Pass those most days (live a few miles away) and I remember when where he lives now it was an RAF establishment and the older part of the village was mostly married quarters . Those hangers are vast up close aren’t they.
Where Have You Been In Your Van Today?
- Thread starter mhill
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Set off for Southern Spain via New Haven Dieppe- Andorra, 11/9/2020 etc now in Torre del Mar. 1520 miles from home.
Wow! big change since last time just before covid. French diesel 1.97a litre in the supermarkets. 2.23 on the motorway services. Best price was Andorra at 1.47, through Spain and again average is 1.97-1.99 a litre or about 55 litres for 200 euro. So about 50% dearer than 2020
Next big change to effect us, is no place to change currency, must have a bank account in that branch to change .All Bureau de Exchanges on the high streets have disappeard Hole in wall is 97 cents per Pound, or about 12-15 cents dearer than UK. All prices across the board dearer than UK. Have been informed there are bureaus near the bus train stations in Malaga.
Otherwise sun, beer and Tapas
Wow! big change since last time just before covid. French diesel 1.97a litre in the supermarkets. 2.23 on the motorway services. Best price was Andorra at 1.47, through Spain and again average is 1.97-1.99 a litre or about 55 litres for 200 euro. So about 50% dearer than 2020
Next big change to effect us, is no place to change currency, must have a bank account in that branch to change .All Bureau de Exchanges on the high streets have disappeard Hole in wall is 97 cents per Pound, or about 12-15 cents dearer than UK. All prices across the board dearer than UK. Have been informed there are bureaus near the bus train stations in Malaga.
Otherwise sun, beer and Tapas
I thought the very same thing at Snowdon.......Never understand why people queue for a selfie on top of a mountain (Pen y fan in this case) when there is only 1m difference in height to the ground they are standing on
View attachment 215043
i have heard the queues there are horrendous these days. What those people dont realise is that you dont get clear weather like that often on Snowdon so make the most of it
Yeah, needless to say I just took a pic of the trig point from 1m below it ha ha. Weather eas crazy that day, 22 degrees sun and clear skies
You even have to pre book the parking now at Pen Y Pass Car park and pay an extortionate amount to do so...you then see all the 'walkers' on the paths in their flip flops and new white trainers.
I think you misspelt WalkersYou even have to pre book the parking now at Pen Y Pass Car park and pay an extortionate amount to do so...you then see all the 'walkers' on the paths in their flip flops and new white trainers.
I was up Snowdon last January, it was minus 9 with sheet ice and people in shorts and trainers.You even have to pre book the parking now at Pen Y Pass Car park and pay an extortionate amount to do so...you then see all the 'walkers' on the paths in their flip flops and new white trainers.
anybody been to the Underneath the Stars festival? Underneath the Stars 2024 | Family-friendly Yorkshire Music Festival
thinking of going and combing it with some extra days in Yorkshire
thinking of going and combing it with some extra days in Yorkshire
Cyclocross racing at Macclesfield today.
Aberdour harbour, in Fife, Scotland.
Spent the weekend 'Glamping' in Penyffordd, about 15 minutes from Wrexham.
Spent Friday at Chester Zoo then it rained constantly from Saturday morning until we eventually gave up at 9am on Sunday morning and headed home.
The new 20mph speed limits in Wales are silly.
Spent Friday at Chester Zoo then it rained constantly from Saturday morning until we eventually gave up at 9am on Sunday morning and headed home.
The new 20mph speed limits in Wales are silly.
Not posted on here for a while as first there was not much new to say (ie. we were staying in the same place) and then we were making a quick run back up to Camping Drepano near Igoumenitsa for a couple of nights (Camping Card cost €21 per night) before the ferry to Bari, Italy and the journey home. We hit a problem on arrival at Camping Drepano when driving around looking for a pitch with space quite tight and I managed to reverse into a Greek tree – didn’t realise what agile and aggresive b’stards they could be! I was pretty peed of when it happened as it was entirely down to me getting distracted in the middle of a manoeuvre but I’m over it now having reported it to my insurers, contacted my preferred bodyshop with some pictures and getting approval for the repairs all within 24 hours of it happening. I don’t want to take any more shine off of what’s been a brilliant trip so I’m not going to post any pictures as that might get me depressed again. Suffice to say that I’m going to need a new passenger side back light (although only the plastic lens has actually been broken), a new bumper and a new lower rear quarter panel (all since confirmed by the body shop eyeballing the van). The damage doesn’t actually look that bad until you get in close and the van is perfectly drivable with the help of a few bits of gaffer tape but I’m dreading what it’s going to do to my insurance premiums.
The ferry wasn’t due to sail at 1159 hrs so by paying an extra €10 we were allowed to stay at the site until we needed to leave for check in (supposed to be three hours before departure!) and we were quite happy with that as it allowed a day on the beach followed by packing up in the heat of the afternoon, a decent shower and dinner in the good on-site restaurant before we needed to leave - it’s just a shame that we couldn’t have some farewell Greek beers and bottles of retsina due to the need to drive to catch a boat (the port being about 15 minutes from the campsite).
The ferry company (Anek / Superfast) say that only the driver is actually permitted to board and embark with the vehicle so after we checked in at the port terminal building, I drove on my own through passport and customs checkpoints (with no actual checks!) and collected my wife on the other side of the terminal. We then found the [vacant] boarding ramp and waited for the ship to arrive. About two hours later it did and after a manageable but typically Greek (ie. chaotic) boarding procedure (which was about 60 minutes late) I drove up the ramp on my own and left the van in the lowest parking area in the depths of the ship and headed for the top deck to meet my wife and collect cabin keys (where we woke up off the Italian coast about 2 hours from Bari). On arrival at Bari, I again had to drive off the boat on my own and meet my wife on the quay as she had to go ashore on foot. The disembarcation was again very interesting / chaotically Greek in that I actually had to reverse up two of the exit ramps before being able to face the right way to get to the surface and drive off the ship to collect ‘er indoors.
After warning my wife about Italian drivers, we left the port of Bari and headed down the coast before eventually stopping at Camping Bellamare in Port Recanati (about 400 Km up the coast) for a couple of nights. On the way, we heard a loud impact as a large stone / rock hit the windscreen (more of which later). Another nice site for €22 with a decent restaurant and Pizzeria (well it is Italy after all!). It’s right on a really nice beach and a walk to quite a lot of seaside eateries although a fair few had already closed for the season (despite the weather being sunny and in the late 20s). Next up was Camping La Pinede near Excenevex on the shores of Lake Maggiore and about 25Km short of Geneva. We got there via an excursion into Switzerland and over The Simplon Pass due to our chosen route being closed because of what seemed to be a major RTA and Googles not too brilliant rerouting effort (but it was a lovely drive anyway). The campsite was quiet but yet another another decent place at €23 and the only issue was that it had been raining the night before and the pitch was quite muddy where the camping season had basically shagged the grass to death on all pitches. The bald pitches were a recurring theme throughout the entire trip but it was never really a problem as there hadn’t been rain anywhere else (at least since we left Austria on the outward journey!).
From there we headed to Camping Au Bord De L’Aisne in Guigncourt which is a good site that we’ve used a few times in the last few years (€24) and where we saw more Brits in one place than we had for the rest of the trip put together – it was heaving with only a few pitches left. The site restaurant was very busy when we went out which didn’t bother us as we were headed for a local café (La Relais) which we knew from past experience did excellent but basic French grub. The next morning, we headed off for a final afternoon and night in the Calais area. La Bien Assisse had already closed for the season and I couldn’t contact Fort du Lapin so we went to Chateau de Gandspette which is fairly well known here on T6F – this was Wedneday, 27 September and they were shutting down on the following Friday. The restaurant was already closed (IMHO, no great loss) and the site itself was very quiet. Leaving there the next morning, we headed for Eurotunnel and boarded the train. On the way there, the stone chip in the windscreen picked up in Italy developed into an ever lengthening crack and a new one is now required.
All in all, it was a brilliant trip marred only by a dented rear end, a cracked windscreen and almost everything to do with Albania (except for one vefry good but seriously cheap dinner). Just for completion, here’s a few pictures from the trip since I posted from Koroni in Greece at Post #8,925. In order, they are:
The ferry wasn’t due to sail at 1159 hrs so by paying an extra €10 we were allowed to stay at the site until we needed to leave for check in (supposed to be three hours before departure!) and we were quite happy with that as it allowed a day on the beach followed by packing up in the heat of the afternoon, a decent shower and dinner in the good on-site restaurant before we needed to leave - it’s just a shame that we couldn’t have some farewell Greek beers and bottles of retsina due to the need to drive to catch a boat (the port being about 15 minutes from the campsite).
The ferry company (Anek / Superfast) say that only the driver is actually permitted to board and embark with the vehicle so after we checked in at the port terminal building, I drove on my own through passport and customs checkpoints (with no actual checks!) and collected my wife on the other side of the terminal. We then found the [vacant] boarding ramp and waited for the ship to arrive. About two hours later it did and after a manageable but typically Greek (ie. chaotic) boarding procedure (which was about 60 minutes late) I drove up the ramp on my own and left the van in the lowest parking area in the depths of the ship and headed for the top deck to meet my wife and collect cabin keys (where we woke up off the Italian coast about 2 hours from Bari). On arrival at Bari, I again had to drive off the boat on my own and meet my wife on the quay as she had to go ashore on foot. The disembarcation was again very interesting / chaotically Greek in that I actually had to reverse up two of the exit ramps before being able to face the right way to get to the surface and drive off the ship to collect ‘er indoors.
After warning my wife about Italian drivers, we left the port of Bari and headed down the coast before eventually stopping at Camping Bellamare in Port Recanati (about 400 Km up the coast) for a couple of nights. On the way, we heard a loud impact as a large stone / rock hit the windscreen (more of which later). Another nice site for €22 with a decent restaurant and Pizzeria (well it is Italy after all!). It’s right on a really nice beach and a walk to quite a lot of seaside eateries although a fair few had already closed for the season (despite the weather being sunny and in the late 20s). Next up was Camping La Pinede near Excenevex on the shores of Lake Maggiore and about 25Km short of Geneva. We got there via an excursion into Switzerland and over The Simplon Pass due to our chosen route being closed because of what seemed to be a major RTA and Googles not too brilliant rerouting effort (but it was a lovely drive anyway). The campsite was quiet but yet another another decent place at €23 and the only issue was that it had been raining the night before and the pitch was quite muddy where the camping season had basically shagged the grass to death on all pitches. The bald pitches were a recurring theme throughout the entire trip but it was never really a problem as there hadn’t been rain anywhere else (at least since we left Austria on the outward journey!).
From there we headed to Camping Au Bord De L’Aisne in Guigncourt which is a good site that we’ve used a few times in the last few years (€24) and where we saw more Brits in one place than we had for the rest of the trip put together – it was heaving with only a few pitches left. The site restaurant was very busy when we went out which didn’t bother us as we were headed for a local café (La Relais) which we knew from past experience did excellent but basic French grub. The next morning, we headed off for a final afternoon and night in the Calais area. La Bien Assisse had already closed for the season and I couldn’t contact Fort du Lapin so we went to Chateau de Gandspette which is fairly well known here on T6F – this was Wedneday, 27 September and they were shutting down on the following Friday. The restaurant was already closed (IMHO, no great loss) and the site itself was very quiet. Leaving there the next morning, we headed for Eurotunnel and boarded the train. On the way there, the stone chip in the windscreen picked up in Italy developed into an ever lengthening crack and a new one is now required.
All in all, it was a brilliant trip marred only by a dented rear end, a cracked windscreen and almost everything to do with Albania (except for one vefry good but seriously cheap dinner). Just for completion, here’s a few pictures from the trip since I posted from Koroni in Greece at Post #8,925. In order, they are:
The beach at Camping Bellamare
The pitch by Lake Maggiore
A drone shot of a very uncrowded Chateau de Gandspette.
The pitch by Lake Maggiore
A drone shot of a very uncrowded Chateau de Gandspette.
Thanks for the great write up @Ayjay, some good info. Enjoyed following your travels and hope you get your van sorted ok.
