From Pelegrue to Capbreton

We awoke this morning around 5.30 to the sound of heavy rain. As our sleeping quarters are above the garage at the back of the van, the sound is very close to home. Felt a bit miffed as we thought we had escaped the storms in the UK - however, much to our delight as we set off on our rather longer journey, the day very gradually brightened and the rain receded, so much so, we started on what seems to have become a bit of a routine, the stripping off of layers as the warmth enters the cab. It’s hard to express how pleased we are with this van. We have had a few over the years starting when we hired our first RV in Seattle and drove it up over the American Canadian border across and into the Rockies when our son was quite young. It took us three weeks and was quite an adventure. As the years passed we hired another RV when Tom was very young and took it into Scotland and the Lake District and, I think by this time, the dye was cast - we bought a beast of a Hymer around the early 2000’s and slept above the front seats in a pull down double, which still needed a ladder to access - well that is all fine and dandy when you are in your 40’s or 50’s but not so much fun as you get older. Now, at this time, we had the two dogs and Alan was concerned the Jack Russell in particular would get under the peddles whilst he was driving, so he made a rather dandy fence with a little hinged gate on it so we could get in and out the front but the dogs couldn’t. This worked well until one night I climbed over Alan to get out of bed and slipped on the ladder, resulting in one leg one side of the wooden fence the other one the other side - you get the picture. I was in a fair bit of discomfort spread eagling the fence which by this time was approaching my nether regions and the splinters from the wood were threatening my somewhat delicate skin! I gently asked my beloved, who was at this point still in the bed, to “Bloody well pull me up will you! I can’t move!!!!” Well, as with all these things, he got me out of my predicament but not before I had the zig zag imprint of a garden fence across my backside to remind me of my little incident for a quite a few days after. You would think that would be the end of our love affair with camper vans and to an extent it was. We sold the Hymer to a lovely little family - my goodness it held its value well - I had them beating down the door for the dear thing. We had discovered cruising and spent many happy years doing just that. Many cruises later and the fact that retirement loomed - well semi really - and we got the yen for another van. We bought the Bessacar E540 with an end bathroom which suited us down to the ground for comfort and for shorthall UK holidays but when a tour of Europe beckoned, we knew in our hearts we had to get a Moho with a larger garage to carry all our gear and, coupled with the fact that the bed fairy who came out at night and made the bed while I got changed in the bathroom and magically put it all together again in the morning while I prepared to face the day in said bathroom, quit and served me his P45 - so a change it was a coming and we found the T68 last November. We are delighted with her, our “Dolly”, and love the comfort and practicability in every way. Cooking is easy and everything including the full size fridge/freezer is to hand. We don’t have a microwave in this van which we did in the Bessacar, but we’ve adapted so easily, we haven’t missed it at all, and, believe me, we cook at home in the van a lot rather than eating out all the time. It’s fun and you do really have time to be creative. It dishes out hot water enough for domestic and bathroom use for two quite happily and the dining table is a moveable gem in every direction so both of you can sit, eat, write blogs, whatever in real comfort.

Anyway, the trip down to Capbreton was a long one and had to be undertaken on major roads; quite the heaviest traffic we have encountered throughout our drive through France. I’ve only ever been to France once and that was to Le Touquet with my dear in-laws, Jill and Roy, many years ago when the channel tunnel first opened so my experience of France was very limited. The thing that has struck me now most of all is how flat it is generally. The areas we drove through today were much more rolling countryside, in fact, in some places, you could believe you were in the West Country, but generally flat, with very few hedgerow. Vines are plentiful particularly in this region - we were very close to St Emillion yesterday. Drove through a Champagne district too. However, today was about getting to a genuine campsite with a few more services to hand and this fits the bill brilliantly. Around 33€ for two nights and almost immediately on arrival Al sought out the showers only to find they were closed. He found the answer at reception when he was

told that, they only open the ladies facilities this time of year, so off he went to find his feminine side. Very modern and clean site but still retains a real feeling of peace and tranquility. Off to find the beach in the morning so more of that tomorrow. Nighty, night all.