And finally

It’s quite amazing how much gear we carry on our trips – it took us getting on for 2 hours to fully empty the van and then put things away. We reckon there is about 17 machine loads of washing; because of the dust a lot of our unused clothing needs “refreshing” too. We decided to leave cleaning the van itself for the moment and concentrate on sorting out, not only what we’ve unloaded but all the other things that have accumulated over the 3 months we’ve been away such as mountains of post, getting bills sorted and paid, both cars need MoTs etc. etc.

Once again we’ve enjoyed the trip – we don’t call it a holiday as there is still the cooking and washing and cleaning, it’s a “relocation” – although we are happy to be home. We’ve travelled 6323 miles, seen many new places as well as revisited old favourites and both got nice sun tans. Perhaps not everything went to plan and it’s made us think seriously about how we go about it next year, and there will be a next year all being well, but we’ve learned to take things as they come and not get upset. However one thing we have noticed is that, apart from Morocco, it’s been decidedly colder and wetter than the last 3 years. But we haven’t let that bother us too much.

Of course the main difference this year has been having Jamie along and it’s caused us to make a few changes in how we go about things, especially storing and moving round the extra accoutrements a dog needs. But he has actually been brilliant, absolutely no trouble at all, settling down quickly to the new routine of living in the van. He travels well in his cage, mainly sleeping all the time we were on the road, and never complaining, even for quite long periods. Obviously we have had to keep him on his lead, except for beach excursions, but he has been happy enough tied to the door handle and allowed to roam the extent of the lead. But he’s now really scruffy so a priority is a session at the groomers.

Next outing is our regular visit to the Funsters “meet” at the Peterborough Motorhome Show, where we’ll be doing a bit of shopping. After that we are planning 6 weeks in Scandinavia – but that will be the subject of our next blog terryandbren9.blogspot.com

Thursday 31 March

Early start achieved, we got away by around 9.20 into a nice bright day and much more traffic than we are used to! Our plan was to call in to Terry’s Mum at Navenby for lunch then head home, which is effectively what we did. Only two small holdups and we made good time arriving at Mums at exactly 1.00 p.m.

A pleasant couple of hours and then back onto the road for the final leg. We won’t go into the boredom of it, except to say that about halfway home the van, having performed perfectly for the last 3 months, decided to get the hiccups! Occasional hesitation and then the advisory engine warning light came on, but we kept going and eventually it seemed to clear itself although the light didn’t go out until we were at home.

A quick comfort stop at Washington services and we arrived home about 6.40 p.m. after refuelling at Tesco as, unsurprisingly, the fuel warning light illuminated with about 5 miles to go! Having invested in modern technology the house was nice and warm so a quick cuppa then take out what we needed for the evening – we’ll leave emptying out completely tomorrow.

And so endeth the 2016 Snowbirding trip!

Wednesday 30 March

With nothing to rush for we spent a leisurely morning, tidying up and part-servicing the van ready for our planned overnighter at Canterbury. At around 1.00 p.m. we set off for the Eurotunnel terminal, noticing a huge increase in security round the place but no evidence of illegals.

First stop the pet check-in to get Jamies documents checked; all done very quickly without fuss, it was one of the things we were a tad concerned about, not having done this before but no worries. Vehicle check-in was fine and we were offered a train 30 mins early, which we took and which would give us time to have some lunch. Customs and Immigration, however, was another story. We had been told that there were now substantial queues and we found this to be true although they did have four booths open and we were lucky enough to only have a ten minute wait – we wouldn’t wish to come through at a busy time……..

Then the usual smooth and efficient run through to the train and through the tunnel. Emerging to bright sunshine we programmed the satnav to take us to the New Dover Road Park and Ride at Canterbury where there is one of the very few motorhome “aires” in the UK. For the princely sum of £3 you can park for 24 hours with access to all essential facilities and also unlimited travel to and from Canterbury for up to six people – what a bargain! Shame other towns and cities don’t follow suit, it’s got to be good for trade.

We settled in for the afternoon, chatting to other folk who were on their way out, then around 6.00 p.m. walked down to the Old Gate pub at the entrance, a very nice hostelry serving excellent meals, if a little expensive. Then a (slow) stroll back to the van and another enthusiastic welcome from Jamie!

It’s a long drive tomorrow so we’ll try for an early start.

Tuesday 29 March

Another windy night with rain showers but not as bad as Sunday. Bright and sunny when we got up so a fairly steady start as not too much rush today.

First off was a visit to the vet. For those who don't know, for return into the UK dogs (and cats and ferrets!) have to be administered a worming treatment between 24 and 120 hrs before returning by a vet. This has of course opened up a money-for-old-rope trade amongst Northern French vets; the further from the port, the cheaper the fee so it's a bit of a balancing act and of course getting an appointment. We chose a practice in Rue, only a couple of hours away from Calais but very convenient for the aire at Le Crotoy, where we stayed overnight, who we were told operated a walk-in service after 2.00 p.m. We of course arrived at 11.30, ready to make an appointment but they were happy to do it there and then. €34.50 for a tablet and 10 mins – gotta be a good thing for them!

That gave us the option of getting an earlier Tunnel crossing, but the problem with that is that they get more expensive the closer you get to your booked time. The Eurotunnel operator was very helpful but the best we could get was tomorrow afternoon for £34 extra. Ah well it's only money.

So we motored steadily up the D940 along the coast, noticing how quiet everywhere was – even Lidl and Aldi were deserted when we called in for a baguette for lunch. Refuelled at Boulogne to save us some time later and stopped for lunch at Cap Gris Blanc overlooking a very rough sea. In the distance we could see three ferries off Calais which didn't appear to be going anywhere and later learned that the bad weather had caused many cancellations. Glad we use the tunnel!

After lunch we continued up to Wissant, our now regular pre/post crossing stopover. Short of the town a sign indicated that the crossroads in the centre of Wissant was closed and offered a diversion, which we eventually took (long story). Halfway round the signs disappeared so we turned off the satnav (which eventually gave up anyway when we took no notice) and Bren navigated us round the back roads to avoid the problem. Which turned out to actually be at the entrance to the aire which was being repaired! Fortunately we were told to wait 5 mins while they finished one section and we could get in, joining a number of vans who had been trapped there since midday.

So our last night in France is upon us; no rush in the morning and once we've crossed over we'll go up to the Canterbury aire and have a meal in the rather nice pub before the long slog home on Thursday.

Monday 28 March

The storm died down during the night but it remained gusty when we got up, a little later than planned due to lack of sleep the last two nights. Venturing outside we recovered the door step from across the car-park and discovered a smashed roof tile on the ground between us and the van next door. Was that the clang? If so we were lucky it didn't land on the van roof; nevertheless we'll try to get up and have a look at an early opportunity.

But eventually we got going, utilising the service point – it's amazing how even tiny villages make provision even when they are unlikely to benefit very much – then went looking for fuel at a Carrefour near Caen. Our route is more or less a straight line to our destination using “N” and “D” roads, basically the same as last year. It being Easter Monday there was no commercial traffic so it was a fast and pleasant drive, just having to put up with the occasional rain or hail shower.

A late lunch in a picnic area and then an hour to Le Crotoy, a small fishing town on the Baie de la Somme that has become a bit of a holiday home village. A large area has been put aside across the harbour for motorhome parking and it is quite popular although on this visit it is only half full; probably all the Easter weekenders have now gone home and the weather doesn't help.

Le Pet't Train de la Somme

Once parked up, the skies cleared although stormy looking clouds could be seen on the horizon. We did notice that there were no satellite dishes up, must have been quite bad earlier! There were a few Brits here but no-one we knew, although as I write in early evening, there is a slow steady stream of vans coming in.

Sunday 27 March

Because of our late night, and of course the clocks going forward overnight, our start was a little, well, tardy and breakfast became brunch. Not to worry because we're going nowhere anyway today. The weather is a bit mixed and the forecast is somewhat stormy so a day “at home” is the answer. Usual dog waking of course plus the boulangerie was open for baguette and we treated ourselves to a cake with our afternoon tea.

Yummy Easter treat!

 Bit of internet, bit of reading and the day passed quietly, until after tea when the wind started getting up and by bedtime it was howling with the van, despite being parked in what we thought was good shelter, being rocked about and rain lashing down. Bren got quite upset but we were not in any danger, although getting to sleep became a bit difficult. Just after going to bed we heard a loud “clang” that sounded like the satellite dish being banged but we had no intention of going outside to investigate when all seemed okay from the inside.

Saturday 26 March

A peaceful night in a lovely setting and we'd have stayed longer but the weather forecast is not good and we think €10.50 a night is a bit of a rip-off. So after breakfast used the service point and headed out. We're continuing our journey north making Caen our aiming point, there being a good choice of aires, our only worry being that as it is Easter weekend all the locals would be out as well as “foreigners” starting their spring breaks.

Taking a more or less straight run, only the road numbers changing, it was a pleasant drive on the relatively quiet “N” (Nationale) and “D” (Departement) roads despite being plagued all day by rain showers. It occurred to us that this would make a pleasant, if slower, alternative route down to Spain rather than batting down the main roads. As always when lunchtime came around, despite there having been plenty of opportunities before, there was nowhere suitable to stop. However persistence paid off and eventually we found a picnic spot which was fine and had plenty of room for Jamie to run round.

The afternoon was much of the same although we now had to decide where to stop, bearing in mind our earlier thoughts. Caen was not particularly suitable so we programmed in the aire at Bayeux, not having tried it before and knowing our friends Malcolm & Cathryn had stopped there earlier – or maybe were still there? But they weren't, and neither was the aire – we found the service point but the car-park highlighted by the Aires book was no longer available to motorhomes. And we weren't the only ones looking!

With Terry's knowledge of the area, although with a little trepidation because the weather was looking a bit ominous for a seaside stop, we headed to the coast at Courselles. Unfortunately there was some kind of event on and the small aire was full; well there was a space but another van was overhanging it, making it unusable for us. Then checking the book, we remembered a tiny aire behind a shopping precinct in the village of Hermanville-sur-Mer which we had used before and the book said usually had space. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and with several alternatives still in mind TomTom was instructed and took us straight there – well he would have done if Terry had listened properly to the instructions........ (We've currently got John Cleese doing the vocals). Joy of joys, there were still four spaces left although due to the markings only two were usable and, despite being warned that there was a festival in the adjacent community centre tonight and it might be difficult to sleep, we settled in. Shortly after another van pulled in beside us and that ws that, although we're sure nobody would have objected to over-spilling into the car bays.

Teatime came and went but it was 9.00 p.m. before there were any signs of life, then as they were setting up a BBQ the heavens opened. Didn't seem to deter them though and rather than a festival it looked more like a community party, which didn't really get going until 10.30. Having planned to stay here 2 nights (we like free!) we weren't too bothered about the noise and didn't retire until well past 1.00 p.m. Got good books! We think it went on until about 3.00 a.m. but we were not disturbed, well no more than Terry's usual nightly perambulations anyway.