Month: Aug 2015

6. 4 for the price of 1 Normandy to Laurens via the Brenne and the Auvergne!

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4 days that is! Wifi and phone signal have been very intermittent.

Tuesday

We headed south with the objective of avoiding motorway tolls! We had worked out that the whole trip could potentially cost us £135 in tolls. Now that is at least 4 nice meals out. No contest!

Skirting Rouen and Chartres, we crossed the Loire Valley and headed for the Brenne. A little known area of 2000 lakes, and a nature lovers paradise. What is amazing is that the lakes are all man made…. not modern gravel pits, but dug in the middle ages for carp rearing. Some of the carp were served as delicacy to the Royal court. We got out of the car and BOOM.. the warm air hit us. We so often find that after you cross the Loire the temperature goes up! We did some walks and bird spotting before finding a nice free aire in the village of Thenay for the night. Chris had to point out that we were in the dead centre of town…next to the cemetery.

The aires vary immensely. This one was super. Very peaceful , and equipped with a special area for obtaining water, emptying tanks, and for 2 euros…plugging in to electricity.20150826_081446

Wednesday

An early start for a drive south east to the Puy de Dome area. Definitely a shorts day! (Clothes not drinks!). Stunning scenery all the way.

7 things you didn’t know about… the Puy de Dome area.

The Puys are a range of volcanoes which erupted as recently as 11,000 years ago.

Most of them are just the lava plugs…. the volcano sides have been eroded.

The largest is the Puy de Dome which is over 4000 feet high.

On top of the Puy de Dome are the remains of a 2nd century temple dedicated to Mercury built of black lava rock.20150826_161703

There is a new electric rack railway to the top which is innovative and eco friendly. It generates power on it’s way down which it then uses to help power it backup.

The Puy de Pariou is a proper volcano, with a crater…and we climbed it!20150826_134325

The specks in the bottom are people!

The nearest city is Clermont-Ferrand which has a black cathedral mad from black lava. It can be seen from miles around.

We climbed Puy de Pariou. The views were stunning. Then got the train up the Puy de Dome. Even better! Then drove into the Auvergne hills to a tiny village to have dinner at the Auberge de l’ane.  It was a local, very rustic restaurant which had a great reputation for serving 2 traditional Auvergne dishes…Truffade   and Fondue Saint- Nectaire. Both were wonderful. Our 4 course meal with a glass of wine was £16 each! Heaven!20150826_201059

Then onto a former campsite next to Lake Aydat for the night.

Thursday.

Stunning scenery again all day. We did a 6 mile circular walk up a lovely wooded gorge…the shade was very welcome as it got up to 32 degrees today! Then drove south along the amazing toll free autoroute the A75. This must be one of the most scenic motorway drives anywhere, culminating in the Tarn gorges and the Millau  viaduct.

We are now ensconced in a campsite –  Camping a la cascade –  in Rome de la tarn,  on a terrace clinging to the side of the tarn gorge. Possibly the most dramatic campsite we have ever stayed on! Super loos and showers all for £14 per night!20150828_100804

Friday

Drove south again and did a stunning walk just off the A75. Great walk to break up a long drive. Up a river valley culminating in a 2nd century Roman bridge. Not a soul around. Idyllic scenery and a sleepy bridge that has stood there for 1800 years!20150828_13102120150828_125124

Finally on to Laurens in Languedoc Roussillon to stay with Ron , my friend from California who has a house here. Super meal at a local vineyard -Abbaye Sylva Plana. I love being able to sit out on the terrace listening to cicadas at 11pm. …. night night!

5. Zut alors! Christchurch to Normandy!

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  • Our new ferry departure was at 8.30am Monday and it was pouring with rain as we checked in at Poole. 20150824_074724We felt rather pleased to be leaving, I must say! It was a great crossing. We slept for most of it, docked early and were the 4th vehicle off the ship. In fact we were in the very conveniently located ‘Esso Port’ filling station in Cherbourg before the official ferry docking time! Even better,  we had managed our fill ups carefully in England, so we had an empty tank! It was almost a delight to fill up at €1.10 per litre… 80p in sterling, saving a Massive £25 on a tankful of diesel!
  • Then we set off south, through a band of torrential rain and thunderstorms, towards the sun.
  • Or that was the plan! It was all going much too well!
  • We were rolling along south of Caen when we got a message to say Margaret, my Godmother,  was back in hospital!  She has been so well lately, which is why we felt we could risk a longer trip, so this was a big shock.
  • We halted our drive south, but the information we could get was very mixed so we took the decision to drive east towards Calais, so if we did decide to return to England,  that would be the cheapest and quickest way to do it.
  • To cut a long story short, we had a roller coaster of messages, but at 3.15 am ( yes you did read that correctly), I finally managed to speak to a Dr,  who said they felt she could probably return home today as she had responded well and was not in any danger.
  • By this time we had stopped in a delightful village called Clères,  at a super free Aire. These are areas for self contained motorhome that many places in France provide either free of charge or for a few euros. Clères is free, level, quiet and sheltered. A gold star from us!
  • En route we stopped for a leg stretch at Pont Audemer… rather grandly called The Venice of Normandy’. It does have canals and some lovely timbered buildings, and is twinned with Ringwood, our neighbouring town at home.20150824_183727
  • Anyway, I think we will resume our route South as Margaret has excellent carers and the news is good. Of course I will confirm it with Chris in the morning when he wakes up. He has slept through 3 quite long conversations with the hospital and is oblivious to the developments!

4. The very long night…

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This is not the title of the next Jilly Cooper novel! Sadly, it only relates to our stint at Trailtrekker for Oxfam.

We were on Checkpoint 3 – this is 42 miles into the course. It was in a tiny village in beautiful (but remote) e, in the Yorkshire Dales. Most people were expected through here between 10pm and 5.30 am so our shift was 11.30pm – 6.am!

We drove up there Saturday morning to find a good spot for Boris. Unfortunately good = the least squelchy part of the field we could find! Even on mats we could see poor Boris sinking slightly! 20150822_102132

Still ….we had a free day so we did a super walk up over a large hill and down into the next dale where we hoped to revisit an old haunt – The White Lion…only to find it closed for refurbishment 😦   4 miles later we found the wonderful George at Hubberholme     http://www.thegeorge-inn.co.uk/  , which more than made up for it with a great pint of Black Sheep Ale for Chris, and super Fish, Chips and Mushy Peas for £6.95! We then managed a doze in the early evening but then , as we played Rummikub the heavens opened. For 90 minutes a massive storm raged all around, and all we could think of were the 700 walkers out there somewhere.

When our shift started we were told that the walk had been put on hold, with everyone being held at the checkpoints and waterstops because the roads were flooded and the high paths were too dangerous. Then we heard that the river had burst it’s banks so some of the footpaths were underwater. Amazingly – most people at the checkpoint were just getting restless because they wanted to get going again.

Eventually they were given the all clear, but at the stop before us, where the river had flooded the paths, people had to be rescued and brought to us by minibus.

Still, the vast majority wanted to carry on, despite sodden clothing, blisters, aching joints etc. Despite what this sounds like, the safety was excellent, and they were all given the opportunity of medical checks etc. It is a tribute to the organisation of the event that everyone was safe, fed and watered and able to continue if they wanted to. At times, the huge tent felt like a war zone! 20150823_045055We all mucked in doing anything that was required – a lot of work with endlessly emptying bins,  and teas and coffees (yes you did read that right!), as well as being a mentor, confidante, first aider and general person to lean on! Every team has a support crew that drive and meet them at the checkpoints. The well organised ones have huge boxes of dry clothes, spare footwear, plasters etc. The less prepared ones look on enviously and say…we’ll do it better next time!

We were awed by their drive and determination, and the total event should raise £750,000!  That is staggering…. and most of them will be today!

So – 6.30am…. back at Boris… and, like every other vehicle on the field we had to be towed out of the mud! Then down to a car park in Skipton where we managed 2 hours sleep before driving home! Now we are back at Sopers Lane a day early……. so – what do you do in those circumstances…. you change your ferry booking and go on Monday instead of Tuesday!

So – bedlinen is changed, Boris all cleaned and prepared. Yorkshire clothing and maps removed and French and Spanish supplies installed!  Yippee!  A demain!

3. Beautiful Yorkshire – volunteering for Oxfam!

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2015-08-21 23.17.32

Boris is installed on a school playing field in Skipton with a stunning view over the Yorkshire Dales.

We are here as volunteers for Oxfam who organise a huge walking event each year called Trailtrekker. Teams of 4 walk 100km in a maximum of 30 hours. Right up your street maybe Nicola Simpson and Jen ! Lots of Tough mudders here!

There are over 700 walkers and with entrance fees and sponsorship it can raise over £500,000 for Oxfam, which is incredible. It us a great way to help!

We walked into Skipton…very pretty with many narrow boats on the Leeds and Liverpool canal. We found a tug boat selling icecream, and discovered that the mills here were built in the early 1800’s by the Dewhurst family. Their main product here was Sylco cottons.20150821_17274120150821_173457

The mills have been nicely converted into apartments.

Tonight we were checking in the teams, who start walking early tomorrow. 2015-08-21 23.16.22Our main shift is on checkpoint 3 at the 65 km mark, in Buckden, right at the head of Wharfdale.  Sadly the shift is from 23.30pm tomorrow until 6am Sunday so the views won’t be too great.

The weather forecast isn’t great but we hope to get a walk in ourselves tomorrow….and maybe some sleep before the night shift!

Night night.

2. Ready for the Off….

On By anneandchrisbIn Money saving ideas, Things to do!2 Comments

20150820_14240020150820_152336 20150820_151911 20150820_154153 20150820_154309Wednesday was spent  dashing to Boris with armfuls of bedding and clothes trying to avoid the torrential rain which fell all day.  There was the potential for a comedy sketch at one point, where I was holding a large basket of clothes. I didn’t want to put it on the ground, so I wedged it between me and the van to free up a hand to open the door. As I re-gripped the basket, the van door swung closed! This happened several times…with the basket slipping further and further down the van at the same time! We could have sold the clip to You’ve been Framed!

This trip will be our longest single trip in Boris, and so a few extra provisions are required.  I am gluten intolerant so taking gluten free food with us is important, as we never know how easy it will be to obtain.

We are also trying to cater for potentially quite a wide range of temperatures, so a wide variety of bedding options are required! We finally decided on 2 x 4.5 tog double duvets, and a top sheet as this gives us a range of top covers from just a sheet to 9 togs, without us needing to try to fit a thick duvet in a locker. This time I also remembered to pack a spare spare bed linen  –  very important as last time we were away for several weeks, I washed the bedlinen at a campsite part way through the trip,  only to find that the tumble drier was broken, and I couldn’t get the bedding dry!

Izzie has gone to stay with Alan and Sue, and by all accounts is making herself at home already; the children are living at home and will look after the hpuse, so now we are ready for the Off!  Our plan is to go to France and Northern Spain, and it will include visiting some friends en route.

My ritual before we leave is walking around the house , opening all the cupboards and drawers and looking to see if there is anything in them that I think I should have packed! There is still usually something that gets forgotten! I wonder what it will be this time!

Many of you know that we live in the beautiful county of Dorset, on the coast of the South of England. So…. as we drive away from home, and off on our travels,  which way do you think we are heading?

‘South’ we hear some of you cry! Ah…. but some may do some lateral thinking and say ‘East’ – thinking logically that we might be heading to Portsmouth to catch the ferry; or ‘West’  because we might go to Poole for the same reason.

Well how wrong you would all be!  Naturally we are heading due North.  Yes – we have got the road atlas the right way up!  Due to a small reshuffle of arrangements we have a pre-arranged commitment this weekend…. in Yorkshire! So we have to go up there first before returning south to catch the ferry from Poole next week!

So, today’s adventures start with a first leg to Warwick where we will be staying on one of our favourite campsites! Grey skies and drizzle accompanied us for the first 30 miles but it was dry when we reached Blenheim Palace near Oxford. The wonderful golden stone set the scene for the sumptuous interior, and an excellent exhibition about Winston Churchill who was born, and is buried here.

The gardens are quite formal but beautifully laid out and the setting by the lake, and the parkland offer delightful walks.

Blenheim is part of the Historic Houses Association. Membership is £75 for a couple for 1 year (Discounted to £48 for English Heritage members.) Given that admission to Blenheim is £23pp , HHA membership is excellent value. It also gives you the chance to visit smaller and less well known stately homes, as well as places like Beaulieu and Highclere castle (home of Downton Abbey!)

Finally we drove on to Warwick for a night on one of the best campsites in England…Our friends Paul and Pam’s drive!

A super evening and a great first day of the holiday!

1. Bimbling with Boris…. Introductions!

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To bimble   v. …intr. To move at a leisurely pace; to amble, wander.…

Boris  …. a 2007 Renault Master long wheel base, extra high top van, converted from new into a camper van, affectionately known as ‘Boris the Bus’.

Borisatmargarets

Boris’ owners are Anne and Chris who purchased him  in January 2013 with a view to finally moving up from tent camping to having something a little more solid around them!

Chris is 62 years old, a maths teacher and sailor! Repeatedly thwarted from sailing by adverse tides,weather and work, I think he views Boris as a sort of Land Yacht!

Anne,(that’s me!), is 55 years old, a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist and an inveterate nomad. Ever since childhood I have needed to know what is around the next corner. Pitching a tent for more than a few nights in one place is a struggle for me, so having a tent on wheels seemed the perfect solution to me in my quest to explore new places and revisit old haunts.

Between us we have 4 children, the youngest of whom is 24, so we are not abandoning minors to indulge our hobby!  When I was having my first child at 23, it was the generation of empowered women who all wanted to wait until they were at least in their mid thirties before tying themselves down with children. All I can say is that I am SO glad I am not the one dealing with stroppy teenagers at this age!

Our biggest tie is Izzie, our 16 year old rescue cat. Luckily she has a lovely holiday home that she goes to when we are away. In fact, she seems to prefer it there as our friends have a super log burning stove. As soon as we appear to pick her up after a trip she rushes away to hide under a bed or table!

Obviously we should have started this blog in 2013 when we embarked upon our adventures… but we didn’t. Better late than never.

We are not yet in a position to rent out our house and disappear for a year or two, but I am self-employed and so can free up a reasonable amount of time, so our travels are a mix of short and long trips.

Our objective with the blog is to provide an occasional narrative of those trips, which is hopefully entertaining, but also contains useful and practical information to others doing similar things.

We will welcome comments and constructive criticism, if in fact I ever work out how to post this blog in a way that anyone else can see it!

Happy Travels  Anne and Chris x