Northern France – March 2015

Our tunnel crossing was booked for Sunday morning and we were staying at the Caravan Club site at Folkestone on Saturday night. So, in order to give us a head start on the Saturday, we decided to set off on the Friday night and stay somewhere within a couple of hours drive from home. We booked the night at Long Acres near Old Leake.

Pleasant but uneventful journey – apart from the fact that the motorhome was the quietest it’s ever been. We put that down to the fact that we had more stuff on board so that was deadening the sound.

The site is near to the Hobhole Drain – that’s ‘ob ‘ole to us ex-anglers. My Uncle Norman used to take me fishing there. Very pleasant site and run by what appeared to be a pleasant and helpful couple. Also, the first night that we used the windscreen thermal blinds (Taylormade) on the Bailey – they made a big difference to warmth in the cab area.

We keep the Bailey documents in a document bag. We also keep a few other bits in there such as the adapters that come with the refillable gas bottles. These adapters allow use of the different nozzles that they have in France and other countries. I woke up at 04:00 and realised that we’d left the bag at home – including the adapters for France – so we would not be able to to fill the cylinders when over there. Whoops!

We had a new experience at Long Acres – soluble poo bags. The idea is that you put the bags into the drain and the bag itself dissolves leaving the contents to mix in with the rest of the sewage as opposed to the normal plastic bags that take years to decompose – good idea. Ellie duly obliged with some content. I was slightly concerned that the bag might dissolve before I had chance to dispose of it but that didn’t happen.

Before setting off, we serviced the Bailey and I noticed that the fresh water tank gauge was saying 0% full – which it clearly wasn’t because I had just filled it. Didn’t make too much of it at the time but that was to become a problem.

We intended to keep off the motorways as much as possible so we set off towards Boston and then to Wisbech. I assumed that, at some point, we would pass a caravan dealership where we could get a Gaslow adapter. That turned out to be a false assumption.

The drive was very pleasant and as relaxed as it could be given the rising stress level caused by the lack of opportunity to get an adapter. We headed to Ely which was a first for me. Then on to Cambridge. Lovely weather with the outside temperature touching 20 deg.

As pleasant as the drive was, it was taking longer than we had anticipated and we really needed to press on so we took the A11 with the intention of getting on the M11 so we could make up some time – even though that would mean no possibility of a caravan accessory shop.

We pulled in to Birchanger services so that we could get food from the Waitrose. Whilst pulling in there, I thought I’d have a look to see if the Shell garage had any LPG. They did but the attendant stopped the pump because I was holding the nozzle and he was concerned that I would freeze my hand! We got some supplies from the Waitrose and we carried on back on to the M11, round the M25 and over the QE2 bridge.

Google told us that there was actually a caravan supplier on the same road as the Club site but it would close at 17:00 and it was now 16:25 – and we were 25 minutes away. We got to Folkestone in good time but couldn’t find it anyway – so that was the last chance of getting an adapter.

The Folkestone site is split into 2 areas – the main area being for people who want to stay in Folkestone and the other smaller area for people who are overnighting before they get the ferry or tunnel.

Sue tried to get a shower and the pump kept cutting out. I realised later that the fact that the water tank gauge thought that there was 0% water meant that it cut the pump out was the cause of this.

Relations in the Lane household became a bit fraught and I thought about abandoning the trip as I went to bed.

In the cold light of morning, we decided not to abandon the trip. Our crossing was booked for 10:20 but we wanted to be on the road for 08:00 ish in the hope of getting an earlier crossing. Took Ellie for a walk and she was chasing rabbits – which did not seem to be too afraid of her.

The site is only 20 mins or so from the tunnel so we were there before 08:30 and were offered the 09:25 crossing – which was good news.

I nipped in to the shopping area to see if there was any chance of getting an adapter – there wasn’t. I bought a French dictionary – another item that was forgotten.

We were second on to the shuttle so that meant that we would be off sharpish. We’d been through the tunnel once before – in the car on the way down to Italy with Sue’s sister, Mary. Once you’re moving, it’s actually quite boring – not a lot to see out the carriage windows. Being able to relax in the MoHo and to be with Ellie actually made it a good way of crossing. I like ferries but that would mean leaving Ellie in the MoHo during the crossing which we did not fancy doing.

Driving out of Calais, we thought we’d try the big Carrefour in the Cite Europe shopping centre to see if they had an adapter. We take it for granted that shops are open everywhere 7 days a week but it didn’t look very busy – in fact, the car parks were empty – in fact everywhere was closed because it was Sunday.

We’d deliberately set the sat-nav to avoid motorways so we were directed along ordinary roads. And being a Sunday, there was very little traffic. It made such a change from bombing down motorways at 90mph with the aim of covering as many miles as possible.

We pulled in at a Carrefour which looked quite busy. Good job that we’d got that earlier crossing because the shop closed 10 minutes after I’d gone through the checkout and we didn’t pass another open shop for the rest of the day. Being in France, we had to buy a baguette – which we still had 3 weeks later. The birds enjoyed it, anyway.

We headed for Cambrai because there were a couple of Aires in that area. We found the one in the centre of Cambrai and it looked really inviting and was empty. There was a barrier – the stanchion in the ground type.

Entry was gained by inserting a debit/credit card in the machine at the gate. Except that it wouldn’t except any of our 3 cards. That could also be because the plastic guard over the card reader had been scratched and I couldn’t actually read what it was saying. After numerous attempts to get the card read, we decided to head for another Aire close by. Shame, because it looked like a nice, if slightly public, location.

The next nearest Aire was at Marcoing so we set off for there – only a 20 minute run. We got there and parked up alongside a couple of French MoHo’s that were already there. The Aire is basically a square next to an industrial unit and close to a terrace of houses.

Weather was pleasant so Sue, Ellie and I went for a walk and we ended up walking alongside the Canal de Saint-Quentin. A really pleasant walk.

When we got back to the MoHo, the other vans cleared off – so, presumably, just there for the service and not for an overnight.

The Aires book said that electricity came on at the same time as the street lighting – but ours did not come on at all (we found out next morning that our neighbour’s EHU had worked so it must just have been our socket). We chilled out for a while. Tuned the tv into the local channels but decided not to watch any of them.

Another van turned and he had a couple of attempts at manouevering it into place. He seemed to be in a hurry and on one his reverses, there was an almighty cracking noise. Next morning, we saw that a lot of the bodywork had broken where he must have reversed into the kerb – and his wife was directing him so I bet she was in the dog-house! I would imagine that it would be an expensive repair.

Ellie and I went for a late night walk through the village. It was deserted but there’s a certain novelty about the first few nights in any foreign country so I was in my element.

Sue had another early night but I had to stop up and sample some of the French wine that I’d bought earlier.

Ellie and I went for a long walk first thing – again, by the canal. Interesting to see what must have been like a canal layby presumably where the barges parked up overnight. Then a bit further on another section off the main canal where stuff must have been loaded and unloaded for a factory.

Serviced the MoHo – for free, here. Toilet emptying point was a covered drain but it looks like some people don’t bother lifting the cover which is not very hygenic. My trusty pair of Marigolds always comes in handy on these occasions.
We headed off towards Charleville-Mézières. Again, a pleasant drive.

We stopped at a caravan dealership to see if they had an adapter – but this is France and it was Monday so ‘fermé le lundi’ (closed on a Monday).

We arrived at Charleville-Mézières and found the Aire in the town centre. It was reasonably pleasant but very public and there were already 5 or 6 vans parked up.We slotted in to a spare spot but couldn’t get electric hook up because the campsite next door had not opened yet for this year.

So we decided to head to another Aire at Bogny-sur-Meuse. It was only about 20 miles away and we drove into forest in the Ardennes region. It became quite hilly and the scenery became quite spectacular. The 20 miles became 28 miles when we had to detour because of a 2.4m height restriction (we are 2.8m).

The Aire – or rather the layby- was a great location. One layby has the bourne and then there is another layby with room for about eight vans – though only it only needed room for one tonight because we were the only one here.

This was our second night not on electric hook up so things like the laptop and MiFi batteries were starting to get a bit low. Engine and leisure batteries were ok because they are charged up when on the move but we need to get in the habit of charging up the other batteries when we can.

Sue had another early night but I had to stop up and sample some of the French wine that I’d bought earlier.

Considering we were in a layby on a public road, it was a quietish night. That was up to 06:00 when a banging started. at 06:00. Thought it might be pile driving but it was LC AB – don’t know what they do and still don’t know after looking at the website.

We needed water and power so I drove the MoHo 100m down the road to the bourne while Sue was still in bed.
Electric hook up worked – 2€ for an hour. Charged up laptop, iPad, Kindle, camera etc. I was pleased it worked which proved that Sunday night was a faulty supply and no fault on the van.

Had breakfast and Sue washed up while I went to fill with water. Couldn’t get it to work in spite of putting a 2€ in twice. So we were low on water.

We’d originally planned to go to the Vosges du Nord for a couple of nights but that was looking unlikely so we decided to give up on that and we decided to head for Nancy.

Uneventful but pleasant journey spoiled by poor visibility and some miserable weather. At last, we found a Moho dealer – but they didn’t have an adaptator (un adaptateur).Actually, they had one for adapting a French connection to a UK – which was completely the reverse of what we needed.

We needed some more supplies so eventually found a ??? supermarket at Pompey. It was a cheapo bit it served a purpose.

The Aire at Nancy is not open all year round so we headed to St Nicolas de Port. Found the Aire and parked up- by a river again, the Meurthe. The area looked a bit iffy and was near to a Lidl – so some poor people kept walking past the van on the way to it. Yet again, we were the only MoHo on the Aire.

A fascinating feature of the area is that there are loads of storks – or Cigognes as we French speaker call them – though, at first, we thought they were herons.

We were getting low on water and the bourne was a token-operated EuroRelais so we would not be able to fill up until the morning.

Ellie and I went for a walk to find the Mairie -which is where we would need to go to get the token. We also went to the Basilica which looks a bit like the twin towers of the World Trade Centre (before 9/11, that is). Impressive building but right in the middle of a load of houses.

Sue had another early night but I had to stop up and sample some of the French wine that I’d bought earlier.

Noisy night but slept ok. Noise was from train, road and car wash.

Took Ellie for a walk and had a goodlook at the storks. Nests all over the place – really impressive. Tried to have a conversation with a bloke taking his dog for a walk but got stuck because I didn’t know the word for ‘spayed’ (it’s stérilisée).

I went to the Mairie to get a token for the services – I’m sure the woman in reception thought I was a tramp (I hadnt shaved since we set off). The water on this one worked – which was just as well because we were down to less than 10 ltrs in the tank. Once the water was topped up, we put in another token for the electric. This was the first time we had both electric and water from the bourne. I made that comment to Sue – with that she plugged in her heated roller applicance – and that blew the fuse – so no electric.

We had a quick drive round the town so that I could show Sue the storks and also the sites that Ellie and I had seen on the walk last night – then we headed into Nancy. We drove through the city centre – some impressive architecture.

We then headed toward Challons en Champagne – aim was to see where we ended up and then see where there was an Aire nearby. Sat nav took us on 60 or so miles of dual carriageway – first boring drive of the week.

Stopped in an Aire de repos for lunch – full of lorries and a burger van . We looked in the Aires book and then decided to head for the Aire at Mareuil-sur-Ay. That turned out to be a good decision because it was a lovely spot alongside a canal off the Marne river. Weather was good so we all went for a walk along the canal.

We got a token from the Mairie – 5€ for 3 hours electric – and the same for water- which, true to form did not work.

Ellie and I went for a walk but there wasn’t a lot to see in the village – until we came upon what looked like a newly built factory but which turned out to be something to do with Bollinger champagne – maybe a bottling plant.

Got back to the MoHo and everything was fully charged from the 3 hours electric. Ironically, we didn’t need the MiFi because the village had free WiFi.

Sue had another early night but I had to stop up and sample some of the French wine that I’d bought earlier.

We were woken this morning around 07:00 to the sound of tons of glass being shifted about the recyling lorry which had parked right alongside of the MoHo.

Went for a long walk with Ellie and saw the actual River Marne – as opposed to the raccoursi (shortcut) that we were alongside. Cleared a record number of 4 tissues out of her gob – but wasn’t quick enough to stop the bit of horse shit that she craftily ate. That will mix well with the fag end that she at yesterday.

Had a nice breakfast looking out over the canal. Had another 3 hrs electric but it still wouldn’t give us any water. Possibly electric or water but not both.

We set off and looked at the Bollinger building -which was deserted – so either not opened yet or they only bottle for a few weeks a year. We then past loads of vine fields. A lot of the fields were signed with such the name of the Champagne – eg Veuve Cliquot (actually that was the only name that I recognised). The vines looked to be operated by a co-operative type setup – there were lots of pickups parked and blokes seemed to be working their own small sections.

Had to amend the route and do a messy u-turn because of a 2.4 m high headroom – which we would not get under.
Most of the rest of the journey was uneventful – apart from a visit to E LeClerc – I love LeClercs – what a fabulous choice they have.

We got to Bapaume and found the Aire. Got a jeton from a local café and thankfully the water worked so we are all topped up. No electric here but everything was charged up so we didn’t really need it.

Sue had seen a vets on the way in so we all walked down to there. Luckily the vet could see us straight away. He couldn’t speak any English and didn’t seem sure what was needed but he gave Ellie an examination – which included sticking a cotton bud up her backside – I think she liked that Then I found out he wasn’t a vet but was only there to tune the piano (I made that up). He gave her the worming tablet and signed her passport. It cost €14.7 – which was a good deal considering that we’d seen that some vets nearer to Calais charge upwards of €40.

For a change, we had other vans with us tonight. The Aire was on the edge of a car park with 4 bays and all 4 were occupied.

Sue had another early night but I had to stop up and sample some of the French wine that I’d bought earlier.

Not a bad night’s sleep considering that we were parked just off a square in the centre of the town.
I’d seen a sign to a WW1 Australian cemetry on the walk the previous night so Ellie and I headed for that. We’ve seen more graveyards this time than we’ve seen before- possibly because we are going off the main roads. They are all immaculately kept.

After breakfast, we topped up with fresh water and emptied the waste for what we hoped would be the last time. Getting to be an old hand at this jeton lark now.

We had a pleasant but uneventful journey – not a spectacular area of France but still French enough to be enjoyable. We actually ended up going back via some of the roads that we’d used on the way down.

We got to Gravelines and parked up in what is essentially a public car park. €3 for 24 hours is not a bad deal. We parked close to an old Hymer which was owned by a Welsh couple that we had a bit of a chat to.

Ellie and I went for a long walk toward the sea front but we didn’t quite make it.

After tea, we went for another long walk over to the other side of the harbour that we were alongside. We could see what looked like the frame of an old timber longship. When we got closer to it, we could see that it was this.

Sue had another early night but I had to stop up and sample some of the French wine that I’d bought earlier.