We arrived at Roscoff at 0900 and had a clear plan to go to the south side of Brittany, but the sky looked threatening and the five day forecast was dire - so Brittany was out
Chatty ladies on the ferry had already said lots of us are going to a rally at La Rochelle - come with us - so La Rochelle was out .
We decided to get round the Rennes ring road and make another plan. That plan said to run down to Angers, but somewhere along the way the plan changed and we went to the city site at Nantes instead. We booked in for one night and meant to leave, but next morning we remembered La Cigale restaurant so we went into town on the tram for lunch, then walked on the bank of the river.
On day three, heading east,we got delayed at Les Monts de Gueret service station - nicest service station in France - they sell all sorts of local produce and also have a bookshop - but the cafe lady wouldn't sell me a beer unless I ordered food, so I ordered food.. The plan had said overnight at St Pourcain sur Sioule but after another 20 miles we drove into a village called Gouzon and asked if there was a campsite - a boy who was fishing said there was. It looked closed but he said he would fetch his mum to open up. She brought her keys.
We chose a pitch, opened a bottle and made a plan for day four. We always have a plan.
Quote: Originally posted by Mrs. Bonce on 24/5/2020
We always planned where to stay and sometimes booked. Is it true that municipals won't accept twin axles? It rather put us off meandering.
I would suggest contacting them first. We always do to make sure that they have room. Although we have never had an issue it would be no fun trying to turn a twin axle around in a small area because you are refused entry.
Quote: Originally posted by Mrs. Bonce on 24/5/2020
We always planned where to stay and sometimes booked. Is it true that municipals won't accept twin axles? It rather put us off meandering.
I understand that that 'rule' was to deter 'travellers' from campsites ... they very often have twin axle vans ... experience of others on this site, who also have twin axle vans, is that if you ask, they immediately realise you are a bona fide holiday-maker and will allow you to stay.
We've, probably, done a variety of methodologies ... usually start off with a short list of possible campsites in two or three 'areas' of France, or Spain, or ...
We get off the ferry at Cherbourg (from Dublin ... having driven down from Northern Ireland), then drive down to just over the Loire, not far from Angers, where our van is stored ... hook-up and go to a campsite about twenty miles away for the night ... next day the van goes for its annual service in Cholet ... collect soon after lunch and drive down to mid-Charente and spend two days at sister-in-law's house ... sort out, pack caravan etc, and chill ... then off to the first 'planned' site ...
Usually via the quickest route, though we have stopped, betimes, if something interesting heaves into view ... once 'on site', we 'ad hoc' plan, guided by weather, sometimes a chat with a fellow camper, or something we read ... the stay at each site is entirely dependant upon how much we like the area.
We try to find sites that offer good kayaking and cycling (we carry both), coupled with a walk-into village with some charm, a good restaurant or two etc, and good drives/places to visit ...
And so it continues ... we never know how far we'll get (France/Spain/Portugal/Spain France .... as well as France/Germany/Austria/Italy/France have been done) ... though often we don't go beyond France ... if the weather is good, why bother?
Seldom encountered a problem with stopping if we want to ... though I tend to be a 'completer' in terms of reaching a 'planned' destination ... don't mind missing meals, just a brief 'coffee' break every two hours, if it's a long haul. Meandering takes place after we've unhitched and settled in.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Quote: Originally posted by Kelper on 24/5/2020
.. Meandering takes place after we've unhitched and settled in.
Realistically, I think this is the only way caravanning could work for us.
We've had a few vans but never felt they fulfilled their promise so have always returned to tent camping which, for us, allows more flexibility yet less convenience when touring. Swings and roundabouts.
Has anyone got any amusing anecdotes to share, relating to caravan towing abroad? Possibly not so amusing when they happened?
Couple of 'equipment fails' - one of the endless mini roundabouts I was moaning about earlier took the wheel arch of our caravan partially off en route to stay with friends at the end of our French trip. My husband 'bodged it' but was worried about it coming loose again and then getting caught when we were loading onto the ferry. He mentioned it to my friend's husband who is a nice chap but a bit shy and focused on his business and farm - we didn't know hm that well then. They immediately bonded over 'project wheel arch' and he sourced some extra strong glue and the sort of clip that builders use to hold it together. The two 'boys' have been firm friends ever since!
Loading onto the ferry in Portsmouth the caravan in front of us was going a bit quick and lost two of his corner steadies on the ramp. The stewards were shouting at us not to do the same, but we were fore-armed having done the same going into a bumpy field at a horse show.
And a navigational one in the uk - aiming for a CL in the field behind a pub, couldn't work out for the life of us how to get in, turned up the next (very long) drive, got to the top, man came out of the farm office and said, without me having to ask: "Bottom of the drive, immediately beyond the pub, swing out into the road, sharp left, past the bins and the field's there." It was obviously a common occurrence!
We were once coming back from France and had already been through check-in at Eurotunnel so were approaching one of the smaller booths where they tell you which lane to get into. In front of us was a vehicle plus large caravan outfit, positioned so close and at such an angle to the booth that when he pulled off, his caravan mounted the kerb and nearly took the booth out! The person in the booth literally dived out of the way and we were shouting "Woah!".
Next time we went, we noticed safety bollards had been converted in around these smaller booths.
A few sites that we have been to in France have a ‘no twin axle’ rule because the site roads are very tight. Our single axle is 7.5m long and we have to do some very very careful manoeuvring on our favourite site to get safely round one of the corners in the site and up to our preferred pitching area. A twin would only be able to get round that corner if it was unhitched and used a motor mover which I suppose the site don’t want to be bothered with. The pitches themselves are plenty big for a twin but the roadways are narrow with tight bends.
------------- Pixie
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Quote: Originally posted by Mrs. Bonce on 22/5/2020
Once stuck in traffic in a French town, nipped to the boulangerie and the car and caravan hadn't moved. Trying to get round Rouen, thought I had it sorted on the map, drove miles around country lanes. Usually ok though, as we never travel all that far in 1 go.
We have found that many very "French" sites (i.e. not really geared up for foreign tourists) have very narrow roads and the pitches, whilst usually quite large, are difficult to access. In the old days this meant a lot of heaving and shoving, but nowadays we often use the motor mover.
------------- Freedom is a light caravan and an open road.
Leaving the campsite in Avignon to go south, we were crossing the bridge and found ourselves in the centre lane of traffic, rather than the right hand one which would skirt the walls not enter the old town.
Once under the main gateway, the satnav recalculated and suggested we took the first right, which we did. It was narrow and cobbled but got smaller, we then had a 90° left turn which was even narrower.
Then suddenly a tourist group of Japenese appeared wandering up the middle of the street They were all tuned into a tourist headphone and were gazing skywards.
Panic ensued when they realised our presence. The street was hardly wide enough for a caravan and one very thin person to pass each other. All the skinnies squeezed past but 3 fatties stood no chance. They had to move back until they could find a doorway so we could pass.
I am not too sure what their Japaneses meant but I think that World WAr III had been declared.
Quote: Originally posted by SGThomas on 29/5/2020
Leaving the campsite in Avignon to go south, we were crossing the bridge and found ourselves in the centre lane of traffic, rather than the right hand one which would skirt the walls not enter the old town.
Once under the main gateway, the satnav recalculated and suggested we took the first right, which we did. It was narrow and cobbled but got smaller, we then had a 90° left turn which was even narrower.
Then suddenly a tourist group of Japenese appeared wandering up the middle of the street They were all tuned into a tourist headphone and were gazing skywards.
Panic ensued when they realised our presence. The street was hardly wide enough for a caravan and one very thin person to pass each other. All the skinnies squeezed past but 3 fatties stood no chance. They had to move back until they could find a doorway so we could pass.
I am not too sure what their Japaneses meant but I think that World WAr III had been declared.
We had a very similar experience the year before last, somewhere in Normandy (I've tried so earnestly to forget the experience, the place name now evades me.), only our victims were lunchtime diners instead of Chinese tourists!
We somehow found ourselves in an old part of the town after going under an old stone archway, and the street became so narrow that diners at tables in the pavement cafes moved swiftly out of the way as we nudged our way through, caravan bouncing along the cobbled street and almost grazing the tables. My coping mechanism was to stare straight ahead and employ The Blinkers Strategy whilst inwardly shrinking with embarrassment. It makes my insides go to water even now, just thinking about it!
i thkn the original question depends what size f caravan you have.
we have a 7.5m 6 berth single axle. we have 2 sons.
we tend to use the autoroute as much as possible because we want to get the drive over, set up, then go exploring with the car or on our bicycles.
some of our route to the vendee is on the RN but there are always places to pull over. its no stress for me as the driver but my wife worries. i drive a lot abraod with emy work though so its not such a big deal for me.
i have thought though that if i didnt have the kids in tow i would quite like an Eriba touring or similar or even an old Rapido pop top. this must be more like a motor home or a camper van with the advantage of leaving it set up on a pitch. towing with a 4x4 or Van would be a breeze.
i have been taken on some interesting roads with my sat nav.
in the first case i was stuck in a queue at a toll booth on the weekend in the middle of the french 'grand vacance' my cars clutch was sufffering with all of the nose to tail so i turned off the road as soon as i could and drove into down town nante where the offices etc are. fortunately it was a saturday and was deserted. we drove through pedestiran areas with tram lines and stations, we ended up at a roundabout. my sat nav was pointing me down a road with a 3.5tonne limit and a height restriction so my wife used google maps to plot a route back to the main road.
we hit the main road and cut out a lot of the queues. some cars who had passed me before the queue passed me again.
another time my satnav cut a corner off in britany and took me over a very high peak with big antenna masts at the top. it was steep and meandering.
fortunatey by then i had the Shogun and it really didnt break a sweat.
------------- First van bailey ranger 550/6
Now the proud owner of a coachman amara
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Touring Caravans Abroad
via mobile 28/5/2020 at 9:03am
