Celtic Camp and tree felling

Saturday 31 August 2024 

Nido's parked up at a free aire in the village of Faucogney-et-la-Mer in the Haute-Saône department.  It's within the Plateau des Milles Étangs (Land of a 1000 Lakes) formed when the last ice age receded, leaving many small lakes, swamps and peatland.  

 It's been a hot day so we haven't done too much especially after our exertions yesterday. I'm sat outside the van watching the bats fly around and hoping the van cools down a little more before bedtime! I can here the accordion music from the village fête, which looked good fun when we took our evening walk. I was up early yesterday morning to walk Salty then up the road to buy a baguette from the bread van. A quick van service and we hit the road and drove to the next village for a bit of food shopping, before driving to our overnight spot - a free park up at Col de Crénée. I found this on Park4Night after checking out a place to walk to. I've not had a great deal of success with P4N; many of the stops seem to be road lay-bys or just not a nice place to stop. But occasionally it throughs up a good one - this was one of them. It's a stony car park surrounded by trees at an altitude of 550m. The last 4km are up a single track road with only a couple of passing places, so I wanted to get up here early to avoid any oncoming traffic. 

There were a few cars when we arrived, but we still had plenty of space to park up and have breakfast. Our first walk of the day was about 25 minutes to the Camp Celtique de la Bure. The Celtic camp belongs to a network of high-altitude sites: Pierre d'Appel (Etival-Clairefontaine), le Chazeté (Taintrux), Warrinchâtel (Saint Rémy) and la Corre (Housseras). Overlooking the Meurthe valley, the site consists of a barred spur, naturally fortified, whose defensive character was reinforced from the 2nd century BC by a series of fortified works (including a murus gallicus). Covering an area of ​​3 hectares, the site was the subject of multiple excavations, which discovered remains of craft activities (forge work, stone extraction, etc.), agricultural and religious activities (sculpted representations of several divinities linked to the cults of Diana, Jupiter and Mercury) as well as more than a thousand coins (Gallic and Roman) testifying to significant exchanges. We spent at least an hour walking around the site, reading the noticeboards and taking in the magnificent views. We had the place all to ourselves and it was easy to imagine the sights, sounds and smells of what would have been a thriving community. 

Back at the van we had a cup of tea with a lovely piece of black forest gateau I bought on the journey here. By now the car park was quite empty as the heat of the day kicked in. Our second walk of the day was following a circular route called Les Routes des Trois Fontaines (the route of the three springs). It took us downhill through the forest. The first spring was trickling and the second was dry! The walk was longer than expected and by the time we reached the third spring - the aptly named Fountaine de la Coeur (see photo) we were delighted to find a heart-shaped bowl filled with refreshingly cool clear spring water. Heads were dunked and necks were wetted! It only took about ten minutes to return to the van and after cool showers we had the place to ourselves. We were famished after our too long walks in very hot and humid weather, so supper was wolfed down in no time. I wonder if there are wolves here..... As the sun set and the darkness fell we sat outside and listened to the cicadas, watching the sky turn purple then black as millions of stars appeared above us in the gap in the forest canopy. 

Tea and gateau being prepared as Salty stands guard

We didn't sleep to well as it was so hot. I actually made up a bed on the floor and was cooler there. Salty preferred it too and laid across my legs, making me even hotter! I did drop off to sleep but about 0500 a large lorry with one of those huge machines that cuts down and strips large trees turned up and parked next to us. For the next couple of hours it moved up and down the forest tracks, stacking the huge tree trunks on the other side of the car park. I guess he makes an early start to get the job done before the hikers arrive, so it made sense. We were therefore up and out walking Salty by 0700, moving up the forested hillside for about 20 minutes until we reached a large rock and cliff face with views down into the valley. Breakfasted and packed up, we drove back down the single track road, luckily meeting nothing coming up. 

After a food re-provision and van service, we arrived at this aire. It's split across two areas next to the football pitch and we managed to get a spot on the end in the shade of a tree with grass next to us. The village sits in a valley by a river and all around are hills covered in pine trees. As it was so hot we had a lazy afternoon. I took Salty for a walk and found a clear stream that allowed him to plonk in and cool down. We walked down into the village later to take a nosy at the houses and gardens (our favourite pastime!) and took a quick wander around the fête. The locals were all sat at long trestle tables tucking in to food; it's probably open to all comers but our French isn't strong and we were much to shy to ask! So we returned to the van and sat outside with a few snacks as it was still too hot to eat a cooked meal. I suspect I'll be sleeping on the floor again tonight. I'm not in the doghouse (although it is where Salty normally lays down!) but it is cooler for both of us. Tomorrow I may seek out a municipal campsite so we can avoid travelling for a couple of days until the temperature cools a little.

Into the Moselle region and heading for the mountains of the Vosges

 Tuesday 27 August 2024

Nido's parked up at an aire next to the swimming lake in the beautiful mountain village of Walscheid, in the Moselle department.  It's proper dark outside and completely silent; the sunbathers and swimmers have left, as have the pétanque players. It's still very warm and we're sat here with the door open and a cup of tea and a shared Mille Feuille! It's a free aire although jetons for the services need to be bought in the village shops.

Yesterday morning I didn't wake until 0930, so it wasn't until about 1100 that I cycled out of the aire.  The route to the medieval village of Hattonchâtel was up a steep hill with several hairpins but, despite my lack of fitness (and age!) I got up there without too much difficulty. I stopped there to admire the view from the balcony next to the Marie, which overlooked the plain towards the lake and onwards to Butte de Montsec, a World War I monument located on an isolated hill. It commemorates the achievements of the American soldiers who fought in this region in 1917 and 1918 and dominates the landscape for miles around. It honours the US First Army, 12 - 16 September 1918, and the US Second Army, 9 - 11 November. It was a strategic viewpoint during the war as it overlooked all the trenches of the battlegrounds laid out before it.  I can just imagine the Generals stood there with a glass of champagne, looking down at the hundreds of thousands of soldiers walking into the machine gun fire and their imminent death.

Back to Hattonchâtel, it's located on a rocky promontory and was fortified in the ninth century by Hatton, Bishop of Verdun, who gave the village its name. The citadel was destroyed in 1634 by order of Richelieu. Miss Belle Skinner, an American benefactor, helped to restore the architectural heritage damaged during the First World War. The chateau, rebuilt in 1923, is now a luxury hotel.  Obviously not as luxurious as our campervan and certainly more expensive to stay in!

I followed the road out of the village, heading through forests and small hamlets, stopping occasionally to soak up the atmosphere, check my map and take a drink of water on a hot, still day. In all I covered 43km and returned to the van for a cold coke and some lunch.  

Later we went for a swim in the lake.  It was much quieter today, being a Monday, so we stayed a little longer before returning to the van for dinner.  Later, as the sun was starting to set over the lake, we walked Salty along the water's edge, watching the dragonflies and (all too few) birds flitting over the surface of the water to hoover up the insects.

The service point just outside the aire this morning had a long queue.  It's a Flot Bleu, which isn't my favourite as the toilet emptying point and fresh water tap are both squeezed into a small locker - blurgh!  On our journey I spotted an aire sign in a village so we pulled in and were able to empty the tanks and refill for just €2.  After a food and fuel replenishment in Pont à Musson, we carried on and pulled off in a small village to have lunch in the shade of some trees by a chalk stream.  

Perfect lunch spot

It was a hot afternoon, so we were glad to reach the aire next to the municipal campsite in the ancient pilgrimage village of Saint Quirin.  We took Salty for a walk in the shade of the forest and returned for a cup of tea.  I wandered down to check out the notices and saw that this is no longer a free aire, but to stay we would have to pay the same rate as the campsite.  As we'd just spend two nights in one place we decided to move on and drove the 15 minutes to this lovely village of Walscheid. 

As I drove in it had a lovely relaxed atmosphere so I knew we'd enjoy our stay. Dinner was eaten at one the picnic tables by the lake in the still of the warm evening as the sun set behind us - idyllic.  As darkness began to fall we took a walk around part of the village and the lake, picking out which of the lovely swiss-type chalet houses we'd have if we won the lottery!

Highland Coos?

I need to do a bit of research to see where we head next.  It would be nice to stay in one area and explore it a bit more, so I'll plan on that as I check out our guide books and apps.

Thunderstorm and our first swim

Sunday 25 August 2024

Nido's parked up on an aire in Nonsard-Lamarche by the north east shore of Lac de Madine.  This man made lake - 20km in circumference - forms a vast outdoor leisure park offering water sports and other activities.  It has the usual supervised swimming beach but plenty of places to get away from the busier areas.  The aire's on a large area of grass amongst mature Balsam Poplar trees and we were able to just pick our place.  It's €7 per night (no facilities) but if you need electric and toilets, there's an adjacent aire behind a barrier that charges €14 per night.  As we serviced the van before leaving we're full of fresh water, this is ideal for us.  We're staying for a couple of nights to enjoy swimming in the lake and have a day off travelling.

Leaving Raucourt-et-Flaba yesterday, we drove to the Le Clerc in Verdun to top up with food. Although a Saturday, the city roads were relatively quiet, so the drive in wasn't too stressful, plus of course Google Maps makes it much easier to find these places. Verdun is infamous for the terrible Battle of Verdun, which took place all around the town between February and December 1916.  The German offensive took the French by surprise and in the opening days over 2 million artillery shells were fired.  There followed several more offensives over the coming months involving several million soldiers and causing the death of 377,000 Frenchmen as well as over 14,000 American soldiers, plus of course the 330,000 German lives lost.  The whole area is surrounded by the battlefields, many of which can be visited (along with their museums and memorials) and the countryside is peppered with far too many military cemeteries.  The Ossaire de Douaumont holds the unidentified remains of over 130,000 French and German soldiers - enemies in life, united in death; a sobering thought in these uncertain times.

Our next park up was on an aire in the village of Dieue-Sur-Meuse, comprising ten parking spots on grass alongside the canal.  After a grey and damp day before, the temperature had risen markedly, with thunderstorms forecast for the evening.  So we were glad to find a spot we could reverse into, right next to the shade of a tree.  As it was so hot - 34'C at its peak - we spent the afternoon reading in the shade.  About 6pm we took Salty for a walk along the canal.  The water was very clear so we could see the bottom, weeds and shoals of small fish.  As we walked the skies darkened ahead of us and at the turn around point, we could see the lightning and hear the thunder as it approached.  We only just made it back to the van before the dark skies rolled above us, the winds increased to gale force and the heavy rain started to lash down.  It was very warm inside but we couldn't open the windows or skylights due to the storm.  It continued on and off until about midnight, although I did manage to take Salty out for a short walk in between the rain showers.  By then the temperature had cooled so we both enjoyed a pleasant mooch long the canal until the rain started again!

Overnight the temperature dropped by about 14'C and this morning's dog walk was pleasantly cool.  I went in search of the boulangerie for our lunchtime baguette, which I eventually found on the main road.  After breakfast we had a walk around the old village and returned to find we'd missed the lady from the adjacent Tourist Office who had come around to collect the €5 payment.  She'd left an envelope of tourist leaflets under the windscreen wiper, so I used this to place our money - with a note of thanks - and posted it through the Tourist Office letterbox.  In addition to the €5, there's a 0.55c per person Tourist Tax.  This goes towards covering the costs of the commune providing services to tourists and we're very happy to pay it.  There's been a lot of fuss about Wales introducing a similar tax, but living in a tourist area, we know the strain lots of visitors can place on the local community, so see no reason why they shouldn't contribute to the cost of providing services such as toilets, waste disposal etc.

The drive to Lac de Madine was only forty minutes, mostly along a minor road through a huge deciduous forest. We took our time, noting the trees and branches that came down in last night's storm had already been cut up and cleared away from the road that stretched for over 15km through the forest.

After picking our park up spot, we took a walk to check out the lake and the swimming areas. Salty had a cooling dip while we looked on enviously!  The water felt warm to the touch so we banked this for later and walked around some of the lake before returning via a different inland track.  Lunch, chilling out and reading followed before Cathy and I walked back to the lake for our own swim.  The water was indeed quite warm and we enjoyed swimming and floating about for about 20 minutes.  It was quite busy with families enjoying their day but this just added to the holiday atmosphere.  Dinner was eaten outside. I had planned to cook outside on the Cadac BBQ, but when putting it together discovered that the grub screw that holds in the control spindle had fallen out and was missing.  I've emailed Cadac to find out what size it is so I can buy a replacement.

The exhausting life of a washer woman

As the sun was setting we walked around the village, watching the swallows diving about in the sky and nearly jumping out of our skins as we passed the church and the bells rang out!  It's very quiet here now all the day visitors have left; the aire has also emptied out by at least half.  I'm planning a bike ride tomorrow to visit a medieval village (with a café stop if I'm lucky), then hopefully we'll get another swim in the afternoon.  At least it's cool tonight so we should sleep better than last night, when we had the fan blowing cooling air over us for most of the night. 

Rocroi and Méandres de la Meuse

Friday 23 August 2024

Nido's parked up on an aire on the outskirts of the village of Raucourt-et-Flaba.  At first sight, it doesn't seem a great spot - five concrete pitches next to the council depot and the déchetterie (recycling centre).  The aire's free as are the services - so merci à la commune! It's in very quiet countryside, the village is friendly and it's right next to the Voie Verte cycle path.  The Voie Vertes are found throughout France and are specifically reserved for bicycles, pedestrians and sometimes horses.  They're often built on the towpaths of canals and rivers, old disused railway lines or forest roads. They often join up with the Euro Velo routes, a network of cycle paths  stretching throughout Europe - real grown up planning.  For cyclists used to the chaos of and anger on the UK roads, it's a dream.  

Voie Verte just outside the aire

It really is better than it looks!

After a great sleep we left Catillon-sur-Sambre and drove to the fortified village of Rocroi. The aire's right next to the outside fortifications.  Again another free aire with payment services (I'd already serviced the van at a free aire on the way).  There was plenty of room, with grassy areas and a few picnic tables around the outside, so we were able to eat lunch in the sunshine.  The weather was perfect - warm and sunny with a breeze.  We took Salty for a good walk around the outside fortifications before returning to the van for a snooze and something to eat.  Leaving Salty in the van for some 'me time' we enjoyed an evening walk inside the fortified walls of the village.  It's not very touristy (which suits us) with a couple of bars and boulangeries and a few shops, but not much else.  The usual pizza van was parked up by the covered market area - if only I'd known before making dinner!

A bit about Rocroi:

On the border of France and Belgium, it dates back to 1198 when Lord Nicolas IV of Rumigny had a cross erected at the crossroads of two paths leading to Hainaut and Meuse.  A little later he added a chapel which he named after the patron saint that shares his name.  The place then called 'Raul's Cross' became Raulcroix.  The Lord built some huts for the foresters, then a strong house which grew into a fortified village.  It was only in 1546 that the village was chosen by King Francois as a stronghold because of its difficult access, surrounded by swamps.  So began its fortification according to its star-shaped plan inspired by the Italian military architecture.  The Citadelle was built by Henri II in 1555 to counter the threat of Charlemont fort in Givet, occupied by the Spaniards.  Rocroi (King's Rock) changed its name to Roc Libre (free rock) during the Revolution, before reverting to its original name.

We woke this morning to cloudy skies and a stiff breeze.  I walked into the village to buy some bread  and by the time we'd breakfasted and packed up, it was drizzling with light rain.  I had a few stops pinned along the Meuse Valley - the route is known as the 'Méandres de la Meuse' and flows along the bottom of the ridge known as the Hauts de Meuse.  Most of the towns we passed through had old, large factory buildings; the area was a stronghold of metal works, starting with nail making in the fifteenth century, through nuts and bolts and on to larger parts for power stations.  Most of the heavy industry stopped along with the barges that carried the goods away to market when road and rail became a cheaper transport alternative, although most of the factories seem to have been taken over by modern businesses, which must help with the local economy and keeping people in work close to their homes.

The first at La Route de Laifour was only about 10 minutes away, so we stopped anyway to take a look but decided it was too soon to stop for the day.  It was a basic parking area right next to the river and would have been ideal on a sunny day to sit and watch the boats pass by.  We followed the road as it meandered alongside the river to Monthermé; the aire was busy with quite small parking areas, so we moved on.  Next came Bogny-sur-Meuse which was a big aire right next to the river and Voie Verte.  Again, had the weather been better we'd probably have stayed. All were nice park ups with views of the river and the steep-sided, rocky valley sides.  

This brought us to Raucourt-et-Flaba, by which time the drizzle was gone.  We had lunch then followed a route I'd found on the Outdoor Active app, with a circular walk that took us through the village and up one side of the valley, on to  a chalk ridge lined with arable fields and wind turbines.  The route took us down through deciduous forest and into the village of Haraucourt, where we followed the Voie Verte back to the van.  Cathy (and Salty!) had a nap and I did a bit of research for the direction of travel for the next couple of days.  Tomorrow will include a food top-up, particularly as most supermarkets in France are closed on Sundays.  It was feeling warm and quite humid as we ate outside and tomorrow afternoon or evening threatens a thunder storm on what's forecast to be a hot and humid day.  But the temperature's comfortable at the moment, so we're enjoying the extended summer.

France 2024 Tour - First Day

Wednesday 21 August 2024

Nido's parked up on a quiet aire in the village of Catillon-sur-Sambre, in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region.  The aire's next to a small apple and plum orchard and a lovely canal walk. Reading the comments on Search for Site, this current aire replaced an older one in the village about four years ago.  It's supposed to be €5 per night and also has a servicing point, but it's all covered up so I guess the stay is free (the service point isn't working).  It's a very pleasant sunny 23'C with just a few clouds around and a gentle breeze.  We're both a bit tired after a day of travelling and an early start this morning, so the rest of the day's being spent chilling out.

We left home yesterday at about 0930 for the long trudge to the Canterbury Park and Ride.  With a couple of stops, the journey wasn't too bad until we hit delays on the M25 and M20, so in all it took about 8.5 hours.  The Canterbury P&R is £4 per day and the motorhome parking area was rammed, so we joined many others in the overflow area.  It's certainly a popular stop with a service point and free bus transfers into Canterbury city if you have the time and inclination.  A quick bite to eat, walk the dog and then an early night, with the alarm set for 0300.

It took about half an hour to drive to the Shuttle terminal and we were soon booked in and enjoying a pre-prepared breakfast with a cup of tea.  We left on time and were soon popping out of the other end in weak sunshine and onto the A16...drive on the right, drive on the right!  I normally switch the satnav to avoid motorways in France, but we used it to get us to our first stop in Arras, to shop in the Le Clerc supermarket and fill up with diesel.  There was a boulangerie next door so I popped in for the first of what will be many baguettes!  I also visited the Berger Loisirs caravan and motorhome accessories shop across the road; most of their stores are in Germany but there's four in France.  It's full of all sorts of gadgets and gizmos that we can't live without!  But seriously, they have lots of spares and items for motorhomes and camping, so definitely worth a visit if you need anything.  We're on the look out for a couple of replacement chairs so I grabbed a catalogue and we'll measure up to see which ones will fit under the bed, then hopefully return to Arras to see if they have them in stock at the end of this trip.

The drive towards Arras took us through some of the key First World War battle areas, including Vimy Ridge and we passed myriad Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries, each immaculately maintained.  After a quick van servicing stop at the free aire in Le Cateau Cambrésis, we arrived here in Catillon-sur-Sambre.  Lunch (with the first baguette of the trip!) was eaten sat outside at one of several picnic benches in the small fruit orchard just outside the van.  We walked along the canal path away from the village, enjoying the wildflowers and trees and so, so many butterflies, dragonflies and grasshoppers.

This evening's supper was our standard 'first day in France' meal - whole crevettes with salad and (of course!) a baguette.  I also bought some patisserie which we ate later with a cup of tea - much more of that to come during this Tour!

After a busy couple of days travelling and not much sleep last night, I hope we'll both sleep well and wake refreshed, ready to start this trip. The rough plan is to head east following the line of the Belgian border then just below Luxembourg head south through the Lorraine region along the German border, down into the Vosges and Jura mountains, before heading up through Burgundy on the route back up.  But with all plans, we'll no doubt change our route and mind as we find other places to explore.  That's the beauty of van life!

Caerlaverock Aire, Dumfries and Galloway

Tuesday 16 July 2024

We'd planned to stop at a pub in the Yorkshire Dales tonight to break the journey. However, on arrival (despite have recce'd it on Google Street View) it was clear the dog-leg entrance to the car park was far too narrow for Nido, so we had no option but to move on.  We pulled into a parking area and I had a look for another pub stop, but none took our fancy, so we decided to hit the road and drive the three hours to home.

We set off from Aberdour yesterday morning for a two hour drive to Caerlaverock, Dumfries & Galloway on what's described as a campsite, but is actually more like an aire, with an open parking area surrounded by trees, with servicing facilities.  It's run by the local community and they ask for a £10 donation, either an online payment or by cash (envelope provided) in the honesty box; I did the latter.  We've stayed here before as it's a good stop when either arriving in or departing from Scotland as it's only a short drive from the border.  It was a very warm and sunny day so we had lunch sat outside before taking a walk along the edge of the reed beds and salt marsh for about four miles.  I warmed up a pork and bean stew we'd brought from the freezer at home and cooked some roast potatoes in the omnia oven. By bed time there were eight vans here, including five Europeans and one of the huge overlander all-terrain lorry-type motorhomes.  One British family were in a 5m Vauxhall van with three very young children (a 3 year old and twins aged 19 moths) and two large dogs!  They had a large double roof tent but it must have still been very cosy.  Dad sat with the three children on the picnic bench by us, feeding them, as Mum sorted out the van. They must be exhausted!

Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve

This morning after breakfast we walked to Caerlaverock Castle, through the forest next to the aire. It's a proper looking castle, albeit in ruins, with towers and a water-filled moat. We just had a walk along the grassy mound rather than pay to enter the castle ruins; we had Salty and could see other dogs inside, so he would be much happier outside!  There were ominously dark clouds surrounding us and as we walked back through the forest it started to rain, turning torrential just as we reached the open are of the aire.  In the van we changed out of wet clothes and sat it out until the rain eased, before leaving to head south.

Those clouds look a bit ominous....

...and they're getting closer

That was a dry aire parking area!

We now have a few weeks to prepare the van ready for our trip to France next month.  We haven't decided how long we'll be away. We'll book a return crossing once we've we're ready but I suspect it'll be the very of September or first week of October.  The current rough plan is to head for Alsace/Lorraine, down into the Jura and then across into Burgundy before heading back up to Calais.  But much will depend on the weather.  So far - like most of Europe - it's not been a great summer.  So we'll look for some pleasant sunshine but not too hot...we don't like it too hot!  

Since we got home we've emptied the van to give it a good clean and give Paul from CMS a clear run to complete a Gas Safety Check on Friday.  I fixed the broken Remis blind with the replacement hinge waiting for us at home.  I've also checked the toilet flush; I think the Control Panel is kaput (it must be at least15 years old) so have ordered another.  

We enjoyed our trip to the Cairngorms, despite the changeable weather.  I think our next trip north of the border will be to the west and perhaps the Outer Hebrides.  That'll give me something to research on the dark winter nights to come.