France and back November 2024

We decided that we would shower and get ready for the trip to the Aire Terrasson-Lavilledieu, Eden, here at the Aire d'Orcines so that we were fairly presentable when we arrived.

Andy noticed that the van which had parked behind us was English and so he went to say Hi and we got chatting to the young couple from Nottingham.

They had driven down to Spain and back missing the storms in the Barcelona area which had taken so many lives, 200 as we write this! They asked us questions about battery power, park ups, tolls, low emmision and clean air zones and were very interested in our adventures so we wrote down some Youtube favourites of ours and gave them our own (this) website address.

We got on the road and were soon pulling into another layby for lunch of soup and bread roll before heading off on the final leg of our journey to Eden.

The final leg to the Aire as we pull away from the lunch lay-by.

We parked up and went to find our hosts, Marie and Bruno.

Kisses and hand shaking was abound and we were welcomed to the Aire as if we were long lost friends!

We choose a spot and parked it, deciding that we would probably not move now for three nights and got our chairs out to relax before bed.

2nd Nov

Another beautiful morning. We got on the bikes and went to the intermarche to buy some fruit as a gift to Marie and Bruno and some beers & Gin for the party tonight.

At 2:30pm we all met to help to prepare the veg and we got stuck in scraping, topping and tailing and chopping carrots while others were peeling spuds, chopping pumpkins and onions and lots more.

Back to the van to chill and eventually get ready for the party, mask and face paint on we walked across the yard and Marie met us at the door. We were welcomed with cheers and applause and sat at the long table opposite Rosette, her husband and Marie and were handed half pints of champagne punch, which just kept coming all night!

An evening of talk, laughter, drinking, eating and karaoke ended at 2:30 AM after lots of dancing and more laughter.

We eventually said our goodnights and all retired to our vans for a well deserved sleep.

3rd Nov

Last night we got to bed at about 3AM and we both had a well needed lie-in and didn't get out of bed until 9:30.

At 12:30 we wandered over to the 'party barn' where there was to be a gathering of friends later. Tables and chairs appeared outside the barn and in the sunshine and we went to join the crowd who had already gathered.

We declined the food which was on offer but joined in with the drinking and as the afternoon moved into late afternoon Andy got the acoustic out of the van and played some tunes for our friends for about 45 minutes which was well accepted and recorded so there will be some of that on here when it becomes available.

We decided to go back to the van for the evening and collected our stuff and retired fully intending to perhaps join the party again later but as the evening grew older we realised that we were too tired and stayed in the van and had an early night, Andy stayed up watching youtube but kept nodding off so he eventually gave up and went to bed at around 9pm!

4th Nov

Today we are leaving the Aire and will say aurevoir to all of our friends.

We got the van ready for the road and said our goodbyes and after visiting the service area we hit the road northbound aiming for the Aire at Lac de Saint Pardoux ///automotive.deploy.prods 

It was another hot day and the sky was clear and blue as we headed north east.

As we pulled into the Aire we soon realised just how big an area it took up. We saw the lake as soon as we pulled off the road but it took us a further five minutes to arrive at the barrier of the motorhome area as we had to drive past the resturaunt, basket ball court, beach volley ball area and a swimming pool!

We parked facing the lake as the sun was setting and we sat out in the fresh air with a beer/wine/Gin until it got cold enough to get back in the van for the evening.

5th Nov

We had to get to a shop to get some food so we got on the bikes and headed 8km to a Carrefour express just outside the village of Compreignac up and down some pretty steep hills but the bikes coped really well.

When we got back we had some lunch and got on the bikes again and explored the lake area, but first, Andy just had to send the drone up to get a better view of the lake.

We settled down for the evening and checked the travel apps (Search4sites and Park4night) to find a place for tomorrow night.

6th Nov

It was so peaceful last night, the only noise was the leaves falling onto the roof of the van and then our neighbour who was up early faffing around but when we checked it wasn't actually that early after all!

We got the van ready and pulled over the service area to do our business and then set off after chatting to Francis and Lorraine from Liverpool. We swapped numbers etc. and set off to our next park up.

We drove for about an hour and then stopped at an aire for lunch.

After a quick bite and a coffee we hit the road again.

Soon we were arriving at Saint Saturnin ///skaters.crumpet.farmers and we pulled into the Aire which was behind the goal of a disused football pitch.

We parked the van and took a few shots of the aire.

This was another free aire (at this time of year). There was a card reader and coin slot at the service area so we think that in the high season you would be expected to pay for the water, as is usual at these aires, but at the moment it is all turned on and free, and that includes the EHU so we connected the cable and went electric!

We had one other van as a neighbour but they were quiet and we had a really good, peaceful nights sleep.

7th Nov

A quick avocado on toast and then off for a walk. That makes it sound like we were up early but no, the walk didn't start until well into lunchtime!

We found the church, Eglise de Saint Saturnin, which was earily quiet for France, no bells! The door was open so we went in and it was small but beautiful inside.

There were lots of properties up for sale and some were obviously abandoned and had been empty for a while. We think that this could be due to the owners growing old and passing on, leaving it to the children who don't want to live in a very quiet village so they let it run down or sell it to the highest bidder. There are some very inexpensive properties around at the moment!

Back at the van for lunch and a rest before we plan our next destination.

8th Nov

An overcast start of the day but by the time we were ready to move on the sun had broken through.

We paid a visit to the service area and took on some water before heading off to the forest of Troncais, a massive forest which has many trails and walks, one was over 11 hours long!

After a short drive of about an hour we arrived at a picnic area.

///polka.skulk.pulpit

There were tree carvings and a really nice area to sit and have a bite to eat, so that's what we did!

We got on the bikes and explored the track nearest to us which lead us to the main road so we turned back and returned to the van. The forest is magnificent and enormous and we couldn't do it justice on this visit. There are walking trails which can take eleven hours to complete!

We packed up and set off for our over night parking spot in the town of Cerilly, ///squids.forgets.mapping stopping at a supermarket on the way for the usual essentials.

When we got to the Aire we chuckled to ourselves as it was another perfect example of a small town or village making camper vans and motorhomes welcome by providing simple facilities for them. The Aire was free to stay overnight and there was water (€2 for 100 litres) and electricity if you needed it (€2 per hour of electricity).

We had a walk around the town and discovered a small church which was surprisingly beatiful inside as from the outside it wasn't particularly stunning. Most churches here in Europe have ornate architecture externally but this one was more plain and unassuming.

The shops and bars were shut, low season, so we got back to the van and settled down for the evening.

9th Nov

That was another quiet night and we awoke refreshed and ready for the day  which would take us towards the Loire valley and a town (City?) called Nevers, on the banks of the Allier and Loire rivers where the two converge. 

We took advantage of the service area and emptied our tanks and then set off north east. 

It was only about an hours drive and most of it was on 'D' roads, the equivalant to our 'A' roads although there were also some narrow and winding 'B' roads and then a short stretch on the motorway which took us past Magny - cours race track so Andy diverted off of the motorway to the entrance of the track and did a 'drive past'. ///conclude.yourself.prattled

Soon we arrived at the 'embranchment de Nevers' which was a basin with a small dock or port linking to the Loire river and we parked in the large space with a view of the basin.

///dove.slid.enjoyable

The bikes were made ready and we went exploring into the city of Nevers across the river Loire.

The obvious selfies were taken and some other shots of the buildings including the Cathedral de Saint Cyr et Saint Julitte de Nevers, The Palais Ducal de Nevers and the Tour Goguin.

We looked for a bar and eventually sat out and drank beer at bar  O'spot before heading back to the van.

After a rest we thought that it would nice to go out for a meal tonight and because we are parked up in a city, or on the outskirts of one, it should be easy to find a place to eat? You're joking! 

We left the bikes locked up at the van and walked across the road to the Marine restaurant, where Andy had previously told the proprietor that we would be coming in later this evening, only to find it closed!

So, we carried on and walked back into town where there were lots of eateries which promised to open within the hour but none were suitable or were still closed when we arrived! GGGrrrr!

After finding the 'so called' pizzaria (which was a take away hut type cafe on the banks of the Loire) we ended up back at the Marine restaurant, 50 metres from the van which was now open!

"A table for two please" and with very little understanding either way of what was being said, we sat and were handed menus. We both choose the sirloin, frites and garnish option, (Steak n chips) with a glass of wine each and were not disappointed, very tasty and followed the meal with Creme brulee. €57.

10th Nov

We woke up to a misty cold morning and got on the road quite early (for us, 10am) and headed up the Loire valley, following the River Loire and its canal which shadows the Loire. We were aiming for a Camping Car Park site at the village Beaulieu sur Loire. ///elevated.consultancy.objections

At 11am UK time we pulled over to show respect for the fallen during the two world wars, sitting quietly for two minutes.

We were soon pulling in to the camp site and choose our pitch.

This was a lovely, smallish site which had all of the amenities, including showers, toilet block, pot wash area and the usual clean water and waste water facilities and 16 amp EHU included in the price of entry which at the time of writing comes to €12.60 per night.

Unfortunately, the toilet block and showers were closed for the low season (November - March) but we expected this to be the case as it is at this time of year but, as we are fully self sufficient with shower and toilet on board it didn't matter to us although we think that the price should be reduced if certain amenitiees are not available!

We filled the tank with clean water and parked as far away from the entrance and main road as possible and went for a long walk along the canal to the first bridge. We saw Herons and birds of prey in the fields and in the trees and swans on the water.

As we got to the bridge we estimated that we had walked for about 2 kilometres so we turned around and walked back to the van for a warm up. The temperature had dropped over the last day or two and we could feel winter coming.

We had a visit from a robin which is always a welcome site.

11th Nov

Bikes out today and off along the canal to a viaduct which took the canal across the river Loire. That was the plan but, although it was a lovely day and the bike ride was really enjoyable we decided that the viaduct was just a bit too difficult to get to so we turned around after about 7 kilometres and found ourselves in the village of Beaulieu sur Loire where there was a market/boot sale going on. We had a wander around for a while before heading back to the van.

12th Nov

We woke up to find the camp nearly empty as our neighbours we leaving in droves! By the time we were ready to go we were the only ones left on site!

We pulled over the waste drain and dumped the grey and black in the appropriate places and set off towards the source of the river Seine! We had found a free Aire in the village of Quarre les Tombes ///quads.sleeps.rocket which was on the way and it had water, waste dump and bins so off we went.

We had decided that we wouldn't drive too far today so this free Aire was only just over an hour to the east and we stopped off at an Aldi to re-stock.

Shopping done we hit the road again and soon arrived at Quarre les Tombes, although there were no signs for the Aire and we had to drive around in circles for ten minutes before we found the Aire!

Another free Aire, Thank you to the town of Quarre les Tombes for making this Aire available.

We parked and settled down for the evening, not expecting to go out as this was just a place to stay overnight and not necessarily to explore so Andy got his slippers on and relaxed. Then there was a knock on the door, our first one ever!

There was a young lady who spoke no English but obviously needed some oil for her car so Andy went to her aid with some of our spare oil. She opened the bonnet of her bashed up car and showed Andy the oil filler, which needed a funnel due to it's position and then a scruffy youngish French guy came running towards us and Andy immediately went on guard and was ready to react. The guy actually spoke some English and they managed to understand each other and whilst Andy was thinking that he had made a big mistake it worked out well in the end and managed to get some oil into the couples engine and they seemed happy with that.

Then the young lad showed Andy inside the car where, he explained, they both lived! It was dire and it was obvious that neither had washed for a while but they were both pleasant enough and Andy soon realised that they meant him no harm and he relaxed slightly.

Once back in the van Andy explained to Sue what had happened and they both agreed that he had taken a chance by going to help. It could have turned nasty at any time someone might have been hurt! Note to self: Don't be so helpful in future?!

13th Nov

We awoke to find that the young couple from last night had gone. We drove over the waste water grill and took on some clean water and then set off for the Sources of the Seine and an Aire which was close enough for us to bike it, the Aire de Chanceaux ///gulfs.undefined.confused

The Aire was empty! We were the only van there for about an hour and then a panel van turned up and parked at the other end of the Aire to us.

It was a nice park up for €12.60 a night with 16 amp EHU water and waste included.

We got the bikes ready and set off to find the Source of the Seine. We took to the road which soon turned into tracks but soon we arrived at the monument and the source.

It was amazing to actually be at the place where the Seine started, where it actually came out of the ground and flowed into a small stream where water cress was growing in it and then continued down the hill where it slowly grew over the next few kilometres eventually ending up as the famous river that we all know as it flows through Paris!

Ok, so back to the van now having taken the obligatory selfie with the monument in the background. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and writing this blog for the web site.

14th Nov

Today we are continuing our journey north and have found a free Aire so off we went.

We stopped at a petrol station to refuel but the price was a bit high so we only put 30 litres in to get us out of trouble, the fuel warning light wasn't on yet but was imminent.

As we pulled into the Aire at Buxeuil we saw that it was closed as the road workers were using it to store the equipment and materials, we would have to find somewhere else to stay tonight! So off we trot, back on the road.

We passed a monument to two army divisions that met at this place and Andy parked and ran back to get some video.

After that it wasn't long before we were arriving at the Aire but, the road was closed due to road works! We decided that we were going to blag it and drove along to speak to the road workers...who were French...but they were very helpful and with our broken, (very broken) French and their broken English they let us through to the massive Aire which was also being used as a boat storage yard and building materials store. We parked and took a deep breath and....relaxed.

THE 2ND HALF OF NOVEMBER WILL BE ON A SEPERATE PAGE, 

"CALAIS HERE WE COME"