West Yorkshire : 29-31 May 2015

As we had a free weekend we decided to get away in Frank for a few days, and we joined the Caravan Club so that we could  take advantage of their network  of Certificated Locations. The thought of small sites which take a maximum of five units appeals to us.

Friday 29 May

We found a lovely looking place close to Halifax called Plane Trees Farm, and weren't disappointed when we got there - beautiful location and views and delightfully friendly owners.

We chose this location as it was convenient for the ongoing Land Rover Defender hunt!! There were several dealers in used LR's in close proximity with vehicles that we wanted to look at and test drive.

Weather was a bit variable, and so on Friday afternoon we went for a longish walk to the first dealer. It was pretty windy, so I was supposed to lock down the roof light on the van - but clearly didn't. When we got back - from looking at a pretty ropey LR - found the top of the roof light halfway down the field and smashed beyond repair. that meant Me (Mark) spending half an hour on the van roof with a roll of duct tape trying to make it watertight and secure.

spent a very pleasant evening in Frank with supper and some games!

Saturday 30 May

We went for a short run before breakfast and then headed off on the bikes to explore Halifax. Discovered that West Yorkshire is pretty hilly!  Halifax was an interesting town to spend a few hours in, and the indoor market in paricular, was lovely, but I don't think we've ever seen anywhere with so many cafes and fast food places. Explored the restored Clough Mill building, including the 18m long Lego version in one of the galleries inside.

On the way back to Frank, we got the villages of Northowram and Southowram confused, and so got lost! This meant a cycle back via Brighouse, and a steep climb back to the campsite.

13-17/12/2014 Christmas Markets, Cologne

We decided to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary by visiting the Cologne Christmas Markets.

Saturday 13 December.

Arrived at Calais 19.15 hrs. This was later than planned due to the Dump Valve on Frank's fresh water tank being stuck open.We delayed the ferry by a day, and thought we had got the valve sorted until the pump was switched on at Dover, only to pump the contents of the tank straight through the floor. On top of that got a message from Simon, our builder, asking if he could  do work at the house straight away as another client had let him down! Figured it was only Jack at home who would be disturbed so told him to crack on. Too late to do anything else now about the water situation in Frank so we decided to remain calm and carry on - solution focussed and so visited the Carrefour at Cite Europe on arrival in France and purchased several 5 litre bottles of water. Headed for the aire at Gravelines, this being our 3rd visit there. We find it really pleasant and convenient for the Calais ferry, and even though the middle of December and arriving in the dark, found it fairly busy, which was nice! So I (Jo) am sat, feet up in slippers, nice and cosy in Frank with a glass of 'vin rouge' writing our blog.

Sunday 14 December.

The day started with a frosty run along the river at Gravelines on a beautiful sunny morning after a good nights sleep. Frank was lovely and warm, our first test of it in winter!

The view from Frank - Koln Stelleplatze

It was a 5 hour drive to Cologne (Koln to the Germans) and it was a very pleasant drive through France, Belgium and Holland into Germany. Being a Sunday most places were closed, and we wanted to try and find the Stelleplatze in daylight. Traffic into Koln was very busy. We found the site fairly easily, but think we may have contravened the emissions zone in doing so!! The site was right on the bank of the River Rhine and Koln looks to be a busy and vibrant city. We had an early supper followed by a walk along the river bank to the city centre.

Looking towards the city centre

It was a 20 minute walk passing lots of the river cruise ships moored up. Lots of lovely shops and we discovered several of the 7 Christmas markets. They look very pretty but some of the goods and the different stalls look a bit 'samey'. The atmosphere is lovely though! Mark determined to have currywurst and chips at one of the stalls for tea one night. Wandered back to Frank to warm up and sample more wine!!!



Monday 15 December.

Started the day with a run along the bank of the Rhine. We ran away from the city centre and found it to be very industrial, and a bit of rain in the air! Got back to Frank in time to avoid the downpour and after breakfast went off in search of food shops (10 minutes away on two feet and we will find everything we need said the site manager!). And we did :- German rye bread, bratwurst, lovely unsalted butter, German beer and wine, herring and beetroot salad - all made for a good lunch.

Walked back into Koln again to explore the shops and markets. We bought some lovely decorations and then enjoyed amazing potatoe rostis and gluwein in the Angel Markt. Tomorrow we will try to find some more of the markets. We have been pleasantly surprised by the markets - not as much 'tat' as we had been told with some lovely wooden and glass decoration stalls.

Tired, we walked back to Frank which was warm and cosy. Mark sampled the German red wine that we bought this morning - glad we only bought the one bottle!






Tuesday 16 December - Silver Wedding Anniversary.

Started the day with a run along the Rhine, towards the city centre this time. We ran past a river cruiser which was called 'Amelia'. Back to the van for a wash (no shower don't forget!) and breakfast and coffee. We walked back towards the city intending to get a photo of 'Amelia' but she had gone. We had a wander through the old part of town and found another market with an ice rink. This was the nicest market we had found so far with a lovely feel to it, even during daylight, There were bric-a-brac and antique stalls, which weren't cheap but were lovely and quite different to what we had seen up until then.

Lunch back at Frank, so we went back to the supermarket for supplies and cake!! We decided to eat at the markets this evening - no posh anniversary meal for us, although that it what we had planned to do - but the markets were so atmospheric and the food looked so good we thought we would celebrate 25 years in a similar way to the way we had spent our honeymoon is Salzburg and Vienna. So Mark had his currywurst and chips, and I had some form of ciabatta with melted cheese, ham and creme fraiche. We had a really nice wander around the big market in front of the 'Dom' cathedral assisted by a couple of mugs of gluwein to get us back to Frank!!

The largest market in front of the Dom

25 Years

Wednesday 17 December.

Early start today to drive back to Calais. Drove through Germany, Holland, Belgium and France in the rain, and stocked up with some bits and pieces at Carrfour in Calais. We had a very civilised lunch whilst waiting for the ferry. The crossing was really easy and back in England before we knew it! Heading home to find what Amelia, Jack and Simon the builder have been up to in our absence. Should have a new kitchen floor, downstairs loo, and absolute chaos we expect.

Loved this trip, and it confirmed to us that using Frank through the winter will not be a problem as it was lovely and warm. The heating is really good and fast to heat up. A couple of jobs to do on the van before the next trip, but nothing too difficult to sort out. Can't wait!!

26-27/07/2014 : Last day - Calais (via a breakdown truck)

Saturday

An interesting day and a day of 2 halves. 

We started out early heading for an Aire close to the Belgian border about 2 hours from Calais, giving us an easy drive for a 4pm ferry. However at about 11.30 am a sudden horrible vibration indicated Frank was poorly. We stopped to find the right nearside tyre completely gone. Luckily we had just come of the auto route and were travelling quite slowly. Looking at the jack I was not at all comfortable that it was up to the job so we called the break down service. They were brilliant and a really nice French man turned up sorted everything - and we were on the road less than 90 minutes after stopping.

Waiting for the recovery truck

While we were digging out the break down paper work I noticed that the ferry was 9am so  Plan B! Instead of a short drive we now had a long drive. We headed for the Aire at Gravelines which we used last year.

So a long day on the road, but it was a beautiful evening overlooking the canal and boats and sunset.

We chatted to a few couples who had just landed in France. The young couple next door in the hire van knocked and asked for help. If only they knew how new we were to this!!

Gravelines Aire

Miles today 232 Aire 6 Euro.

Sunday

Ferry and then the drag up the motorway and home!!! It was a great holiday.

23-25/07/2014 : Champagne

Thursday

Weather glorious. Heading for Champagne today and identified an Aire by the river at Mareuil-sur-Ay close to Eperyney. It was a very pretty location but full with no prospect of anyone moving. We then did a round robin of possible locations around Eperney. We settled on a very quiet Aire/French Passion stop at a village called Chevigny. The owners were champagne producers and the site was beautifully kept with all facilities in really quiet village surrounded by vineyards and farm yards. It had been a longer than expected day so we had a little explore and then settled down for a peaceful evening at the van. That was until the Dutch guy next door got his Satellite dish out and put the TV on loud. Really pissed us off!!

 Miles today 152 Aire 5 Euro.

Friday

Woke to another glorious morning and so we decided we would spend the day exploring locally. Jo went for a run and me for a cycle .The other two vans departed and so we had the place to ourselves for a leisurely breakfast.

We set off on our bikes to the nearest town,Vertus, and into the heart of the vineyards. They were really quite interesting and beautiful and the regimented order appealed to me. We had picked up some croissants in Vertus and sat amongst the vines eating them for lunch and then we watched some of the weird and wonderful machinery working amongst the vines.

After another lazy afternoon at the van we went for a long walk amongst the wheat and sunflowers. When we got back we settled up with the owner and brought 3 bottles of their Champagne - 1 bottle each for 2 graduating students and 1 for our 25^th Wedding Anniversary.

A few other vans had arrived, including another 22 year old iconic Hymer occupied by a family from Manchester. We chatted with them till dark. It may have irritated the other vans especially the Belgians with our loud and late conversations - but it was fun.

Miles today nil and the Aire free as we bought champagne.

22/07/2014 : Lac Des Settons - Burgundy - Gurgy

Tuesday

So the weather is not great again. Started OK, Jo ran and I cycled but by the time we got back to the van it is raining again.  Some research of the Aires Bible and we decide that rather than heading further and further away from Calais we will try to identify places further North and East where we can do non weather reliant activities.

We head for Lac Des Settons in the Burgundy region. It is only a couple of hours drive through beautiful countryside and I managed to get the photos of cows Jo wanted. The Aire is a great spot right next to the lake. The weather still rubbish however so we don our waterproofs and head for an afternoon on our bikes. The bonus was we came across a lovely restaurant/hotel/tea room where the chef makes his own chocolate on the premises. We had the best hot chocolate ever. Mug of hot milk and a big lump of chocolate to dissolve into it -  yummy!!

We cycled for about 4.5 hours so collapsed for the evening in the van.

Lac Des Settons - Misty

Lac Des Settons - 12 hours later

Miles today 88  Aire free.

Wednesday

Still plotting our route North now and working our way towards the Champagne region over the next few days.

A nice spot for dinner.......

Tonight’s stop is at Gurgy a few miles north of Auxerre.

We arrived there about 1330 after a very pleasant drive through Burgundy countryside. It is a lovely spot and we parked about 15 meters from a peaceful and pretty river with lovely views. Glorious sunshine all day today. In fact we woke up this morning to a very different view over the Lac Des Settons than we had last night. Went out for a bike ride along the canal and river tow path for an hour or so and had a lazy afternoon when we got back.

.........by the river at Gurgy

Got chatting to two couples from Blighty who were doing the same as us and slowly making their way to Calais and later in the afternoon we made the mistake of going to the regional produce shop and got captured by the enthusiastic owner who wanted us to sample everything, including snails. He told us we were in the Chablis wine region and area for snails. Both Jo and I can take one of those and leave the other!

Miles 63.  Aire no charge.

20-21/07/2014 : Switzerland (did we miss something??) - Annecy Full !!

Sunday

Got onto the internet at supermarket. Research places to stay in Switzerland around Lake Geneva. Found several hopefuls so set of with a plan.

At the Italian/Swiss border I entered into negotiation with the Italian border guards about whether I needed a ‘Vignette’ or heavy vehicle permit for Switzerland, as advised by my motor home mates on the motor home web site. In the end the guard took me into his office and got me to type the questions into google translate. They still did not know the answer so went to find someone who spoke French. We managed to understand each other and eventually they said ‘just go it’s not a problem’. We drove on still convinced we needed a permit.

The Simplon Pass - Steep!!

The drive through the Simplon Pass was amazing. As we drove up I kept thinking of the scene from the film the’ Italian Job’ and Matt Munroe singing ‘On days like this’ and as we dropped down the other side Jo was thinking of the ‘Sound of Music’ and Alpen adverts. The weather developed into horrendous torrential rain. All the planned stopovers failed to materialise and as we circumnavigated Lake Geneva it all became a bit soul-less. Surprised to see grape vines all along the Northern Shore of the lake, but once out of the mountains Switzerland seemed to lose all its character.

In the end with nowhere to stay we kept on driving in the pouring rain and ended up back in France at Annecy (twinned with Cheltenham). It was clearly meant to be! Annecy looks beautiful even in the rain, even if the guide book says it’s a tourist trap. I am sure we missed loads in Switzerland, but we agreed we would not rush back.

Frank acquitted himself well, got a little hot at one point,but managed. Italy, Switzerland and France all in one day!

An 'Italian Job' moment (in Switzerland!)

Switzerland in the rain

Could not get onto the Aire at Annecy, so found a pleasant one just outside to park up for the night and see if the rain stops tomorrow.

Miles 246 (ouch!)

Aire 5 euros

Monday

Woke up to torrential rain. What shall we do now? Found WI-FI at ‘Ronnies’ and checked out the weather forecast. This part of Eastern France is in for thunder storms and constant rain until next weekend. The weather gets clearer the further west you go, so west it is. We stop the night at an Aire called St. Paircain-sur-Sioute which was a very strange place. We went for a wander and it seems to be caught in the 1970s. Had a very odd feel. The Aire seemed to be used by French motor homes who appear to be set up for weeks. We will see what weather is doing in the morning.

Miles today 187

Aire Free

18-19/07/2014 : Back to Orta

 Friday

 Boiling hot again today, so we decided to go back to Orta for the lake swimming. We were back there by about 11 am and straight onto the free Sosta we were at a few days ago. We thought we had better explore the Sacre Monte, which was just above the Sosta. It was amazing with about 28 separate chapels containing frescoes and sculptures, mostly from 1600’s. To be honest we found them a bit creepy, but the views of the lake from up there were wonderful and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Orta Town Square

Swimming in the lake was next and it was great!! We went for a walk in the late afternoon and found no less than 3 wedding parties competing for prominence in the square, which made for some interesting people watching.

Miles today, Gavirate – Orta 38 miles.

Sosta free.

View across the lake from Orta Town Square

Saturday

Went out for a cycle this morning and stopped for coffee at the train station – it was really atmospheric place and made me think it could have featured in a scene from the Godfather or some similar film. Very pleasant watching the locals go about their lives.

Swim – lunch- lazy walk into town where we bought a set of ‘ Vespa’ espresso cups and saucers.

Another swim this time in the rain. A thunderstorm is brewing.

After dinner we walked down to the gelataria for ice cream- last night in Italy so what else would we do?

Miles today nil.  

Sosta free.