tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43707676506525014762024-03-22T02:16:27.664+00:00Motorhoming with NEILMACneilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-57066997308822437482015-09-06T17:43:00.004+01:002015-09-06T17:43:47.304+01:00Planning? What planning?We don’t normally plan much for upcoming travels, only the destination and an idea of the route along the way.<br />
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This trip is a little different because we will be touring in a big loop with the start being the same as the finish. That is, we’re not just going from A to B, we’re going from A to A! - With loads of places in between…<br />
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There is no real time pressure on this trip either other than a couple of commitments in December, although still in the motorhome and at the tail end of this trip. So that’s a good 3 months to wander about.<br />
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So we set off mid September(ish) from south of Valencia for the rest of the year…<br />
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Caromac has the right idea, when I said I was going to sort out some potential stopovers she asked why? “We only need the first one, after that we’ll see what we find”. Okay then, but the map gives an idea as to where we’ll be looking!<br />
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Although the basic map shows about 2500 kms distance we’ll do rather more as we seek out more stopovers to log/photograph/video and hopefully we’ll spend some time at the ones we fancy.<br />
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Other than being packed and loaded the van is ready for the off. We hope to have most angles covered regarding internet access while we’re away so we can keep in touch with folks, update our blog from time to time and generally take care of the Club Motorhome website - response times to queries may be a day or two instead of an hour or two!<br />
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So, with our route and stopovers ‘not' planned (well very vaguely anyway) we’re getting pretty excited about setting off.neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-83556119128931157222015-02-09T10:13:00.000+00:002015-02-09T10:13:04.590+00:00Onwards to France<div>
All went quiet and we got our peaceful night. By next morning the snow had cleared on the roads a little making progress much more enjoyable. Other than TomTom taking us into a residential area via a single track, meaning a reverse out of maybe a kilometre!</div>
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Once on the way the main roads were easy. The A15 towards San Sebastian is newish and free and stays far enough south of the mountains to keep fairly clear.</div>
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On entering France we headed to our old favourite stopover at Hendaye Plage only to find it had been redeveloped into a new barrier entry parking at a whopping 10€ a night for what amounts to a station carpark, services also no longer free and now require 4€. We pressed on to Biarritz. Also a new barrier entry to the Aire and now 12€ but that does include electricity and services and it IS Biarritz! </div>
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Digger had a fabulous time running wild on the beach which seems tolerated at this time of year. So he was a very happy boy.</div>
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From Biarritz we decided to revisit some Aires enroute to our next nightstop. This gave me a chance to photograph and video them to add or update the information on Club Motorhome.</div>
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Aires visited we ended up a very quiet Capbreton, the Aire that is - the sea was roaring! After an invigorating walk on the beach we got tucked indoors with the heating on for the night.</div>
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We were thinking of staying 2 nights but with the thought of a deadline to get to the Eurotunnel we decided to press on, any spare days could be spent further North.</div>
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Several Aires photographed and videoed we pulled in at Roullet in the Poitou region. Bitterly cold and we had a brief chat with a Brit couple in their Bessacarr and again tucked ourselves back in the warm.</div>
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Temperatures rarely got above freezing as we carried on our way the next day. A fairly long stretch and arrival in darkness at Villedomer - it started snowing again...</div>
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Services turned off we needed a stopover for water soon and we also needed to start looking for a vet for Digger to get his passport stamped. We ended up at Brezolles, an Aire we've used several times and a familiar vet. Mind you they still charged 32€ for the privilege of their rubber stamp! And the water was turned off at the Aire......</div>
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We actually manage our water storage quite well in this motorhome. It doesn't appear to spill a drop whilst on the road (unlike our Bel-Air which could lose a quarter of a full tank) so we got another day out of what we had onboard. We headed for an Aire with paid water supply for our next stop and sure enough the water wasn't turned off. The Aire was at Pont de l'Arch in the Normandy region and what a lovely spot it was too.</div>
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The small town beside the Aire was delightful and being a Sunday the market was in full swing. We explored a bit before setting off.</div>
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We have the rest of our route fairly well planned but made a slight detour to look at the recently constructed motorhome Aire at Neufchatel en Bray. We hadn't travelled very far but felt it would be nice to park up early and make use of the included electricity and wifi.</div>
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neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-67657169504534163342015-02-09T09:52:00.001+00:002015-02-09T09:52:16.943+00:00Comfort zone and then the oppositeOur next night was at a campsite we often use in the heart of Huesca. It's cheap in the winter due to a seasonal discount and we usually treat ourselves to a meal in their bar restaurant. The steaks are cooked over wood embers and are usually very good, sadly not this time though but never mind.<br />
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Our plan from here was to look at some Aires along our route towards the western end of the Pyrenees where we planned to cross into France.<br />
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This is where our comfort zone finished! As we left Huesca in freezing weather the skies soon changed from bright and sunny blue to heavy grey and all the roadside warnings were telling us the obvious - snow!<br />
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Well it wasn't long before the white stuff appeared and increased in strength. Our target was Jaca to some official parking by the fort. We got to Jaca, which was lovely in the snow, but there was no way we would have been able to access the parking with maybe a foot of snow on the side roads leading to it. So finding somewhere to turn around, no mean feat, we headed off towards Pamplona. This meant missing out on a couple or three Aires further into the Pyrenees - what had I been thinking of?<br />
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It was a really long slog all the way mainly in second and third gear due to the road conditions. We also had a two-and-a-half hour delay in a traffic jam! By the time we got through it whatever it was had been cleared and we're none the wiser as to the cause. The delay did give us a chance to enjoy the winter wonderland scenery, eat lunch and drink tea, unlike the poor folks in their cars.<br />
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Arriving at Pamplona it was dark, snow still falling and a nightmare to navigate - and when we got to our parking area it was impossible to access (shows the value of proper inspected and reviewed stopovers!) so we pressed on until we reached a petrol forecourt that wasn't too badly snowed up. Checking my notes I put in the co-ords of the next nearest place and was delighted to find it was only a few kms away. We found the Aire and parked up with another van (British). Unfortunately the snow covering had brought out the boy racers so we had to put up with their skid practice for a while but apart from that we hoped for a quiet night.<br />
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<br />neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-74117183283716112102015-01-31T21:55:00.001+00:002015-01-31T21:55:10.652+00:00Wind in the night<br />
We got the early night that we wanted but there was little sleep to be had - howling gales all night. It was like trying to sleep in a boat that was being rocked by waves. It was possible to hear the gusts coming before they hit the van, then bam! I got up during the night to check the security of the roof-lights as they were being torn at by the gusts. Even the folding shower doors has to be clipped back into place as they were swinging and clattering with the motion of the van.<br />
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I'm writing this over morning coffee and the wind is still howling. It's going to make interesting driving on today's mountain roads!<br />
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So today the roads have actually been quite good, not like the wind which has been atrocious! I had to literally fight the steering wheel to keep a straight line for a lot of the day. Before long we had persistent rain to accompany the wind. Anyway we found a couple of Aires that we wanted to review. One being quite nice, in a big wine growing area. We stopped there for some lunch before setting off for the other which was an odd sort of affair.<br />
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Our satnav wanted to take us in via a very narrow route so we chose to ignore it. We then found a motorhome parking sign indicating 100 metres, then about a kilometre on another saying 100 metres, then another arrowing to turn left down a riverside track and then another indicating an impossible turn left into some big trees. We manoeuvred in but then gave up as there was no sign of services so reversed the entry procedure and carried on to our night-stop at Teruel.<br />
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We found the mixed parking area opposite the Guardia Civil HQ and parked ourselves in a quiet spot in the far corner. I took Digger for a little walk around and a recce and decided to ask at the HQ if we were OK to stay for the night. I asked the officer on mirror-on-a-stick security duty at the gate in between checking the undersides of incoming vehicles. He confirmed that we were fine and that if we had any worries we could park a bit closer to them so that they could keep an eye on us! This is not the first time that we have had such a friendly response from the Guardia.<br />
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Caro went off for an explore and came back with a change of plans for dinner - we're having pizza.<br />
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Another motorhome (French) pulled in towing a car on an a-frame and parked at the end nearest the Guardia. They obviously had no qualms about the legality of their outfit - good on them!<br />
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<br />neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-91539833971211040522015-01-31T21:41:00.000+00:002015-01-31T21:41:15.639+00:00Heading North in winter!To coincide with MOT time for this van we need to be in the UK for March/April so we left our relatively warm and certainly sunny Spanish base with a view to meandering up through France to get a Tunnel crossing on the 11th of February. In order to enjoy what might be the last of our good weather for a while we made a small detour and spent the first 3 nights of our trip at Calpe with some of our friends that had been there since before Christmas.<br />
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They're good planners these friends, so on arrival we were immediately whisked off to attend their alfresco Australia Day group lunch. Wow what a treat they laid on! Lots of barbecuing going on obviously and a fair amount of alcohol too.....<br />
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The next day another lunch was hosted by other friends (and Club Motorhome members) Starters, mains and desserts from all directions and lots more alcohol..... Not quite sure how we would cope if we stayed here very long .<br />
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Our last full day was a little more laid back but somehow still, very nicely, included afternoon teas and more alcohol!<br />
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On leaving Calpe our plan was to take some days before crossing into France to explore some Aires that we have become aware of. Fitting these into our route meant that we took some different roads to the ones that we are familiar with and we found ourselves on single track mountain roads inland of Valencia finding the first two.<br />
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The views were spectacular as we climbed higher into the inland mountains. The first Aire that we found was above the village of Bicorp. It was a little early in the day to stop so I just took some photos and a video - how windy it had become! Just time for a comfort break and off we'd go.<br />
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A little tip for you.... If you leave somewhere at sea level and your toilet cassette is empty and then you climb to high altitude and wish to use the loo, make sure you open and close the toilet blade BEFORE you put anything into the toilet. Do it the other way and the built up air pressure bursts out of the cassette taking anything in the toilet bowl with it - straight upwards to the person operating the flap. I had forgotten my own tip. Oh, how I laughed..........<br />
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The weather was definitely changing for the worse...<br />
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Lots more mountain kilometres later we arrived at our night-stop outside the town of Turis. The Aire itself is not much to write about other than it's free, has parking bays divided by hedging and has free services. It's also next to a tyre depot and petrol filling station but once you're tucked in with your blinds closed you'd never know. After the social life of the last few days an early night was probably in order.<br />
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The immediate surroundings certainly didn't spoil the sunset<br />
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<br />neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-91436046830005791642014-10-11T15:15:00.002+01:002014-10-11T15:15:42.884+01:00Mooching around the PyreneesA catchup blog as we have just spent 6 weeks on the road, the first 3 weeks hunting for some more Aires to add to the website listings - and we found some crackers! All of which will be added in as soon as time and internet access allow. The second 3 weeks were guiding some of our Club Motorhome members through some of the lesser known parts of eastern Spain.<br />
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We started from our Spanish base and used the newly setup Aire at Daimus for our first stopover. Being not too far from home gives us the chance to get ourselves all setup tidy for the rest of the trip. Expecting to be away for around 6 weeks its handy to pop back for anything major that's been overlooked. As it turned out there wasn't anything to be concerned about.<br />
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From there we headed north and stopped at a German restaurant that we had been told about 10€ a night or free if you use the restaurant, which we did. We spent a pleasant evening in company with a Belgian motorhome couple.<br />
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Heading north but still in Spain we pulled in at an Aire we used some 3 years ago to check it out as it was due to be one of our stops on the Run in Spain meet in a few weeks time. All was well except for the heat! 37.5 degrees..... We sheltered in the shade of a large building until sundown. With no hookup cooling in the van was limited but we managed. Typically Spanish we were disturbed at about 10.30pm when all hell let loose as the local drum band turned up for a practice session. Loud doesn't even come near to describing it and the sound reverberated around the surrounding mountains. All good natured though....<br />
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I had some concerns about one of our rear tyres keeping its pressure as it certainly looked a little soft. Checked with a gauge it certainly was! We called at the first available garage to use their air line. I had recently fitted some posh wheel-trims and matching valve extensions, these had been fine in storage but may have been leaking a little in use.<br />
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Up into the Pyrenees we made for the Bielsa tunnel rather than going right over the top. Still plenty of winding steep climbs though and our unreliable temperature gauge was dancing all over the place - mainly in the red! I had checked though and nothing was that hot under the bonnet so I knew not to be alarmed by it. We had to wait at the entrance of the tunnel for our turn at the contraflow system and the van didn't like that at all. The trouble with all this computer controlled system things is where they get their info from....... The engine was not overheating but the gauge sensor(s) said it was so the system shut the engine down to half power just as we had to lead a queue of traffic through 4kms of tunnel - great! All was restored as we exited and started downhill again and no troubles since!<br />
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We had a schedule to keep in that we were due to meet up with caromac's sister who was going to be on holiday near Bergerac, but until then we could just wander from Aire to Aire. The first we came to, not far from the Bielsa tunnel was high up in the Pyrenees. By a ski station and more or less deserted at this time of year we found ourselves completely along and were absolutely stunned by the magnificent views from our overnight parking spot...<br />
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Next morning the tyre was well down again... Then I remembered I had a small tyre compressor somewhere. Connecting this just let more air out - the compressor pipe had perished. With no air lines within miles we gingerly drove down the mountains and looked for possibilities of help in the villages. We came across a small council depot and they said I could use their compressor - brilliant! It didn't work! Not so brilliant. With even less air in the tyre now we crept along. I spotted a small farm complex with a blue cylinder just inside the door, a compressor perhaps? Pulling in there were a couple of lads working there and it was indeed a compressor... and it worked! They wouldn't take any beer money as a thanks but we were very grateful. I removed the offending valve extension and we've had no more troubles since.<br />
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We slipped into a daily routine of generally heading in the direction of Bergerac but wandering off course to check out any likely Aires, staying at ones we liked.<br />
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To be continued.....neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-86002441630448232622014-07-05T18:17:00.003+01:002014-07-05T18:17:51.639+01:00Van fixed, onwards and downwards (south that is) :)Well the RAC did us proud, the warranty company were a complete waste of space (as expected to be honest) and we are back in business!<br />
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The Iveco agent replaced the big old aluminium casting which is the alternator and ancillaries support, belt tensioner and belt itself at, what we think is quite a reasonable cost, 360€. So it could have been a lot worse!<br />
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Anyway we retrieved to van and carried on with our travels stopping at the Aire at Benicassim for the night.<br />
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From there it was just a couple of hundred kms to our Spanish base where I can now settle down for a while and update the <a href="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/">Club Motorhome website</a> with all our new stopovers.<br />
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A trip to remember!neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-11918069849599143632014-06-30T09:39:00.000+01:002014-06-30T09:39:02.291+01:00The best laid plans.....Having spent several enjoyable but uneventful days at some Mediterranean Aires we pressed on south into Spain. We stayed at a couple of our favourite stopovers, Saint Feliu near Girona and Peniscola near to Vinaros.<br />
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A few miles out of Peniscola I felt the steering go very stiff so pulled in at the next safe stopping point which was a fuel station (closed as it was a Sunday) and popped the bonnet to investigate.<br />
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All seemed Ok with the steering fluid but then I did a double take as I noticed the alternator was sitting at a strange angle and its pulley had no belt on it! Access to an A-Class engine bay is a little restricted but reaching in I discovered that the alternator was just resting on a ledge at the side of the engine and had actually sheared its cast mounting bracket.....<br />
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We were going nowhere.<br />
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Finding all our relevant paperwork I called the RAC breakdown service back in Norwich and after lots of form filling questions they set the wheels in motion to recover us. So far the RAC have been fantastic! They have contacted us regularly to tell us what had been going on and to ask us if we'd seen the recovery truck yet etc. When we said no they went off to chase it and called back to explain that the delay had been because they needed to source a BIG truck.<br />
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A while later a blooming great artic unit and low loader arrived and the van was loaded onto it.<br />
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At this point we were a little surprised to be told by the very polite driver, in Spanish or course, that we wouldn't be able to travel with it because there were 2 of us plus our dog! Anyway another call to the RAC and they were surprised but would find us a taxi that would take dogs.<br />
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With a couple of hastily packed bags we stood abandoned on the deserted forecourt in the middle of nowhere watching our 'home' driving off on the truck into the distance....<br />
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We were entertained by the comings and goings of various vehicles calling on the services of a working girl who shared 'our' forecourt.<br />
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Quite some time later, as we were just starting to wonder what our 'plan b' might be a taxi arrived and took us back to Peniscola, to a hotel (that accepted dogs) organised and paid for (except 8€ for Digger) by the RAC. We were very relieved and settled in to think about what next...<br />
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Again the RAC called to see that we were settled in OK and that they would call again the next morning with an update on proceedings.<br />
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Using the hotel wifi I took the opportunity to prewarn the warranty company of our claim and to email the dealer we bought from to let them know what had happened in case we needed any support from them with the warranty company.<br />
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Sure enough next morning (this morning as I write) the RAC called to say the motorhome will be transferred to an Iveco garage today and that they will organise a taxi to pick us us and take us to a car hire place as per their policy.<br />
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So, I'm sure this won't be without further dramas but so far I have nothing but extremely high praise for RAC European Breakdown cover.neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-43796124950064036442014-06-22T17:27:00.000+01:002014-06-22T17:27:10.745+01:00More Aires Hunting<h3>
More Aires Hunting - Day 1</h3>
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In true motor-homing spirit we've been very casual about planning this trip south. We had to hang around a bit in the UK for the shower repair and a couple of other small things but as soon as was possible we had our channel crossing booked.<br />
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Eurotunnel prices had gone through the roof for the days we wanted so we booked a very unsociable 1.23AM! We took a bit of a chance and arrived very early, about 5pm and they very kindly rescheduled us to cross 6 hours early at no extra cost - thank you Eurotunnel! We also found out that the huge prices were because we had chosen dates leading up to the 24 hour Le Mans racing - doh!<br />
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So, arriving late evening we just popped around the corner from the Calais terminal to Cite Europe for the night. A leisurely meal, bottle of wine, some French TV and a good night's sleep followed.<br />
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Next morning after breakfast and over our traditional couple of cups of coffee we studied the map to decide on our approximate route. Although definitely heading for Spain we had not decided whether to go down through France via the coast, through the middle or via the eastern side and the Rhone-Alps. More or less tossing a coin we chose the Alps. Mostly based on the theory that at this time of year the coast will be hectic, inland hot and from previous experience the Alps offer stunning scenery in the summer without having to contend with snowy conditions at high altitude.<br />
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With the loss of an hour on the clock and the above lazy start a couple of hundred toll-free Km's will do for today so we're heading for the St-Quentin area in Northern France and we'll see what turns up en-route. After that we will be taking in some of the Champagne region, Burgundy and maybe a little of Eastern France as the days progress.<br />
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Well, 'en-route' we came across a very pleasant Aire, nearly missed due to the very small sign giving away its location. A canal side spot with free parking, and free services including free unmetered electricity..... Albeit it only overnight. So we stayed.<br />
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We had the place to ourselves and once settled in went off for a wander along the canal. Several fishermen were trying their skills, one offered us his catch to eat! Back at the van we acquired 2 neighbours, a Dutch couple and a German couple. The latter being of the type who fidget for ages before they settle down - try a different space, turn and face the other way, move forwards a bit, end up parked right up close to us (never mind the 5 other free spaces) and then go backwards and forwards to their lockers opening and slamming the doors, hey ho its all good fun.<br />
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I'll update and upload the blog as and when we have wifi of some description<br />
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<h3>
Day 2</h3>
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A very lazy and late start, must be the hour lost still! Plan today is another couple of hundred km's hoping to stopover around the vineyards of the Champagne region.<br />
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Sat nav set for an approximate destination we set off to see what turns up. With a late start we didn't bother with a lunch stop, just brief pauses to have a look at a few Aires on the way - seems to be a bit of a canal theme to our findings!<br />
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Through Picardie and into the Champagne-Ardenne we headed to an Aire that we had used a couple of times before at Mareuil sur Ay but on the way we found a fabulous stop right by the vineyards of the big label producers Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Bollinger. The Aire has 8 spaces and still plenty of room enabling us to get the end spot with a great view to just gaze at<br />
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After a walk around the village, unfortunately too late in the day for some tasting, we settled down to food and to get the TV tuned for the Spain vs Holland world cup match.<br />
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<h3>
Day 3</h3>
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Spain are going to have to pull their socks up!!<br />
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Another 200 km destination although there is a lovely canal-side (again!) Aire that we used a few years ago that might tempt us to stop a bit early, a beautiful spot with all services and although not free it was very cheap. This day would take us right to the bottom of the Champagne region.<br />
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Driving was fairly uneventful but I am feeling more comfortable with the van. On an Iveco base its very lorry like as opposed to our Bel-Air which was fiat based and very car like to drive. The gear-change especially has a very long throw and feels quite clonky at first. The engine doesn't feel that it wants to be revved hard through the gears and, like the lorries I remember driving years ago, works at its best when kept in the green power band on the rev-counter. Initial calculations show that we're averaging just over 25mpg which at 4 and a half tons I'm very happy with.<br />
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Arriving at Froncles, the Aire I mentioned, we were really disappointed to see the state of it. A couple of really grubby vans and an old coach looked like they had taken permanent residence with associated debris strewn about and the others were jammed in at all angles with washing lines up - it all looked more like a travellers camp!<br />
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Back to plan A then, As we went through Landres we followed the signs to a town centre Aire but on arrival we found that although the services were open the parking had been blocked off and prohibited signs put up.<br />
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Another 15 or 20 kms on we pulled in at a village Aire that we recognised from about 4 years ago, it had been full then so we hadn't stayed but this time there was room. The pitches are good sized and in pairs bordered by hedging. We soon got parked and settled in. There's a 5€ charge but includes EHU and services and we found out later, showers and toilets too - we always use our own facilities but it's great for those who don't.<br />
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A couple of Brits were considering their parking options in order to be able to receive satellite signals for England's game against Italy but the surrounding trees were a problem. We just put up our Status aerial and found TF1 HD amongst our Freeview channels and job done<br />
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We decided we'd stay an extra day.<br />
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<h3>
Day 4</h3>
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A day of rest.<br />
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Thats's a laugh! Well, that's what we call it anyway<br />
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A great opportunity to finish a couple of jobs on the van whilst we are rested up in lovely surroundings.<br />
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Firstly I got the inverter connected up to power. I had previously installed the unit and run the necessary cables behind trim and through lockers etc to get the power where it would be needed. For some reason Carthago don't seem to think you might need any power points at the front of the van, they only supply 4 singles which are all amidships. The inverter (300W) is now mounted in the garage near to where the leisure batteries live and there are now power points in the rear bedroom, middle cupboard and front lounge, the latter being able to run off mains or inverter. The whole inverter supply can be turned off from inside the van via a switched relay.<br />
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With that done I bolted our old safe into its new position and tidied the garage a bit, to be fair though its carrying lots of stuff bound for Spain so can't help but looked a bit cluttered.<br />
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A quick look at the map and it will be another 200 kms tomorrow.....<br />
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<h3>
Day 5</h3>
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After filling and emptying as required we headed to the nearest E'Leclerc to get some shopping, fill up with diesel and give back our French Butagaz cylinder that we used in France in our old van which didn't have the refillable cylinders that we now use - on production of our original gas contract and ID we got our 9€ deposit back too.<br />
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Having had no wifi for a few days we also headed to a MacDonalds to see if all was well in the world. Their car park looked a bit tight so I pulled in at a garden centre opposite and used a long range aerial to get a just about ok signal. Caroline went for a wander around the centre to 'justify' our parking . Emails sorted, blog uploaded, lunch eaten (that time already!) we set off for Burgundy.<br />
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Our afternoon's driving finished in the south of the region at Louhans. Its a lovely Aire that we first visited a few years ago when it had first been refurbished. Set by the riverside its nicely laid out and landscaped with the planting of 50 different varieties of pear trees which were now coming along nicely.<br />
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Tomorrow should see us up into the Alps....<br />
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<h3>
Day 6</h3>
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After visiting Aires on the way we ended up at a charming location next to a small swimming lake, Serrieres En Chautagne. Parking and services free next to a little stream, we felt another day off coming!<br />
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We took advantage of the local bar's take-away pizza option and very good it was too.<br />
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A nice peaceful, if very warm, night other than the many local bullfrogs croaking the night away!<br />
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<h3>
Day 7</h3>
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The plan was to follow one of the local circular walks up into the mountains.<br />
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Whilst having our traditional morning coffee there was a determined knock at the van door. A Frenchman enquired as to whether we would be staying 'this night'? He advised us not to be worried by gunfire because 'tonight we kill some bad animals!'<br />
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We're intrigued to say the least!<br />
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We set of on the planned 5.4km walk which took us all of two and a half hours due to the slowness caused by the gradients but it was well worth it following waterfall after waterfall.<br />
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The viewpoint towards the highest point gave us an idea of just how far we'd climbed as we could look right down to our van in the Aire below.<br />
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By the time we got back to the van the lakeside bar had opened up so it seemed rude not to sit with a couple of cold pints for a while never mind the cost<br />
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Having had at least a day's exercise the rest of the afternoon was spent reading maps and books in preparation for more of our journey.<br />
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<h3>
Day 8</h3>
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Well, no gunfire in the night so I have no idea what that was all about......<br />
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Anyway, after a fill and empty we set off for a scenic day. Beautiful village after beautiful village we progressed through the Rhone-Alps and before long we were gaining altitude. Another difference discovered between this and our last van is the lack of engine braking on long descents - I can see more frequent changes of brake pads coming.<br />
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Our 200km day was a long one on these sort of roads so we were glad to reach our stop for the night. Pont du Fosse is a lovely Aire that we first used about 4 years ago, on arrival it was clear that it has been a little neglected since. However, its still free to stay and its a great location, we may have another day off tomorrow to walk the local routes as we did last time. (Incidentally, Pont du Fosse [link] is available for public viewing in full detail in the relevant stopover section on Club Motorhome).<br />
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<h3>
Day 9</h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">A change of plans</span></h3>
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Rather than a day off we decided to proceed south, our intial destination being on the Med coast but thinking about a long day we decided to split the journey with a night-stop about half way.<br />
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Before setting off properly we nipped about 15/20kms into the mountains for some scenic photos, at somewhere over 2000mtrs we found our spot. We would have used the Aire at Orcieres but at 10€ a stop (18€ in the ski season) we used a public car park for a brief stop.<br />
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While I fiddled about getting photos Caro decided to start walking back down and I had instructions to catch her up in about half an hour - fair enough!<br />
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Once reunited we continued our day's journey.<br />
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Nothing remarkable about the drive - its amazing how quickly you become familiar and complacent about the scenery... We did have a MacDonalds wifi stop but other than having a lunch break (not McD!) it was a waste of time - their signal, my laptop or aerial weren't playing so we (I) gave up.<br />
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Our destination was an Aire by an observatory in a small village - big mistake! Access appeared to only be via the village and its very lucky we didn't damage our van or any one else's property squeezing through the tiny streets, several locals came out to watch our progress...... Eventually we came across some roadworks and we abandoned our quest.<br />
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Exiting the village our satnav told us it would be another 18km before we could turn around and I believed her - that was the second mistake! She directed us through the most tortuous 18kms you could imagine, the only good thing is I now know exactly how small roads and gaps can be and still be passable!! After that 18km detour we were back towards the ridiculously small village on the same road that we had left it on - the air was fairly blue.....<br />
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We found another Aire a few kms away at Dauphin, another tiny village but easier to navigate. The Aire is as good as disused but as we had no need for services it was a nice place with a countryside view to park for the night.<br />
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Tomorrow it'll be the hustle and bustle of the coast<br />
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neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-10550778365339265322014-06-11T16:57:00.000+01:002014-06-11T16:57:11.989+01:00Making friends with our new van<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We attended the Carthago Owners Club UK gathering in York which was our first proper camping. The meet was in the grounds of a stately home, Sutton Park, and was a great few days being a very well organised event.</div>
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By chance we met the previous owners of our van which was handy to fill in some of the details of the van's history. It was also an opportunity to acquire a set of stainless wheel trims that were residing in their loft!</div>
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We discovered at the end of the meet that we had a water leak from our shower and on investigation it turned out to be a broken shower trap. Long story short, the warrantee company said it was not covered by them (no surprise there) but the supplying dealer readily agreed to sort it out. It took a little while to organise as the parts had to come from Germany so we had to make do with Duck-Tape sealing one of the two plug holes.....</div>
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Time was getting on towards our date to get back into Europe but eventually the part arrived and was fitted at the dealer's workshops - thank you <a href="http://www.goeuropean.co.uk/">GoEuropean</a>! Another visit to our friends in Stratford upon Avon and a booking was made for the Eurotunnel.</div>
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So what are our impressions so far?</div>
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The shower room, although nicely fitted, is too small..... This may be just because we had a huge one before.</div>
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Lefthand drive and larger vehicle dimensions take a little while to get comfortable with.</div>
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The huge storage areas including the garage soon get filled up.</div>
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These things aside it's growing on us..... Thank goodness!</div>
<br />neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-17657095875325608732014-04-15T23:55:00.000+01:002014-04-15T23:56:26.786+01:00All ChangeRecently we spent our last night in our wonderful motorhome..... The next night we spent the first night in our wonderful motorhome!<br />
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After a long, long while of indecision we finally made our minds up and put our beloved Bel-Air up for sale, we had a replacement in mind but as always the figures to change had to work. We had a guide price to part exchange from a dealer who had what we wanted but felt we needed a bit more and placed some classifieds.<br />
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After a couple of weeks of enquiries without a serious one amongst them we visited the dealer for a serious viewing and a serious chat..... We definitely wanted to deal and with some negotiating the p/ex figure was raised and some goodies were included so we shook hands!<br />
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With some mixed and excited feelings we became the very pleased and proud owners of our new (to us) motorhome - a Carthago.<br />
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We arranged the changeover for a week later and decided to visit friends at a campsite reasonably nearby in the meantime. The week dragged by and the anticipation grew but eventually the day came and we made our way back to the dealer. After the formalities and the handover instructions we spent a couple of hours transferring our various bits of kit - hadn't realised just how much stuff we carried!<br />
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All done, I cautiously drove away glancing back at our Bel-Air in the mirrors - a strange feeling, that motorhome meant such a lot to us......<br />
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We returned to our friends' for a couple of nights to try it all out and I think we have got the hang of most of it, but time will tell - there's certainly a lot more stuff to know about.<br />
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From there we went on a quick family visit in Wales and stayed at our featured Pub Stopover at the <a href="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/uk-pub-stopovers/featured-pub-stopover.html">Anchor Inn</a> next to the ruins of Tintern Abbey.<br />
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A great night and a great stopover! Friendly staff, great food and some great ales - highly recommended!<br />
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Next morning after bacon rolls from the tearoom we headed back to Norfolk and 'squeezed' the van onto its official parking space.<br />
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A bit on the tight side so its a good job we're away in it so much<br />
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We're going to be busy personalising the van and some other things then we'll be heading back into Europe to start the next chapter of our adventures....neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-40247345415309945502014-02-14T19:44:00.000+00:002014-02-14T19:44:25.918+00:00Wildcamping and Aires in SpainWe've just spend a superb month in company with some friends travelling around the Valencia/Alicante areas of Spain using a mixture of Aires and Wild Parking for stopovers.<br />
We met up with our friends, Steve and Lorna, at one of our favourite spots just by the beach at a small Spanish resort, it was their first trip to this area and they were very pleasantly surprised by what a great spot it is! Very busy though with maybe a 100 vans and sad to say that some motorhomers were becoming very territorial about their spaces - even using water bottles to mark out their 'pitches'<br />
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That aside we had a great few days R&R before we went for an inland tour to show Steve and Lorna around a bit. Just a few miles inland there is a great, and little used, Aire. Free to stay with a proper service area we enjoyed a couple of nights and made use of one of the town's great little bar/restaurants - menu-del-dia at just 7.50€ and a wonderful part restored Monastery which was free to wander around plus free wifi at the Tourist Office.<br />
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On the second morning a Belgian couple joined us at the parking and proudly told us that they had been to the Aire before and were a bit dismayed to see others using it as they had been determined to keep the location a secret! They didn't approve of websites and books that publish locations, I kid you not.....<br />
From there we drove over the nearby mountains to the next valley and on to an Aire that we had recently discovered. On arrival it was deserted and the electric gates were firmly shut. I phoned the number on the gate to see if they would open it up for us and in my best Spanish understood that someone would be along shortly.....<br />
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Sure enough a someone appeared and opened the gates, showed us where to park and gave us a tour of the facilities. He plugged in all the appliances in case we would want to use the washing up sinks , the washing machine and the showers etc. A few minutes later a man drove into the Aire and showed us around again - he was the village's Mayor, and very proud of 'his' Aire he was too. He took our payment for a couple of nights giving us a small discount and threw in a one hour wifi access for good measure (which for some reason lasted the duration of our stay - bonus!).<br />
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We had the Aire to ourselves and enjoyed exploring the village and spent a few hours having a superb tapas lunch at the adjacent municipal recreation area's bar/restaurant. We decided to stay an extra day and also had a great barbecue and watched some fab sunsets - it doesn't get much better .<br />
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Leaving there we checked out a couple of wildcamping areas that had been recommended to Steve and Lorna whilst at our original location. Although the towns were worthy of a walk around we didn't actually stay at either so continued to our next planned stop at a small established Aire on the side of a large town that we had used many times in the past.<br />
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A sign of the times I suppose but, although still open, the Aire was sadly neglected, drains blocked and overflowing with recent discharges of cassettes (why, when its already blocked?) and the fresh water tap had been vandalised some time ago as we seem to remember it was the same at our last visit. Probably a good example of what happens to an Aire when it's considered to be uneconomical to maintain....<br />
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Next stop was a pre-booked stay at a Super Aire on the coast. En route we had a great drive through all the groves with almond and cherry blossom starting to burst through.<br />
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Meeting up with some other friends in their massive RV we all enjoyed a proper dinner party at their place - so much space!<br />
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A bit of mountain climbing was on the cards so Steve and I scrambled to the top - what a view!<br />
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We wanted to stay a few more days but the Aire has a 3 day limit for where we were parked so, we had to move off for one night before we could return for another 3 day stint. We tried Wild Parking in a nearby street which worked well.<br />
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Leaving the Super Aire at the end of our second stay we headed to a little wildcamp that we discovered recently. On arrival there wasn't much wildcamping to be seen.... So we just parked and had some lunch and a wander around. Returning to the vans we had both acquired an offical(?) police notice that were illegally camped and should move on! <br />
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We did, and headed to a lighthouse on a nearby promontory and a likely looking layby parking area with the most fantastic views.<br />
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We had a great evening socialising and just marveling at what a great spot we'd found A Belgian van pulled in and stayed overnight too bolstered with confidence by being in a small group instead of on their own. A wonderful planetarium like sky with no light pollution other than the sequence of flashes from the lighthouse - a very peaceful night and views were just as good in the morning when our blinds were opened!<br />
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Just one of the many fantastic scenic wild camps we've experienced in Spain.<br />
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Mini tour over we headed north along the coast road back to our original wild camping location for a few more days before heading off in different directions.<br />
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Now, all the mentioned places we visited and stayed at are in the Stopover sections of Club Motorhome and unlike our Belgian acquaintance mentioned earlier we ARE happy to share our 'secrets' with our subscribing members - if the places are of interest to you please just PM or email me and I'll give the links to their descriptions etcneilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-47300696146519064802013-10-08T09:16:00.001+01:002013-10-08T09:16:40.640+01:00Feet up for a dayAnother long hop and we arrived at our planned destination, an Aire that we first used at the beginning of our trip to the UK almost 6 months ago north of the Pyrenees at Aire sur l'Adour. A car park style Aire right on the river's edge and we were fortunate to get a riverside spot, again I uncoupled and parked to Suzuki tight beside us.<br />
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Video to be added<br />
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After such long daily stints we decided a day off was in order before getting into Spain and our campsite destination at Huesca. At this time of year they only open at weekends and its 10€ a night all in which hopefully will give me decent wifi access to upload this blog. So we had a restful day and it was nice to meet a couple of Brits to chat to as well.<br />
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Caroline ventured into town and, for someone who knows very little French, managed to get her haircut exactly as wanted - well done!<br />
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New French hairdo!</div>
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The weather has been lovely here after the incredibly hot and sultry conditions when we arrived. Overnight storms freshened it all up again. There something very cosy about being snugged up in a motorhome when the rain is lashing and its crashing and banging outside.neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-32718621278332680712013-10-08T09:14:00.002+01:002013-10-08T09:14:12.319+01:00Reversing an A-Frame.... Or notPlanning to travel up to 400kms a day we knew of a village Aire on the main route that was likely to have room so we headed for it. On arrival there was space but the layout was such that it was going to be best to reverse into a corner of the parking area.<br />
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A new experience reversing an a-frame other than in a straight line..... I had set the rig so there was the least angle to manouever possible but on a slippy gravel surface I couldn't get the cars front wheels to co-operate and rather than force to car against its will I just un-coupled again, parked the car, reversed the motorhome up to it and re-coupled ready for the next morning's departure. In practice this is quicker than 2 or 3 attempts at shunting backwards and forwards as could be the case with a conventional trailer.<br />
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Nicely tucked into a corner</div>
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We had a French motorhome for company and its occupants were apparently quite intrigued by the parking process - a-framing is not for shrinking violets . Nice countryside walking for the dog and a chateau to visit if you have the time. Services which are free were in the adjacent layby so we were able to set off full and empty for the next part of our journey. Always a good feeling to know you don't need any services for at least the next couple of days if needed.neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-77743037784981063432013-10-08T09:12:00.002+01:002013-10-08T09:12:08.326+01:00Flat battery!Our next target was south of Limoges in the Limousin and the Aire was only just off route in a small town with a pretty and very typical central square. Parking was at the side of a side road and could take around 6 motorhomes. At first we pulled in lengthways across the spaces as there was no one else there but then thought better of it and un-coupled and parked as designed with the Suzuki tucked in tight beside us.<br />
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Coupling and un-coupling has become a very quick and straightforward procedure and takes less than a couple of minutes. What I hadn't reckoned on however was that having used lights a lot on the journey due to the rubbish weather conditions the car's battery was too flat to start the engine. Luckily I carry a jump start unit so it was only a minor inconvenience and letting the car fast idle for half an hour or so recharged its battery to a reasonable level. Something to bear in mind in future though and I'll be asking TOWtal for their advice for preventing it happening in the future. I'm surprised that the installation does not include wiring to maintain the charge with power coming from the motorhome there is actually a fused red wire to the positive terminal of the car's battery and had thought that this was for the purpose.neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-1804846863034504352013-10-08T09:10:00.002+01:002013-10-08T09:10:24.057+01:00Gassed and robbed - not!We headed to an Aire that had been recommended to Club Motorhome that was new to us, also that it was a motorway Aire which we rarely use and don't generally advise the use of for well publicised security reasons.<br />
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Anyway, we hopped onto the toll motorway in order to gain access and were pleasantly surprised at the facilities provided. Free water, waste and EHU (albeit for the service point so long lead needed). The designated parking is along a layby like marked off area but with a little searching there is a very nice picnic area at the far end of the facility for caravans which security staff confirmed was fine for us to overnight.<br />
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The service area has all the amenities that you would expect including free wifi. The walkway to the parking area crosses some water containing the friendliest ducks and carp that you could imagine. Digger was quite taken with them.<br />
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A curious Digger!</div>
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Quite a few motorhomes came and went during the afternoon but only a caravan remained for night time company - and that was gone by the morning.... So we pretty well had the place to ourselves.<br />
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Next morning we pressed on. I had decided that with the car in tow it was not ideal for going here there and everywhere looking for likely Aires so we would shorten the time of our journey and stick to stopovers that would likely accommodate us without too much hassle. We hopped back off the toll road and were a bit shocked to have to pay 18€ for the privilege - there's no such thing as a free stopover on a toll road!neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-33101446424398383572013-10-08T09:07:00.001+01:002013-10-08T09:07:07.420+01:00UK visit ends.Checking the Eurotunnel website we found a reasonable crossing on a Saturday afternoon at £150 (motorhome + trailer) and by the time we went back to book it the price had risen to £159 - hey ho.<br />
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En route to Folkestone we made a couple of visits to friends and family which gave us the chance, at long last, to meet our newest grandson - now nearly 3 months old and bringing the number of grandchildren up to 6!<br />
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Me and our newest grandson</div>
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For this visit we used a pub stopover that we've used for the last couple of years. We were made welcome as always and made use of our usual parking space which is tucked nicely in the corner of their car park.<br />
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Video to be added<br />
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After a lovely afternoon, evening and peaceful night we were happy to be heading for the shuttle. Arriving early for our slot we were given the option to take the next crossing, a much higher price band but at no additional cost - result!<br />
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Our plans were to overnight at Cite Europe which is just next to the shuttle terminal in Calais but on arrival it was packed. Its very much a car park and can only accommodate motorhomes by taking 2 spaces. At 11 metres(ish) we needed more room so headed off to an Aire at Equihen Plage.<br />
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Plenty of room at Equihen Plage</div>
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We've stayed here many times and it gave Digger an opportunity to let off some steam on the beach. But really must remember to ignore TomTom with her ridiculous instructions to follow roads little better than rutted farm tracks to get there, luckily we only had to inch past one blinkin great tractor this time....<br />
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The following morning we woke to the knock at the door for the required 5€ we got off to a fairly good start for our trip south. Our plan was to meander on an Aires hunting mission over maybe a couple of weeks before getting back to our Spanish home.neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-65955913641799512102013-09-04T12:01:00.000+01:002013-09-04T12:01:42.493+01:00Campsite Wardens - so was it worth it?Well, we've finished for the summer, the last 6 weeks at our second location. We feel that having seen it through to the end we probably won't be doing it again!<br />
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The campsite for our last 6 weeks was quite large and run by the owners who work full time at it. One other warden couple covered maintenance, odd jobs, pitching arrivals, reception, shop etc. - our duties solely revolved around cleaning.<br />
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In itself cleaning showers and toilets isnt too bad BUT, sadly some folks' behaviour and treatment of the facilities can be beyond belief - we were warned back in Cornwall days that there were certain 'horrors' that we could face... And we have!<br />
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Some of the work was made harder and less pleasant because of things like poor drainage and ageing equipment and facilities - meaning that a plunger and a practiced technique was required most days and often more than once a day.<br />
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You get a little hardened to it but the unreasonable gross behaviour nearly caused us to quit at one stage.<br />
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Financially the work produced what we wanted. This type of job rarely pays much more than minimum wage but with enough hours most of the earnings were banked because of the free living aspect with electricity, water and pitch all included. This particular job paid a set 33 hours per person per week over 5 and a half days (meaning 6 early starts a week) rather than the previous campsite which was by the hour worked and with 2 full days off.<br />
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As far as living in the van is concerned we've managed pretty well, a little more cluttered than we are usually when touring but we sort of got used to it. A lot of space was taken up by having all electric appliances - toaster, coffee maker, hotplate, frying pan and kettle to make use of the free electricity all have to go somewhere.<br />
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Our van is 6.5 mtrs and has enough space for the 2 of us + dog but I probably wouldn't recommend doing this sort of job in anything smaller.<br />
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So with the season, for us, at an end we can concentrate on getting the motorhome serviced and MOTd, annual dentist and health checkups completed and then we can head south again - Aires hunting and with some R&R enroute to Spain<br />
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No more alarm clock controlled mornings! :Dneilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-77524881641702829492013-07-09T14:32:00.000+01:002013-07-09T14:35:39.174+01:00Campsite Wardens - Not finished yet!Well, no-one can accuse us of sitting on our laurels! ;)<br />
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After quitting the job in Cornwall we were a bit down, but mainly because of sitting back and reflecting over the recent events. Although we were bucked up a bit by comments by friends and fellow members of Club Motorhome and also offers to park up on their drives should we need somewhere - Huge thanks to all! Caroline got back onto the internet and looked at a couple of campsite job finder type websites and found a likely looking position in Norfolk of all places, so ideal for seeing the family before we do eventually head of into Europe again.<br />
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I telephoned the site and had a chat with the owner who sounded very positive and he subsequently emailed some details of the job to us. I returned our CV and said that we would be interested should they wish to interview us.<br />
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Nothing more happened for a day and we thought that was it - but no worries, we'd just go and see the folks and forget about work for the time being.<br />
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As we were packing to leave the site our mobile rang and it was the Norfolk site owner saying that he was pleased to offer us the job and gave us a start date and an invitation to visit beforehand to look around and iron out any queries that we may have.<br />
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In a much more buoyant mood we continued to ready ourselves for the off and said our goodbyes to the other (nice) staff. We were actually quite pleased that apparently the other wardens were now less than impressed that they would be working all the shifts, 7 days a week until there was some time for the management to find replacements for us - shame (shouldn't gloat really but hey-ho). We were also told that we would be very welcome should we wish to return next year.....<br />
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Anyway, we have called in to see some friends who are campsite wardens in Stratford on Avon for a couple of days en-route to Norfolk and are enjoying a bit of R&R in the sunshine. B)<br />
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<br />neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-70210410450138563782013-07-07T17:03:00.001+01:002013-07-07T17:03:38.422+01:00Campsite Wardens - We Quit!A long, tedious and thoroughly boring story about matters so petty you wouldn't believe led us to the point of saying 'Enough!' on Friday - so I won't go into minor details.<br />
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We're very fortunate to be doing this work by choice rather than necessity otherwise such an outcome would have left us in the lurch. We've actually enjoyed the job as previously posted and haven't minded helping out with whatever jobs were necessary to make the campsite work properly. The problem has been in the form of one of the other workers who is known to be a moaner and somewhat of a difficult character. Unfortunately we have had to share our duties with this person and have been regularly undermined in our efforts.<br />
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This culminated in an official (friendly) meeting to get the matter sorted over a cup of coffee and biscuits, at which the other party (and husband) walked out in a huff refusing to discuss any issues. Management were appalled apparently but not prepared to make any further efforts to resolve the issues.<br />
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Anyway, rather than continue to work in an unpleasant atmosphere which basically casted a cloud over this otherwise lovely environment we decided to be the ones to quit as the others were more senior and solidly installed in the warden's lodge and obviously weren't affected by their own behaviour - I guess we gave the management an easy way out.<br />
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We've been offered the opportunity to stay on 'camped' as long as we like but we've felt a couple of days is long enough and we're moving on tomorrow - a burden lifted!<br />
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<b>Last day on site</b></div>
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Has it put us off being campsite wardens? - No<br />
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We have generally enjoyed the work, the surroundings and actually the campers too. More than once we've been thanked for everything we've done. Its been fascinating to watch visitors come and go, those that you would hardly know were there and others that you just know are going to be labour intensive from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave.<br />
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Would we do it again? - Certainly<br />
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We have sent our CV out again so we'll see what happens. We're a little older and wiser now so may ask a few more probing questions to avoid a repeat situation. But if nothing transpires we will just continue our family visits then head south again into Europe a little earlier than we had planned once the van's annual service and MOT is out of the way.<br />
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<b>Ready to hitch up and we're off</b></div>
neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-84825443369610564882013-06-01T10:25:00.000+01:002013-06-01T10:25:51.321+01:00Campsite Wardens - So what does the work entail?I imagine a warden's role may vary between different sites and the facilities they offer.<br />
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In our case this holiday park is quite spread out (36 acres) and caters for lots of tourers with a choice of grass and hardstanding pitches. There are also static holiday homes and a few luxury lodges. There is a shop/cafe and an outdoor swimming pool. The site has quite a few awards to its credit so its very important to keep standards high.<br />
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Our own roles centre on cleaning and maintenance of the facilities and the regular shift hours concentrate on the toilet and shower blocks which are in 2 separate areas of the site plus a motorhome service point, chemical disposal points, laundry room and kitchen.<br />
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There are 4 shifts in a day with one of them being the main cleaning session. First shift is an early walk around checking that all is tidy from the night before, anything that needs putting right is done so. Late morning is the main cleanup when the whole facilities are worked through in systematic order. Late afternoon sees another walk around tidying anything as necessary and the late shift is a mini cleanup depending on how it all looks.<br />
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We share these shifts so only do two of these shifts each day except when the other couple are on their days off when we do the lot.<br />
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When on the late shift our duties finish at around 10.30/11pm with a walk around the entire site checking that all bbqs and any fires are put out and that there's no excess noise.<br />
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With a small team (2 warden couples, groundsman, maintenance man and a housekeeper together with a couple of weekend cleaners) there's often extra work to be done to cover other's duties due to days off, sickness or sheer volume of visitors. In our first 2 weeks we have been litter picking, pressure washing, grass strimming, lodge cleaning, helping with some machinery, moving a diesel tank and more.... It's possible that we may have to provide cover occasionally in the office and shop. All extra work outside our normal duties is added to our timesheets as we are paid hourly and any such work is entirely optional (although I couldn't imagine leaving anyone in a muddle if they needed help!).<br />
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There is often an electric buggy available to move around the site with but so far we have mostly walked between the facilities. Out of curiosity I did use the GPS tracker on my phone the other day when doing a late shift and we clocked up one and a half miles!<br />
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So, all in all we should keep fit as a bonus too :).neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-53798443518396015442013-05-26T19:37:00.000+01:002013-05-26T19:38:42.094+01:00Newbies to A-Frames...We have tried a few setups that would give us some transport when we are parked in one place for a while.<br />
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Cycles, then a scooter and rack (which was great) but we then acquired our lovely dog and the scooter became rarely used. I wasn't keen to be towing a trailer around with us although I have no problem with towing having had quite a bit of previous experience with lots of different trailers but the storage of it would always be an issue for us whether based at home or visiting friends and family as we do in our motorhome. We also use Aires for most of our European travelling and parking space could sometimes be an issue for motorhome, car and trailer.<br />
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The most practical solution for our usage was to use an A-frame. It means that we have a car to use for exploring and other general use - the car can also provide extra useful storage space when travelling as a bonus!<br />
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We (I) came up with the bright idea of all this when we were in Spain before returning to the UK for the summer. We had already committed to a start date for our job as campsite wardens and the ferry was booked for a couple of days beforehand so time was a bit tight for actually getting a car and the A-frame.<br />
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Firstly, I sourced the car I wanted over the internet - sadly it was in Gateshead and we were going to be working in Cornwall! A deal was done over the phone to buy it (I know, I know, but you have to take the odd chance here and there!) and the dealer agreed to deliver it to a location that I would advise later.<br />
Car bought, a 2003 Suzuki Jimny which I had read was a good car to tow (post 2004 models are not however). It is a perfect size for the two of us and Digger, plus as a very light 'proper' 4x4 its great for getting off the beaten track when required.<br />
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I then started to research a supplier for the A-frame itself. After much reading about possible regulation changes looming from 2014 I contacted several suppliers via email to enquire about costings and suitability etc. Surprisingly, not all of the companies even answered and others either said the car was too old for them to adapt or, another wanted to sell an A-frame + car package and wasn't interested otherwise!<br />
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The company that was the most helpful was <a href="http://www.towtal.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.Towtal.co.uk</a>. They offered 2 options, a traditional overrun braked A-frame which apparently should still comply with the regs as long as bought and fitted prior to the changes, and a newer electrically operated setup that is the best on the market (their words). Just under £1000 for the overrun and around £1500 for the superior RVi2 package.<br />
<br />
Towtal needed the car for a day to make all the fittings prior to it being towed away and they kindly agreed to take delivery of my Suzuki the day before I could get to collect the finished item. A call was then made to the car dealer in Gateshead and arrangements made to have the car delivered on a specific day to Towtals's premises in Stoke-on-Trent. A plan had come together!<br />
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The due day arrived and we pulled into Towtal's yard and there sat our new (to us) car with its A-frame brackets poking out through its front bumper - the work had been done! The car wasn't quite as tidy as I had hoped (not really unexpected though) but nothing that a little TLC won't put right. We were given a smooth demonstration of how the apparatus assembled and worked and how to alter the electronic setup as required and that was it, we were now A-framers!<br />
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There seemed to be quite a lot to remember but I was confident that it would all make sense with practice. Aprehensively we set off towards our destination for the summer - Cornwall. I think we pulled into services about 3 times to check all was well with the 'toad' - nothing to worry about as all was fine. We had a pre-arranged meeting in Somerset so overnighted at one of our pub stopovers which gave us the opportunity to uncouple and use our car for the first time.<br />
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Next morning I coupled up again checking, double checking and triple checking all the steps and I don't know how many more times I checked the steering lock was off, as was the handbrake and that the car was in neutral!<br />
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Everything worked exactly as it should and we carried on down to Cornwall. The car is now independant from the motorhome and won't need to go back on the A-frame until our return to Spain at the end of the season.neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-24067130778710179752013-05-26T09:39:00.000+01:002013-05-26T09:51:18.007+01:00One week in......Well, we've completed our first whole week of work!<br />
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Our normal weekly hours are around 16-20 but with all the extra preparations to areas on the site we've clocked up 80 between us - and we're pretty shattered!<br />
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Our new rotas have been issued now, so from now on we will will be working to a shift pattern shared with the other warden couple. There are 4 shifts in a day - each couple working 2 of them except for when a couple has their 2 days off a week when the other couple covers all 4.<br />
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We don't do our own shifts until later this afternoon so we have most of the day to ourselves and the weather is lovely!<br />
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The remodelled swimming pool opened yesterday, just in time for the mass influx of holiday makers and very popular its proving too :)neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-59909791727344591382013-05-22T15:18:00.000+01:002013-05-22T15:18:16.872+01:00Busy, busy, busy<p>Our first work tasks have been to help get the seasonal parts of the site into top condition for the start of the main holiday period which starts this May bank holiday weekend. Preparations have included lots of extra cleaning of toilet, shower and kitchen facilities.<span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p>Today we've moved up a gear incorporating grass strimming and pool accessory cleaning - at this point we are well on schedule for the mass influx of campers at the weekend.</p>
<p><a class="easyblog-thumb-preview" href="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/images/easyblog_images/63/dscn1225.jpg"><img src="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/images/easyblog_images/63/thumb_dscn1225.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="300" align="none" /></a></p>
<p>Cleaned, mown and strimmed</p>
<p><a class="easyblog-thumb-preview" href="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/images/easyblog_images/63/dscn1226.jpg"><img src="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/images/easyblog_images/63/thumb_dscn1226.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="177" align="none" /></a></p>
<p>Recreation area - the quiet before the storm!</p>
<p><a class="easyblog-thumb-preview" href="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/images/easyblog_images/63/dscn1234.jpg"><img src="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/images/easyblog_images/63/thumb_dscn1234.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="177" /></a></p>
<p>caromac cleaning the sun loungers</p>
<p><a class="easyblog-thumb-preview" href="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/images/easyblog_images/63/untitled_panorama1.jpg"><img src="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/images/easyblog_images/63/thumb_untitled_panorama1.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="101" align="none" /></a></p>
<p>Well, we're ready! <img src="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/plugins/editors/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/img/smiley-smile.gif" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /><span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p>But its not just all work as we've had lots of free time to explore the local beaches and to find our local pub which is about a mile away - and a very nice (dog friendly) pub it is too The Barley Sheaf in Gorran Churchtown</p>
<p><a class="easyblog-thumb-preview" href="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/images/easyblog_images/63/2013-05-21 17.08.19.jpg"><img src="http://www.clubmotorhome.co.uk/images/easyblog_images/63/thumb_2013-05-21 17.08.19.jpg" border="0" width="400" height="177" align="none" /></a></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;">So, three days in and it seems like we have been here for ages. The management and staff are very friendly and pretty laid back too considering the build up to the busy period.</span></p>neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370767650652501476.post-62464266655182505372013-05-19T15:14:00.000+01:002013-05-19T18:18:44.055+01:00Campsite WardensA slight change of direction for my blog.... <br />
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This summer caromac and I have become..... campsite wardens! <br />
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We normally spend a lot of each year touring in our motorhome and a lot of the year is spent in Spain but there's always an annual trip to the UK for MOT and service etc (and to visit family and friends of course) which avoids the hottest times when in southern areas. Well this year we decided to spend the whole of the summer in the UK and thought we would try incorporating our motorhome interests into this plan.<br />
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I thought I would blog about our experience because we have found out by friends' reactions to our plans, that a lot of people seem to think it would be an ideal occupation for them too but not many actually progress to doing it - so I'll tell it how it is, to offer encouragement (or discouragement) to others .<br />
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A couple of months ago Caromac drafted a suitable CV for us as a couple and emailed it to all the campsite job vacancies that we could find - we ignored the ones that offered just a free pitch in return for work, we intended to actually earn a living while doing this!<br />
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We had a very encouraging response and shortlisted a couple of opportunities and, following a telephone interview we were offered jobs at a lovely campsite/holiday park in Cornwall. A start date was agreed and we arrived a few days in advance to settle in and get our bearings. We have been allocated a fully serviced hardstanding and we actually have a sea view across the park, so we're delighted!<br />
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With no previous campsite warden experience we are quite happy to be considered newbies and the other couple who share the wardens duties with us have been explaining and showing us the ropes as this is their 3rd year here. <br />
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Today was our first working day and we were shown our cleaning duties which form the mainstay of our jobs. With the site being so nice and the facilities modern the cleaning doesn't look like its going to be too difficult. Normal routines will involve around 16-20 hours of work each per week but there will always be other jobs available which are optional. There are 2 consecutive days off each week and we both have the same days so there should be plenty of free time to enjoy the facilities and explore the area. We're fortunate to have an all-year-round dog friendly beach within 10 minutes walk too.<br />
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So here we are, getting paid for work and living in a beautiful part of the countryside in our motorhome. <br />
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To be continued.....neilmachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17822511538660055149noreply@blogger.com3