Dordogne & Lot & Garonne, France June 2012

Saturday 23 June 2012

Derbyshire – Buchy

A very easy run down to the Channel Tunnel we left Derbyshire at 9.30am, detoured  for a bit of shopping and then found a Tesco supermarket right next to Junction 10 M20, ideal, just before Eurotunnel junction, I will remember that for next time.  Arrived at the terminal at 16.19hrs. We were booked on the 18.20hrs but managed to catch the 17.06 departure.  We were the only Motorhome on this departure and listening to the news, felt quite smug as we heard that all cross channel ferries were delayed by 1 hour due to adverse weather conditions.  This is such a brilliant service, shame they can’t compete with the ferry prices.  A slight delay in getting off at Calais as unfortunately a French White Van man, had to be pushed off the train ‘en panne’.

Buchy Aire

Our first port of call was Boulogne, Le Clerc supermarket to top up with diesel @ €1.27 a litre it was worth almost running on empty.  Considering we had partially filled up at home and had to pay £1.38 a litre we were already saving money.  So tank full, onwards and downwards to our first overnight stop at Buchy.  A very popular aire this 6 other vans here including 3 Brits.  Easy to get to, it’s 6km off A28, Junction 12.   Satnav will have you exiting at junction 10 because it’s shorter in miles!!!!  Motorhome parking is behind the coach parking, next to College.  Free parking, but  €2 jeton for water & electric.  This being a Saturday night, it was very peaceful, I would imagine it could be quite busy on a week-day during school term.  Buchy is a lovely old town, unfortunately we arrived at 9.40pm and we were too tired to go and explore, plus it was raining!

386 miles recorded since leaving home.

24^th June, 2012

Buchy – Nieuil l’espoir

Sunday morning, still raining, we drove through town and its Sunday market to the A28.

Nieuil l'espoir

Aire

Much quieter on the roads today, as we head for our next stop at Nieuil l’espoir, south of Poitiers.  This Aire was very pleasant and very popular, fortunately we arrived at about 5.45pm just as most of the French were packing up to go home after the weekend and a few spots had become free.  There are spaces for 10 vans here, in hedged emplacements.  Free parking but pay for water and electric.  The Aire is at the Aire de Loisirs & Base de Aquatique, a series of fishing lakes, signed off the D1 just before the town.  The weather had been improving all day, in fact we registered 21C at 9pm.  Now that’s more like it! Woody did a great commando crawl over a little wooden bridge, what a wuss, silly dog, but he had the locals laughing. After a quick meal we were able to get out and explore the area and town this time. 

268 miles recorded today. 

Monday 25^th June 2012

Nieuil l’espoir – Bourdeilles

Piegut Pluviers

09.00am and the temperature is 19C, and guess what, it rained overnight!  Never ones for taking a direct route when you can meander we set off via Gencay, Civry, St Claud to Montbron where we stopped off for lunch. This is another pleasant town in the Perigord Nord region where quite a few years back, when we were ‘tugging’, we spent an idyllic week on the campsite Les Gorges de Chambon.  It was nice to see that nothing had changed.  Moving on, we were pleasantly surprised to find that Piegut Pluviers were decorating their streets with garlands of paper flowers ready for the traditional yearly festival which celebrates the regions culture, language and specialities.  Apparently it changes towns every year so we were lucky to ‘chance’ up on it.  Very colourful, so much so, we missed our turning and ended up doing a little detour, on very minor roads, until we got back en route.  Our next overnight Aire was Bourdeilles which we had had recommended to us by a fellow motorhomer.  We arrived at 3.30pm, plenty of time to wander around here.  Again, another pleasant Aire, in a large field, edge of village, by the river.  Basic ‘stand up’ WC, Borne and services available.  Parking €3 per night collected 9-9.30am.  Just missed this village’s fete by the look of things as they were taking down their decorations. A few bars/restaurants a short walk away from the Aire.

107 miles recorded today.

Bourdeilles

Bourdeilles Aire

Tuesday 26^th June 2012

Bourdeilles – Mauroux

A little cloudy this morning, the plan today was to head slightly SW via Riberac, Montpon Menesterol to Duras & Eymet, an area we haven’t covered before, to see why this area in particularly is popular with the Brits (as featured on the TV show ‘Little England’).  Duras is a pretty hilltop bastide town with an Aire just below the Castle right outside the Municipal Campsite.  But as we found, it was parking only, the campsite and its facilities were not open until 7 July.  When I presume you would be charged to park etc.  Good place for a lunch stop though, shady trees to help with the 38C heat recorded today. Phew! 

Eymet

Next stop Eymet.  Pleasant enough town, with an interesting medieval centre bordering the River Dropt.  Lots of Brits around, in fact the first voices we heard were Brits sat outside a bar, and the second voices, and the third voices. A stroll around the square revealed English estate agents, English grocer, you get the picture.  We’ve certainly colonised this town.

OK so tonight’s stop-over was not planned.  I thumbed through ‘All the Aires’ book looking for something close by, particularly as the heat was getting through to us a bit.  Here we go, moaning about the weather, now it’s too hot.  First ‘look see’, Cancon.  Free electric point, already taken by a French Van who was probably running his air-conditioning off it.  The Aire is conveniently situated in the town, but we felt it could have been a bit noisy at night and there were no designated parking areas for Motorhomes in the car park, so after a sandwich and a cup of tea…. ‘cup of tea’, in this heat, we must have been mad….. we left in pursuit of somewhere else.  According to the book there was an Aire at Tournon d’Agenais about 45miles away, so we popped the co-ordinates into Wanda and set off hot, weary but hopeful. However, that somewhere else turned out to be very elusive.  We must have driven up and down the same stretch of road 6 times.  Each time “You have reached your destination” said Wanda.  “Oh no we haven’t” said we.  No sign of any aire.  We tried putting in the co-ordinates from the French Aire de Services book.  Same message.  We asked at the garage opposite thinking that maybe they would surely know where the Camping Car Aire was.  Oui, they said and gave us alternative directions which turned out to be a patch of land by the recycling bins.  Now, no way in my imagination, did I see this scruffy bit of land and translate it into “Views over Tournon d’Agenais; Hilltop Aire.  Small lake; Camping chalets in summer; sp Loisirs de Camp Beau and signed”.  Completely baffled, and getting a little tetchy by now we decided to give it one last go to find this blasted Aire and took the small road up to the top of the village as it would give us a great view point, surely we could spot it from up there!  Well we did, and it all became clear, where the entrance to the Aire should have been, there was now a brand new building of some sort.  The Aire was still there but we couldn’t see how we could access it.  Not wanting to spend the night by the recycling bins, next to a busy main road it was back to the book and find the nearest aire to Tournon.  Luckily there was one at Mauroux 5 miles away.  This turned out to be a good choice in the end.  It was in a wooded picnic area, with toilets, washing up sinks, barbeques and all the services FOC on the edge of the village. We were the only ones there, and it was very pleasant and much cooler under the trees and a very peaceful night followed.  Unfortunately the boulangerie had closed otherwise I’d give it 10/10.   

Mauroux Aire

155 miles recorded today in blistering heat. Double Phew!

Wednesday 27 & Thursday 28 June, 2012

Mauroux – Buzet sur Baise

Still Hot and Sunny and not wanting a repeat of yesterday, which was spent in the van, travelling around in soaring temperatures we decided to head for Buzet sur Baise, an aire we have used before, for some chill-out time.  Based at the Aquitaine Navigation centre between the Canal de Garonne and the River Baise this grassy aire has free WC’s and pay-showers €2, other services could be obtained from the office. A firm favourite of ours, we enjoy sitting by the lock-side watching the antics of the many boats that pass by. Ideal for walkers or cyclists with shady canal paths in both directions.  The village has its own Chateau and a Wine Cooperative (which offers free tasting on certain days all year). Vineyard walks, shops, bars, and restaurants.  We noticed a new SPAR shop had opened in the village since our last visit.  Weather cooling off to 32C.

47 miles recorded today

Buzet sur Boise Aire

Woody (almost a year old)

Friday, 29 June 2012

Buzet sur Baise – Lauzerte

Lauzerte Aire

Nothing to report on this journey, apart from spotting a new aire at Castelsarrasin.  Seems they are trying to get Motorhomes away from the canal side to a purpose built area where they can charge them €6.  No views, but in a nice quiet housing area, within walking distance to town.  We decided to pass on this one and headed to Lauzerte, where we tried out the aire just on the outskirts of the town on the D953, adjacent to a picnic area. Not one of the best stops, but next to a small pond, FOC services, plus WC.  Fortunately the road noise was drowned out by a waterfall.  We were joined by a French van for the evening that let their Belgium Shepherd and Newfoundland dogs into the water for a swim before bedtime.  Mmm nice, smelly, wet dogs, in a small van overnight, eek!

 96 miles recorded today

Saturday 30 June 2012

Lauzerte – Catus

Cahors Saturday Market

Aire at Cahors

Aire at Catus

A nice leisurely drive to Cahors this morning after stopping off for Bread.  We really like this town, on the river Lot with the medieval Pont de Valentre, said to the the most photographed bridge in France, outside Paris. Lots to do and see, ancient quarters, cobbled streets, secret gardens, cafes and restaurants galore, one of the nicest stop-overs in the region.  The red wine’s not half bad either. We parked at the aire St Georges FOC in the town.  There are only 3 designated spots for Motorhomes but you can park 5 at a squeeze, if like us, you do not want to stay overnight. 

It’s on the riverside and a short walk over the bridge and you are in the main area for shopping, sightseeing etc.  

Saturday Market in progress always a good excuse for a ‘look see’.  We decided we would try and buy the Breathalyser kit here.  (New french law introduced July 2012). Having discovered that most Tabac’s sell them we tried around 4 to find that they had in fact sold out and they were doubtful if we would be able to find any at all.  We had also tried at Supermarkets earlier in the week with the same outcome.  Getting a little nervous now, as the deadline for the new law was about to become due tomorrow.  We tried one more Tabac in the old quarter, who, thankfully, still had racks full of the things. A twin pack cost 3€.  Much cheaper than we had seen on sale in England.  No doubt when the panic to buy is over, you will be able to pick them up at supermarkets etc. in France, no problem.  

After a leisurely lunch we headed for the Aire at Catus.  The heat was building again as we parked up, winched out the sun-blind and cooled off with a nice chilled beer.  (Shandy for me).  Catus is a pleasant, quiet spot and parking is by the river at Place de la Verniere, a short walk from shops and restaurants etc. Do not be fooled into thinking there is lots of shade (as per picture in All the Aires) as you can see from my photo they have cut/trimmed the avenue of trees that would have given some relief from the sun this year.  By 7pm 4 French vans had parked up alongside us for the evening.

35 miles recorded today

Sunday 1 July, 2012

Catus – Prayssac

Sunday market, Montcuq

Back tracking today to Montcuq and its Sunday Market. Lots of British voices here too.  This is such a pleasant region with lots of pretty villages bordering the River Lot.  After a morning of sightseeing via St Vincent-rive d’Olt, Luzech, Puy l’Eveque we came to rest at the Aire in Prayssac.  A short walk into town to meander around the ‘Boot Sale’ still very much in evidence before returning to the van for a meal and a comfortable nights sleep.

47 miles recorded today

Montcuq's 12 century tower

Praysacc Aire

Monday 2 July, 2012

Prayssac – Tremolet- St Leon St Vezere

Beau Village - Belves

One of those days again, set off well with a stop-over for lunch at Belves (Beau Village) then it all went a bit pear shaped as we couldn’t decide where to stay for the evening.  Travelling NW and along the Dordogne River we headed for Lalinde.  A really pretty town on the river with Chateau, unfortunately the ‘Circus’ had hit town and the Aire by the canal was awash with travellers.  Not feeling brave enough to camp with them we scuttled away and returned the way we had come to the next Aire at Tremolet.  This is another pretty village, very quiet, plenty of parking areas at the Aire and as we were the only one there we had our pick.  I don’t know why, maybe it was just too quiet, but we decided to move on and head for another favourite of ours at St Leon St Vezere.  

Chateau, St Leon sur Vezere

A really hot day in the saddle… 30C, tempers fraying, we finally arrived at St Leon at 6pm.  Not much shade here, so out with the sunshade, cool beers and we were happy campers once again.  The last time we were here, April, 2011, we were lucky enough to stay in the Municipal campsite by the river FOC.  

Since then, renovations opposite the Mairie have been completed and it now boasts an excellent shower/loo block that appears to be open to all.  Also, the parking at the Aire which was, back in April, FOC, is now, during July and August, €5/night.  I think we would have been happy to pay €20 we were that hot and tired.  

Riverside restaurant, St Leon sur Vezere

A Dutch, and 2 French vans kept us company for the evening, one of the French vans left quite early (probably to avoid paying).  Turned out no-one came to collect the charge in the end and we were the last to leave at 10.30am. St Leon is a Beau Village, with a couple of nice restaurants, café by the river and small grocery shop.  Pretty walks around the village and the surrounding area.  Canoeing on the river for the more adventurous.

90miles recorded today

St Leon Aire

 Tuesday, 3 July 2012.

St Leon-Lanouille(via St Robert, Hautefort & Base de Loisirs Rouffiac)

Hautefort

Beach at Rouffiac Aire

First a wander around Montingac, popular tourist riverside town, then travelling north to Hautefort and its magnificent chateau. A slight detour to ‘tick off’ another Beau Village, St Robert where we stopped for lunch.  From there we trundled north to Base de Loisirs de Rouffiac to check out a possible stop-over for the evening.  Really nice area, the Aire is brand new, not yet in ‘All the Aires’ book, with water, waste & wc cassette facilities. Signed in the Coach park. It’s on the fringe of a wooded park and within a short walk to one of the largest lakes in the Perigord with many sports activities (windsurfing, canoeing, climbing, paintball, archery etc).  It has a man-made sandy beach with part of the lake sectioned off for swimming.  Camping and Bar/restaurant on site.  BUT at a sweltering 37C, and no shade in the parking area, we headed off back to Lanouille for the evening about 5 miles away.  The aire in town was next to a busy road but at least we had trees to shelter under, which with hindsight wasn’t the best of places to be as during the night a terrific thunderstorm hit.  Facilities at the Aire are very good, all services FOC including 2 electric points.  There is also an automatic, self clean WC just across the road with instructions in English!!!  Town centre with shops, bars, restaurants is a mere 5 minutes walk away.

78 miles recorded today

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Lanouille, Pageas, Lathus St Remy, Montmorillon

A walk amongst the wild flowers at Pageas Aire

Well after the heat of yesterday and a very T-stormy night which had us moving the van out from under the trees just in case!!! Things were a little fresher this morning.  We called in at the Pageas Aire for lunch.  This is a pleasant Aire, by a fishing pond and a guided nature walk.  Free borne facilities and clean WC’s.  There’s also a popular restaurant adjacent if you don’t feel like cooking.  We contemplated staying here for the night but as we had only driven 33 miles we felt we should press on.  Turning to our Aire De Services book we spotted Lathus St Remy, just north of Bellac and about the right distance for a stop-over before visiting the vet at Montmorillon.  This is a newly appointed aire, right outside the Municipal Camping (which wasn’t open at the time) and opposite L’etang de la Trie.  There are 8 designated spots for Motorhomes and if you have a long cable, 1 free electric point.  The campsite has a newly constructed shower block with washing up sinks, WC’s etc. which, despite no hot water available, were easily accessible. At the time we visited all Borne services were free, but as the Campsite wasn’t open it’s difficult to say whether they would remain free in high season.  There are signed walks from the aire and the town has 2 Boulangeries, Bars, restaurants, SPAR and a mobile pizza van on Wednesday nights.  We were joined, eventually by 2 french vans and are pleased to say had a very quiet, undisturbed nights’ sleep.

127 miles recorded today

Lathus St Remy Aire

Thursday 5 July 2012

Lathus St Remy, Montmorillon – Vendome

Cite l'ecrit, Montmorillon

Montmorillon Aire

Our first port of call was the Vet in Montmorillon.  We had telephoned first last night and were given a 10.30am appointment.  I have to say that this is one of the nicest Vet’s I have encountered in all our trips to France.  Docteur Jean-Pierre Ehm met us at the door with a welcoming handshake and we were asked to wait for a couple of minutes whilst he finished cleaning his table down.  His English is excellent by the way, so no stumbling through with our ‘leetle french’.  We had brought our own Drontal tablet so stamping the Passport & consultation for Woody came to 22€.  Job done, we left 15 mins later to explore the town.  If you are thinking of using this Veterinaire than you will probably be pleased to hear that there is an Aire by the river where you can stay overnight.  Borne services are by credit card but waste water and chem. wc emptying are free.  It is only a 10 mins walk to the Vets, which is next to the Eglise St Martial.  It’s a very interesting old town with an ancient quarter ‘Cite de l’ecrit’ and even boasts an English grocer were you can buy bacon, sausages, scones and teacakes if that what floats your boat.

Vendome

Now follows a not so short run-around looking for an overnight stop.  Trying to stay ahead of the rain clouds we trundled north through the Loire passing several suitable, but not quite right, aires on the way. Just an observation, but why are there so many Motorhomes buzzing around the Loire area?  We eventually ended up at Vendome.  This is another old but attractive town and the ‘aire’ parking is outside the Municipal campsite. A park with open air swimming pool is opposite and it is only a 5 mins walk to the main centre where there are shops, bars and restaurants in abundance.  We were the first to park up and just when we thought that maybe we would be the only ones here another two vans turned up, both of them British.  (Which now makes a grand total of only 7 other British vans we have seen this holiday).  Both on their way back home we exchanged stories, as you do, and then retired for the night.  However, it was not to be a particularly quiet night.  The only drawback to being so close to the town centre is that sometimes you find the town centre does not sleep.  Or rather, some of the younger occupants of the town centre do not sleep.  We were subjected to A) ‘drive bys’, mostly single men, obviously on a mission! B) Drive bys by gendarmes, looking for men on a mission and last but not least C) Teenagers on scooters, teenagers throwing bottles, teenagers partying until at least 2 am. Not even a short downpour dampened their enthusiasm.  My roller-blind was on red alert and I am surprised it wasn’t smoking by the morning the number of times it went up and down.  It was a shame really, such a lovely old town and well worth a visit. Perhaps we would have felt more comfortable staying in the campsite.

Vendome Aire

171 miles recorded today

Friday 6 July 2012

Vendome – Disaster

Woke to 16C overcast with a slight breeze.  We were trundling along very nicely thank you when, slowing down at traffic lights on the very busy N10 just south of Thivers, we came to a juddering stop.  Engine still running, turned it off, turned in on again, it wouldn’t go into gear.  Husband getting slightly agitated now as is the hundred and one articulated lorries that are following us.  Tried the gears once more, nothing, kept slipping into neutral (automatic gearbox).  Bo****cks, sh*t, OMG, what do we do now?  Where’d we pack the triangles he yells?  “I don’t know” that’s your job!  Hubby finally draws breath long enough to remember where HE packed the triangles and dons yellow jacket and sets about placing them behind the vehicle.  Meanwhile, 101 articulated lorries are now squeezing themselves between us, traffic bollards and traffic lights 50 yards away.  Scary stuff.  Having placed his triangles, very artistically I must say, some way behind us he now rings our breakdown insurance company who promise to get a recovery vehicle to us asap.  Time to practice my queenly wave, I smile apologetically at the other vehicles, try a few shrugs, well we are in France after all,  until a very nice gendarme pulled up along side, and with his ‘leetle inglish’ asked if we were broken down and had we called for help.  Happy that we had, he smiled and sped off leaving us to our fate. mmm….nice….. 15 mins later the keystone cops arrived.  A large people carrier carrying 7 burly gendarmes pull up, within minutes they had closed the road off in both directions and pushed us to the opposite side of the road into a safer position. Job done, they jumped back into their vehicle and they too sped off into the distance. Bye……. Breathing a great sigh of relief that we were now out of danger and away from those blasted lorries we did the only thing we could do and that was to make a cup of tea until the recovery vehicle arrived.  45 minutes later, motorhome with resident dog, was loaded onto the flatbed truck and we were deposited in Garage Herman, Chatres awaiting the next part of the recovery process. It was now 2pm. To cut a very frustrating and annoying story short, 7 hours later, yes, in all, it took 7 hours to get a hire car sorted out, thanks to the archaic system between the AA.UK & Europcar.fr. Finally, we had a hire car and a new tunnel booking for the next day.  All we had to do now was drive the 90 or so miles to Rouen, find a hotel and then make the tunnel crossing for lunchtime the next day.  (That’s after we had exchanged the French hire car for an English hire car in Calais). Simples.

Needless to say we did make it home safely and our motorhome, well, it finally arrived at our local Renault dealer 10 days later.  Not the best of endings to what was otherwise a really good holiday.

And in case you are wondering, it wasn’t a simple clutch job, oh no, just our luck, the robotic arm had died and was going to cost a small fortune to put right.  However, thanks to an understanding person at Renault UK, the company helped us out with 75% of the costs. We shall be forever grateful. Three cheers for Renault UK.  Hip Hip Hooray!!!!

STATS

We have spent 14 nights away from home and driven 2048 miles

Paid out £337.65 for diesel

Spent €3 for the Bourdeilles Aire and €56 for the unplanned hotel stop at Rouen thanks to the breakdown.

Tolls (including Dartford tunnel) £9.36

New friends this trip include Keith and Carole (Brits living in France) who we met at the Prayssac Aire

PORTUGAL - Alentejo & Algarve March 2011

Tuesday March 8

Home to Cherry Hinton - 146 miles

After the usual cleaning and packing frenzy that always accompanies our ‘getaways’ we were finally ready to leave just after 2pm for an overnight at the Caravan Club site, Cherry Hinton.  As we don’t keep our van at home we find this a very useful half-way stop en route to Dover. It lets us become acquainted with our van again whilst on English soil.  Given the time of year we were very surprised to find that there were only 2 places left and glad we had pre-booked for an arrival after 4pm.

Wednesday March 9

Cherry Hinton – Channel Tunnel - 122 miles

We left the site at 9.05 am; the M11 and M25 were unusually trouble free and arrived at the Channel Tunnel at 11.00 am. We were booked on the 11.50 departure for France and had just enough time to walk the dog before boarding the train.

Tunnel – Cleres - 133 miles

Cleres

Arrived on French soil at 13.25 local time and headed off down the A16/N1 towards Rouen.  We planned our first night at the Cleres Aire and we arrived at 16.45 after making a pit-stop for groceries at E Leclerc, Montreuil sur Mer.  The weather, although bright, was rather chilly so we paid the princely sum of €3 for electric hook-up for 12 hours just so we could run the electric heater through the night.  Unfortunately the water on the Aire had been turned off ‘sauf gel’ so again, we were glad to have filled up with fresh water in the UK and with our ‘peg’ in place we made sure we wouldn’t drop it.

Neuille Pont Pierre

Thursday March 10

Cleres – Neuille Pont Pierre -188 miles

Left Cleres at 10.30 and went looking for diesel.  Found that the supermarket chain Intermarche seem to have the cheapest price in the area at 1.367€ per litre.  Arrived at the Neuille Pont Pierre Aire which had all services, including electric, Gratuit.  The Aire is next to the busy D766 so I would recommend earplugs.  Super U and Lidl are walk able from the Aire and Free Wi-Fi is available if you stand outside the Pharmacy (try not to look like you are casing the joint).

Nersac

Friday March 11

Neuille Pont Pierre – Nersac -168 miles.

Beautiful warm, sunny day, arrived at the Aire 2.30pm.  Time to get the shorts on, chairs out, a glass of wine and a ‘Croque Monsieur’. Bliss! Good stop off this, just off the N10 towards Bordeaux.  Quaint little town with a supermarket across the road from the aire.

Saturday March 12

Pomerez

Nersac – Pomerez - 171 miles.

Via Dax for Cash and Diesel stop.  Temperature 20C, Wow!   Found the Aire easily just outside the Bull Ring.  6 dedicated Motorhome places and Electric FOC.  Very Clean Public Toilets on site and a Carrefour 200 metres away. 6 vans here tonight. Again, next to a busy road, traffic noise during the night and early in the morning ensured we were ready for an early start for the Somport Tunnel and Spain.

Sunday, March 13

Pomerez - Somport Tunnel - Siguenza - 308 miles

If you are going to drive a long distance, than this is the day to do it.  Free motorways, very few Lorries and sharing the driving made it a lot easier.  We had no real plans for tonight; Spain does not have a network of Aires like the French have. What it does have however, is a very nice lady in Siguenza who, getting stuck behind us while we were looking for a suitable overnight spot, pulled over, turned her car around and took us to a parking space for the night. Turned out to be the Parador Car Park.  As we were the only van there, we can assume that no one else has found this little gem.  Peaceful and quiet, no traffic noise here. We’ll sleep well tonight we thought. Siguenza might be a tad off-route but it is a lovely old town, narrow cobbled streets, magnificent church and of course the Parador.

Monday March 14

Siguenza – Caceres - 268 miles

It rained overnight.  It was windy.  The blooming bike alarm went off twice.  Brian hopped out of bed pretty sharpish in case some undesirables had desires on his bike.  Brandishing his walking stick with sharp pointy end he was out of the van as fast as you could say “Hola” to investigate.  No-one there of course, it was just the wind.  After his second trip outside at 2.am the bike alarm was disarmed. Seemed like a good idea at the time but far too sensitive for a good night’s sleep. It has now been relegated to the cupboard full of other useful but not used items, where I am sure it will spend the rest of its holiday, quietly. Therefore, the next morning two bleary eyed campers set off for the next leg across Spain via Madrid. Daunting as driving round Madrid is we managed to navigate through surprisingly well.  Thanks to Wanda, our sat nav, whom we did not argue with this time, but followed her every instruction.  Simples!

Caceres

We had high hopes for the Caceres Aire, it was an official Aire, it was in the book, it had free electric……….  It was also very popular. There were 10 vans there already when we arrived at 3.15pm. and all the ‘official’ spots had been filled so we parked in the Bus bays.  By 6pm there were 30 vans, plus loads of cars that had turned up because it was football practice. Felt a bit uncomfortable that we were pinching their parking spaces but fortunately, the rain in Spain was a bit too heavy and they all went home early.

Tuesday March 15

Caceres – Barragem de Povoa - 112 miles

Big Birds Nest

Caceres is only 65 miles from the Border with Portugal.  Good place to fill up with cheaper Spanish Diesel at 1.302€ per litre.  Good job we did, the first diesel price we saw in Portugal was 1.429€ per litre.  Still, the sun was shining again as we made our way via Castelo do Vide to the first of the Barragems we would be stopping at. (If you are unfamiliar with the Portuguese term it means, dam or reservoir.)  And what a find Povoa was.  Extremely quiet and beautiful, picnic areas with fresh water, toilets, BBQ’s.  A small café/bar nearby complete with local ‘characters’, stray dogs and of course the obligatory Cranes nesting on every telephone pole or chimney. Even a bread van called in the mornings.  We liked it so much we stayed for 6 nights. The weather continued to improve, much warmer, not so windy.  There are lovely walks around the lake and if you are up to it a 3 mile walk to the village. Lots of vans came and went, but there were never more than 4 vans at a time and with such a large area to park over you could easily have your own ‘space’.  The week-end saw the arrival of the Portuguese, in their cars, with their fishing rods, their children, their dogs and their grandmas and unfortunately one Spanish guy who lost 2 Beagles.  So if you happen across Alturo and Molly who are probably still out ‘hunting’ let me know, I have his telephone number.

Barragem Povoa

Monday March 21

Barragem Povoa – Barragem Divor - 91 miles

I think that when we left Povoa we knew that we probably wouldn’t find another Barragem as lovely as Po.  The day was a little too hot for travelling 26C and after a supermarket shop at Estremoz we headed for Barragem Divor.  Only 1 van here from Demark.  Parking in the trees, no facilities, unless you count the rubbish bin ½ mile down the road but very quiet at night.

Tuesday March 22

Barragem Divor – Barragem Pego - 50 miles

A reasonable start at 9.30 a quick detour to Bgm Dos Minutos, a Lidl shop (10L of Red Wine €6.99 – Glug glug) and we still arrived at 11.15am.  Another popular Aire, various areas to park on both sides of the Bgem.  8 Large RV’s had taken up residency.  Toilet block with water waste etc and warm shower.  Restaurant with free Wi-Fi. First time we have seen so many Brits and their vans in one place.  Not as nice as we thought it would be.

Wednesday March 23

Praia Dourada, Fontainhas

Bgem Pego – Prai Dourada, Fontainhas - 47miles

Time for a change, off to the beach.  Called for Diesel and GPL at Alcacer do Sal.  Parked up to check a warning light that suddenly appeared on the dashboard – panic not just telling us we needed a service.  Silly van, didn’t it know we had just had one the week before we left home.  Anyhow, along comes this German van which turned off the road right behind us.  “Follow that Van” I yelled, (Germans always know the best places).  The road quickly deteriorated into an unmade road, then very soon deteriorated into a sandy track full of potholes.  But the German van was still trundling on, albeit very slowly and we committed to follow him.  (No choice really, couldn’t turn round)  As it happened we arrived at a beach car park with the most stunning views of the sea and beach.  Nice German man said he was staying the night so we said we would too.  A young French guy and his dog in a converted white van were our other neighbours.  Nice German man loaned me his MoHomobile book (Camper stops to you) and I very happily copied some GPS locations down of other spots that looked interesting.

Thursday March 24

Vila Nova de Milfontes

Fontainhas – Praia de Furnas (Villa Nova de Milfontes) – 67 miles

Having had this spot recommended by friends we were looking forward to spending a few days here.  Unfortunately the weather had other ideas. After an initial 27C at 1pm. It remained dry, but with a cool wind which, unless the sun was out, wasn’t really ‘sitting out’ weather.  The Town of Milfontes is really lovely; the parking is across the river, which means you have about a five mile detour to get to it.  There are two restaurants, great beaches and lots of walking over there.  Only two other vans here. We stayed 3 nights in all.

Saturday March 26

Almograve Beach

Started out cold, cloudy and drizzly.  Should we stay or should we go?  Thinks: if it is going to be a bad weather day… we might as well be travelling. Off we go, firstly to Almograve, lovely seaside village with large parking area on cliff top, walks in either direction, Sanitarios in the  centre where we filled up with fresh water before off to Bgem Monte Rocha, Odeceixe, Azehenia de Mar and finally ……back to Almograve for 5pm.   133 miles later and we could have just done 6.  This was the year when we said we wouldn’t go on a ‘wild goose chase’ that if we found a nice spot, regardless of the distance, we would stay.  Ha Ha.  Old habits die hard.  Hopefully this is just a blip and we will return to sanity once more. 

Sunday March 27
7 miles

Spent most of the day in Almograve, then headed back to Milfontes to fill with water, empty waste etc. etc.  Back to Furnas for the night.  Amazingly there were 9 other vans here tonight. Mostly French which all left in convoy the next morning.

Monday March 28

Praia de Furnas – La Marinha (Algarve) – 83 miles

Arrived just in time for lunch, 25C, sunny and glorious.  6 vans here already, 5 French, 1 Swedish. No facilities other than rubbish bins.  Man selling oranges calls every other day.  1 ½ kilos for 1€. Delicious, why don’t ours at home taste this good?  Absolutely stunning cliff top walks, pristine beaches, typical Algarve.  Walked into Benagil about a 20mins cliff top walk. 3 ½ miles by road.   Nice fish restaurants here. French vans left and just when we think we were going to be on our own, another French van arrives.  Weather still sunny and hot and after 4 nights here, reluctantly, we are forced into moving on in search of fresh water. Must remember the Motorhomers Mantra…..Arrive Full and Empty!

 Some photos from the stunning cliff top walks near La Marinah

Benagil

Barragem Arade

Friday April 1

La Marinha – Barragem Arade – 59 miles

A slightly windier day today and off we go in search off cash points, GPL, food, water and wine before arriving at Bgem Arade for lunch.  Temperature in van 30C.  Melt down.  Nice spot overlooking Bgem, 6 vans here.  Other parking available below Bgem but the higher one has the better views.  2 nights here.  

Alternative Parking area

Higher Parking area

Big Dog at Povoa saying Hello

At this point I must mention the Dog Aires.  No not dog hairs, although we have just about had enough of them as well.  Maisie the Golden Retriever we thought we had looks more like a whippet. She has gone into a full moult down.  We are eating, sleeping, and breathing them in. Uggh!  Now back to Dog Aires.  We have seen so many unattached dogs, to call them wild is wrong, because they are the friendliest strays I have met.  It started at Povoa where a young St Bernard visited on a regular basis.  Content to just say ‘hello’, wander around, play with other dogs before disappearing into the night.  Then there was Pego, a little Jack Russell type thingy.  Used to sleep under the van, or in the bushes opposite, would just ‘hang with the boys’ happy with his lot, oh! and with a little of Maisie’s dog food. Then there was Arrais Brancas, a beach car park about 2-3 miles off the beaten track with its resident dog.  Someone had gone to the trouble of putting a large 5ltr bottle of water on its side with a hole in the top for drinking and an oil drum, complete with old tee-shirt, as a kennel for him. Now this place is in the middle of nowhere so someone was taking a great deal of trouble to look after him. Honestly, why if they cared that much couldn’t they have taken him home I thought?  As soon as we pulled up he came out wagging his tail and fussing around, out comes Maisie’s food again which he wasn’t really interested in, I can only assume he was being well fed as well.  Unfortunately, perhaps the answer to my question was soon to be revealed. You can go off some dogs, particularly when they think the best game in the world is to nip your ankles. Obviously a dog left without company has to make his own entertainment when he can. Sympathy soon turned to irritability and it wasn’t long before I was telling him "he’d never find a home if he didn’t behave himself".  He just looked up at me, wagged his tail and blinked and I am sure I saw him smile.

But my favourite of all was the dog at Arade, a big, gentle, ginger mut, getting on in years.  Again someone had constructed a make shift kennel (which I never saw him use).  He would visit each new van as they arrived and check them out before settling down near his choice for the evening.  The funniest thing was to watch him go for his 'walkies'.  Every time someone left the parking he would accompany them, whether it was to walk their own dog, or go down to the lakeside or to the rubbish bin, he would go too.  And he would stay with them until they returned when; off he would go again with the next ‘walker’.  We had the pleasure of his company for 2 walks with Maisie, he never left our side, if we stopped, he stopped. It was an escorted tour of the best kind. One new arrival, a Belgium couple in a Hymer who having avoided his friendly advances, set off on their walk, really looking the business, as if they were going on some polar expedition, walking boots, ski poles, rucksacks, camouflage outfits and ……….a big ginger dog. I never did see the surprised look on their faces when they realised they had another intrepid explorer with them.  If I could have brought one dog home with me, it would have been him, what a lovely gentle character!

Church at Silves

Sunday April 3 (Mother's Day)

Silves parking

Barragem Arade – Silves (7 miles)

Another one of those shall we stay or shall we go days.  I suppose what really pushed us into leaving was the arrival of two converted German Refuse Lorries with ‘World Tour’ painted on their sides at 9.00 in the morning.  One of which had a kennel underneath it with a nasty looking dog in it that continually barked at anything that passed.  Plus the weather had broken and it was cloudy and drizzly so it was a yes, time to go.  

Sunday procession

Silves was just a short hop away and we decided to stop there for the night.  Lots of vans here, I think we counted up to 50 at one time.  Parking is over three areas either side of the Leisure Park and along the river.  Drinking water was available from the children’s playground, a drain was pointed out to us where we could tip our toilet waste (ESGOTOS) , the supermarket Continente was 200 yards away and the swimming pool had free WIFI.  Brill.  Silves itself, dominated by a castle, is a very charming old town.  Definitely worth a visit.  We stayed 4 nights.

Thursday April 7

Silves – Alvor – 28 miles

Alvor

The last time we visited Alvor, about 5 years ago, it was a quaint fishing village.  We were shocked to see how much it had changed.  Oh! it has retained its great fish restaurants but it has acquired……. Karaoke Bars, Paddy’s Bars, all day, all night Football, the best of British entertainment…not!  We parked up in the ‘Palms’ car park by the beach. Only two vans here.  Unfortunately council workers were cutting the Oleander trees down and the next day arrived on site at 8.30am.Very noisy job it was too. It seemed a good idea to go off to do some shopping and return when they had finished at around 4pm. Fortunately we had a free weekend, no noise but 8 vans turned up.  Weather really hotting up now, 30C, the Palms were very welcomed shade.  This stretch of beach is about as good as it gets.  It’s beautifully clean, about 2 miles long, rocky coves at one end and a river inlet at the other.  A lot of refurbishment is going on to provide walk ways over the dunes and I assume it will be only a matter of time before Motorhomes won’t be welcomed amongst the palms.  We stayed for 7 nights!

Beach view East

Beach view from West

the Palms parking area

Thursday  April 14

Alvor – Castro Marim – Mertola – Mina Sao Domingos – 129 miles

Mertola

Today we thought we would try out the motorway system for this first time since entering the country.  News that Portugal is making its motorways ‘all pay’ is still on going.  There is evidence, particularly on the A22/IP1 running east to west on the Algarve of work and signs, complete with prices, being installed.  But the local papers say that they won’t be enforced until at least July this year.  However, local feelings are running high and demonstrations against the tolls are being held as ‘go slows’ over the Guadiana Bridge. Will the locals get their wish?  Who knows?

Mina Sao Domingos

Relaxing by the lake at Mina

Temperature hit 34C.  No shade at Castro Marim, plus they had Mosquitos!  So far, I’ve not had a single bite and I do not want to break that record so it’s onwards and upwards.  Shame really, we’ve stopped here before, February 2010 when the Aire and adjacent car park were completely full.  Interestingly enough only 5 vans here so far at this time of year. Guess the great push home has come for most. The services are all free. There are some really inexpensive restaurants nearby, a small supermarket opposite, plus free WIFI from the Library. All in all, a great stopover, just inside the eastern border from Spain. We stopped for lunch then headed up to Mertola and finally Mina Sao Domingos.  Arrived about 4 ish.  Spots were already full, had to wait until cars went home so we could pull in.  Temperature now showing 40C in the van. Mega mega melt down!  Easter holidays are approaching and there is talk of the local police asking us to park two to a bay or move on!  Fortunately it didn’t happen and we managed to get a lakeside spot for the next 5 nights. WC, water and waste disposal available. Weather was still high 20s low 30s until Monday when it became very overcast.  With free WIFI available at the school it was time to book our return ferry for Star Wars day - May the 4th. “Was that a groan I heard”.    Sorry folks, Blogging too much can seriously affect your sense of humour.  Tuesday’s weather was definitely changeable, Thunderstorms and torrential rain started at 6 am. Rained on and off all day. No one moved.  By Wednesday morning things were no better and we decided it was time to leave.  We had stayed for 6 nights.

Terrugem Aire

Wednesday April 20

Mina Sao Domingos – Barragem Lucefecit – Terrugem – 119 miles

Miserable morning, showers again called in at Bgem Lucefecit for a couple of hours rest but as it looked like they were erecting some sort of stage for a concert we decided to move on to Terrugem for the night.  Parking by the Bullring, 3 other vans here, and still raining at 5 pm.

Thursday April 21

Terrugem – Siguenza – 363 miles.

A very long day, started off at 9.30am and shared the driving. Intermittent spells of heavy rain.  Thinks: there must be a holiday or something.  Very few Lorries on the road, but lots of cars coming from the direction of Madrid.  Could this be the Easter getaway? Driving round Madrid couldn’t have been any easier.  Again, no heavy transport, all the supermarkets were closed, definitely a public holiday.  We arrived at Siguenza at 5.45pm prepared for a cold night. No change here, rained 10 pm to 3.30 am. Temperature dropped to 7C.   Those hot days a distant memory now.

Friday April 22

Siguenza – Somport Tunnel - Oloron St Marie – 280 miles

Oloron Ste Marie

Aire Oloron Ste Marie

A 9.30am departure gave us good start to the day.  We filled up with Diesel at the Eroski, Jaca, before the Somport Tunnel, cheapest diesel yet at 1.275€ per litre and headed for France.  The Aire at Oloron has a tight entrance with dedicated parking for 7 vans. Services are by token. Another popular aire with the French, many had to turn away. Temperature wise I don’t suppose 19C at 16.45 was all that bad.  At least the rain had stopped and we managed a walk into town.  

Saturday April 23

Oloron St Marie – Buzet sur Boise – 116 miles.

Hurrah, no rain overnight. Arrived at the Aire after a leisurely drive and stop off for lunch.  A really nice, relaxing place. At the Halte Nautique. WC and Shower available.  Wi-Fi also from Reception.  Parked up between the river and the canal.  Great for watching boats go up and down the Locks.  Sunshine back so stayed 3 nights.

Thunderstorms during the night. Torrential rain continued until after midnight.  Decided to move van off grassy area and park on tarmac, just in case. 

Buzet sur Boise Twixt Lock & River

Dog Walking  the Dutch way

Tuesday April 26

Monpazier

Buzet sur Boise – Le Bugue 74 miles

Found a brand new Intermarche just before Villeneuve sur Lot with a DIY Laundrette, €4 for 30 mins.  Washing machine and dryer available.  Wash and Shop.  What a good idea. Called in at Monpazier ‘Beau Village’ for a look see. The Aire here was only a short walk from the town but was under going maintenance at the time. Temperature 28C at 1.30pm

Next stop Le Bugue.  A lovely town situated on the banks of the Vezere, nice town Aire, free services, parking on gravel or grass.  Lots of vans here but there was lots of space. Laundrette opposite side of road, plus Aldi, Intermarche, Lidl, Price Leader all a short walk away. Stayed the night.

Le Bugue Aire

Le Bugue

Wednesday April 27

Le Bugue – St Leon sur Vezere – 17 miles

Camping Municipal, St Leon sur Vezere

What can I say.  Another Beau Village with a couple of nice restaurants. An absolutely lovely spot, by the Vezere, is a municipal campsite which allowed us to stay for free until 1^st May.  There is also an Aire de Service opposite side of the road. Weather too good to be true, so lovely we stayed for 3 nights, managed to watch the Royal Wedding courtesy of  John and Christine, holidaying in their van next to us. Nice to see that French TV had 2 channels dedicated to the event and that their newspapers were full of it the next day.

Uzerche

Saturday April 30

St Leon sur Vezere – Uzerche – 56 miles (includes road closure detour of 10 miles Wanda didn't know about)

Another glorious hot sunny day. arrived at Uzerche at 1.30pm.  Parking in what was probably the Old Station yard, overlooking the river. Toilets and services are free. Including 20 electric points. Didn’t manage to get one! But who cares.  We’ve manage so far without it.  There are some nice walks from the Parking along a disused railway line. In particular a 5km (1 ½ hrs) circular walk.

Sunday May 1^st

Uzerche – Marcilly en Villette – Marboue – 150 miles

The Toll Free A 20 - Vierzon made the journey effortless. Called in at the Aire at Marcilly, no vans here. After a couple of hours rest decided to move on to the Aire at Marboue. Oh! there they are.  11 vans here tonight and its raining again.

Monday May 2nd

Marboue -  Brezolles 59 miles

Maisie relaxing at Povoa

Vet Day.  Maisie is booked into the Vets at Brezolles for her Pet Passport rigmarole. OK now it’s rant time. Why do we need a Vet to administer Flea and Worming treatment?  Why can’t we do this ourselves, we do at home.  I understand rabies is something we don’t want in our country but I am a responsible pet owner, why does DEFRA think I am not capable of administering the treatment myself. Do they think I would risk putting the health of my beloved pet in danger by NOT treating her.    She has been micro-chipped, vaccinated against Rabies and blood tested and the passport clearly shows when the last rabies injection was given.  This performance of having to visit a Vet ‘no more than 48hrs and no less then 24hrs’ before returning to the UK plus the extra expense incurred is ridiculous and open to abuse.  I regularly hear of pet owners paying up to 100€ for this service and where does the money go, why, straight into the back pocket of the Vet.  No invoice, no questions asked. Can you blame them?  All other EU countries are able to move around without this restriction. Unless, of course, they are visiting the UK........  Rant finished.

Mesnieres on Bray

Brezolles – Mesnieres en Bray  - 95 miles

As we now have 48hrs to kill…. We decided to overnight a little further up the country, we thought we would try this new town aire about 5 miles away from Neufchatel en Bray. You will find Aldi, Lidl, eLeclerc and Mac Donalds in Neufchatel, very handy for last minute shopping etc. We were the only van on the Aire, a large gravel car park, nice views of the surrounding countryside but a bit windy.  However, it was very quiet at night.  Perfect for a good nights sleep. We left in the morning before having had chance to explore the town, which will go on the ‘to do’ list for next time.

Tuesday May 3rd

Mesnieres en Bray – Arques – 98 miles

Arques – Port of Calais – 30 miles

Arques, Lake view

The parking for the Aire in Arques is behind the Municipal Campsite. We have used this aire a couple of times now because its convenient for the Ferry.  There is a lake you can walk around and (we have just discovered) another wild life area with smaller lakes.  Services are at the entrance to the Campsite.  Normally you would pay €2.50 but fortunately for us it was free tonight.  There was a School Sporting Event the following day. This meant we had to be off by 9.00 am, otherwise we would not be able to move.  We watched as hundreds of bike stands were placed in the parking area and realised it was going to be difficult to manoeuvre especially as more vans turned up for the night.  At 7.00 am the first of the event organisers turned up and started erecting Marquees.  That was the signal for us to go.  We were only 30 miles from Calais and were booked on the 12.05pm P & O ferry.  We didn’t really need to be away that early but couldn’t risk getting blocked in.  Nevertheless we set off and pulled over at Ardres to have breakfast.  Fortunately we were able to catch an earlier ferry by arriving at the Port - 2 hours early.  It turned out to be the new P&O ship Spirit of Britain. The ship was huge. It has a dedicated Tourist Deck which means Motorhomes and Caravans are separated from Lorries. (Always a daunting prospect when returning to your vehicle to find a great big artic. lorry pulled up too close for comfort).  The channel crossing was very smooth, how much that was down to the new ship or the calm sea I don’t know and we arrived in Dover at 11.50am local time.  Are we glad to be home……..NO not when we see the 40 mph traffic jam that is AKA as the M25.

STATS

We have spent 59 nights away from home

We have driven 4176 miles (includes a 240 mile detour to see our son in Caerphilly)

Spent £832.92 on Diesel (of which there is still ½ a tank left to play with)

Spent £18.49 on camping charges (£15.90 for 1 night at Cherry Hinton ).......The rest of the time was FREE..  

Spent £3.71 on Toll charges (we use national roads or free autoroutes and only pay tolls to avoid large cities)

NEW FRIENDS

Jenny & Julian              Sussex                             }       Povoa

Steph & Dave              ex pats living near Albi      }

Jen & Alan                   ex pats living in Vienne              Praia Furnas, Vila Nova de Milfontes

Hank & Hanke,            Netherlands                              Bgem Arade

Guy                              Devon                                      Alvor

Sheila & Paul                North Wales                            Silves, Castro Marim, Domingos, & Brezolles                                                                      

Rory & Jake                 Sheffield                                   St Leon sur Vezere

John & Christine           ex pats living in Brittany             St Leon sur vezere

And not forgetting a lovely Dutch couple who we spent many a night with putting the world to rights and who when they left Alvor, left us a beer.  Danke

We hope to bump into you again sometime.

Sunset Praia Dorada, Fontainhas

Adeus & Au revoir