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Harvey10 - Europe-bound

December 2023 - March 2024
A 91-day adventure by Pip & John Read more
  • 133footprints
  • 5countries
  • 91days
  • 939photos
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  • 4.6kmiles
  • 2.6kmiles
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  • Harvey10 - Europe-bound
    Day 91

    Back at base camp!

    March 10 in Wales ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    So we've arrived back home!
    The journey through Wiltshire, Somerset, and Bradford on Avon (where we bought Bramley) was lovely, very English. The rest was just M4 really. I got a Starbucks coffee at a services and it seemed huge! I also had to make a conscious effort not to ask for it in Spanish or French but to speak English.

    All's well here, apart from my car had quite a lot of mouldiness on the upholstery, dashboard, and steering wheel. Not nice, now cleaned off as best I can. Didn't help that I'd used it to transport lots of junk and garden debris to the tip just before we left, so it was probably damp from that and all the bags left in it.
    The other thing that's changed is that the building preparation work means the corrugated iron roofed barn has gone, and we have a different landscape at the back. I've found some pics of how it looked while John was building the shed. It will all change again soon once they build.

    We've lived in this house nearly a year now but driving to Narberth still felt a little like we were going to a familiar holiday let, and it did feel a bit odd coming through the door. Not properly like our home yet. It's still a bit of a blank canvas and still in a state of flux. We'll put more of our own stamp on it over time. In fact, we've only really lived in it for 9 months, as we've been away on a very enjoyable jolly for 3 months!    Read more

  • Harvey10 - Europe-bound
    2
    Day 90

    Dinton, Nr Salisbury

    March 9 in England ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    We got to Dieppe ferry in good time, joined the queue, got to passport check, and were slightly alarmed when she told us we hadn't paid. We'd forgotten that we had to pay a £20 supplement for changing the date, which we had done a few months ago. So she sent us over to the terminal, right back on ourselves, paid our dues and rejoined the back of the queue. So we were the last. No one behind us. Customs came into the van, checked the toilet, and joked about our shoes rack. They were generally having a laugh with each other.
    The crossing was lovely and calm, I'd taken travel sickness pills but didn't feel drowsy. Had breakfast, and later on also lunch on the boat. Enjoyed the lovely peace and quiet plus the sun, up on deck for a while.
    The main thing that struck us on hitting the UK again was the amount of litter, mainly plastic, on the side of the road. That was a little depressing. Mainly in Sussex, it improved further on.
    We booked this site last night as we thought we'd be tired after an early start, a four hour crossing, and an hour lost due to setting clocks back to BST. Turns out we made the right decision. The campsite is more of a car park with facilities but serves a purpose for one night.    Read more

  • Harvey10 - Europe-bound
    Day 89

    Leaving soon

    March 8 in France ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    A day of rest as I have tummy ache and John still has a cold. I went for a short stroll to the viaduct route. 12° but an icy wind again. The showers were tepid, there's no working drinking water tap, so not a brilliant site really. Plus electricity is €6 a day for 6amp. Probably similar prices in the UK. The pitch price was €53.10 for 3 nights. Not too bad as there's free WiFi and virtually the place to ourselves.
    Boring photos today but at least they show the place.    Read more

  • Harvey10 - Europe-bound
    2
    Day 88

    Walk into Criel sur Mer

    March 7 in France ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    A 6 mile round trip along the road; which didn't always have a pavement, into Criel sur Mer.
    John's a bit under the weather today, thought he was OK but more bunged up with a cold than before. He might need to stay put tomorrow.
    Quite sunny but with a chilly edge and a tad windy. Magnolia, primroses, daffs, willow and cornus all looking lovely in the sun. Stopped off at a bar 'Le Sulky' out of intrigue and a sunny spot to sit.
    Saw a sign about migration of reptiles, frogs in the main I think. And strolled on down the flint stone beach, which was quiet but more people around than we expected. Saw a lovely house with a curved roof that we'd have liked to have designed and lived in. Similar to the ideas for the house John was going to build in Scotland. Glad he didn't as he'd have been too tired to go on this trip. 😉
    Just two campervans here. They're not big on marketing at this site.    Read more

  • Harvey10 - Europe-bound
    Day 88

    No-one sulking at Le Sulky Bar

    March 7 in France ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    We had a good coffee and beer stop here. The chap running it was a nice, friendly chap. Made a change from our last experience in the town four years ago, when we were clearly most unwelcome from the grumpy attitude of the owners.Read more

  • Harvey10 - Europe-bound
    Day 87

    Les Acacias, Normandy

    March 6 in France ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    Wandered into the town again this morning, I do love that walk along the river / canal with the ducks desperately trying to swim upstream. Stopped by the patisserie for John's favourite ... flan. The woman remembered us from yesterday. She was so charming in a very French way, so welcoming, smiley and with an accent that just melted your heart.
    The town itself doesn't feel like the inhabitants are very affluent, surprising as it's not far from Paris.
    We stopped at Évruex for the Émauss then went to stock up on provisions at L'Eclerc. Spent far too much time in there again, so rushed up through Rouen and arrived here at 17.30. This site doesn't appear when you look on the usual apps. It's near Dieppe, so it's surprising. I had been e mailing the campsite for over a week with mixed results. Eventually, I got a reply asking us to telephone 30 mins before arrival. But I'd been given the wrong number. Found the correct number on Google and left messages. Arrived to an unmanned office and barriers down. But before long the mayor arrived and spoke only French. I told him we'd visited four years ago just before covid. He seemed chuffed. He hadn't listened to my message. Never mind, we're safely on site now.
    And I was rather chuffed because he said my French was good!! 👍    Read more

  • Harvey10 - Europe-bound
    Day 86

    Nonancourt

    March 5 in France ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    Last night, I suddenly realised that I'd got the days wrong for arriving at our next site, near Dieppe. This means we have an extra day, so we took a short drive northwards to an Aire by the town hall (Marie). We managed a brief walk around the town, which has some lovely and ancient buildings. Apparently, it was destroyed by the British in 14 hundred and something but rebuilt. Cotton was big here around the 1800s.
    The town centre is currently being reinvented big style. It looks a bit like the square in Kirkby Lonsdale when they re-jigged the whole place in order to film Jamaica Inn.
    The sun was out to start with, but we came back to the van when it got chilly and rainy. In no time it was sunny again so I went out for another walk. Only about under 4 miles today. I returned just before the rain did. We spent the rest of the time learning Spanish and reading while outside it poured down.
    We were the first to arrive, but there are about 5 vans here now.    Read more

  • Harvey10 - Europe-bound
    Day 85

    Camping du Perche

    March 4 in France ⋅ 🌧 5 °C

    It was -1° last night. Brrrr!

    As I said in my earlier post, we stopped at a few brocantes along the way to get to this campsite. What a peaceful site! The struggle to find any open continues, and this one wasn't on any of our usual websites such as Park4night and ACSI but I found it on pitchup, thankfully. Most sites don't open till 1 April. Easter is end of March, so you'd think they'd open for that.

    We had a bit of a scare last night / this morning as the battery wasn't charging and the power was weak/hardly there even, to raise the bed, which means we wouldn't be able drive if the bed is down. John got underneath it to give it a push up and thankfully there was just enough to raise it. Phew! After that, he had the engine idling, and it started charging again, even though it wasn't yesterday. All a bit strange. It's good to be on a site again with electricity.
    The Brocantes were very expensive. I rather fancy having one of these ladies in the garden!    Read more

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