as it was humid.
There very few people around at all.A lovely beach.Would it have been better to have left a rowing boat there as well?
On the walk back I realised that we could see Homer in the camping field.
There’s a very small black circle on the photo.
By the time we returned to Traeth Lligwy our beach we were quite thirsty so we took advantage of the refreshments for sale.
Tuesday 13th August 2024.
The weather today has been a complete contrast to the previous days, very windy and constant light rain showers.
Again Arthur and Caroline picked us up today and we made our way to Anglesey Agricultural Show, as it was day one I think normally it would have been rammed but I believe the iffy weather deterred some people today.
There were lots of fine horses and there was a stand where we could have sat down and watched the events.The cute Highland Calf was half buried in the straw.Just a few of the fine specimens of pigs.I was rather taken by the tractors and agricultural machinery , Cal and Art in the bottom picture.
After lunch, pork for three, lamb for one, sorry animals, we were driven to Beaumaris where we had a drink in a cafe. Art then drove us further out along the peninsular towards Puffin Island and then back to Red Wharf Bay before being returned to Homer.
A huge thank-you to them both for their hospitality and taking us to places that wouldn’t have been easy driving Homer.
Tomorrow it is the return journey back through the Welsh mountains and then to prepare ourselves for The European Tour starting in September.
Thursday morning we woke up on the eastern most part of the UK and last night we went to sleep on the west coast on Anglesey. We are staying on a temporary holiday site being run by the Lancashire and Cheshire District Association of the Camping and Caravanning Club.
View from Homer towards the sea.
We are on a huge field that is purpose organised for temporary holiday sites and other meets, it has three toilets and three showers and has electric hookup if you need it, because it is large there’s lots of space between everyone.
An 800 metre walk from the site is Ligwy Bay with a large sandy beach. There are a few outlets open during the day for food and drinks, so at the weekend it is busy.
Our evening walk on the beach.
Over the past 5 days I’ve driven around 600 miles and so I wasn’t in any rush to do anything energetic today on Saturday morning, Michelle took Layla down to the beach and I chilled out. However after lunch I proposed we took a walk along the headland coastal path to Moelfre. I haven’t done anything extremely challenging since my cancer treatment so I knew it wouldn’t be easy for me.
The path was narrow and worn down into a rut, the surface was very uneven and we had to lose height and gain height many times via slopes or steps it wasn’t easy going but the scenery was beautiful.
The path eventually emerged at the beach in the village of Moelfre where as luck has it directly in front of us was the Kinmel Arms pub, a very welcoming sight and we were soon quaffing a decent ale. The journey back wasn’t easy on tired legs but thankfully I made it, a round trip of 5 miles.
Our daughter and son in law had booked a last minute holiday to Hemsby so they could take their twin sons to the seaside. This was prompted by nanna Michelle saying she would love to see her grandsons on a beach enjoying themselves whilst they are at this lovely age of being three. She also wanted to treat the. to an ice cream and it was with great joy we welcomed an ice cream van that drove along the beach.
Well of course how can you resist a request from your wife to join in and be on the beach with them. So we hurriedly booked on Hemsby Tents and Touring campsite a few hundred yards from the holiday bungalow rented by our daughter. The journey there was a mere 200 miles, I’m sure there are beaches closer😊
These photos were taken on Hemsby beach which as you can see has beautiful sand that goes on for miles. The boys enjoyed throwing hundreds of pebbles into the sea for Layla to chase.
On Wednesday we drove up the coast to Cromer, having been there in the past, in fact on New Year’s Day along with friends Alison and Peter we knew there was only one car park we could get the motorhome on. Thankfully it’s close to town situated high up on the headland and has an enormous capacity, it is situated on Runton Road. We managed to get spaces quite close to the entrance.
The sea front adjacent to the pier is having extra defences installed to protect against erosion and storms, the huge diggers were of great interest to the boys. We had a leisurely stroll around the town and then found a park with a playground where we ate our picnic lunch, just below this was a dog friendly beach and so after lunch we headed there.
Again once past the pebbles the sands were wonderful.
It came as no surprise to us as adults that a few minutes after arriving on the beach both boys fell in the sea, they didn’t care they had a whale of a time, there were plenty of spare clothes with us but of course no towels, so mum had to shoot off and buy some.
This coast line, especially the places we spent time at are very family orientated and as long as you have the good weather as we did, is a great place to visit.
The campsite we stayed on had two large grass fields and if you wished there was electric hook up, in both field there were modern toilet blocks with lots of facilities. Being August it was quite busy with large family groups and you would need to be aware of that.
We made a leisurely start to today and opted for the “scenic route”to tonight’s stopover. For the first third of the journey perhaps tortuous would have been a better description with narrow lanes, mountain roads and road surfaces that were challenging. However we survived and stopped for lunch in the Black Mountains overlooking Crai reservoir.
It was a short drive from there to Brecon and Promenade car park that we have stayed on at least three times before, it is next to the River Usk and all afternoon and evening people were enjoying swimming, kayaking and paddle boarding, whilst others had a picnic on the river side.
After consuming an ice cream we walked the short distance into Brecon on a very hot sunny afternoon, we didn’t stay too long, a mixture of not needing anything and not seeing anything special to buy although I did buy two T shirts.
After tea we sat outside for a while until the insects began to become irritating.
Tomorrow morning we return home and will be there by midday.
We are staying here for two nights at this centre not far from Swansea, it costs £12 for 24 hours, we booked on line to guarantee a space as it is very popular especially with panel van conversions. It has a slightly hippy laid back vibe/atmosphere and all the staff are extremely friendly and helpful.When we arrived there was a folk trio entertaining a group of people next to where we are parked, they were very good.
We are next to the Iron Age Roundhouse.
Folk singers and friends.
The Gower Heritage Centre is based around a water powered corn mill originally built over 800 years ago by William de Breos a knight from Normandy. The mill is one of the oldest “Toll Mills” in Wales, so called because local farmers were compelled by law to bring the crops there for grinding.
Over the centuries the original mill has been much expanded and the power of the water wheel has been harnessed to serve traditional country craftsmen including a blacksmith, wheelwright and carpentry workshops. They even built coffins here.
Michelle would have been a giant in those days.
The millers cottage was built over 300 years ago by William Davies and has been occupied by members of his family ever since, in fact Will was still in there entertaining visitors.
Will and wife.
There are plenty of other displays to see showcasing the history of the mill and its use over time, there are classrooms where craft courses are held , a play area duck pond etc. There were even white doves which Michelle enjoyed feeding.
There is no worry about needing a toilet facilities are provided.
A cosy twosome.
We returned to the van for lunch and then took a footpath from the centre to Three Cliffs Bay a walk of just over a mile following the winding stream that runs on from the mill.
Ruins of Pennard Castle on the skyline.
You have to wade across the stream, now somewhat wider to get to the beach.
You can’t fault the beach, lovely golden sands, shallow water and not too crowded, in fact it’s amazing how many people were there as there is no vehicular access at all.
After spending some time entertaining Layla on the beach we wandered back and as it was very warm we refreshed ourselves with an ice cream followed by a cider made on site for Michelle and a local beer for me.
We actually managed to eat out doors refreshed with a little Portuguese red.
We made a relatively early start to the day to drive into Caerphilly to ensure we could get a parking space, thankfully when we arrived at the long stay car park there were plenty of spaces. We were parked near Caerphilly Castle which after Windsor Castle was the second largest castle in the UK to be built.
The castle was built with massive walls, towers and gatehouses which combined with water defences covered 30 acres. An attack with gunpowder in the Civil War left one tower leaning alarmingly which can be seen in the photos below.
If they had given me a bow and arrow I could have defended the castle single handed.
Like many towns Caerphilly had its traditional shopping street and a more modern shopping area which today had a street market.
Sadly we couldn’t find a shop selling Caerphilly cheese.We did however find a statue of Tommy Cooper, comedian and magician who was born here.
“Just like that” his popular catch phrase.
Having exhausted our parking time we drove on to St Fagans National Museum of History.
The museum stands in the grounds of St Fagans Castle and gardens, a late 16th Century manor house donated to the people of Wales by the Earl of Plymouth in 1948. Over 50 historical buildings from all over Wales have been re- built at the museum including a Victorian school, a medieval church and a workman’s institute.
It is free to enter but parking is £7, a bargain, there are places around the museum where you can donate money for specific developments, it was quite busy but not packed and there were many families having picnics in the grounds.
We started by visiting the castle grounds and very much enjoyed the gardens.
We then moved onto the historic buildings which range in date from hundreds of years ago up to a prefab of the 50’s.
To be fair we didn’t feel we had enough time to do justice to view all the buildings adequately as we knew we had another 90 minute drive to tonight’s stop, so we will return.
We are stopping tonight and tomorrow night at Gower Heritage Centre.
taraabit 