Cote d'Opale - An Autumn Escape

 Cote d’Opale

Friday 24th October

Day 1

The van was packed and ready to go as Adele finished work, we just needed a spot of breakfast, bacon butties and a mug of tea.

We left home just after 11am, we needed to fill up with diesel and LPG before hitting the motorway so stopped at the BP station in Bromsgrove then onto the M40 for the drive south, we pulled over into the M25 services just after 1.30pm for a spot of lunch and as tradition Staes it was salmon sandwiches, crisps and a glass of pop.

After much we continued our journey, however, our progress soon came to a halt, there had been a multi-car accident at the junction with the M23 and the motorway had come to a stand still.

It took almost two hours before we were on the move, arriving at the Canterbury Aire just after 6.30pm, seven and a half hours since we left home, we were both feeling exhausted, I took Archie for a well deserved walk whilst Adele prepared supper, fortunately it was a pasta and sauce dish so quite quick.

We had an early night as we needed to be at the vets by 9.30am.

Saturday 25th October

Day 2

We woke at 7.30, took Archie out, had breakfast and had left the Aire before 9am for the 20 minute drive to Abbeywell vets in Folkestone, as usual we picked up Arhies AHC with no fuss, they checked his microchip and I signed the form, in and out in less that 10 minutes and on the road to the Eurotunnel terminal.

On arrival the check in was busier that normal but we were not expecting the horrendous queues that faced us, pet reception was fine but there were vehicles everywhere the whole place seemed to have ground to a halt, our crossing was delayed by half an hour, not really a problem but then that became a hour, by the time we had boarded the train we were two hours late.

The crossing was uneventful, but this had put our timings out we had missed lunch and were getting hungry, we didn’t have any real food, due to the new cross border rule, so just nibbled on biscuits.

Once in France we headed straight to Boulogne-sur-Mer and Leclercs hypermarket to get food for the next couple of days then up to the Aire for the night.

The Aire was quite empty for a weekend, probably the time of year, parked up, took Archie out for a good walk then retuned for supper.

And Relax.

As its a Saturday night we have date night, being away in the van doesn’t change that, we had a great meal, Starting with aperitifs, then our starter of scallops with beurre blanc, then veal with dauphinous potatoes, green beans in a sauce forrestiere. Dessert was a pear Charlotte all washed down with a lovely bottle of white wine.

Sunday 26th October

Day 3

We woke at 6.30am, we have had a decent night but it was windy, in fact it blew a gale most of the night.

Took Archie along the cliff path for his walk and back to the van for breakfast, coffee, croissants and pain au chocolate.

We left the Aire about 11.00 to drive into Boulogne old town, we found a car park right under the old town walls.

We had almost 3 hours strolling around the old chateau and the cathedral, through the old cobbled streets, it was lovely, we had thought about stopping at a restaurant for lunch but having Archie ment we would need to sit outside and it was cold so thought better of it and retuned to the Aire for something to eat.

After lunch and a snooze we moved onto Le Touquet, there are two Aires there the first one we tried was full of horses and temporary stables with nowhere to park so found the Aire next to the marina, which was only a carpark but it will do, expensive at €15.60 considering there was no services.

We relaxed and read, wrote the diary, as the clocks went back an hour yesterday it went dark quickly.

By 6.30 it was pitch dark, we only had the sound of the sea as we ate supper, stuffed tomatoes with Mediterranean couscous and a bottle of rosé.

Monday 27th October

Day 4

Woke at 7.30, took Archie for his morning walk, we walked out past the yacht club along the beach walk, it was extremely windy but Archie didn’t mind, there were warning signs for quicksand so didn’t let him off the lead just in case.

We returned to the van for breakfast, fresh croissants, pain au chocolate and coffee.

After breakfast we took the beach walk again but this time followed all the way into Le Touquet, when we arrived at the beach front the wind was blowing so strong we were being sandblasted as we walked, it was quite painful so turned off and headed into town, we haven’t been here for probably 15 years, nothing had really changed, still a beautiful town with stunning buildings, the only thing to change was the prices, how do people afford things here?

We loved checking out the poissonnières, the choice of seafood is amazing, we thought about buying oysters but I still have an upset stomach so decided against it this time.

We followed the labyrinth of streets checking out restaurants, chocolate shops even flower shops with their colourful displays before returning to the van for a light lunch .

We needed to empty the tanks, the service point was out of order but we could empty the grey and the black waste but no water, then we found a stand pipe which gave free potable water, then we went to get a few provisions from a supermarket just out of town.

It was getting on a bit by now so made the decision to return to the aire at Le Touquet for another night.

We had a cup of tea, read and wrote the diary before supper, which tonight will be steak hashe, potatoes, peas and carrots followed by a raspberry fruit tart and cheese.

Tuesday 28th October

Day 5

Woke after another good night, we had showers then took Archie for his morning walk, this morning through the forest and back out on to the beach, we were the only ones around, so peaceful despite the wind, Archie had a whale of a time.

Returning to the van for breakfast, croissants and pain aux raisin for us and a bowl of tripe for Archie.

We were later this morning due to having showers but after dropping the tanks and refilling with water we made our way to the more residential part of Le Touquet, the plan being to have a wander admiring the architecture, however, the weather gods were against us and it hammered it down, we sheltered under the canopy of an estate agents, whilst the rain came we admired the 3 to million euro homes in the area, a little out of our price bracket.

Eventually the rain eased and we continued on our walk, we meandered through the small wooded park which had been dressed ready for All Saints Day with ghosts, ghoolies and vampires.

Back to the van , all three of us drenched for a nice cup of tea before moving off towards Neufchatel-Hardelot place, there’s an aire there so planned to stop there.

We arrived at lunch time so had rilletts with cornichons and some bread followed by a coffee chou bun.

We had a snooze.

Later we took a walk from the aire to the beach front, a super long beach that was fronted by dozens of holiday flats, we walked the entire length before returning the way we came and back to the van for supper, tonight stuffed tomatoes with rice followed by goats cheese which was as strong tasting as was its smell in the fridge, the pungent smell aside, it tasted lovely.

Supper was then followed by another game of Othello, after a good game I managed a win but am still 2-1 down but hopefully time to turn it around.

Wednesday 29th October

Day 6

Woke 7:30 after another peaceful and quiet night, took Archie out for his morning walk, out onto the beach front then back through the town, the shops were just starting to open up, the boulongerie had its shelves full of bread and tasty treats, the poissoniere was making up his display of fish, crabs and shellfish, there was even a couple of older frenchmen taking coffee at one of the bars, deep in conversation.

Back to the van for our own breakfast, we walked back into town so Adele could explore too.

We once again window shopped for everything from expensive clothes, bread, tourist nicknacks, to holiday homes at over a million euros. We stumbled upon an artisan glacier, whose ice creams were works of art, we couldn’t pass by without trying, two pommettes, velvety smooth vanilla ice cream sandwiched between  crispy choux stye biscuit and a chocolate crocante centre and two flobarts, patisserie style ice creams, a nougat with nuts and fruit and a chocolate praline, absolutely stunning.

We returned to the van, today we are back tracking slightly to visit the vets at Montrieul-sur-Mer to get Archie his tablet to return home, we also  needed to get some food and provisions for the next couple of days and stooped off at the supermarket. 

We parked up at the aire which unusually had spare spaces, we had a cup of tea before calling into the vets, we were met with a friendly welcome, Archie had his check over and was given his worming tablet we were in and out in less than 10 minutes and €48.60 worse off.

It had started to rain so back to the van for supper tonight pork chops and what we thought was ratatouille which turned out to be courgette provencal followed by ice cream works of art.

We were both a little tired tonight so decided to forego our nightly game of Orthello and have an early night.

Thursday 30th October

Day 7

Woke 7:30, took Archie for his morning walk, today we went out along the ramparts of this lovely town, calling on the way back at the boulongerie for bread, breakfast was ready of warmed croissants, pain au chocolate and coffee.

After tidying the van we went for a walk clockwise along the ramparts to the citadel then back through the town past the old Hotel de France, still in a sorry state but has planning application to turn into apartments hopefully bringing new life into this wonderful old building.

Back at the van we chatted with our English neighbours who were just starting Thiet trip in France, we wished them well before leaving, stopping off to empty the tanks before leaving the aire.

The plan today is to travel north and visit Cap Gris-Nez, we have past this many times but never stopped, mainly because there wasn’t any parking at its sister site, Cap Blanc-Nez but google came up with parking.

It was past lunch when we arrived, we decided to book into the aire at a camp site at Audresselles, €15 with use of toilets but strangely you had to pay extra to use the showers and electricity, we declined both, shower in the van and didn’t need electricity.

We had lunch then drove to Gris-Nez, free parking at the site, we wrapped up warm as it was blowing a gale, the walk out onto the point was lovely, we could see the white cliffs of Dover and the ferries running across the channel, we returned to the van, cold and with ear ache it was so windy and cold.

We returned to the camp site aire, parked up and had a cup of tea and a French custard slice.

We read and completed the diary before supper which tonight is steak frite or the nearest we can manage in the van.

After a lovely meal we indulged in some rather tasty, if smelly, goats cheese followed by a game of Othello.

Friday 31st October

Halloween

Day 8

Woke 7:30 after a good night, took Archie for his morning walk, the beach is only 50m from the campsite, er were surprised to see police cars on the road down to the beach, the gendarmes work checking the old bunkers and in the dunes, I assume they were looking for migrants.

They pasted the time of day with us as we pasted.

We took a circular walk back to the van for breakfast, I didn’t want to walk Archie too much as to day we are going to do the “Sentuer des Pêcheurs” the Fishermans walk, a heritage walk that explores the history of local fishing and evokes the maritime life of the village through picture boards around the route.

By 12pm we were getting hungry and stopped at a local restaurant for lunch, the L’Odyssée, soup de poisson, Huîtres, Moules Frites and coffee, a little expensive for lunchtime but really tasty.

After lunch we continued on the heritage trail before returning to the van for a well deserved rest.

By supper time we were both still full so opted for some cheese and bread followed by cake.

It was 9:30 by the time we had cleared away, to late for a game of Othello so had an early night.

As we lay in bed the wind had got up again and it had started to rain heavilerly, there’s something soothing about lying in bed in the van listening to the rain, we were both soon asleep.

Saturday 1st November

Day 9

Woke at 7am, washed and took Archie back on the beach for his morning walk, still very windy but at least the rain had stopped, we didn’t met any police this morning, breakfast was ready on our return, croissants, pain au chocolate and coffee.

After emptying the tanks we moved on up the coast to Boulogne-sur-Mer, our usual stop off at L’Clecs hypermarket for our take home shop, wine, liquors, tins of provencal vegetables, biscuits and pastries, not forgetting French toilet roll and washing up liquid, I’ll explain another day.

We moved on up to Calais and CCP aire at Bleriot Plage, we had lunch of crevettes, salad, ham & cheese croissants before taking a walk out onto the  beach, we watched the ferries coming and going enjoying the last of the autumn sunshine, we talked about our week on the opal coast, we have had a great time, saw new places even though we have been to this area many times, there’s alway something new to see here, its a shame or maybe not, that most Brits drive straight of the ferry or train and bomb down the A16 missing so much of this beautiful part of France.

It was getting dark when we got back to the van, we sat and read, wrote the diary and had a little snooze before supper, tonight we are having some pork chops with an aubergine provincial stew followed by cake then maybe just maybe a game of Orthello, but after a long day that we would give it a miss and thought that it was only right to call it a draw.

Cote d’Opale Othello Championships 2-2

Sunday 2nd November

Day 10

Woke early this morning, our train is booked for 10:24 so need to be there at least an hour and half before departure.

I took Archie out for a short walk then returned to the van, we had some very special croissants for breakfast, full of an orange custard and orange slices with a mug of coffee. 

We left the aire for the short, 5 minute drive to the eurotunnel terminal and book Archie in with pet control, all was good, our paperwork was in order so to get our return ticket, we manage to get a train half an our earlier that our booking so that was good, we had no sooner pulled up in the departure area and we were called to the customs area, it was a lot, lot quieter than our outward journey.

French passports control stamped our passports, don’t know wether this will be the last time before we have to use the new European EES system, then on to Uk passport control this was a different story, they appeared to be taking ages, checking back passport to the face of the owner, when we got there we had the added excitement of being pulled over for a full customs check, where had we been? What had we done? Had we more than £1000 cash on our person then checking all around the van inside and out (they didn’t find the cheese) all was good, no issues and we were of to board the train, we left spot on time and arrive in Folkestone 35 minutes later.

The journey home was boring, no real problems apart from the usual hold ups on the M25, we stopped on the motorway for a spot of lunch, some pre-made sandwiches bought in France then back on the road arriving home at 3.30pm.

We have had a smashing week touring the Cote d’Opale, an area we have been to many times but we always find something new to see and do.

Roll on the next trip on our benivanadventures.