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French caravanning diary Article by Gray - The Madcaravanner 22nd October 2004 You can visit The Madcaravanners website here

23/8 Been of sick for 10 days with serve back pain -- Visited Doctors say to him the 'vans the most comfortable place to sleep and can't wait for Holiday to begin on 27th HE says go now I'll approve it if you need me to few phone calls later we is on jollies 25/8 Down M1 /M25 /M20 to Little Switzerland prior to ferry on 26th 26/8 First time on ferry with a van nothing to it SWMBO was panicking (as usual) in case I grounded towbar on the ramp Drove through France sharing the driving (Did suggest a stop at Macon BUT SWMBO said no)br /> If we had got and earlier ferry we would have made the campsite But the Ferry didn't dock until 945am Zulu Route A26 - to Reims and Troyes then A5 - A31- round Dijon - A46 towards Lyon - A7 past Valence and Orange A8- A52 Doesn't look much on one line on this screen but that’s 750 miles and 10 hours so I made an executive decision I refused to drive any more We got on to the A50 and stopped within the Peage Services (full version fuel, shop and cafe) the Autoroute Police advised us VERY strongly to stay within the lit area (their words in broken English eeet iz verry Dangerouus) so they could keep an eye on us and to stop the "gypsies" troubling us 27/8 Woke next morning bright and early (4am) 'cos I couldn't sleep (no not the worry still was in pain) went on our way to Mas De Pierredon at Sanary Sur Mer We arrived at this site at 10am 27/08/04 had no problem booking in due to pleasant multilingual staff who were very helpful We went to explore and find a pitch decided on one on the lower terrace (#14) near to the pool, bar and restaurant but far enough away not to hear them. Electric was 10 amps and Reverse Polarity pitches were average at 80square metres Crashed out with COLD beer - woke 2 hours later to find the temp was a gorgeous 30 degrees Facilities Site has two heated toilet/washroom/shower/laundry/pot washing buildings also some touring pitches had small outbuildings that housed shower and toilet and had outside pot washing facilities kept spotlessly clean twice a day MV waste point a little shop on site but a supermarche 900m away No Charcoal BBQ's allowed but gas and electric one's were OK The pool was heated and has a small kiddies pool too also has Crazy golf play area table tennis and tennis courts plus mountain bike hire The bar /restaurant served good food and you get Tapas with your drinks (the Pizza is beautiful).Whisky served is Malt and a measure had to be seen to be believed 1/2 a highball glass for 6 Euro There is also a programme of live music - Cool Jazz whilst we were there and it was so cool I drifted off into meditation listening to them. Location Mas De Pierredon is in Sanary Sur Mer but is quite a way from the town centre and the sea. The Camping Cheques book recommends entry one specific way but it could use some more signage to guide you, late at night you would not find it very easily the access from the Autoroute is from Jtn 12 you could get from Jtn13 but there is quite a steep access road the other way you approach from downhill. Places to visit Sanary Sur Mer nice seaside resort man made beaches that were safe for kids to bathe Toulon St Tropez - not all it's cracked up to be but the Harbour is nice (28/8) St Cyr De Mer a sweet little town some nice eateries (29/8) Cassis - if you can find a parking place - very popular village La Ciotat good parking nice gravel beaches which had their own Police surveillance too 30/8 Set off to go to Valras Plage found that there was a Camping Cheques site in nearby Vendres Plage called Les Vagues We arrived here during Siesta (12-2:30) The reception staff refused to deal with English guests until the English member of staff was on duty Although we were allowed to find a pitch and set-up camp but that was all Pitches 99% sandy lots of shade Electric 6amp French fitting and Reverse Polarity Entertainment at night announced to be for the French only Most German and Dutch and English ended up leaving the bar Drinks highly priced and unless it came out of a bottle -?? Pool was best part of camp but so full of kids being silly not a safe place (no Lifeguard either that we saw) Also saw evidence of greed from staff taking money to let campers in and out bypassing reception (security guard) Security should have been good as the gate code changed when the length of stay you had paid for ran out but see above We stayed only long enough to visit Valras Plage just up the Road and fish the Estuary (Grau De Vendre) The site has a footpath down to the sea through a mosquito infested wetland area - this was the only site that we got bitten at all holiday. Fishing Good fishing though at the end of the Road is the Estuary of the Agde with a selection of fish that cope well with brackish water (Pike Perch Bass Flatties) and Sea fishing in the Pleasure boat harbour (Pole fishing) 1/9 Decided we had had enough so moved on to Canet En Roussillon Ma Prairie ma.prairie@wanadoo.fr www.maprairie.com 200 touring Pitches 6amp electric no converter needed most pitches quite shady Pitches look tired by end of season but still grassed some pitches have water and waste points Multilingual staff on reception nothing too much trouble will even ring for a taxi for you Pool is unheated but usually warmer than the sea There is a Supermarche 2 minutes drive away Harbour a 10 minute bike ride lots of cycle paths very little need to go on the road to get to most places though in some areas driving is extremely hazardous at rush hour Lots of places to go sea fishing (sans Permit) Canet harbour and the Etang estuary and of course with no time in the Mediterranean you can fish at any time And a large lake to go (avec permit) Tackle costs (ouch) 10 hooks 3€50 to 6€ weights 2€50 to 7€ Lots of good restaurants and easy driving into Perpignan although Spain easily reachable in an hour Pleasant site we stayed for 7 days lots of English use this as a base or stop-over on the road to Spain It was a good job we were planning to stay here a while as this is where the car broke down first It happened like this Steph went off on her bike I loaded the fishing tackle into the car and set off for the main road (RD617) just as I got there there was a small hissing sound then a pop then the car went epileptic and put out a black smoke screen Limped back to base at 10kmh called the Red Pennant Emergency line just 1 hour later the tow truck arrived (would have been sooner but it was Siesta) off goes the car to the workshop and a taxi called to take me to Perpignan to get a hire car (Peugeot 309SW[1814TH66] rubbish car wallowed on every turn) but took it to Argeles and back Via St Cyrien to make sure it wasn't just me Only had car for 1 day as Laguna repaired everything seemed Ok so we did some touring around once we got the Laguna back Went down to Le Perthus on the Spanish border. A busy bustling DUTY FREE town weird too as they French and Spanish Police toured the town in ALL varieties from local Police Guarda Civil and Gendarmes Spent quite a bit of money Got back to the campsite easily no problems from the car sat had Dinner and we had a few drinks with fellow campers until gone midnight and it was still 20 degrees outside Steph well happy and I wasn’t that sober either An observation though --Why do all the Dutch people go to bed at 9pm?? 4/9 Fished this morning for a change even went to two places the Harbour and the Estuary caught a few small Dorado. Decided to eat out so went to a restaurant on the beach area Mussels and Steaks with half bottle of Roses [local] 56€ for us both 5/9 Went to my favourite place Coullioure and Taxo where we honeymooned also Port Vendres couldn’t park anywhere today so we went back to base and swam in the pool which was COLD but not as cold as the sea. It rained in the night but the temperature was still 21.2 degrees at it’s lowest during the night 6/9 Got up early to go to Le Perthus it is recommended as it get very busy there and if you want to park close to the shops get there before 9am We arrived at 8;55 and got the last free spot near the border crossing did some serious Spirit shopping and left at 11;30 there were 5 miles of queues to get into the town then. On the drive back went via Coullioure and had lunch in a harbour side café and to round off our shopping trip went to the Polygone area of Perpignan to go to the L’Clerc Needed to relax after all that shopping so went fishing in the harbour but only took the Waggler rod for some fun with the small fish 7/9 We actually walked to the town today [fibber aren’t I we cycled] walked around the market and the Espace Mediterranean then to the port cycled back while Steph swam 1000m I sorted the van and did tea the while she did the pots I went fishing to chill out before the trip tomorrow we planned to go to Carnac… 8/9 Up at 7am set off at 8am Headed up the A9 and on to the A62 then the car started acting strange again Exactly the same problem the local Autoroute mechanic was called and he fixed it? 1km later it went again I did running repairs to get us off the Autoroute at junction 9 [Castelsarrasin] so that the Red Pennant service could swing into action again we got clear of the Autoroute and into a L’Clerc car park and waited for the tow truck Nice LADY arrived got her hands dirty found the problem heard the explanation decided there was more so had to get from the L’Clerc to a campsite as the AIT [organised by Red Pennant] had sent one without a hitch for the van So as we had gone so far [about 20 miles] we decided to risk the 1.5km to the nearest campsite so with the cars hazards on and the tow trucks flashing beacons we crawled down the road in a cloud of black smoke We eventually got to Camping De L’Ile De Bidounet Unhitched the van the was taken away again and we set up camp for what could have been 4-5 days The campsite is Very nice and cheap as it is a municipal it is situated on an island formed by the River Tarn and a mill stream access is over the mill race and is a curved bridge Electric is 6amps and normal polarity and no converter needed Prices displayed were 8€30 a night and 2€30 for electric. The car ended up in the town of Castelsarrasin whilst the campsite was in the village of Moissac For the Angler this place is heaven if you can fish it 30€ for 2 weeks but there was the All France International Carp Championship on so no day tickets 9/9 Had forgotten my sunglasses [again] so got directions to the Renault garage and set off on the bikes to find they were the wrong directions [there was one in Moissac too] so ff in the other direction to Castelsarrasin by the roads. Got to the car to find that nobody had even looked at it even though they had told the Red Pennant operator it would take three days to fix and we had arranged with him for an alternate towcar to be driven out to us to get home with. BUT our sudden appearance and sounding a little knowledgeable of the problem and speaking a little French suddenly three mechanics appeared out of nowhere and work commenced as I was just talking to the Red Pennant guy to say go with the towcar -got told one day to fix tell you tomorrow - –amazing what can be done with a personal visit and a mobile phone isn’t it Set off back to camp but found a street market a real French street market so got a kilo of Garlic for 2€ and found the canal whose aqueduct we could see from the campsite so we cycled down there noticed the L’Clerc we had been stuck in so diverted there to buy provisions and headed back to camp for lunch Then explored the village of Moissac again by bike visited the Abbye St Pierre which is quite calming even down to the wall decoration which is painted by hand but looks at a quick glance like wallpaper it’s that good Sat later in a café having a beer when John from Red Pennant rang to say that the garage had now got underway repairing the damage to the car and it would be ready in the morning BUT was keeping a Nissan Terrano on standby just in case We Cadac’d our dinner as it was still 30 degrees outside [at 6;30] then sat working out a route home with provision for campsites if we needed them Oh yes Dinner was fish from the Poissonniere and included my first but not last Oysters ever and included some Desperado beer 2am huge thunder storm tonight Steph really worried as to how we would get the van off the campsite if it flooded told we’d leave it there and cycle out fast 10/9 woke to a bright dry morning even the grass was dry despite the storm not ending until 4am although I didn’t wake until 9am when John from Red Pennant rang to say car ready. So breakfast taken and I cycled the canal down to the Renault garage paid nearly 400€ for the bill got shown that the first garage had really bodged it and left parts out of the hose. Even got a European guarantee for the repair. Got back to base had lunch hitched up and set off at 12am We drove for 359 miles without any problem ended up at Pornic at the campsite Le Patisseau at 6;30pm would have got there earlier but the Traffic at Vannes was terrible The site was closing down on the 12th so was part mothballed already but we only wanted one night stopover so we didn’t mind. Electric was 6amp and reverse polarity but no adapter needed. We had our tea chatted to another caravanner who had been on –site for a while and then decided to stock up on fresh provisions and fill the diesel up in Pornic so set off had a wander round and went to bed early 11/9 Up at 8am and got sorted out with food and hitched up planned to go another 400 miles and end up at Le Ferme Des Aulnes 6amp electric normal polarity water and drainage on pitch even on the early departure field that we were on as the campsite gates don’t open until 8;30am site has a small indoor pool and restaurant and bar BUT they close early [9;30] because the staff have to be in at 8;30am 12/9 After another wet night up at 6am and off by 6;30 to head to Calais for the Ferry got there in time to catch the earlier sailing too No problems off loading the car and van or even those horrendous speed ramps in the Customs lanes Drove home steadily my biggest problem was adjusting to UK speed restrictions after the Autoroute speeds we had been travelling at. Guess what same again next year thought this time we are going on the tunnel Add your comments to this article NB:This article is free to reproduce on your website, please ensure it is kept complete and a link back is provided and the author given full credit

Posted by: Tenaki at 17:58 | link | comments

comparison tests of motorway service

Thought this would be of interest, as we had a lot of posts on service stations earlier this year. Being a coffee fan I homed in on this bit straight away
. 2.72 € at Tebay (United Kingdom)
. 0.73 € at Tepanje (Slovenia)

Source ViaMichelin

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Are you a Caravan Adventurer?

Conker Media, part of Mersey Television, producers of Hollyoaks and Grange Hill, are developing a series celebrating “caravan adventures” for a UK network broadcaster.

We’d like to meet interesting people who have a story to tell or who are embarking on a UK-based caravanning-adventure, and over the next few weeks we’ll be contacting clubs across UK to ask if any of their members would like to contribute to the series.

Ideally contributors will be over forty with a strong sense of adventure. Maybe caravanning has opened up the door to other activities, a new lifestyle or given you a new lease of life?

We’d like to hear from groups of friends, regular travellers, occasional-towers and anyone who is considering giving up the bricks and mortar lifestyle (and those who already have!)

We are also interested to discover what attracted you to join your club over any others. Was it because of the activities offered or to be a part of a group with similar interests to yourself?

And if you’re a member of a manufacturers owners club (i.e. Bailey), we’d like to know what attracts you to that particular make of vehicle.

We also want to know what’s best – towing, static or motorcaravan?

If you’d like to get involved, or if you simply have some good caravanning stories to tell, then we’d love to here from you.

Contact Nick on 0151 737 4040, by email nhanson@merseytv.com or by post at Conker Media, Childwall Abbey Road, Childwall, Liverpool L16 0JP

Posted by: Tenaki at 18:58 | link | comments

Enter the competition

Posted by: Tenaki at 23:20 | link | comments

Posted by: Tenaki at 14:56 | link | comments

Added Bonus for our latest competition

Thanks to Eurotunnel we can now offer the winner of our Italian holiday a free, yes FREE Eurotunnel crossing.
Enter Competition.   

Posted by: Tenaki at 14:20 | link | comments