Nido comes home!

Thursday 16 April 2015

Well, today was a good day - Nido came home!  It's been a long journey from delays, being ripped off, finding someone to fix it and starting the journey of two court cases, which remain ongoing. But after a few false starts he was ready for collection.  I was home early from work and we went down to the unit at 1600.  As we drove in we could see Nido outside - his awning was out and under was a table, two chairs, a bottle of Prosecco and two glasses! Roger and Gary met us and we knew it would be good as they were wearing beaming smiles.  With a small glass of bubbly in hand, we inspected the outside of the van, including the garage area and everything within it.  Inside the van they'd laid the table and, with EHU attached, Gary showed us how everything worked.  The whole refit had been done really well and it showed in the quality of the work.  We are really happy with it.  Inspection done, I went in to pay up and talk to Roger about booking in for the last few jobs, including (most importantly of all!) fitting the bike rack.  And with that we took El Nido home.

Back at the house, the next couple of hours were spent bringing box after box of stuff down to load into the van.  We didn't worry too much about where it went for now, as we knew it would take several reorganisations before we had everything where we wanted it.  It had been a long day and much stress had been relived and relieved.  Van loaded up, at least as best we could, we cracked open a bottle of champagne, cooked a quick pasta meal and headed off to bed.  We had a busy weekend ahead of us.

Friday 17 April 2015

We didn't sleep much last night - too excited I guess.  After breakfast we loaded up with clothes and food, checked everything was secured and headed off on our first proper trip in our very own campervan - off to meet Myrtle's Mates at the National Motorhome Show in Peterborough.

We arrived at about 1230 and, despite the efforts of the marshals who kept insisting we did circuits of the show ground, we turned into the MMMMU pitch and parked behind Nellie, Julie & Bob's campervan.  Most people were already over at the show, although Christine, Alan and Maddy the Labrador were there so it was good to catch up with them. Eventually most of the gang returned and it was lovely to see them all and show them around Nido.  After settling in and a brew we wandered off to take a look around the show. We had a shopping list of items and found most of these, plus some extras!  Back at the van we had another sort out (I said we'd do this a few times!), before fetched some fish and chips for our first proper meal in Nido.

That evening we took our chairs and some booze across to the Myrtle Marquee.  It was a cold and windy night but the banter and laughter was as good as always.  We also got to meet Ali & Mike Kingston, who have full-timed in their Citroen Relay for a few years and blogged about it on their very informative website.  Ali has also written a couple of books about full-timing which I already had on my kindle.  They had some interesting tales to tell.  Cathy headed off quite early to bed as she was shattered and I followed about an hour or so later, ready for our first night sleeping in the van.

Friday fish and chips

Lovely cake made by Julie

Edwina Currie visits the marquee

Saturday 18 April 2015

We slept well, although it was a chilly night.  We were awake early and enjoyed a brew with the heating keeping us very warm and toasty.  Breakfast was granola and we started to finally think that this was real - we had a campervan!  It was a sunny day, clear blue skies, but with a strong, cold wind.  Cathy christened the shower - lovely hot water! After breakfast we popped into the marquee for a catch up, before again heading out to look around the show.  We popped over to the Regal Furnishings stand as we're booked in for next week to have cab seats covered, plus cushions and curtains made.  Reading their pamphlet later, we realised we needed to pre-order the leather, so sould need to chat to them tomorrow.  

The rest of the day was taken up with prepping food for the MMMMU BBQ.  This time I was cooking jerk pork loin with rice & peas.  I'd prepared the jerk marinade at home and the pork was left to soak it up for the day.  I was cooking this on the Cadac Safari gas BBQ, running off the external LPG point - another first in our new van! With it still blowing a hooley, we moved the van to provide more shelter, which allowed us to sit in the warm sun for a while with a glass of red wine.  By now I'd set up the flagpole, with the smiley windsock plus a Royal Navy battle ensign!   Cathy now wants an LED light to strap to the top!  With the pork cooking and the rice & peas on the hob, we had a chat with the gang.  The MMMMU official photo was taken outside Nido this year - a great honour!  As usual there was plenty of lovely food, including some potent Reesies' garlic and paprika sausages!  Tonight was much colder and we were all feeling it so, most people headed off to their vans quite early.  In our case we had some hot chocolate before turning in.

Myrtle's Mug Shot!

Battle Ensign flying

Jerk Pork prep

Chilling in the sun

BBQ Bob!

Scran Time!

Sunday 19 April 2015

We kept the heating ticking over during the night, which kept us warm.  I had a shower this morning - hot water and a surprising amount of room in our small wet room.  It truly is just right for us.  Breakfast was bacon butties cooked on the Cadac outside and taken into the marquee to chat to everyone.  We stayed there for a while and I enjoyed some of the ground coffee brought by Julie & Bob.  Gary & Julie had to leave early so after their goodbyes we went over to sort out the leather with Regal and have a last look around the show, finding a few useful items.  We bought a couple of hot pasties and took them back to the van for lunch with a brew.  Then it was time to derig, secure for the journey home and say our goodbyes.  We'd again had a great time and were already planning to meet up at with the gang again at the Malvern show in August.  Waving as we left, we hit the road and decided to visit Mr T in Hemingford.  We parked outside his flat and I made a brew as we caught up with each other's news.  Then it was back on the road.  Back home, we unpacked and drove the van back to the storage site for the first time since last September. 

We had a great weekend.  Finally having the van was hugely exciting and meeting up with friends made it all the better.  The only thing that would have improved it would have been Steph, Ian and Marmite joining us - maybe next time.  And so ended our first weekend away in El Nido - the first of many to come over the future years.

Fancy a little walk in the Peak District......?

Saturday 11 April 2015

Another weekend without our campervan!  Those who know us will be aware of the saga.  I can't provide further details due to impending court cases, but suffice to say we should've had this van at least 12 months ago.

So we decided to take ourselves off to the Peak District for a bit of a stomp in the fresh air and to take our minds of the frustration of still not having our van.  Cathy had recently bought a booked called "Pathways - journeys along Britain's historic byways, from pilgrimage routes to smugglers' trails".  There was one particular packhorse route, starting in the village of Edale and climbing up through a valley to the top of the moors to visit Jacob's Ladder, which looked about the right distance......looks can be deceptive!

Sandwiches and flask made and rucksacks packed, we left home at about 0930 and had a steady drive to the car park on the edge of Edale village, arriving about an hour later.  Our route was taking us on a circular walk in an anti-clockwise direction.  It was a breezy and cool day but the sun was due to shine and we started off with coats packed away.  The walk took us through the village and out onto the footpath heading up and through a valley known as Grind's Brook.  This started off as a limestone path with the brook down to our left.  But it soon became a very steep clamber over large loose boulders.  Had we strayed from the path? Nope, there were plenty of people ahead of and above us climbing to the top.  This was certainly unexpected and Cathy was feeling the pace.  But we had a few water and breathing stops on the way and finally made it to the top.  It was cold and very windy up there, so we found some shelter and had our lunch (tuna mayo butties - our walking staple) with a cup of hot tea, plus a shared granola flapjack that we had bought in the small shop in Edale.

It starts easy

then....blimey do we need to go up there!

"I don't remember signing up to this" said Cathy!

Suitably refreshed and having taken in the great views, we followed the path west, heading towards Crowden Tower, the first of a series of large, very impressive gritstone outcrops, carved into all sorts of strange shapes by the erosion power of the wind and rain.  We enjoyed exploring these before heading off on the path again.  To the north we could see Kinder Scout, scene of the mass 1932 trespass to campaign for the right of public access to the moorland - thanks guys!

Great view from our lunch stop at the top

Top of the World!

It was very windy

We followed the path along the top of the ridge - man it was cold despite the sunshine.  The path swung to the top of Jacob's Ladder, a large, steep stone pathway that's part of the Pennine Way, where it joins the packhorse route running from Hayfield to Edale.  We stopped in the shelter of a large mound and stone outcrop and had another brew and shared the second flapjack bar, before descending Jacob's Ladder through another valley. This gave us very wobbly legs!  

Gritstone outcrops around Crowden Tower

Some very weird shapes

The descent of Jacob's Ladder made our legs very wobbly

Down at the bottom we were starting to flag and on approaching a farm at Upper Booth Cathy said she really fancied some tea and cake.  Within a few seconds we saw a gate and a sign for 'tea and homemade cakes'!  Cathy had hot chocolate and lemon drizzle cake and I had tea and date & walnut cake - highly recommended.  We decided not to follow the Pennine Way back to Edale but instead took the road - perhaps not a great idea as it was longer but we'll remember that next time.  Back at the car we flopped into the seats for the drive home for a hot shower, change of clothes, and some well-earned alcohol!  I cooked beef in black-bean sauce with stir-fried vegetables which went down very well.

We really enjoyed the walk.  It's fair to say we're not 'walking fit' so we do need to get out more and plan to do this when our campervan's eventually ready!

Our first Trusted House Sit

A few weeks ago we signed up to be sitters with Trusted Housesitters.  The concept's quite simple - in exchange for looking after an owner's home, pets and garden, we get to stay in their house for free.  It's something we plan to do a lot more of when we retire and are travelling in our campervan throughout Europe, particularly in France, Spain and Portugal. We created our Sitter Profile and started a search to find a local house sit, so we could try it out and start to build our reputation.  We found one just a few miles away from home, a family asking for someone to look after a house, pets and animals over the Easter weekend. I made initial contact via email and we spoke to them on the phone before visiting them one Saturday, several weeks before Easter - all was set. The owners had already emailed us the details of the animals to look after - 6 cats, 15 chickens, 2 geese, 6 rabbits, 6 guinea pigs and a few chicks - plus some eggs that might soon be chicks!

The original idea was for us to sleep in our campervan, mainly because their house is in the middle of a major refurbishment.  We could plug into their electricity, use their water and facilities and enjoy getting used to having our van in slow time.  Only one problem with that cunning plan - our van conversion was still not ready, despite several promises to the contrary (this is a long-standing saga which I may blog about in the future).  So instead we needed to sleep in the house; but at least there was a room which was available to use with us sleeping on a large, L-shaped leather sofa.

On the first day of the house-sit we arrived at about 0930, just as the owners were heading off.  The cats live in the house and the owners had already released the other animals into the electrified enclosure and fed them for the day.  We spent some time familiarising ourselves with the house, garden and animals, making sure we knew what we had to do and setting up a daily routine for feeding and looking after the animals.  The house was out in the countryside and very quiet with lots of birdlife - we loved the peace and solitude.

The house also had a number of out-buildings and lots of garden and land.  We're not the sort of people to sit around and, to be honest, we wanted a project to do to keep our minds off our delayed campervan conversion.  So we took a look around to see what we could do to help the family, who were basically living in a building site inside the house, with walls and ceilings down.  We thought if we could help out in some way this would make their task seem less daunting!  So we focused on the following areas:

• Clear the overgrown grass from a large, old cobbled patio at the rear of the house
• Move all the logs from several chopped bushes and trees into one large pile
• Clear two outbuildings of old wood and cardboard
• Prune an old apple tree to give it a new lease of life

On the first day we tackled some general weeding and moved the logs; it was a cool, drizzly day, so not ideal, but at least we were outside and we really enjoyed ourselves.  On the Saturday we cleared the cobbled patio and weeded it, clearing several barrow loads of turf and soil away and doubling the size of the area.  The owners now had a nice place to sit in the sunshine and enjoy an el-fresco meal or drink.  Cathy also pruned the old apple tree, cutting out all dead and diseased wood and removing all crossing branches to open it up. On the Sunday we tackled the outbuildings, removing loads of old wood and cardboard down to the bottom of their land and starting what turned out to be a large bonfire that burned all day.  This was the most satisfying!

This was also our first experience of looking after so many animals, apart from our own family pets in the past.  All needed feeding, watering and cleaning out.  This was made all the more interesting because the geese were territorial and spent a lot of time hissing at us; we'd been told to hiss back louder and wave our arms.  This seemed to do the trick and an uneasy truce was brokered!  The chickens scratched around in the enclosure, whilst the rabbits and guinea pigs stayed in locked in their runs, although the giant rabbit (and it was huge) was allowed out for an hour or so and enjoyed the chicken food!  The cats inside the house kept to themselves but let us know when it was feeding time, although it was a bit of a free-for-all! At night the geese had to be 'persuaded' to entire their coop so they could be locked in.  The chickens, however, put themselves to bed.  They also produced our breakfast every morning - can't beat fresh eggs every day!

We also had to look after some goose and chicken eggs in an incubator, turning the eggs three times a day.  Upstairs in the house were 2 brooders with a number of chicks that had recently hatched and they had to be fed, watered and cleaned out twice a day.  On the Saturday night one of the small bantam eggs hatched out and once the chick was dried off, we moved it to the brooder - an appropriate hatching over the Easter weekend!

The family were due back on the Easter Monday evening, so I dropped Cathy back home to sort out our own stuff, ready for work the next day, and I returned to keep an eye on things and feed the animals before locking up and coming home.  The owners were delighted with the outside work we did as they weren't expecting any of this to be done.  We really enjoyed being outside and doing something useful whilst looking after a house and animals.  

Our first house sit was a baptism of fire to say the least, but we know we'll be able to cope with most things with future house sits and hopefully will build a good reputation.  We'll certainly be looking for many more house sits in the future, particularly when we start long-term travelling in our campervan.

Resting after clearing the cobbled patio

Resting again after moving & burning a ton of wood and cardboard

Easter Chicks

Feeding Ernie - the giant rabbit!

Feeding time

Saturday night's Easter hatchling

Those grumpy geese!

yum - breakfast!!

Winter Beach Walk

Saturday 7 February 2015

Our campervan remains in deep refit, although we hope it'll be finished within a month and then we can start to travel and live the life we've dreamed about for years.  But in the meantime the occasional sunny winter's day breaks the monotony of the cold, grey skies. Saturday was forecast as cloudy with sunny intervals, so we decided to visit the Wirral Country Park, about a 35 minute drive from home.

We arrived at about 1120 and were pleasantly surprised to find free car parking and plenty of it.  Walking boots on, we stopped off at the visitor centre then followed the steps down to the beach.  This was our first visit to Thurstaston beach and it reminded us very much of Hillhead cliffs and beach, close to where we used to live in Gosport on the south coast, overlooking the Isle of Wight.  The beach is a mix of sand, mud and a variety of rocks and stones, including granite.  The sandy cliffs are suffering from erosion and some recent falls were evident.    The beach is on the western coast of the Wirral peninsular, overlooking the Dee Estuary and the North Wales coast.

The steps brought us down to the beach near Shore Cottage.  We'd seen this place on George Clarke's Amazing Spaces, when the owners had built a contemporary and very cool creative studio, next to the cottage and beach and overlooking the Dee Estuary.  We quite often collect driftwood, stones, shells and 'sea glass' (pieces of coloured glass smoothed by the action of the tides) and have turned them into mobiles to hang from our 'Tacky Shack' or pile around the garden and deck.  It's certainly a great spot for a studio and they run some really interesting courses. 

We walked north along the beach up to the sailing club slipway, then turned around and headed south.  The tide was an hour or so off reaching its highest point, although we could see from the tideline that we'd be safe staying on the beach.  There were loads of wading birds, searching for food in the mud and sand at the water's edge.  Occasionally something would spook them and they'd fly off en-masse, skimming the sea in a display of low-level maritime murmuration, before returning to the edge to feed again before the tide was at its fullest. There were quite a few people out walking the beach, mainly dog walkers. The early part of the walk was quite sunny, although with a chilly northerly breeze, but as time went on the clouds thickened, the sun occasionally beaming through over the estuary.  

As the tide reached its maximum, local fishermen took to the water in small wooden boats. It looked like they were setting crab pots, but it was difficult to see from a distance.  A number of bird watchers were also out at the southern end of the beach, around the areas of reeds or some form of seagrass at the water's edge. With the extensive mud flats this must be a haven for nature lovers.  

On our return, we took the steps up to the cliff top and headed back towards the visitor centre, before stopping off at GJs Cafe for a hot drink and a bit to eat - tasty food and very reasonably priced.  This was our first visit to Thurstaston beach but I'm sure it won't be our last.  It's an ideal spot to spend a warm, sunny day, facing west, with lovely walks and views.  We could also pitch our campervan at the Caravan Club site very close by, so if we want to escape one weekend but not travel too far from home, this will be an ideal spot to get our fix of beach and sea, something we really miss since moving up from the south coast.

Winter sunshine and the hint of a warm spring around the corner

Wading birds feeding at the water's edge

High tide and the fishermen return

Later in the day - thicker cloud and cold, damp breeze

Come on in 2015 - we've been waiting for you!

I thought about a negative title for this post as 2014 has, in general, been a horrible year. Speaking to others, many have also said it was a bad year in so many different ways, so we're not alone. But that's not how we're feeling, so instead we're looking ahead to good times, not back to difficult times.  

But a quick retrospective is called for, to look back before turning and moving forward.  By far the worst event was losing Cathy's Mum - Flo - in March.  Although 90 years young, her loss was still sudden and hard.  RIP Flo as you and Ted dance the night's away.  Our son Chris also had a rubbish year, having suffered a serious leg injury which didn't respond to treatment, he was invalided from the Army in July and now has to start again to find work - better luck next year son.  We both suffered from ill health this year; Cathy with fibromylgia although she refuses to let it stop her keeping active and me with sinus problems, which an operation in October has hopefully resolved.  Others close to us have also suffered ill health and we hope we can in some way help them get well, with humour and friendship.  And then there's been the ongoing saga of our van conversion.  Ripped off by a cheating conman, the legal case continues.  Although we don't expect to get any money back, at least we can try to put him out of business and hopefully prevent him killing someone with his dangerous work.  

The year wasn't all bad though. We managed to enjoy a couple of trips away, albeit in a hired motorhome (thanks to Dave & Lesley at Live the Dream Motorhome Hire).  In July my cycling buddy Ray and I camped out in Yorkshire to watch the first two stages of the Tour de France and ride some of Stage 1 - great times.  Later that month Cathy and I had a week on the Llyn Peninsular in North Wales, much like Cornwall only quieter; it's an area we'll definitely return to.  In August we had a great weekend away at the Rewind Festival with our great friends, Steph and Ian.  And in October our (thrice delayed) 'summer' holiday was spent in Northern France and the Loire Valley - hopefully a taste of things to come.

So what will bring 2015 bring?  Well, first of all we wish for good health for ourselves, our family and our friends; as we get older keeping fit and well is all the more important.  We hope both our children (and their partners) will enjoy luck and good fortune on their chosen paths.  For us, we wait with baited breath for the arrival our campervan, already christened "El Nido" and are finally starting to actually believe he'll be ready soon and we can get out and about at weekends and holidays.  Next year we're talking about taking our main holiday exploring the Moselle Valley in Germany, with perhaps a week in Norfolk, plus lots of weekends away in the van.  And we both continue to learn new languages; I struggle through French as Cathy makes great progress with French, Spanish, German and some Italian and she's just downloaded Greek too!  Next year will be the start of our longer journey as we prepare to make the leap in a few years' time into stopping full-time work and living a simpler but more fulfilling and enjoyable life - more sunshine, swimming, reading and relaxing (oh and the odd bike ride or three for me!).  For me, this seems all the more scary - I've worked full-time since the day I finished my last O Level in 1979 and giving up a secure and well paid job is a bit like standing on top of a very high diving board and willing myself to jump!  But I'm sure once we get to it we'll adapt to our lower income and enjoy the freedom of travelling where we want, when we want.

So, we'll not be sad to see the back of 2014 and look forward to a much better year in 2015. Happy New Year to all our family and friends and we hope it brings you good times.

Day 17 - Wissant to Home

Sunday 19 October 2014

The last day was the same as usual.  Up very early, tunnel crossing, long haul up the motorway, unpack the van at home , drive it down to the unit to clean it (it was going out later that day we found out on our drive back up) and home to sort everything out, ready for work to tomorrow.

We really needed this holiday; it should have been in the summer, but with all the hassle and stress with our van conversion, we've had to delay it twice.  Normally it takes us 3 or 4 days to relax into holiday mode but this time it took about 10 days, indicative of the stress we've both been under this year, perhaps without realising it. But, still, we had a lovely time.  It was a mixture of weather, early wind and rain and then the odd night or day of rain.  But also lots of unseasonally warm sunshine; in fact last night was so warm we had the roof lights open all night, unheard of in the past.  Next year we've talked about carrying straight on when leaving the tunnel in Calais, perhaps explore some of Belgium and Germany. It'll be good to see some other countries and get to know how they treat and accept (or not) campervans.

Travelling in our own van is definitely something we still want to do and it'll be good when we can finally load him up and get away for a few small trips, adapting to the storage and living space and making him our own.  Renting vans is like renting a house - it achieves the aim but it's not until you have your own and can put your stamp on it do you realise how much better it can be.

Day 16 - Fort Mahon Plage to Wissant

Saturday 18 October 2014

A good night's sleep and I was up at 0900 for our baguette and croissant.  It was another warm, sunny day.  Our transit was only 1.5 hours today, so we set off just after 1030 and, after stopping for diesel (Crazy Frog style!), arrived at the Aire at Wissant just after midday.  It was already quite full with only 2 or 3 spaces left and we managed to park up beside a British Burstner coach-built.  We took the footpath from the Aire and walked through the small, quiet streets down into the village square.

Wissant is a lovely little village, with a small church in the square, several small hotels and some great little bistros, brasseries and cafés.  We stopped off at Chez Nicole for a beer; I'd read this place does great Moules and it was really popular, with most of the tables inside taken up by locals - always a good sign.  We followed the road down towards the beach and popped into a clothes shop.

Cathy bought some short blue wellies to keep in Nido and I bought a polo shirt and jumper, both very much in the style of Fat Face clothing.  We returned to the van, packed a small picnic with the remaining stuff in the fridge, grabbed our chairs and walked down to the beach.
The sand is lovely and soft here and the beach very long and wide, albeit a bit windswept.  We could see the white cliffs of England quite clearly and lots of families were out enjoying the very warm sunshine.  We sat in shorts & t-shirts with our picnic and feeling the sun and wind on our faces.

Cathy had a read while I walked down to the sea, which was warm and fine for swimming - shame I left my trunks in the van!  Cathy then wandered off for a walk while I just shut my eyes to soak up the last of the sun and listen to the sea - very relaxing.  I walked up from the beach to buy us both a salted caramel ice cream, which I (almost) managed not to spill on me by the time I returned to Cathy.  We were both ready for a cup of tea by then so walked back to the van.  There are some lovely little cottages in Wissant, many of them holiday lets.  It's difficult to imagine we're just 14 minutes drive from the Channel Tunnel.  Back at the van a small conversion pulled up with a man driving, he went round a couple of times but by then all the bigger spaces were taken, so we offered to move over a little so he could squeeze in next to us.  He was an interesting chap.  A thatcher by trade he'd done a few jobs in France and was travelling down to see an old lady aged 98, an ex-customer.  She had a painting she wanted him to have, one painted by his thatcher friend who was now dead. He came from Yaxley near Peterborough and had done a couple of thatching jobs in the Hemingfords - small world.

Our faces were glowing from the day's and sun and so after a shower and change, we walked back into the village to Chez Nicole for some Moules Frîtes. We sat outside to start and ordered a drink, listening to some demented monk hanging off the church bell, but with food not starting until 1930, we moved to an inside table. This place had just two items on the menu - Moules frîtes and Jambon frîtes.  But it was clear it was very popular as many of the tables were already taken half an hour before food started.  We gave our order - Cathy had the ham and me the mussels - and also a pichet of rosé.  Pretty much everything except the food bowls, glasses and cutlery was plastic, but the service was fast and the food plentiful. My mussels came in a huge plastic bowl and Cathy's ham was hidden under a large pile of homemade chips with salad. Both were delicious and filling.  The food and buzz in this very basic café was great.  It was still warm when we paid up and walked back through the quiet, narrow streets. The stars were out and it felt like the best of British summer evenings rather than a night that was closer to November than September.  It's been a lovely last day.
Back at the van Cathy went to bed to read while I had a cup of tea and wrote up the blog.  The alarm's set for 0600 - my normal time on a work day - and we'll be up and ready for our long journey North.

A quick beer at Chez Nicole

Sundowners Pastis at Wissant Aire

Moules Frites for me & Jamon Frites for Cathy 

Day 15 - Honfleur to Fort Mahon Plage

Friday 17 October 2014

True to form it rained in the early part of the night but was warm and sunny when I woke, quite late, at about 0915.  Up and dressed, I walked over to the Harbourside, looking for a Boulangerie and found one open down a side street.  I bought 4 croissants, a small baguette for lunch and some local 'biscuits', similar to choux pastry, with large sugar crystals on top.  Breakfast sorted, I walked down to the old basin and sat outside L'Albatross café in the sunshine and ordered un grand créme.  This was the most expensive coffee all holiday and I was clearly paying for the view, not the coffee, which was rather weak. Back at the van the kettle was on and we had our croissants with bilberry jam.

There was a small van next to us owned by a British couple.  They had been down to Belgrade and had travelled up through Montenegro and Croatia and were catching the Le Havre ferry later today.

Their next stop was Anglesey so we told them about some wild camping spots, as well as some good Aires and campsite books in Europe.  Once we'd washed and cleared up we walked in to town to wander around the narrow streets and shops and buy some Christmas presents if anything caught our eye.  We bought a few things, including a new cap for me; the shop owner went to great pains to 'fit' and adjust the tilt of the cap until he was happy it fitted properly!  Cathy packed away our purchases carefully and we had a quick lunch before preparing to move.  Fresh water refilled, EHU cable stowed away and waste emptied, we drove off for our 3.5 hour drive to the Aire at Fort Mahon Plage. On the way, driving through a small village, I spotted some rosemary growing alongside the narrow road, so slowed down, lent out and grabbed some for our lamb chops later that day!

On arrival there were quite a few vans, all French. The Aire backs on to sand dunes and is only a short walk from the beach, which is very long and wide with soft sand.  But the seafront (and in fact the road leading to it) is marred by ugly concrete apartments, fast food joints and grockles shops.  I described it as like Talacre Bay but without the scousers.  We had a walk along the beach and returned to the van, where I lit the bucket BBQ, while Cathy prepared the salad.  Lamb chops cooked, we sat inside eating and listening to a Radio 4 podcast. So a quite evening and early night, hoping for a good night's sleep and perhaps an earlier start to get a pitch at Wissant - our first stop in France 10 days ago - on what will be our last  day and night in a France this trip.

Selling fish direct from the boat

Honfleur fishing port

Honfleur basis

Honfleur basin

Old Customs House

Un grand creme in Honfleur

Parked up at Honfleur Aire

Myrtle's Myrtille jam!

My new cap bought in Honfleur