Normandy, France - April 2023
Sunday 2nd April
We had planned to leave between 10am & 11am but as usual we were late, we still had to fill up with LPG and diesel, we have found a new supplier of LPG about 8 miles from home and at the time of writing's only .75p per litre, the diesel at the Tesco there was also 5p a litre cheaper than at home so it was almost 12pm before we finally got on the motorway. Its not a pleasant drive to get to Kent, M5, M42, M40, M25, M26, M20 and M2 before leaving J7 to get to our overnight stop at the 'aire' in Canterbury, a great facility provided by the council, water, grey waste, bins and a black waste drain, all for £4 per day (£8 overnight ie 2 days)
 |
| Canterbury 'Aire' |
Canterbury looks a lovely town, we might even make time to explore one day, once parked up we had a snooze before tea then we had an early night as we are up before 6am tomorrow.
Monday 3rd April
The alarm went off at 5.45am, as it happened we were both wide awake and had been on and off all night, clicking noises from the front cab, water alarm going off, Izzy pawing the bed to get up and the dread of over sleeping were some of the reasons. We were both washed and had coffee by 6.30am, we left the 'aire' after paying our £8.00 for the night.
The trip down to Eurotunnel at Folkestone was easy at this time of the day, we drove up to the automated barrier and all our details came up on the screen, we took our ticket and drove to pet reception, again all was good our AHC paperwork was all ok, there were no earlier trains so after taking Izzy for a walk then had breakfast, before long we were called to proceed to passport control, again no issues with English or French customs, our passports duly stamped we were pulled over to check our LPG, we had already turn off all the appliances so again no issues. We were directed to lane 14 where we waited for about 10 minutes before being called to bord.
All is going great compared to the delays over the last few day BUT once on the train there's an announcement that we were delayed after 10mins we were told that the train could not proceed until clearance had been given from the French control.
We were about 20 minutes late leaving we thought that they will make up the lost time but they didn't arriving in France 10.50am, we had another wait to be unloaded before leaving the train and onto open French roads.
We took the scenic coastal route towards Boulogne Sur Mer, the sun was shining all was good in the world. we stopped at the L'Clerc hypermarket to do our first shop,
which always takes a long time too much choice, whether its bread, wine, pastis or cake
 |
| Endless Choice |
it was almost 2.30pm when we had packed everything away so onwards for a spot of lunch. I had found a stop at the Chateau De Hardelot but when we arrived there were NO Camping-car signs everywhere, very welcoming NOT, we carried on and ended up at St. Valerie Sur Somme, where we decided to stop at the aire for the night, it quite a pleasant stop, gravel parking hedges and trees with a MoHo grey drop, bins and recycling, water and a very basic black waste drop but all seems good, we sat in the afternoon sunshine reading and writing the blog.
Tea tonight is pork slices with herb de province, followed by some Normandy cheese. But first an aperitif G&T for Mrs. P and for me a pastis
Tuesday 4th April
 |
| Henri Bardouin Pastis |
We woke just before 8am after, the aire has some rather large light posts that flood the site with light so had all the blinds shut and considering there were 40 plus units here it was very quiet. After washing and taking Izzy for her morning sniff & wee we returned for breakfast, a proper French breakfast, fresh fruit to start then pain aux raisin, pain au chocolate and croissants with fresh coffee, it set us up well for the day.
After breakfast and tidying the van we got ready to walk into Saint Valery-sur-Somme, the walk down into town through pretty streets was so peaceful hardly a soul about, we reached the riverside and walked along the boardwalk towards the river mouth before turning left and up the hillside to the medieval part of the town with the old town gate towers and the gothic church before winding through the cobbled streets back to the aire and the van for lunch.
We had croque monsieur with a slice of goats cheese hidden inside and piémontaise salad, as we were getting ready to pack up, an English couple came over for a chat, they had just arrived and had not been on an aire before so wanted to make sure they were on the right lines with what to do, it was now gone past 2pm, we still had to drop all the tanks and refill with water before our 24hrs were up on this aire. All done we drove to the barriers to pay, hoping we had got the instructions right we entered our numberplate into the machine and after a minute recognised it and charged us €12 for 24hrs including electricity.
On the road now for our next destination towards Neufchâtel en Bray, Adele had found us a nice aire in the village of Mesnières en Bray, the drive was pleasant through the French countryside passing field full of dairy cows, now we know we are on track for our first of the Normandy cheese route towns.
We arrived at the small aire just before 4pm, the sun shining we relaxed with a cup of tea and the rear doors open to the beautiful countryside.
Tea tonight will be merguez sausages with crispy chickpeas and lemon yogurt followed by some Neufchâtel cheese.
 |
| Merguez sauvages with crispy chickpea salad and lemon yogurt |
After tea it was time for Othello, a good game but I lost again, plenty of time to take a win before the end of this trip.
Wednesday 5th April
Woke 7.30am, it has been cold in the night, I woke a 4am to the sound of the church bells and had to turn the heating on.
We have bright blue skies and sunshine but a heavy frost no wonder it was cold in the night, took Izzy for her morning walk and returned for breakfast, fresh fruit, croissants, pain aux raisin and coffee.
We were a little later than normal leaving this lovely aire, we had planned a visit to Neufchatel-on-Bray only a mile or so away but was not what we were expecting, quite a major town which was pleasant but we did not find a cheese shop at all, we took the obligatory photo by the towns sign and left a little disappointed.
We arrived at Veules-Les-Rose at lunch time so had our fresh baguette, rilletts and cornichon followed by the lovely tart.
We took the riverside walk from the source, past thatched houses, watermills flanked by watercress beds, the clear water ran through the village until it reached the sea.
The aire is free and next to a small sports complex with open grassy area to the rear of us, there's even tennis courts we could use, electricity should we wanted it was €2 for 6 hours use, we were going to use it but didn't have a €2 coin.
We sat with the rear doors open enjoying the last of the spring sunshine, tea tonight was pork slices, potatoes and veg.
Othello followed tea but less said about that the better, I lost again!
Thursday 6th April
We woke after a broken nights sleep, we had the local youth going past on the mopeds about 9pm, they soon got bored then Izzy was playing up panting like mad and restless, don't know what time we dropped off but we have both woken up tired.
We had breakfast, looks like today is going to be wet and dreary, we packed up to visit Allouville Bellfosse to see Chêne Chapelle, a church in a tree, the tree is reportedly 1200 years old and the chapel was built in 1696, we climbed the outer stairs to the 'hermits room' which has views inside the trunk of the oak.
We have a busy day planned today so after half an hour or so looking around the 'Holy Oak' we moved north again towards Fècamp, it was a little further than we thought, as we got to the outskirts of the town the French police had closed the road due to a large fire, all traffic had to go down a single track lane with hair pin bends, including lorries, it was caotic, when we finally got to Fécamp all the roads were gridlocked, we did manage to get to the harbour but it was so manic we decided to leave and take the short drive to Yport to see the church made with stones from the beach by locals in 1838 but there is a dis-like of MoHo's in the area with nowhere to park so, the final place on our list today was Étratat, known for its striking rock formations carved out of the cliffs by the sea, here we found parking but it was too far out for us to walk with Izzy, so reluctantly gave here a miss too.
We were now running really late we had forgotten to do a shop this morning and as we travelled towards Honfleur we didn't see a single supermarket, we decided to head for Campigny which had a supermarket and a free aire, the only issue was it took us back through where we had started the day.
We arrived at Campigny just after 4pm, did our food shopping and headed for the aire, this Free aire is located just off the village green next to the church, there was one other MoHo there when we arrived but left soon after we got there.
We parked up and got tea ready, an early tea tonight of steak hashé , potatoes with peas and carrots, after tea we took a walk around this small village, there is a tabac store, a church and the Marie its so peaceful something we both needed after todays stress and disappointments.
We returned to the van for cheese and another game of Othello which I lost again, there's a pattern to these games, I keep loosing!
Friday 7th April
A strange thing happened last night, at around 9.30pm all the street lights went out, we couldn't see any lights on in the local houses, not even at the bar/tabac we didn't know if it was a power cut or a light saving policy.
We woke 7.30, much refreshed after a good nights sleep, we showered then took Izzy for her morning stroll we returned for breakfast.
We needed to fill up with water and empty the tanks, even the services are free on this aire.
hopefully we will have more luck on the site seeing front, we are heading for Honfleur and its picturesque port, we arrived late morning on the large aire by the port, I had expected it to be very busy but there were plenty of spaces.
We found a nice plot over looking the river and a grassy area, it was a bit confusing for us as there are barriers but were raised and the access machines were not working, was this going to be a free night? I checked on S4S to read that it was free, but lots of other owners were putting tickets on from a parking machine near by, I went in search of an Englishman with more experience.
There were about 5 English vans but with no-one in, then I spotted an English van filling up with water, after a chat I found out that the barrier system was new and not yet working and to buy your tickets by the day from the machine, this we did, €12 per 24hrs including 5a electricity.
After a read and lunch we took the five minute walk into town, it was just as pretty as I remember from many years ago, we walked around the narrow streets and around the harbour, the restaurants are busy, we have heard more English being spoken today than all the time we have been in France.
After a couple of hours Izzy was showing signs of tiredness so we return to the van, reading and writing the blog the rest of the afternoon slowly passed, we had our Good Friday treat, hot cross buns bought from home.
Tea tonight, it being Good Friday is fish, salmon with potatoes, green beans and a lemon and dill sauce. We have got cheese then some French Easter cakes.
Saturday 8th April
Woke 8.30 to blue skies and sunshine, we are very lucky with the weather, we are well into a morning routine now, I take Izzy for her morning walk or should I say stroll, the views over the pleasure harbour were really nice and calm, Adele gets breakfast ready on our return.
We made todays plans over coffee and croissants, the main car park next to the aire was filling up fast so we decided to potter about this morning, reading, writing the blog and catching up on the little chores that needed doing, have lunch then take an afternoon walk though the parts of old Honfleur we didn't do yesterday.
We got into conversation with a solo brit traveller from South Wales, so was mid afternoon before we got on our walk.
We visited the wooden church with its separate bell tower built by boat makers in the only way they knew how, it was absolutely stunning, from there it was the small back streets, we decided to leave Izzy at the van, she gets far too stressed with lots of people about and we did do a lot of walking yesterday for which the poor girl was tired.
The streets were packed with small restraints and little boutiques, we had a really pleasant few hors before retuning to the van to find Izzy still fast asleep.
Tea tonight is veal paupiettes with beans and a lovely bottle of costieres de Nîmes rose followed by cheese then another game of Othello, which again I lost.
Sunday 9th April
Happy Easter
After another peaceful night on this huge aire it was time to make plans to leave, after breakfast we exchanged Easter cards and gifts had a video call from the kids as they opened theirs afterwards we topped up the water and drained down all the tanks and set the Sat-Nav for Post L'Eveque, the next town on our Normandy Cheese Tour, we arrived mid morning to find it rammed and I do mean rammed, we eventually found somewhere to park and walked into the town, it wasn't really what I was expecting, its a bustling town and unlike home on Easter Sunday all the shops are open selling everything from flowers to chocolates, wine to bread and talking about bread the boulongerie had a queue some 20-30 meters long, we called in a shop for their local cheese and came out with a bottle of a local aperitif, Pommeau, this we would taste later.
Back at the van, we were heading to the next cheese town, Liverot, by the time we got there it was after lunch, this place was the total oppersite to the last, sleepy, quite with no-one around, we took a short walk from the church into town, the only place open was the boulongerie but had no customers to serve.
Back to the van and the final cheese town, Camembert, this is the smallest of the cheese villages with only a couple of hundred or so inhabitants, now this is what we were expecting the cheese villages to look like, quaint and picturesque, there was a cheese museam, a fromargaire and the Hotel De Ville, the sun was beating down, it was getting really hot so returned to the van to find an aire for the night, as we were leaving the village there was a police road block, pulling over drivers for a breathalizer test,
they looked at our number plate and waved us on, we don't drink during the day so wouldn't have mattered but I supposed they didn't want the hassle. It wasn't long before we had found an aire in the village of Notre-Dame-De-Courson, a free aire with water, waste and recycling and FREE electricity, we had tea and afterwards a game of Othello, tonights game was very close and my first win.
Monday 10th April
We woke to rain the first really of the trip, over breakfast we planned today, we would take The Normandy Cider Route taking in the villages of Beuvron-en-Auge, Cambremer, Beaufort-Druval and Bonnebosq, it was lovely to drive around these picturesque villages full of half timbered houses and surround by apple orchards.
The rain dampened our attempts to walk to far but we did enjoy what we saw, as the rain was getting heavier we decided to travel further north to cut our journey time tomorrow, we ended up back at Campigny, not before having to top up with LPG, now we have never had any issues before but this time...
The fuel station was automatic, we pulled up at the LPG pump but there was not machine to enter our payment details, eventually we found out you have to pay at an adjacent petrol pump, put the number of the LPG pump in and enter your card details before the pump will work, we filled up, not as much as I thought we needed but as it was wet and cold we would need the heating on tonight.
The aire at Campigny had one other MoHo on when we arrived, we pitched up, choked up, Adele got tea on and we relaxed with a glass of Pommeau.
After tea we had a couple of fruit tarts, Adele a mixed fruit and mine a tart ou Citroen.
Another game of Othello followed, I must be on a winning streak as I claimed my second win.
Tuesday 11th April
We had a good night sleep, rain tapping on the roof, warm as toast.
Took Izzy for her walk, Adele got breakfast ready, we plan to take a quick walk around Pont Audemer, the next town to this aire, we had been there shopping it all seemed a bit modern and built up but reviews said its old buildings were worth a look, we eventually found somewhere to park and took a walk, the town does have some nice old buildings but we found it a bit of a mish-mash of really old and new.
After an hour we returned to the van, we planned a route, some motorway and some D roads to avoid going through Rouen, but and I don't know how, we got off the motorway and took a lovely ride though, yes, Rouen.
Later we looked for somewhere to stop for lunch but as we were only 20km or so from Montreil-sur-Mer we continued on to the aire, we arrived just after 2.30pm to find it full.
We parked in the coach park area, had lunch then noticed a couple of MoHo leave so jumped into one of the spaces, we read, snoozed and wrote the blog, as the rain had returned. We have an appointment with the local Vets tomorrow for Izzy to have her AHC approved and her worming tablet.
We gain had aperitif of Pommeau and nibbles, Tea tonight will be our last chance to have steak Hashé before we leave, a bottle of red wine.
Wednesday 12th April
Woke to rain, grey skies and wind, only had time for a quick coffee as we had an appointment to keep, the vets, Clinique Vétérinare du Silo is just around the corner from the aire so we were spent on time. We were greeted by the friendly staff and were already for Izzy, they checked her over, filed in the paperwork and gave her the worming tablet which she took no problem, we were all done in 15 minutes, we paid the bill €50.40 and retuned to the van for a later breakfast.
We had planned to spend the day here in Montreal-sur-Mer but it was still raining and walking around the town was not really an option so a change of plans.
We drove the few miles up to Boulogne-sur-Mer, we would do the shopping today whilst the weather is poor and use tomorrow to explore instead.
First call was at the lidl for some day to day wines, I always feel a bit conspicuous pushing a trolley loaded with wine around the supermarket but these things have to be done.
Next was just down the road to E. L'clercs here was the better wines stop and the other things we bring home, coffee, half the price of that back home, tomato ball snacks because you can't get them back home, sweets, jams, pastries and washing up liquid because, well, just because we like it.
Now was the next problem, loading it all in the van, that took almost as long as buying all the stuff, it all must go somewhere, after a bit of muttering and moving around it was all packed, it was now well past lunch time so we moved to the other side of town to the aire overlooking the beach, when we got there the barrier had been removed it looked like they were not charging, we looked for signs about paying but we couldn't see any so we found a pitch, the same pitch as we had used last summer, put out the chokes and got reasonably level, we had lunch, rillets, pickles and French bread followed by a French strawberry tart.
Over lunch the sun had come out with lovely blue skies but the wind had gone mad, proper storm force wind, the van was rocking, it was getting a little uncomfortable
so after a bit of thought we decided to move from this aire with a view to one down the coast at Wissant, there the aire is sheltered by the town in a wooded area just off the road, we were buffeted around on our drive along the coast road.
When we got to the aire it was almost full, we had one of the last couple of park ups.
We had a cup of tea, a read and blog writing before getting tea ready, merguez sausages with toasted chickpeas and cucumber salad.
We had aperitifs, Pommeau and planned for our return home tomorrow.
Tea was lovely but next time we must use better sausages as these released a lot of oil and is difficult to get rid of.
We finished of with a selection from our Normandy cheeses.
Instead of our games of Othello we played Dollimoes, something we had not played for ages and it showed, I lost.
Thursday 13th April
After a night of gale force winds and heavy rain we woke to blue skies and sunshine,
I took Izzy for her walk, she doesn't like the wind and wanted to return to the van. we had breakfast, croissants, pain aux raisin and coffee, we are determined to make the most of this weather, after tidying the van we wrapped up, its still very windy, we decided to leave Izzy in the van and take the 800m, according to the sign, to the town of Wissant,
we have driven past this place for years and never stopped, well we should have, a lovely seaside town with promenade walks along the seafront, it was very quiet but I expect it really buzzes during the summer months, the beach is vast and with all this wind the kite surfers were out in force, we sat on the sea wall enjoying their spectacular skills before, reluctantly, returning to the van for a late lunch, we were booked on the 18.20 hrs train back home, we needed to be there 2 hours before and get Izzy checked so by 3.30pm we were travelling towards Calais.
The pet reception at the Eurotunnel terminal had moved since our visit in the summer, it was now on the oppersite side in a temporary building.
All went well with no issues, all the AHC paperwork was in order so off to check in, the automatic check in offered us an earlier train, 17.50, that would be fine but we still had some time to kill so decided to look around the terminal building, we had not been in before, an airy building with information, a restaurant, coffee shop and duty free, ever get the feeling its going to cost money, well it did.
After some time we came out with two bottles, litre bottles, of gin and two toblerones.
Back at the van our number was called, through check-in, French customs, passports stamped, English customs here we were told to pull over and we were searched, not properly it was if they couldn't really be bothered, then to the embarkment area and waited. And waited.
Our number, shown on the screen said our boarding was immernt, we were still waiting after our train should have left. There was no update from Le Shuttle as to what had gone wrong.
We were eventually loaded on our original timed train, the crossing was fine , if a little bumpy and we arrived at Folkestone on time. Now for the 20 minute drive to Canterbury aire, when we got there it was quite busy with only a few remaining spaces in the main area, we parked up and got tea ready.
Tea was to be a French favourite, Croque Monsieur with salad and the last of our French Tarts, this one a Crème brulèe, we finished of the night with a tot of pommeau and another game of Dollimoes which just for interest, I lost again.
It had started to rain again so after taking Izzy for a short walk we retired for the night, we had a long drive home tomorrow.
Friday 14th April
Woke after a good nights sleep, took Izzy for a walk around the park & ride, then returned for breakfast, the last of the French pastries, we packed up, paid our over night parking, £8.00 and started the trip home, its quite a long drive, A20, M2, M26, M26, M40,M42, we got stuck in heavy traffic on M25, it took over 6 hours to do the 200 miles or so back home, but back home we got safe and sound after a very relaxing Easter break in Normandy.
benivanadventures - travels in our campervan
Trip Details:
Miles: 1111
Ave MPG: 32.7 mpg
Fuel Cost: £ / £ ltr
Car Parking: £
Nights: 12
Camp Fees: £ 16.00 + €36.00
Camp Ave per night: £
PLEASE LIKE & SUBSCRIBE
Thank You for Watching
Hope to see you again on our benivanadventures
Comments
Post a Comment