taraabit

Wednesday 22nd May 2024.

We had a rain shower overnight but although overcast with a breeze it was dry this morning. After servicing Homer ( except depositing our rubbish as the camp site wanted to charge us 4 euros for the pleasure) we followed the sat nav’s route to Waterford our main destination for today. The road surface on the small lanes leaves a lot to be desired and we were limited to 10 miles per hour for quite a few miles until we eventually popped out onto a main road.We happily followed the main road until going round a bend the road ran out and we were faced with an estuary, thankfully there was a ferry which cost us 14 euros for the crossing.

It was an easy drive from there into Waterford where there was a car park with spaces for motorhomes at 1 euro per hour. The car park was only 100m from the famous Waterford Crystal outlet and factory so of course a visit was necessary, sadly no dogs allowed so we took it in turns to view the goods.

From there we explored Waterford. Waterford is situated at the head of Waterford Harbour on the River Suir. Vikings first established a settlement in 853 AD over the following two centuries ownership changed hands several times including the Norman Invasion.

The citizens of Waterford appear to be very proud of their Viking heritage.

We wanted to top up with LPG after our failed attempt in Fishguard and we located a garage using an ipad app which was 10 km west of Waterford so we headed off in that direction.When we arrived we found the pump connection wouldn’t fit our van so I went inside to ask for assistance. The manager explained I would need “an Irish adaptor” as they did things differently to England. I asked if they sold them only to be told “ no” and they didn’t know where to get one. I mentioned I had adapters in the van we used in Europe so he came with me to investigate, thankfully it turned out the one we use in France worked in Ireland, would you believe it😂Suitably filled up we headed for a motor home aire we had seen on the map, however when we arrived it was no longer in existence so we had to retrace our steps 10 km back past the garage and a further 10 km on to where we are stopping tonight in a free parking area provided by the village of Kilmacthomas next to their community orchard.

Tuesday 21st May 2024.

We had a quiet night on the car park shared with four other vans. We drove south from Newquay and stopped off at Tescos in Cardigan where we stocked up the fridge and filled up with fuel.

Our next stop was a garage in Fishguard where we attempted to top up the LP gas tank but the pump refused to work😵‍💫 the road from there took us into the ferry port. We had made a last minute booking for the Fishguard to Rosslare ferry a new experience for us, all seemed to go smoothly with very little officialdom until there was an announcement that due to technical difficulties we would be 90 minutes late boarding. The ferry left 50 minutes late but picked up time on the crossing and we were only 15 minutes late docking.There were no checks on arrival, someone asked us what nationality we were and when I replied” English” they just waved us on, annoying as we had gone to the trouble of making sure by visiting the Vets that Layla’s pet passport was all ok for entry to the Republic of Ireland.

Layla was desperate to get down to the beach but we wouldn’t have been able to prevent her going into the sea and as it was late evening we didn’t want her soaking wet in the van, a thrown pebble in the opposite direction distracted her.

Monday 20th May 2024.

Since the beginning of April Homer has stood still on our drive, cobwebs gathering on the wing mirrors and wheels. It’s not his fault he has had to wait for me to have almost 8 weeks of radio therapy for prostate cancer and for me to have a 3 week recovery period, not only did he have itchy tyres but I had itchy feet desperate to travel again.

The treatment plus ongoing medication haven’t left me in a strong place but determined not to give in we packed up Homer and hit the road. The furthest I’ve driven in the past 3 months in one go is approx 20 miles so todays drive of 126 miles was a challenge but I’m pleased to say it went smoothly, Homer is a joy to drive, comfortable and the engine and gear box cope with everything, a plus factor is the brakes work well unlike on the old Homer😊We are spending the night here on this large car park which could easily take 50 motorhomes and costs £8 for 24 hours.

It’s a steep walk down to the beach and Newquay harbour( even worse coming back up but I made it. We rewarded ourselves with an ice cream whilst Layla played on the beach. There isn’t a lot of commerce here but plenty of ice cream shops and places to eat.

In my teens and twenties I and other friends travelled here from the Midlands for weekends and longer holidays, we had a a large social circle of friends who either did the same journey or lived locally. It was in the times of no pubs being open on a Sunday so getting into a private club “Captains Table” on a Sunday was a must , we went so often I think in the end they thought we were members. The club was situated on the top floor of the building below.

We last visited here for the afternoon in September 2020 a post Covid lock down trip with motor home buddies Alison and Peter, unfortunately a few miles short of Newquay their engine battery stopped working and their motorhome had to spend a few hours in a local garage whilst a new one was sourced, thankfully it didn’t take too long and we travelled onto a campsite in Cenarth.

Well if this pub was good enough for the famous Welsh poet Dylan Thomas then it was good enough for us😊

Friday 1st-Sunday 3rd March 2024.

We took the opportunity of a free weekend to travel to Derbyshire to meet up with travel buddies Alison and Peter.

On Friday we stopped at Carsington Water Visitors Centre where we had lunch in Homer, shortly after we pulled up Alison and Peter arrived. It was cold, raw, rainy and we had a hail storm whilst there, not very encouraging but Layla needed a walk so out we went.

From Carsington we drove the short distance to the campsite at Belper where after setting up we chilled out for the rest of the day.

Saturday morning we walked into Belper. Belper is a market town at the heart of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage site. It was once an Anglo Saxon settlement known as Bradelei, the Normans renamed it Beaureparie meaning beautiful retreat. At the beginning of the 19th century the building of cotton mills changed Belper’s landscape.

Opposite the mill was a garden that had been in existence for a long time, originally it had been a place to grow food for a small hospital that treated mill workers.

The town was slightly larger than I expected and we spent some time wandering around, we visited two antiques centres that were housed in old mill buildings. We had a pleasant lunch in a restaurant called Nourish at No44, the food was good but the service a little erratic.

As we walked back towards the campsite we wandered through a park alongside the river.

The gardens would be a pleasant place in the warm weather, you can hire boats and there is a cafe, there are many water birds wandering around.

Sunday morning the weather improved, we left the site and drove to Heanor where we visited another antiques centre spread over 4 floors that was rammed with items for sale, Michelle added to her Poole pottery collection. From there we drove to the Denby Pottery outlet where had lunch in Homer and managed not to buy anything!!

It was an easy journey home.

Friday 2nd Feb 2024

First stop this morning was Chipping Norton, we regularly drive through here en route to Portsmouth but never stop. Today we had a battle to find somewhere to park, one app sent us to the Lido behind a housing estate, 50m up a narrow road we arrived at a locked barrier, parking no longer allowed, it was an interesting manoeuvre to escape. The second car park was at a 45 degree angle with very short spaces, the third we found one space by parking partially on a grass verge, at least it was free.

A few images of Chipping Norton.

Initially we had intended today to visit Kenilworth Castle but Google research showed it isn’t open so we headed to Abbey Fields a large park area on the edge of town.Here there is a large car park that had free spaces and is free for the first two hours.

Obviously there was an Abbey here centuries ago that like many in the country was destroyed on the instructions of Henry VIII.

After lunch in Homer we went for a walk, next to the car park was St Nicholas Church and graveyard that we walked through, many spring bulbs were in evidence.

Abbey fields is a large area with a sizeable lake.

The Abbey would have been quite central in the park. Sadly there is nothing left other than the gatehouse.

We walked uphill into Kenilworth town centre, sadly like many town centres in England it looks a little down at heel and not very inspiring and we found little to interest us.

Away from the centre you had a different feel, the park gave an open feel and there were many interesting houses.

Tonight we are staying at the Rugby Club, it was interesting to get in, there is a height barrier, you phone and obtain a code which opens a box that contains two keys, one opens a padlock to a set of stepladders, you then stand on the step ladders and unlock a padlock about 3m above ground which allows you to swing open the height barrier. Of course once you drive through you have to repeat the process in reverse.

A person of small stature wouldn’t stand a chance.

Wednesday 31st January and Thursday 1st February 2024.

We are spending two nights at Wysdom Park Touring site on the outskirts of Burford in the Cotswolds. It is a small site and you have to have your own facilities, it is £20 a night but that includes electricity.

It is only a 10 minute walk into Burford from the site.

Burford’s famous High Street drops downhill to the River Windrush crossed by a medieval bridge, both sides of the road are flanked by an unbroken line of houses and shops. It has a variety of small shops,cafes, restaurants and pubs. There are alleyways and side streets to explore and at the bottom of the town is St. john’s church and a set of medieval alms houses.

Today Feb 1st is my birthday and we were joined here on site by my sister and brother in law and then we went for a very pleasant lunch at a nearby pub/ hotel “The Prince of Burford” a part of the Butcombe Brewery chain of pubs. We are members of their loyalty scheme and as it was my birthday they gave us a rather nice bottle of Prosecco.

Sunday 14th January 2024.

We haven’t exactly given Homer an easy first year with us, having arrived back today from 35 days away in Spain and France he has covered 9,624 miles since collection. We have put in 1,620l of diesel at a cost of £2,280😵‍💫 fun isn’t cheap.

He has had a small amount of modification with an extra lithium leisure battery and a beefed up solar panel both of which work well.

For cooking and keeping the central heating going in wintery conditions we have used 107 litres of LPG ranging from 60-90p a litre.

We have spent a total of 124 nights away from home staying in car parks, marinas, camping aires and campsites oh and Alison and Peters drive, 23 of those were free and we paid from 3€ up £32 to stay at the variety of places we use.

We have managed to go to the tip of Cornwall, out to the east coast of Yorkshire, up to Edinburgh and to the coast of Wales plus of course numerous places in England. Altogether we have visited France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Spain and some of those more than once.

Have we been satisfied with Homer? Well it’s a tale of two halves.

The Peugeot Boxer aspect has been superb, driving is easy and comfortable it has plenty of power and it’s 6 speed gearbox is great, we are euro 6 compliant ( damn Adblue) so we can if we wish travel into cities, we do have the relevant stickers on the windscreen for France and Germany.

Then comes the living side of Homer, we chose the layout with an end bathroom which is superb and a large kitchen with plenty of storage, a good fridge, microwave( good for storage😊). But there are downsides, the cooker is flimsy and on one of our first trips the door fell off it was held on with minuscule screws. Even after being returned to the dealer to be sorted the door still came open as we drove along and I ended up solving the problem myself. The drawers and cupboards have a mind of their own and even after we check they are shut before we start off invariably one will fly open, catches are not sturdy enough. The dining table was in it’s own storage cupboard on pull out runners, that didn’t last long 10 mm screws aren’t up to the job.

These are design faults that could be overcome with a little more thought by the manufacturers.

Are we disappointed, no not really we have learned to overcome the problems and have beefed up items where we feel they are flimsy. Learning to live in a small space teaches you to be tidy and organised and everything has its own place, on a 35 day trip such as we have just undertaken where we needed winter wear and summer wear, there is very little space to gather extras as you go along.

So here’s to Homer’s second birthday who knows where he will have taken us, well I do have ideas in mind, we will see, as they say “watch this space”😊

Saturday 13th January 2024.

This mornings journey wasn’t the easiest of our last few days, we set off in thick fog that stayed with us for the whole morning until we arrived at our lunchtime stop at Bayeux.

We have stopped here in the past as there was a small aire adjacent to the car park, sadly it isn’t currently open. After lunch we drove a few hundred yards up the road and filled up with diesel at a Leclerc filling station, it wouldn’t take the card I’ve used for the past 5 weeks and would only accept my debit card so I will have to pay a fee for that. We had intended to fill up with LPG but the pump only fed vehicles with the access on the left,of course ours is on the right.😵‍💫

From Bayeux we drove to the coast to Arromanches we didn’t manage to park in the village so we drove out of town to an area dedicated to the D Day landings, when we last drove here it was under construction.

We drove on taking wherever possible the coast road and stopped in Luc sur Mer for a coffee break, there were a few brave souls on the beach and as today the temperature hasn’t risen above 1 degree you have to be wrapped up warm.

We are now parked next to the aire we stayed on at Lion sur Mer almost 5 weeks ago, Alison and Peter stayed here last night as they caught the early morning ferry. We are spending about 4 hours here as we don’t have to be at the ferry port until approx 9.30 pm. We have been for a walk around the town but again there is very little open. So here we are Full Circle, home tomorrow and life returns to normal.

Thursday 11th and Friday 12th 2024.

We try to break each days journey into sections as we are averaging 110 miles a day, we managed to stop at the small town of Mirebeau for lunch.However after lunch we drove straight to the nights stopover at Montreal Bellay, the aire is situated below defensive walls and an impressive Chateua. The fire is next door to a large campsite that only opens fro March to October, I don’t think I would like to stop during those months as I believe it would be rather busy, just behind the aire they are building an aqua centre with numerous outdoor pools.Before our evening meal we went for a walk up into the town.

Today we drove on further north and stopped for a break at La Flèche we stopped here once before many years ago when it was an aire however the motorhome services have been moved to a new site.

After travelling on for a short while we stopped Sables Sur Sarthe for lunch, again we were able to use a motorhome stopover to park up. We walked along the river and into town, it was quite interesting as the town was disected by another river that ran into the Sarthe.

From Sables sur Sarth we drove to tonights stopover at Ambrieres-Les-Vallees a nice picturesque aire below the town alongside the river.

It has been a struggle to produce this blog as over the past two nights we have had poor wifi signal and it is slow going trying to load photos onto the blog.

When we stop on the aires and especially if they are provided free by the local commune we try to spend a little money in the local shops, however since we have returned to France everywhere we have stopped there have been very few shops open. We expect them to be shut from 12,30 t0 2.00 pm and are well used to that but it would appear that on the whole the only shops you are likely to find open are the bakers, butchers, tobacconist and of course hairdressers, very limiting.

Wednesday 10th January 2024.

I can’t work out why they didn’t squeeze the letter “a” in the above name they have every other vowel.

We left the aire this morning and drove to Leclerc in Sainte Foy where we know from experience they have diesel at slightly lower cost, as we filled up we noticed that the pump next to us had LPG and as it is very cold at the moment and we use gas for the central heating we decided to fill up. Thank goodness we did, as we drove away from the petrol station it began to snow and has only just stopped at 7 p.m.

We were heading for Montpon which had been our home town for many years, we had booked Layla into her vets to have the compulsory worming tablet before you return to the UK. Thankfully when we took her there this afternoon she behaved extremely well and ate her tablet as though it was a wonderful treat. The 69 euro fee wasn’t a wonderful treat for me😵‍💫

Wednesday is market day and disregarding the weather we visited it, sadly as we were arriving at 11 am many of the traders were packing up as their goods were getting covered in snow.

We had to wait two hours before Layla’s vet appointment so Michelle visited the shops and amazingly didn’t buy anything and after lunch we went in Intermarche for a few bits and pieces.

As we left the vets at 2.20 pm it began to snow even more heavily we were heading north to Angouleme but after a while as the sky got darker and the snow heavier we decided to stop at an aire in Montmoreau a town we have driven through hundreds of times. The parking area was next to a river and a park and all seemed well, it even paused snowing for a while.

However it became obvious that there appeared to be a homeless person living in the toilet block along with his dog which barked a lot, after a drink we enacted the golden rule of “ if you don’t feel comfortable move on” so we did. We drove about 15 miles further north and of course it began to snow again but we managed to arrive safely. This stopover we knew as we had stopped here before whilst travelling by car, it is very attractive.

Hopefully tomorrow the weather will be better.