THE MOTORVAN DIARIES. Part one.
THE MOTORVAN DIARIES
Part One
Monday 25th July
All packed up and away just after 12.00pm. Nice run down to Folkestone and the tunnel. Very busy at the terminal with lots of coaches on the parking area. For some reason that we couldn’t make out, the passengers all had to unload their cases and pile up their luggage outside their coaches. They hadn’t even gone through customs or security yet!
Anyway a smooth crossing for us with no delay and out onto the A16 at Calais heading south. Weather dull, overcast and not that warm. At Abbeville we stopped at our “usual” Intermarche to stock up with the essentials, and we bought some food as well. Set off through the centre of Abbeville to find the road to Long and our first campsite. Quite straightforward and into the site (Camp Municipal de la Peupleraie) with a nice pitch near the lake.
Got out the table and chairs but it was too cold to eat outside. Went for a walk round the watermill and weir which is just outside the site, and saw a monument made out of the propeller from a WW2 Lancaster bomber which crashed nearby in 1944.
My bad knee held up quite well on the walk but when we got back to the van I got backache! Some wine and a couple of tablets soon did the trick!
Sat inside to have our first holiday meal and it was relaxing, cosy and comfortable. Our new mini-Heki in the toilet certainly makes a difference, and the pump works much more smoothly and quietly since I added the accumulator.
Our meal was moussaka with peas and beans and a choice of cheeses to follow, which were superbly complimented by a glass of Vin de pays de L’Aude – an excellent vintage with rich plum and raspberry flavours understated by hints of vanilla and chocolate. It was all quite delicious.
I imagine this is how members of the Cruising Fraternity feel on their first night on either their P&O or Fred Olsen boat. Though I don’t expect their wine would be as good as the one what we had.
Tuesday 26th July
Woke to overcast skies and a strong promise of rain. Campsite showers were good and we were away by about ten am. Tried to fill our fresh water tank from the special motorhome “borne” just outside the campsite entrance. Got all the hose and stuff set up, put in my 2 euro piece, pushed the button and – nothing! Not a drop. A waste of time and money.
Set off and when we got to the motorway Anne took over the driving. We stopped for lunch on an aire just short of the end of the A16, then on and round the west side of Paris by my special route. I navigated and Anne drove and we did not put a foot wrong. (Or should that be a wheel wrong?) Got onto the motorway south of Paris (A10) and headed for Orleans, Vierzon (A71) and Chateauroux (A20).
As we bowled along I made a song up about Chateauroux. The words were Chateauroux, Chateauroux, Chateauroux repeated about seven or eight times. (The second verse is very similar) I did not make up the tune though; it was the ‘ere we go, ‘ere we go, ‘ere we go, football song. Watch out for more of my catchy songs made up about more famous French towns.
As we were driving towards Chateauroux the left front indicator fell off the van and proceeded to bang against the passenger door, secured only by its wire. We stopped at the next aire and I mended it with black tape. Lucky I had some with me.
Found our campsite in Chateauroux called “Rochat de Belle Isle” and it’s very good. Nice and flat with level marked pitches and not too much shade. We are on pitch 45 and it was easy to refill our fresh water tank. An English lady came over and talked to us, and that was exciting.
We had a delicious meal of merguez and saucisses with dauphin potatoes and vegetables. We decided to let our newly decanted wine mature a little longer in their plastic bottles (eau de source) so we knocked back a couple of real bottles of Vin de pays de L’Aude, pouring it out as soon as the plastic caps were off – we didn’t even use a wine breather! Better not tell anyone in the Cruising fraternity.
Wednesday 27th July
Woke up to more grey skies but no rain. Really good showers at this campsite. Packed up and away by ten am. Back onto the motorway (A20) and heading south. It felt cold as we drove along so we had to put the heater on! We had only been going a short while when I noticed that the speedometer had stopped working. Everything else was ok so we just carried on and used the satnav to tell us our speed. Will get it seen to when we get back home. Stopped for lunch on a pleasant aire near Pierre-Buffiere then Anne took over the driving and took us to the outskirts of Montauban. Came off the A20 at junction 65 and shopped at the Geant Casino nearby.
Set off for our next campsite called “Village de Loisirs de Lomagnol” at Beaumont de Lomagne where we stopped last year. We eventually got settled on pitch 43 and had to sit outside in the shade, because it was now hot and sunny. We had a very nice pitch with a good view of the loo block and the chemical toilet emptying point. We did try for a pitch with a lakeside view but they all had overhanging branches so we couldn’t get the van on. Later we had a very nice walk along the lake side, but I couldn’t go too far because of my knee.
For dinner we had a delicious meal of lasagne and vegetables, but when we opened a bottle of decanted plastique, it was awful. So we had to throw it away – quelle horreur! We did have some other wine in real bottles so we were ok.
We would not willingly go back to this site in future because it is poorly organised and there were too many low branches to hit the van. We hear the Cruising Fraternity have already Deleted User it from their top ten sites list, so we feel we are in good company.
Thursday 28th July
Up and away by about ten and down the road to Auch and then to Mirande where we made deposit in our French bank account. The on to Mielan and the house.
NB. The purpose of the first part of this holiday was to visit a house we had previously bought in France. The venture did not turn out as we had hoped, and we have subsequently sold it. We now feel free to explore the whole of France in our motorhome.
En route our daughter phoned and told us the good news which makes us both grandparents to be!
We got to the house and the local gardening chap had done the garden and everything looked really neat and tidy. I turned the water on at the main valve and after a couple of minutes the lounge was half flooded with water cascading down one of the walls. Quickly turned off water and surveyed the damage.
Obviously there was a severe leak up in the loft space, but first we had to get mop, bucket and dustpan and bail out the lounge. We would then need a ladder for me to climb up into the loft to try and find the leak. The lounge eventually dried out and the hot sunny weather helped with the drying process.
Later we set off to buy a ladder – an easy task you might think – but oh no, we had to try four different place before we finally got one at Saramajean, a builders merchants on the far side of Mirande. I got quite good at talking about ladders in French (les echelles). No water in the house so we are living in the van.
After a totally exhausting day we relaxed with a fine meal of “poitrine” with rice and vegetables, with a gallon or two of Vin de pays de L’Aude.
Friday 29th July
Woke to hot and sunny weather and we had our first showers in the van – very successful. It was now time for me to brave the loft space. I climbed the ladder and went through the trap door into a dark, spooky, boiling hot attic. I located the water pipe and began looking for the leak. I found it quite easily, a soldered joint had come apart allowing water to spew out and down the wall, - not a good reference for French plumbing ability. I came down and made a list of parts necessary to make the repair.
Fortunately Mielan has a very good motorhome aire with an excellent filling and disposal point. So on the way to Gedimat (DIY store) in Mirande we stopped and serviced the van. At Gedimat I had to choose which diameter of pipe to buy, so based on what I could remember from the loft, I bought some and a couple of fittings to go with it.
When we got back I returned to the hot, dusty, murky loft with the new pipe and – I’d bought the wrong one! “Oh heck” I said. It was too late to drive back to Mirande so it would have to be tomorrow.
I assembled my special camping gaz grill on the patio and cooked a tremendous meal of saucisses and merguez, with rice and vegetables, and we washed it down with a delicious Vin de pays de L’Aude.
Saturday 30th July
More hot sunny weather. We drove back to Gedimat in Mirande to exchange the pipe and fittings for the correct ones. Easy? No way! The sales assistant was a real jobsworth who said we couldn’t do an exchange without the manager’s permission – and he was out. So we had to buy the correct items and return on Monday for a refund when he said the boss would be there. So we took the pipe etc. back to the house and I went up into the loft yet again and repaired the leaking pipe. Hurrah!!
For dinner I grilled a couple of gigantic pork chops which were mouth-wateringly tasty – oh if only a rep from the Cruising Fraternity could have been there to sample my culinary skills. The meal was accompanied by a fruity, crisp Vin de pays de L’Aude which flowed from the plastic bottle like ruby nectar.
Sunday 31st July
Drove up to Mielan centre to see the Sunday morning market which was even more pathetic than it had been last year. We decided to pop into the internet café to log on and catch up with emails etc. We went in and the man said he didn’t have an internet connection so we couldn’t log on. So we left. Outside we asked ourselves; “Why open an internet café when you don’t have the internet?” We concluded that the shop must be a front, and he is really a drug dealer. We decided it was best not to pursue the matter.
Later we decided to go away for a few days in the van to Dax a town in Aquitaine which looks interesting. We prepared the van then walked up into Mielan to buy two takeaway pizzas for dinner from Casa Verde which is about the only place in the town which stays open after 5pm. My knee still hurt but I managed the walk ok. The pizzas were delicious and we greatly enjoyed washing them down with glass after glass of top quality Vin de pays de L’Aude. Sheer bliss!
END OF PART ONE