Sunday 8 January 2017

Alcover to Peniscola - 102 miles

Woken by Jamie at 08.10 announcing he wanted to go outside; unfortunately we weren't quick enough so we got a big wet patch on the carpet to clean up....... Knew we should have left the carpets at home!

But never mind it was a glorious morning with no frost, in fact it was almost warm and the sun was beating down out of a clear blue sky so we took advantage of the earlier start and, after breakfast and clearing up, we took Jamie for a walk into the town.

Alcover is a typical walled town with lots of narrow alleyways and tall buildings, but really had not much going for it so we returned to Bertie, emptied the waste tank and set off. We had almost reached our objective, the coast at Tarragona, so continued there before turning south west along the coast, just bumbling along now enjoying the warm sunshine with nothing really in mind except moving south.

Around lunchtime we turned off the main road to the small village of Alcanor, looking for somewhere to stop for an hour. It's not a big place and we ended up driving down what appeared to be a pedestrianised street – but we literally had nowhere else to go and anyway several cars followed us........ Managed to get out onto the seafront promenade and parked on the roadside next to the beach.

LOOK - Sunshine and palm trees!

We've been on the road for seven days now and are both ready for a few days break so we checked out the maps for somewhere suitable with full facilities as there's some washing to be done. About half an hour away is the town of Peniscola where we identified a number of campsites and aires. We made towards one candidate but discovered it was some way out of the town and the beach so tried another which was much better placed although somewhat more expensive. They had plenty of room so we found a nice pitch with full all-day sunshine and settled in. 

Mission accomplished!

Later we took Jamie for a walk along the seafront, noticing a sign saying no dogs on the beach – but it didn't appear to be stopping others though! Returned to Camping Eden (for that's what it's called) and having a mooch around met and chatted with some more Brits who had been here since October. Seems December was very wet and stormy but it's been fine since Christmas Day; long may it continue. But it was now getting cold as the sun set so return indoors for tea and another quiet evening, spoiled when Jamie had another “accident” despite us watching him – we just were not quick enough. Be glad when we can take him off the tablets!

We've paid for 4 nights which should be long enough to get ourselves sorted and relax for a while (€105 including the dog and a small “seniors” discount if you're interested. There's a swimming pool, sauna and cafe/bar open until 1800; the site restaurant is currently closed as are many around the area at this time of year). This is an ACSI site, that is, part of the ACSI discount scheme. Unfortunately our 2017 membership card and books had not arrived when we left and the receptionist would not take our 2016 card. We know it's possible to buy the ACSI card at some campsites so we'll have to look out for one - we would have saved €5 a night!

Saturday 7 January 2017

Oloron to Alcover - 212 miles

'Twas even colder last night and the waste drain tap froze. We also had to leave the heating on meaning the batteries took a bit of stick and also we used quite a bit of gas. However again it was a glorious morning and we got everything finished quite early for a change. But refilling the gas is becoming a priority and we have an app for the smartphone which shows where the nearest is – about 1km on the other side of town. TomTom found it of course and we had no problem this time.

Route today is through the Somport Tunnel into Spain and it was a lovely run up into the Pyrenees mountains on quite a small road, given it's importance, with a lot of narrow sections – fortunately it was very quiet. We had to stop halfway when the washer bottle ran dry and we needed to clean the windows to take photos of the super scenery. The tunnel itself was a non-event, just 8.5km of, well, tunnel. Popping out the other side into more fine scenery we joined a good road which became autovia (non-toll motorway)as we headed for Jacca then Huesca and Lleida. We could have chosen a lesser road but there wasn't much point, it still passed through the same scenery. But despite the brilliant sunshine it was still very cold as evidenced by the frosted over trees and bushes where the sun had yet to reach.

Around lunchtime we left the autovia looking for somewhere to stop and ended up in a tiny village square, not really suitable, and then had fun trying to extricate ourselves, not helped by a couple of lady Spanish car drivers who didn't seem to have a care about anybody else so that we had the occasional “breathe in” and squeeze past. Back to the main road and we found a fuel station with a picnic area adjacent so took the opportunity to refuel then break for lunch.

We had been plagued by one of the tyre pressure sensors occasionally telling us a tyre was deflating or inflating so Terry changed the battery – strange that this was the same one we had problems with in the summer, all the rest being fine. Hopefully we've fixed it.

Monasterio de El Pueyo

Back onto the road, joining the autovia again for a short while until we turned off for Tarragona, which was our aiming point on the Costa Dourada. As it was beginning to look like we'd run out of day Bren sorted a couple of aires out and we chose a car-park type spot in the walled town of Alcover. Although we did see a couple of other vans we ended up on our own, although the car park itself, the main one for the town, was quite busy throughout the evening.

We're almost on the Mediterranean coast now and it is noticeably warmer although we still need coats, even in the late sunshine, to walk the mutt – who is still demanding wee-wees every hour. The forecast for here is warmer days but still cold nights so we'll continue south.

Friday 6 January 2017

St Savin to Oloron St Marie - 175 miles

The road next to the parking got a bit busy so no lie-in today which once again started bright and sunny although very cold and frosty. No matter we were warm enough. Another regular start and as the water was still on did a proper service before heading out about 10.35. A short detour initially when we managed to set off along the right road but in the wrong direction. Soon sorted however although we did find some quite narrow roads in the town........

Despite not being in a rush, much of our driving today has been on major roads as well as a bit of toll autoroute (A63)after Bordeaux; this latter only became a toll road about 18 months ago and our maps are not very up-to-date so it got planned in. It is avoidable but by the time we realised it was too late so we just stuck with it. Only €5.30 and we did quite a few miles on it but we'll remember for the future. We took advantage of a sign saying the Avia fuel station on a service area had GPL (LPG in UK), but they would not let us refill our tanks “it is illegal in France”. No it's not but we are aware that some places won't let you refill for cooking etc, due to accidents in the past trying to fill gas bottles directly rather than through a proper filler. We'll find some later.

Eventually turned off a very busy motorway towards Dax – we're going to try a different route through the Pyrenees by using the Somport Tunnel (provided it is open but checking yesterday it seems to be okay). Stopped off for lunch at a LeClerc hypermarket with the inevitable bit more shopping. Then somehow we got off our planned route, although we seemed to be heading in the right direction, probably while we were discussing a suitable stopover for tonight. TomTom was called into action but we were'nt really much out of our way, just a slightly shorter route.

Made our way into the town of Oloron St Marie, which is the jumping off point for the Somport Tunnel, looking for the aire. The book said the entrance could be a bit tight for larger vans; they can say that again, although using the full width of the road to turn made it okay. There were a couple of vans already parked up so we chose a corner, discovering that the electric was on with no apparent charge! Later we realised we were piggy-backing on someone else's electricity – they must have taken umbrage 'cos I found our plug half out. Oops, sorry, I'll just pack it all away and use gas......

Still having wee-wee problems with Jamie; whilst travelling he seems to be okay although we stop every couple of hours. However since we've been parked up he's asked to go out every half an hour and is also drinking a lot of water – it must be those tablets but we are going to reduce them now as the rash seems to have mostly cleared up, just as the vet said it would. Wished she'd mentioned the side effects though!

Thursday 5 January 2017

Veigne to St Savin - 177 miles

The gas ran out just before we got up! It was also a particularly frosty morning with a brilliant blue clear sky so quickly get dressed to take Jamie out and change the bottles over. Again no rush so a leisurely breakfast, pack up and empty the waste tanks – we're okay for water for now.

So back onto the road. We're now taking the N10, a Route Nationale that is almost a motorway and generally avoids many of the smaller villages and towns. Trucks are also permitted, despite there being a proper autoroute not far away, but they have to observe a slower speed limit. Strictly speaking so should we, but we look as if we're under 3.5t and anyway we don't go above 90 kph, so quite a lot of overtaking today. Past Chatellerault and Poitiers then Angouleme before heading for Bordeaux which was kind of our target for today.

Just south of Poitiers Jamie announced he needed the toilet and as there was a service area coming up we took it as an opportunity for our lunch break, then refuelled as the price was on a par with the supermarkets we normally use. Whilst there another Brit pulled in, in a van about half our size, and proceeded to unload and walk three of the biggest dogs you've ever seen! Where do they all sleep?

An hour's break then back onto the road in more bright sunshine, now needing the sunglasses and noticing we were getting into wine country with the vines already being prepared. Approaching 4.00 p.m. we realised that we would hit Bordeaux at rush hour and there were not many aires after, so made a short stop to consult the maps and discovered a small group of aires just a little way off the N10. Programming the nearest into TomTom, we found a nice little spot in a Tourist Office carpark and just across the road from a supermarket. We also found the service point was open so decided to overnight here at St Savin. A little bit of jiggling about as the spaces really weren't long enough for us, but we managed and ended up on our own. After a quick cuppa we walked across to the supermarket to get something nice for tea – and as usual spent 5 times as much as we had intended on “essentials”! Then another quiet evening, reviewing our route for tomorrow and updating the log and blog.

It seems that the tablets are Jamie's problem because he's started having “accidents” again – we'll just have to watch him for now and try and catch him before it happens. Fortunately he used the washable mat by the door, but there's a doggy pad down now.

Wednesday 4 January 2017

Pont de L'Arche to Veigne - 170 miles

A more reasonable start to a dull, grey and cold morning but at least the fog had gone. As always we don't rush things so after clearing up we had a chat with a couple from Bishop Auckland who were also heading south. Then a mini-service, the water being turned off as is usual at this time of year, and onto the road.

For some reason the route that had been pre-prepared went completely wrong when it was transferred to Nellie (the netbook) so last night Terry redid it all to use our usual way. Another route had been suggested to us but we seemed to have lost it. Ah well, computers! So off we set via Evreux, Dreux, Chartres (we must call in to see the cathedral some time) then Tours. As usual good fast roads, staying off the toll roads and slowing for towns and villages. France was back at work today so plenty of traffic about but no holdups and we set a nice comfortable speed on the cruise control. We did get flashed by a speed camera, doing 92kph in a 120kph zone – it probably thought we were a truck, but we'll see.

Our route took us past another of our overnight stops at Chateaudun and as it was lunchtime we thought a call in to the aire was in order for our break. Luckily, although the service point was turned off there was an accessible tap in the toilets so we managed to refill the water tank – should be okay for a couple of days.

We've done this route a few times now so although Bren was following it on Nellie the navigation was simply by following the road signs. Late afternoon TomTom decided to go on strike but, apart from noting our speeds in kph (the speedometer is useless at this), it wasn't a problem. Nellie (and memory) got us round Tours, quite a large city, okay but it was now starting to get dark so Bren sorted out three aires just south and TomTom decided to rejoin the party.

The first at Montbazon was a corner of unused ground behind some houses, okay but not very level so we thought we'd have a look at the next. Shown as only 3 spaces and outside a campsite this was a much nicer spot, close to the River Indres at Veigne. With a small park adjacent to run Jamie around, we had the place to ourselves and once the traffic let up it was nice and peaceful. This one was free as well but the service point was turned off.

Once again Jamie has been as good as gold, mainly curled up asleep in his cage and being quite happy being let out at our stops before jumping straight back in when we're ready to move off. Just before we came away we took him to the vet because he'd developed what looked like a rash under his back legs. She didn't think it was serious but gave us some steroid tablets to help clear it up. Then whilst we were at Mums he was not very well, very quiet and peeing on the carpet a couple of times which he never does at home. We stopped the tablets but we actually thought he had been drinking out of the bird bath which was a bit stagnant until we cleaned it out. He was better within 24 hours so we've put him back on his tablets and he seems fine now. As I write he is cuddled up asleep next to Bren.

We're starting to feel more relaxed now and looking forward to some warmer weather.

Tuesday 3 January 2017

Wissant to Pont de l'Arche - 144 miles

A very late start, but the lie-in was much appreciated and we woke to a bright clear and sunny day, although it was still quite cold. Having left the heating on low overnight we hadn't noticed the chill!

However, we're not in any rush so things got done at a steady pace before we finally departed by 12.30 to go find some fuel at the Auchan hypermarket just outside Boulogne. That done it was back on the road, joining our old friend the D901 to Abbeville, thus avoiding the toll autoroute, then back onto the A16 to Rouen. Although we normally avoid motorways, it's worth taking this one as it saves a lot of time and mileage and there's not much to see anyway.

A short comfort stop and lunchbreak at an aire de service before heading on to Rouen. Up to now the weather had been clear and bright but approaching Rouen it became misty then thickened into light fog, which slowed us down a little. Our planned route was to skirt the city centre to the east and now all the roadworks are completed we easily found our way. Just as well as the route suggested by Autoroute on the netbook we use for navigation would have had us miles away up some back road. Must sort that out later.

The weather didn't really get any better and with darkness coming on we needed somewhere to stop. We had briefly visited the aire at Pont de l'Arche last year and as it was just about in the right place we made our way there, finding only one other van parked up. We were later joined by four more vans, all Brits, taking advantage of the free parking offered over the winter months; it's €5 per night 1 April to 31 October, services extra by credit card.

Still foggy and very cold, we put up the screens, turned the heating up and settled down.

Monday 2 January 2017

Just after Christmas we collected Bertie from storage and loaded up – it never ceases to amaze me how we manage to pack more and more every time we go away. Then just before New Year we locked up the house and set off for a few days with Terry's mum in Lincolnshire.

We were booked onto the 1620 Chunnel so after a few bye-byes we left Navenby for the long drag down to Folkestone where we managed to get an earlier train. Once across we started out to refuel but managed to get lost in Calais while heading for Auchan so, as we had plenty for now instead we programmed in the free aire de camping car at Wissant, just about 15 mins south of Calais.

As it was now dark we were more than happy to find the roads were very quiet and arrived at Wissant to find plenty of room and got a nice pitch, although really it is only a parking area with a few basic facilities. Enough for us so we settled down for a very cold, but clear and dry, night.

At last, we're on our way!