Costa del Azahar

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 7 Comments

Sunrise . Well just after maybe.

We are on the Costa del Ahazar, or, in English, the Orange Blossom coast. We are in the sun at last tho’ it has been a bit windy.

En route to Peñíscola

There is a good cycle track from Benicarló to Peñíscola and yesterday we cycled the 8km or so along the coast to the old castle and harbour here.

Approaching Peñiscola along the cycleway

Castle guarding the harbour.

Peñiscola is a fortified harbour; the castle overlooking the port was built by the Knights Templar in the 1200’s.

The Castle

Lake in Peñiscola

We stopped for lunch overlooking the harbour and chatted to a friendly couple from Toronto, recently retired from Air Canada, who divide their winters between Spain and Miami. They told us its a little cold in Toronto just at the moment.

Lemon Tree alongside our cycle ride

Local Bike Shop

There are hints of the current invasion of Brits here and there.

Slow down Nia!

Speeding not allowed on the cycle track.

The Local Fishing Fleet

We cycled back and watched the fishing boats return to harbour in Benicarló.
The site here is English run, very friendly and easy-going. They had put on mixed paella and sangria for supper in the bar that night……very tasty.

Route to Benicarló

These are the last couple of legs on the Spring tour. Today, Thursday, we plan to move inland a few miles.

Tagged with: Benicarlo, cycles, motorhome, Peniscola, photography, Spain, valencia
Posted in - Spain, 2015 Spring, Benicarlo, Peniscola, Valencia

España

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 5 Comments

On Sunday we drove the 275 miles from Ruynes en Margeride to L’Estartit, in Cataluña.

Millau Viaduct in the Fog

We set off in the fog and rain and hit the sunshine around Beziers, where we turned right towards the border.

Penny keeping guard

We stopped for lunch just past Narbonne….Penny kept a lookout for anything dodgy while we ate.

The Pyrenees

Heading east along the mediterranean coast of France. There has been a lot of snow down here a week or so ago apparently and the skiing has been good.

Le Perthus

This is the border town of Le Perthus…full of Sunday afternoon shoppers nipping over the border for a bargain and very busy. There were long tailbacks heading back into France from Spain. Next time we’ll take the péage for that section. It was very tight in the town but we didn’t lose any paint.

There is all sorts of stuff for sale close to the border but I wasn’t allowed to stop.

The Border

We crossed into Spain mid afternoon and headed for Camping les Medes, a site we like in L’Estartit which is in NE Spain, just down the cost from L’Escala and close to Figures.

Camping Les Medes

Parked up facing south for the first night in Spain.

Les Medes et Les Garçons

We walked along the beach the next day for lunch at L’Estartit. The Islands behind me are Les Medes, from which the campsite takes its name.

Tapas

Lunch….a selection of tapas. Sorry to add yet more pictures of food. Our trip has been christened the gluttony tour by one of our so-called friends back in the UK.

Nick and Jenny

We met a delightful couple….Nick and Jenny…. that evening and traded ideas on places to stop in France and Spain.

Benicarlo

With rain forecast we headed off the next day to Benicassim, a small town close to Valencia. We had planned to stop at Bonterra Park, a campsite close to the beach, but in the event it was almost full and we couldn’t squeeze in. It was a bit busy and tightly packed, not to our taste. We headed to Benicarlo, a smaller town a few miles away and have stopped in Camping Alegria.

Tagged with: Benicarlo, border terriers, L'Estartit, Mavis, Millau, motorhome, photography, Spain
Posted in - France, - Spain, 2015 Spring, Benicarlo, Valencia

Newhaven to the Auvergne

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 6 Comments

We spent another day exploring Devizes, cycled there this time….about three and a half miles along the towpath.

Narrow Boats

Canal boating is big business here with narrow boats scattered here and there along the canal.

Bob and Mirv

Our friends Bob and Mirv picked up that we were in the vicinity from the blog and popped up in their motorhome to visit. We had planned a meal in the local pub where we had eaten the previous night but were met at the door by the landlord who apologised and said that the cook was sick and food was off. That may not have been the complete truth, chatting to one of the residents a few moments later he told us that there had been a loud argument between the owner and the chef that afternoon. So more likely gone off in a huff than sick. So we went in to Devizes and had a good nosh in the Crown, a pub next door to the Wadworths brewery.

On Wednesday we travelled down to Portsmouth, camped outside Southdown’s motorhomes that night and after our cracked side window was replaced we travelled on to Brighton for a curry with Nick, our friend from way back and Sara, his lovely girlfriend. We ate at the Blue mango restaurant on the marina…tasty southern indian food, best we’ve had for a while.

Newhaven Dieppe Ferry

The next morning we drove the 30 minute stretch along the coast from Brighton to Newhaven, past posh Roedean School looking out over the Channel (any old girls out there?) and boarded the 10am Dieppe Ferry. Departure was delayed by an hour….one of the stern doors was stuck…and we got to France at 3.30 pm French time.

Leaving Newhaven

The Ferry

The White Cliffs of Dieppe. And the Missus.

We drove the 100 odd miles down to an aire in Nonancourt, a small town close to Rouen

Rosie, Tony and Liz at Le Grand Cerf.

By good luck our friends Rosie and Tony were crossing the channel en route to Spain the same day as us and we got together with them at Le Grand Cerf, an eatery in Nonancourt, together with their charming friend Liz fom Paris; we celebrated the job Liz had just landed in Brittany.

Camembert Starter

Liz knows where and what to eat and the meal at Le Grand Cerf (The Big Stag) was amazing. After an appetiser of crispy things (sorry don’t recall proper name) with nice cheesy dippy thing, we moved on to melted camembert and sausage in filo pastry…yummy.

Next beef in a lovely rich sauce with veg, then a huge choice of cheeses from all over France. All epic, especially a soft one with calvados and raisins…sorry name gone again…

Cheese Board

Crepes

I finished with crepes suzette, cooked and ignited by the table.

Unsurprisingly we slept well after all that delicious grub. We set off south the next day, Saturday, at about 9.30 am. We drove along the route nationals all day, sharing the driving, with just one short section of péage (toll motorway) to avoid a slow section above Clermont Ferrand.

Ruynes en Margeride

We spent the night at an aire in Ruynes en Margeride, a small village about 4 miles off the A75 high in the Auvergne. We are camped in solitary splendour. It is a good stop off, with acres of dog walking and a boulangerie (open on Sundays) a short walk away. There is water and electricity should you need it. It is not uncommon for the water to be turned off in the aires in the winter…there was none at Nonacourt or Les Bordes ( a small aire we stopped at yesterday to walk the dogs and have lunch).

Food/Husband Advice

It has been a rather food orientated blog (and journey) but as our friend Mrs Frank Stephens points out, it is important to feed your husband well. I’m guessing Emmeline Pankhurst was not one of Mrs Stephen’s facebook friends.

Today, Sunday, is a good driving day with few lorries on the road and we will head on to Southern France and probably Spain.

Route so far

Tagged with: food, france, grande cerf, Mavis, motorhome, newhaven, nonancourt, photography, ruynes en margeride
Posted in - France, 2015 Spring, Nonancourt, Ruynes-en-Margeride

Devizes.. We find some useful advice for the young married couple.

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 16 Comments

We took the bus in to Devizes, about 4 miles form the campsite, this morning.

Devizes..The Old Swan Yard

It is a pretty and old town, very much centred around the Kennet and Avon canal and home to the Wadworths brewery (factoid of interest only to beerheads…you know who you are).

St Marys, Devizes

There has been a church here since 1150.

The Shambles

There is a little market here selling bric a brac and other assorted interesting stuff.

Bric a brac stall

Improving Literature

I picked up this leaflet for Nia, from circa 1906, with some most valuable advice to the young (and older) married girl.

There is also useful stuff such as suggestions on the selection of an appropriate husband ‘The kind of man to marry’ which I may have to share on future posts.

The Black Swan

We slipped in to the Black Swan for lunch….stilton and red onion tart, and cheddar and ham sarnies, for me and the Missus respectively…very nice too. Washed down with a little Pinot Grigio.

Antiques for sale

The pub is owned by an antiques dealer and there are useful items all around for sale. I was tempted by a 1930’s metal turning lathe but this suggestion was turned down by the boss on grounds of impracticality.

Kennet and Avon Canal

We walked back along the canal.

Caen Locks

These are the famous Caen locks, one of the longest canal lifts in Europe, built by engineer John Rennie in 1810 to take the canal up the steep hill at Devizes.

The Botox lock? What’s going on here?

Another Lock

Fishing

Tagged with: advice, Devizes, kennet and avon canal, young wife
Posted in - United Kingdom, 2015 Spring, Devizes, Wiltshire

We’re Off

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 3 Comments

After enjoying Cumbrian snow and ice for a while we have decided to make tracks south again and work on the suntans.

Skiddaw

This is a view of Skiddaw from the top of High Pike, taken after a heavy snowfall in January.

Mavis

Mavis is looking a bit cold and in need of some sun.

Walking down to the Village

Our Lane

Snow always drifts in to the lane up to our house, shown on the right of this picture, and being north facing holds on to it for a long time. We had planned to move south this Wednesday but Nia spotted a severe weather and snow warning yesterday so we hastily finished packing and left early this morning. We had a good trip down on the edge of the storm and got into Devizes Camping and Caravanning club site at about 3 pm, to a friendly welcome, as promised. The site is about 50 yards from the Kennet and Avon canal and we took the dogs out for a wet and windy walk. Invigorating.

The Canal.

Tagged with: Devizes, skiddaw, snow
Posted in - United Kingdom, 2015 Spring, Devizes, Wiltshire

The Last Post

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Peter and Nia — 6 Comments

Route to Northern France

We spent Monday night on the aire at Les Bordes (N47.810474,E2.40763), conveniently close to the D952. This is a good aire, adjacent to a lake and wood and with free water and drainage. The intention had been to lodge at the aire at Sully sur Loire, about 8 miles away by an old chateau, but this was closed for the winter. It is well placed, when open, being on a cycle path along the Loire and next to the extensive chateau estate and woods…excellent dog and human walking.
We were on our own at Les Bordes and had a quiet night.

Aire at Pont de L’Arche

We are on the last leg of the journey home; last night was spent on the aire here in Pont de L’Arche ( N49.305595, E1.158305), close to the Seine just to the south of Rouen. The aire is very close to the new pont (bridge) and a short walk to the shops. Every other shop is a boulangerie, packed with luscious bread and pastries, so we are stocking up for the long drive home tonight.

Boulangerie

Riverfront House

There are a lot of pretty part timbered houses here and an ornate old church.

Today, Wednesday, we will drive to Dieppe and catch the 6pm ferry to Newhaven. This docks at 9pm English time (4 hour crossing) and we will take it in turns to drive home through the night and hopefully avoid the dreaded M6 traffic.

Tagged with: france, Les Bordes, Mavis, motorhome, photography, pont de l'arche, Sully sur loire
Posted in - France, 2014 Autumn, Pont de l'Arche, Upper Normandy

Narbonne Plage to Saint Pourçain-sur-Sioule

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Peter and Nia — 7 Comments

Route North

We left Narbonne Plage aiming for La Couvertoirade, a fortified town in the Midi-Pyrenees, 70 miles to the north. However it is high in the mountains and the weather here was dire….low cloud, poor visibility and rain so we moved on to the next planned stop…La Malzieu Ville..a lovely historic town another 90 miles to the north.

Autumn colours . We are driving north on the A75

Millau Viaduct

Crossing the Impressive Millau Viaduct…this is the only bit of toll road on this leg.

Air Cover

The French Air Force sent up one of their planes to give us a flypast.

The Gevaudan Monster

This tableau at the entrance to Le Malzieu Ville commemorates the Gevaudan monster, a large wolf which marauded hereabouts in the 1600’s and was said to have eaten over 100 villagers.

Aire at Le Malzieu Ville

This is the aire; parking by the riverfront and a stones throw from the local shops. It is also close (too close, we subsequently discovered) to the village hall.
After a walk around the village, Colin looking out carefully for descendants of the Gevaudan wolf, we returned for grub, having entirely missed the posters advertising a disco in the village hall that night. It seems that discos here don’t start until about midnight and we were woken about 1 am by music from the village hall and found dozens of cars parked around us.

It was difficult to sleep and having considered the obvious option of just going to the disco and twisting the night away, we chickened out and moved on instead to the aire at Ruynes en Margeride.

Aires at Ruynes en Margeride

Ruynes en Margeride is a pretty, quiet, little village.

Ruynes en Margeride

After buying the obligatory baguette and coffee in the village centre, we moved on to St Pourcain sur Sioule.

Aire at Saint Pourcain

Mairie

Sign by Church

Our French is coming on in leaps and bounds. This sign says: ‘You cannot park your Porsche here’ (With thanks to Nia for this inspired translation).

Church of St Croix

This is a pretty old town…the church dates back to the 11th century.

La Sioule

Today Monday we walked over the Sioule hunting for the local vet…Colin and Penny need a certificate for their impending ferry crossing of the channel. We got hopelessly lost but a very nice French lady, on being asked directions, said it was a long walk….. ‘un grande promenade’ and clearly worried that we would never make it bundled us all in to her car and drove us there. (Good vet by the way…€31 for two dogs).

Next stop….the Loire.

Posted in - France, 2014 Autumn, Auvergne, St Pourcain-sur-Sioule

L’Estartit to Narbonne Plage

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Peter and Nia — 2 Comments

We are heading home to the UK; the next few posts may only be of interest to other boring old gaffers with motorhomes who like to ramble along slowly, and like to read about stopovers and routes through France.

Yesterday we did the 100 mile or so hop to an aire at Narbonne Plage, via the non-toll roads. We left Camping Les Medes at noon and drove about a mile up the road to the big GP supermarket where we stocked up with cheap goodies for Christmas. The supermarket, close to L’Estartit on the main road in from Torroella, has a large car park and is perfect for motorhomes.

Lunch Stop

We stopped for a (late) lunch at this picnic pull off just to the south of Perpignan.

We drove up the non-toll roads through Spain and France, following the green (Route National) signposts to Narbonne where we turned off right to Narbonne Plage.

Roman Columns

We spotted these Roman columns on a roundabout as we drove round Narbonne towards Narbonne Plage. Narbonne, wikipedia tells me, was the first roman city in France. The Romans were in charge until 413, when it was taken over by those naughty Visigoths.

Aire at Narbonne Plage

We are in splendid isolation here on the aire, looking out over the Mediterranean. Well not quite alone…the attendant was just leaving as we arrived so was able to lift the 10 euro overnight fee from us. If you arrive overnight you can just lift the barrier by hand to get in, and the attendant comes back at 8 in the morning, and turns the water on.

Aire GPS: N 43.146965, E 3.154099

View along the Beach to Narbonne Plage at Dusk

The aire is about a half mile south of the village Narbonne Plage.

View from the Kitchen Window

Coffee in Narbonne Plage

We walked into Narbonne Plage in the morning, for coffee with the Missus (Nia is the one on the right) and to pick up a baguette and Tartelette aux Pommes.
Today we drive 73 miles further north to an aire at La Couvertourade, Nia picked it out….it is in the mountains somewhere…looks good in the aires book. Watch this space.

Tagged with: Aire, cycling, france, Mavis, motorhome, Narbonne, Narbonne Page, route north, Spain
Posted in - France, - Spain, 2014 Autumn, Catalonia, L'Estartit, Languedoc-Roussillon, Narbonne Plage, RouteNorththroughFrance, Routes

Exercise Time

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Peter and Nia — 2 Comments

Morning Siesta

The boss has designated today as a cleaning day, in preparation for the trip home, so I shall have to take the torpid terriers for some exercise. There are plenty of cats to chase here, ‘tho, truth be told, Colin and Penny aren’t so bothered with running after the furry felines any more so it’ll be all down to me. And the cats are quite safe… I struggle to skip up the palm trees after them these days. Too many tapas over the years.

In order to appear busy and avoid being drafted into cleaning duties, I will blog a few pictures of the campsite.

Camping Les Medes

Reception

The site is lovely…friendly and efficient. We pitched up, no booking ahead as ever, and it was just…’find somewhere you like, let us know when you are settled…’

Joseph

This is Joseph, the owners son, ever helpful.

Lucretia

This is Lucretia who works in the campsite shop. Always cheerful, part time (unpaid) spanish coach, fresh orange squeezer, font of local knowledge…

The Outdoor Pool

Looks inviting, but empty at the moment. The clue is in the next picture.

Outdoor Pool Temperature

There is a good heated indoor pool, open in the day and the evening.

Marta Mas

There are free spanish lessons twice a week, taken by the delightful Marta. Today she was teaching four of us, from Belgium, Holland, Germany and the UK. So there is a wide breadth of pronunciations. It is very light hearted.

Nature Reserve

There is a nature reserve next to the site.

The Beach

And a beach about ten minutes walk away.

Some other local attractions:

There are plenty of well marked cycle paths and trails.

The River Ter

Local Rice Fields Being prepared for planting. Note the sleeping Bishop in the distance.

Irrigation for Rice Paddies.

Beach about 5 miles down the Coast. A Bit Crowded.

Tagged with: border terriers, Camping les Medes, Catalonia, Colin, cycling, Mavis, motorhome, photography, Spain
Posted in - Spain, 2014 Autumn, Catalonia

Out For Lunch

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Peter and Nia — 2 Comments

Route Map

On Tuesday we explored a bit further afield with the bikes; this is the route that we followed…courtesy of viewranger, the app we use to track our cycling.

We set off along the River Ter and then diverted into Torroella to buy a couple of notebooks…one of us has gone in to Christmas planning mode…and stopped to refuel on coffee from our favourite cafe close to the main square.

There are well marked cycle trails here and we set off again, over the river and turned left towards Gualta.

The path goes alongside some sort of storm drain here, almost empty.

Duck!

You need to get your head down where the path goes under the main road.

Past Orchards

There are a lot of orchards here.

This is the pretty church in Gualta, a small village about 2 miles from Torroella.

Sluice mechanism

There are old irrigation channels and waterways in the village.

Sant Martí

We carried on to the next village…Fontanilles….where there is another lovely old church.

Maria

We met Maria Dolores here…a real Catalonian enthusiast who gave us lots of suggestions about places to visit nearby. She told us about the port of L’Escala, closer to L’Estartit, which was apparently the landing point of the Romans and the start of Catalonia. As with most locals that we have talked to, Maria is a fervent Catalonian, and is desperate to split Catalonia off as a separate state. Madrid, seeing the much higher income of Catalonia compared to the other spanish regions, is not so keen.

Sant Martí

We cycled back along the side roads..no other traffic..to Gualta, and popped in to the local shop for a baguette. There were no filled baguettes or other instant food so I asked about a local cafe or restaurant. Apparently there was a good restaurant about a mile away, but neither my spanish or the shop owner’s english was good enough to get the route in to my thick head so the proprietor smiled, turned the lights off, shut up his shop and led us 2/3 of the way to the restaurant in his van, pointing it out when we were close enough. Now that is good service.