Read the DISTANCES
Yes we do have problems but doesn't everyone these are my diaries for the last two years of our meandering through France and Spain WITH our Caravan
2004
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 at 7am 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)
If we had got an earlier ferry we would have made the campsite But the Ferry didn't dock until 9:45am French time
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 (not recommended by us)
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 site called Ma Prairie http://ma.prairie@wanadoo.fr http://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 cafe 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 mechanic in Canet was a Plonkerand a cowboy)
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 cafe 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 12md
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
2005
25/8/05
Drive down easy until M25, as there was an accident, which meant closing the motorway whilst the Air ambulance landed and took the casualty to hospital
Little Switzerland (Wear Bay Road Folkestone) Usual great greeting, Steph got loads of complements due to them not having seen us for a year and the amount of weight she has lost. On Pitch number 2 this year. £12 for the night's occupancy. Quite a bad thunderstorm late evening we could see the heavy rain in Dover and in patches in the Channel.
26/8/05
Early morning to be a Eurotunnel for the 05:30 train which didn't run until 05:58 so we left Eurotunnel at 7; 35am (French time now), drove 669 miles, The AutoRoute's had very heavy traffic, almost as bad as the M25 around Lyon, one hold up Northbound to Lyon (on the A7) was 15km long, glad we were going South. We did three stops for diesel and food on the journey taking just under 12 hours in total, as we arrived at Montpellier Plage at 7:10pm. Weather been good until we arrived, temperatures up to 33°C.
We had one problem in that the nearside trim for awning rail came away and was trailing from the 'van held on by the nail at the back, the head of the nail at the front had broken off (Bailey sending some new to fit to both sides under warranty). TomTom almost got us into trouble by getting off the AutoRoute too early; there is a low bridge just on the outskirts of Carnon (and an escape too) heading to Pavalas les Flots. Montpellier Plage campsite on first impression isn't great, may only stay 2/3 nights to explore this area. Arrived just in time as thunderstorm started just as we had set-up camp.
27/8/05
Montpellier Plage
Campsite dirty, all grass brown except the Marsh grass.
Toilet blocks (3) all raised up (for flood defences!) though only one has disabled access, cleaned by using the fire hoses !!!.
Basic Southern European facilities but in poor repair.
Electric 4amp, French plug, reverse polarity, but power boxes take 10 plugs so when site empty you can get up to 10amps which is what the trips in the box are rated for (could be dangerous). Very little maintenance visible lot's of broken lighting, signs missing.
Security lax - lots of open doorways to the road whilst main entrance has barriers.
Radio (NRJ) reported huge traffic jams up and down France as the French go home at the end of the big holiday shutdown. Some hold-ups are 25km long, so we picked the best day to travel. We have had to take cover during another thunderstorm at midday. The front window leaked again but this time I could see where the water was coming from {top of window by the end of the hinge}. Went a cycle ride after the rain around Pavalas and Carnon. Then after tea first of many cooked on the Cadac , went out for the evening to Pavalas, where we went on the cable ride (ski-lift {1€}) across the canal. Stephanie decided to have cocktails (Planter's Punch at 8€ each) so we spent ages in the bar L'Escargot.
28/8/05
Morning started bright going to move tomorrow mid-morning. Cycled out to Maguelone arrived at the 12th Century Abbey and Domaine, then on the way back found a market in Pavalas. Where I got a 4.5m telescopic rod and reel for 15€. Temperatures have got up to 30°C this morning. Just taking a siesta before going to the beach. Had a couple of hours on the beach fishing on a groyne (made of rocks) broke the rod tip even before I started fishing.
Decided over tea we are going to the Interpals campsite tomorrow, planning by tomtom of a three and a half hour drive to Spain, then sat with some red wine and a cigar whilst I mended the rod tip.
29/8/05
Moved out of Pavalas at 9am arrived at Pals just before 1pm.
Interpals is not in the position the GPS put it, but about 1km further on we missed the one sign for it at the first attempt (found another since). We have found that the Spanish mapping is definitely lacking on the tomtom Navigator, as we have been on roads that are obviously older than us, but tom-tom said we were in a field. Worst moment was arriving in Masos de Pals and finding Speed hills not bumps, these were 20cm high, ramped edges were very steep and unless taken at 10km/hr you grounded something (even without the 'van on).
Interpals
Site is on hillside, in a pine forest as described in the book. Pitches are all terraced, but not perfectly level. Hook ups are 5amp; continental plug, reverse polarity and some have no earth.
There is a supermarket just outside the gates open at 8am until around 10; 30pm with no siesta. The campsite has a restaurant, bar and take-away. Internet access in 2 location's at 1€ for 15 minutes.
Lot's of campsite maintenance obvious, toilet / shower blocks cleaned twice a day. The site is very ecologically aware and campers are encouraged to separate waste for recycling.
The beach is just a short walk (400m) past quite a few small shops and bars. There are a couple of bars actually on the beach.
Spent some time drinking a couple of jugs of Sangria by the beach going back another night to try the food, which looks extremely good.
30/8
Decided to trip out towards La Jonquera and Le Perthus for two reasons, the first to checkout the return journey to France and to go shopping.
Shopping!!!!!!!!! Oh heck Le Perthus, anyone who decides to go for the experience take note, arrive before 9am to get a parking place, then pay for ALL DAY, you'll need it. The shopping is extremely varied and there are lots of bargains, especially for large quantity buying. This is the only place I have found yet that loves any currency as long as it's paper of course.
For you shoppers an example - 1litre of Glenfiddich 12 year old Malt 26€, one litre of Port 1€99.
On the way back we stopped at the Rio Ter to do a little fishing (of course).
31/8/05
Our 15th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Stephanie announced at breakfast she would like to go to L'Estartit by bike!!!!!.
We have just returned at 4pm (and the temperature is still only 33°!) it's 12.8 miles there but we came back by a cycle route of 14.8 miles (told by the bike shop in L'Estartit it was a short cut), we had a headwind both ways (been windy all day). We spent an hour on the beach there and had a swim, before finding a light lunch and returning, after getting Steph's bike fixed.
Out for our special meal to the restaurant by the beach, where we had the Sangria (Restaurant Solimar) had an excellent 3-course meal (Stephanie had prawn salad I had fisherman's mussels, we shared a beautiful Paella, for sweet Stephanie had chocolate truffles and I had Whisky flan) & two bottles of wine and cappuccino's for only €36 (les than £20)
1/9/05
Weather back to normal already up to 26° and it's only 9am.
Tripped out South along the coast, then back towards Girona and Decathlon to get some new bike carriers, we then came back to base and went on the beach. There seems to be some fishing to the south end of the beach, but after snorkelling found no weed or rocks, although there were a few fish none were large enough to keep if caught, but if you went a long way out, farther than the casting ability of the rods I'd got there were some decent fish. There were some Mullet but they too were less than 4oz. Snorkelling NEEDED wetsuits as water quite cold. The local supermarche is a Champion and being Spanish so much cheaper than France, took a couple of briques of wine (one red one white) to try as they were only €0.42 each.
02/09/05
Went into Pals this morning by bike went up into the walled part of the town and around the church on top of the hill, had a snack (Tapas) and drink in a quiet bar on the way down the hill. There was commercially made Trike outside based on a VW Beetle, which looked quite good.
Then after getting back to base Stephanie went to sun around the pool whilst I went fishing on the Ter came home with a brace of Mullet (about 3 1\2lb each) for tea. Also had a few Pumpkinseeds and some fish with fins like pike but a dark bronze colour and a pointed head with central mouth (still not sure what they were).
Stocked up with wine tonight you can guess why it's quite good for table plonk and works out at 28p a litre
03/09/05
Today started off bright, fitted the new bike racks before going to the beach, but a sea fret drifted in so we left the beach and headed to L'Estartit where we wandered the shops near the harbour. The sun didn't show until after lunch, when we moved to the bridge over the Ter Stephanie went to explore La Gola whilst I went fishing again didn't land any Mullet caught Pumpkinseed and a green eel, some more of those un-named fish.
04/09/05
Spent morning packing awning away and cleaning pinesap off, it bikes are now on new carriers, all ready for morning.
Spent the afternoon on the beach. Off to Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet later. Buffet only 8€50 we also had two bottles of house wine, left totally stuffed after 4 plates of food. Took a long walk to work the feeling off.
05/09/05
Stephanie woke me early so after breakfast she paid up and we hitched up and set off. We arrived at Marseillan Plage just after lunch we are at Le Charlemagne (a Yelloh site). Site is large and twinned with another across the road (Nouvelle Floride). Pitches are sandy, surrounded by a hedge some are strange shapes. Electric is supposed to be 6amp but 4amp tripped it. There is a water tap on pitch too.
Toilets are modern and clean. I could not find the supposed chemical toilet waste point after a long search, there is was in the toilets, in one of the hole in the floor toilets to be precise the only one with a water hose to rinse the cassette out.
Despite the large size of the site there is only one set of rubbish bins and no recycling despite signs saying there is.
You have to pay 24 hours in advance of leaving and if you are 1 minute past 12MD you cannot access the security barrier until you pay for another day (Ouch - don't be late leaving they do mean it).Lots of static vans on both sites, and Nouvelle Floride accepts tents but not Camping Cheques. The supermarket outside the gates opens 8; 30am (ish) until 14pm (ish) then again at 5; 30 (ish) until 7pm(ish).
Internet access is a single terminal, on a phone card system in the bar; you have to buy the phone card from reception when it's open.
06/09/05
Big thunderstorm (I do mean BIG) last night and now {10am} raining heavily again. Going to pay for stay and move tomorrow (campsite rules -pay day before you leave). Weather eased a little then we set off to find the market. Filled car up at the Intermarche (1€09 a litre) then went around Agde, for a couple of hours. When back at campsite got ready for morning. The weather then got BAD and I though the night before was BAD this was horrendous, Thunder and Lightning and RAIN campsite flooded to 3 inch and access road 6 inch.
07/09/05
Drove off around 8; 45am to head to the next campsite. After a good trip (even through Lyon) we arrived at La Grappe d'Or at Volnay.
Site quite large, pitches variable sizes, quite uneven levels but fine for one night stay you would have to arrive early to get a decent pitch for a longer stay as it does fill up fast.
Electric is standard Euro plug.
Toilet blocks are a little grubby and don't have separate seats.
Site fees are around 15€ a night without Camping Cheques.
There is an on site restaurant, shop and pool with waterslide.
We took a walk into Volnay apart from lots of Caves there is one Petit Casino and 2 bars both of which close at 7pm!!. From the site there is a panoramic viewpoint of the Mersault area.
We plan to leave as soon as the gates open for the last 300 or so miles to Chateau du Gandspette.
08/09/05
Trip to Gandspette was easy. Found site easily, were allocated a pitch (number 6) at the far end near the static vans, and new toilet block. Pitch is sloping in 2 directions.
Backing on to pitch the motor-mover disengaged (it was faulty and is being repaired/ replaced under warranty without question), before I could get the brake on the 'van, it hit a sapling. The rear panel is cracked in 3 places. Effected temporary repairs, informed Red Pennant who said that that is all they would have got done, said I would contact the Clubs 5c's insurance once home for repairs, they said that is what they would recommend.
We decided to return home next day (Friday) instead of Sunday as planned, rang Eurotunnel who told us to turn up and they would get us on the next train they could without extra charge.
Did last minute beer run to the Auchan in St Omer, had tea of fresh Tuna steak's and salad, and then had a drink to relax before heading to Eurotunnel in the morning.
If you managed to wade through all of that well done it took weeks to write
There you go there are pictures to if you want they are athttp://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j115/Madcaravanner/France/ and
http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j115/Madcaravanner/Spain/
