On the Road Again!

Timothy O'Leary RIP - 112th Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 07:00:00 +0000

Timothy O'Leary. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. Timothy was Claire's Granny's eldest brother.

To read more about Timothy's story you can click on the tags with his name or the battle at le Pilly.

https://invictamoto.blogspot.com/2021/10/timothy-oleary-107th-anniversary.html

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/the-battle-of-le-pilly-1.1962035

https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/85800/le-touret-memorial/

Relay Riders UK 2027

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 20:53:17 +0000

Hopefully I can do it again this time. We were in France this year and I couldn't make it.

We don't have much planned at the moment.

Kilometerfresser 2027 - September Table

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 14:21:24 +0000

Despite only a short time riding in August and September I have managed a mere 195 kms. It would be higher but we have been away in France for three weeks.

FR26 - The Last Day

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:48:55 +0000

The booked Shuttle from Calais was supposed to be 9.46am. Check-in closes an hour before departure.

To make sure we were there well in advance after getting up at 7am. We did the jobs and got ready to leave, then Claire remembered the EHU was still plugged in. We did the waste dumps and set off.

I had retired the TomTom and set up the route on my phone to test the navigation that I pay for through MyRouteApp. I have the ferry and Shuttle in and out gps points as "favorites". It worked perfectly. It also has vehicle dimensions programmed in. Maybe I'll use it again on the next trip to the National Memorial Arboretum in a fortnight.

When we checked in it gave us the option to go an hour early. I took it. We had just enough time to nip into Starbuck's for a coffee. Never again! It was almost as expensive for two coffees and two croissants as yesterday's lunch, €17.25!

There weren't many vehicles in front and we were quickly through both borders and customs.

A short wait in lane 4 and we were loaded. All very civilised. Plus the train left on time.

After a lack of sleep I was a bit ratty. But a rest on the bed as we went through the tunnel helped. We were home and unpacking the van before 9.45am.

I took only one photo of the view from the van on the train. Not the best!

Oh. I took one of Trip B on the drive. I had reset it whilst we waited to be called at the start of the trip as I forgot before leaving home.

And that's it......

Update.

Around an hour after getting settled home.

The house suffered a power cut. I had to get the Pathway 4G out to get internet, using the small power bank to provide the power. UK Power Networks are saying it will be back on around 4pm. I went off at 11am.

Bloody Van Again?

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 16:32:05 +0000

Now what's happened?

Two things.

The kitchen tap seems to have moved on the work surface. With the lever fully towards cold it hits the side of the fridge and doesn't get to cold!
More seriously. One of the strings in the fly screen has snapped! Rendering it unusable. It looks as though the strings maintain the tension of the net part of the screen....

The van goes into Choose Leisure next week for the MoT and service.

We can see if they can take a look and see what the damage will be to our bank account.

FR26 - Day 22

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 15:56:34 +0000

The last full day of the trip. A chance to do nothing but have a leisurely day.

We had a bit of a lie in. Breakfast. I decided rather than wash with soap and water I would use a Fresh Wipe instead - https://www.freshwipes.co.uk/.

It's amazing. They are big enough to do all over from head to toe inc unmentionable bits. The pack we have with us are coconut 🥥 smelling. Nice and refreshing.

Unlike some YouTubers we get nothing for free.

We aren't sponsored. We buy everything mentioned in blogs!!!!

Anyway, the plan was a leisurely walk to the beach.

Then along to where they house the Calais Dragon.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Compagnie_du_Dragon

Sadly. The Dragon was in its cave until Saturday 17th October undergoing maintenance. Its little buddy that looks like a giant monitor lizard was also grounded.

We did have lunch at the Friterie des Nations. There were two and this one had the longest queue.

We both went for "savoyard". Half a baguette with salad and steak with bacon on top. We shouldn't have ordered frites!!

Once finished, we retraced our steps back to the aire and the van.

The ferries were coming in and out of the port and were so close...

The weather has been good today. Sunny but with the occasional chill in the wind.

Tomorrow? The Shuttle train is 9.46am and check-in is an hour earlier.

I am probably going to retire TomTom and give MyRouteApp Navigation a chance. Let's see what it can do. It surely can't be as diabolical as the TomTom has been!!!

We need to be away from here to empty the grey and black waste in good time to get to Le Shuttle in good time. About 8am.

There have been some posts on the Le Shuttle Users FB page of horrendous delays at Calais!!!

If all goes to timetable we should be home by around 10am.

FR26 - Days 19/20/21

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 18:54:28 +0000

DAY 19

Luckily today was a day when Tomtom, their website and the Camper Max decided to play nicely. Rare I know.

Yes. A route created in .gpx format was uploaded to plan.tomtom.com! It's true!!

Everything was going well. We were up bright and early in case someone came to get the €5 for the overnight fee. No one did. The chandler's shop remained closed.

The fee would be worth it for the view. Even more so if the borne in the service area worked without a jeton then €5 would be great.

Even better €0 and take everything with you was great.

I programmed in a lunch visit to Dinan. (https://www.brittanytourism.com/destinations/the-10-destinations/cap-frehel-saint-malo-mont-saint-michel-bay/dinan/)

And here we had a very embarrassing moment or ten minutes...

Following the directions to the Camping-Car parking area we saw a sign "road closed 300m".

Hoping to park after it we found the spaces were available, but not large enough to park an original Fiat 500!

With the aid of a fellow British guy we made a twenty point turn and slunk back the way we can. Dinan can wait!

Then it was balls out for the Camping-Car Park aire at Beauvoir. We left there two weeks ago heading east.

We did all the wastes etc before looking for a pitch. I had a migraine and took the pink pills and that pretty much ruined the rest of the day.

We did get a chance to walk over to the Ulite shop to get some "bits"....

For tomorrow we have decided to head further west. The idea to stop at "sights" on the way.

DAY 20

We decided on a popular Camping-Car Park aire at Lions-sur-Mer.

It's only a ten van aire and usually full so I booked it. One day, 1pm to 1pm. I didn't expect to be there that early as I programed in to the TomTom a stop at the Longues Battery.

The route was straight forward up the A84 around Bayeux and to the coast road along the D-Day beaches....... But!!

Tomtom had other ideas. We came off the A84 earlier than planned and went along some country lanes and then right through the centre of Bayeux!!! We eventually joined the ring road before another bout of directions that don't match the signposts directing you to the battery.

Once there we parked up. We had been there in 2009 on the BMW R1150GS motorcycle. It was pretty much left to nature back then.

Now it has a visitor centre, tarmac parking and information boards.

Is it better? I guess it must be to have spent so much on the infrastructure.

From there we fought with the Tomtom to get to Arromanches and onto the coast road.

What's really annoying is driving the same bit of road twice, in the same direction due to the mapping programme that TomTom has created. It's too slow at working out alternative routes on the move.

In the end, following road signs, we came up to where the D-Day 360° cinema is. There's motorhome parking here for €12.50 overnight. Although there are lesser charges on the machines for 1 hour etc. I checked the machine.

I didn't bother. What a rebel!

Pulled out the Canon and went to take some pictures. I even put the 300m zoom on for some of the mulberry harbour pontoons.

We have one near where we live at Littlestone in Kent. It sank before it could be towed across the Channel.

From there we carried on along the coast even passing the entrance to the Côte de Nacre campsite where we stayed earlier in the holiday.

Tomtom fixated on turning off or turning back to some imaginary point.... Finally, when entering Lions-sur-Mer it decided we were all on the same page!!!

On arrival at the aire I was a little underwhelmed.

Small and gravelly just off the road. Decent sized pitches. A short walk to the beach. Nothing was open. The pizza restaurant nearby said only Friday/weekends. At least had we wanted it the Carrefour was open and a short walk.

We had a walk to the beach. Left and right nothing much other than houses. There was a lifeguard point though. The beach is dog friendly October to early June.

Claire took a couple of the seafront and the van...

So underwhelming I didn't take any photos!

So where tomorrow? It looks like we'll try the aire at St Valery-sur-Somme.

DAY 21

Up late but still away at 10.30am. The plan today is a three hour plus drive (no tolls) to Saint Valery-sur-Somme. No sidetrack stops.

How very wrong. Once again the route planned on MyRouteApp was to go to Caen and then to Rouen, around the western side to the toll free A28. That gpx file successfully uploaded to plan.tomtom.com.

Tomtom messed around again. Why change the planned route?

Why take the périphique when you can go straight across the centre and join it when it's too late. Then I cocked up on the A13, that we should have been on, when I went the wrong way. The sign "Paris" hidden behind a truck in the roadworks on the autoroute access. How blue was language? 🤬🤬🤬🤬

In the end after wasting two hours we stopped near Rouen on the A13. Had lunch at McDonald's and then set off.

What terror could TomTom's brain come up with now? Instead of the planned route let's go via an autoroute towards le Havre, then another too Dieppe to the A29!!! The A29 Toll Road!

Remember the route was set to avoid tolls?

In the end as we eventually joined the FREE A28!!!

Once going we decided that by the time we arrived in the aire at St Valery it would be nigh on 4.30pm before we could get out to walk into town. Too late!

Scratch St Valery!

We stopped for a coffee at the Baie de la Somme aire.

https://www.autoroutes.sanef.com/fr/aire/service/baie-de-somme-autoroute-a16

It is possible to overnight here but once St Valery was scratched we decided to do two nights at the Camping-Car Park aire at Calais. It gives us a full day to walk along the beach and hopefully de-stress from the TomTom!!!!! It's €15.25 a night (24 hours) with ehu and all the usual services.

One stop on the side of the motorway for an emergency stop for #2. It seems my IBS decided to join the party. Of course, when I desperately needed an aire, the Aire de Bois de la Commanderie, was FERMÉ!!! I managed to get off the carriageway and right up against the cones. Hazard lights on.... and run.... okay it's not far....

Then another stop for fuel. We were down to around a quarter of a tank and we had to decide whether to fill up or just a splash. Total have capped diesel at €2.25 per litre. More incredibly Diesel Excellium was also €2.25. I filled with that!

We have used a few Total stations on this trip and none have had any Excellium. The pump handle was always chained or padlocked. Maybe the others didn't want to sell it for the same as Relais Epitre.

When converted to UK £'s it was £1.909 per litre. At home when we left ordinary B7 diesel was £1.999!!!

And here we are.... Pitch 19.

FR26 - Day 18

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 19:39:30 +0000

Woke up and saw that the river was empty. Just a load of mud.

I took a stale baguette and lobbed pieces of it into the mud for the gulls. When I came back from the rubbish bins it had all gone.

I had programed a scenic drive ending up in Roscoff. All went well. Except for parking up at any of the waypoints!

Once on the way into Roscoff TomTom had another fit. We were told to take the first exit from a roundabout, then turn left. It then took us onto a narrow hedge lined road. I could just about make the turn. At the end there was a sign saying no trucks and a 2m width. No wonder the mirrors were in the hedge...

We then effed about before resetting and using Google Maps. Going down the second exit from the same roundabout we passed the road we had turned left out of some ten minutes before!!!

The park up was at another disused railway station the same as the one in Concarneau. Deserted and covered in graffiti.

There were loads of vans already there. We togged up for a walk to the old harbour. Again the tide was out.

Lunch at Ty Pierre was bretonne sausage and chips. Washed down with local Breizh Cola.

Another lunch I couldn't finish. The portions have been huge. We had a walk around the old town before returning to the van. No photo of this park up.

The route to the overnight park up at the the Port Diben aire near Plougasnou meant heading south to Morlaix and around two large inlets.

https://searchforsites.co.uk/marker.php?id=2446

From Roscoff to Morlaix there wasn't a crossing point.

When we arrived it was amazing. The marked camping car spaces are right on the seafront. There's a three foot sea wall to stop any flooding.... The tide was out.

During the evening the tide turned. With it the wind picked up.

I took two photos through the front windscreen to show the difference.

Overnight the wind got to be very strong. Howling over the roof and rocking the van....

Tomorrow? We need to start heading back eastwards for the Shuttle in a few days.

We have decided to book into the Mont St Michel Camping-Car Park aire again. It's huge and there shouldn't be a problem getting in.

The Port Diben aire was supposed to be €5 a night. No one came to collect it and the chandler's shop was closed. See what happens in the morning.

FR26 - Day 17

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 19:35:23 +0000

Where to from Pont l'Abbe?

The first stop was planned as Quimper. It's only around 20kms away.

With the TomTom website (plan.tomtom.com) still playing up and not importing gpx files, it did allow me to set the car park alongside the river in the centre of the city.

The parking at Locmaria 2 is on Search4Sites as motorhome friendly. The reality is there is no obvious bias against vans but spaces are just ordinary car size.

We did have a few problems getting there that were easily overcome by crossing the river on one bridge and back over the next one...

Once parked though, it's a short walk into the city centre. There's a magnificent cathedral and when were inside they were practicing for a wedding. Their car had been decorated with a large dachshund on the roof.

Our lunch was at a creperie. Massive portions. Mine was andouille and potato.

From there back to the van for the shortish drive to the Camping-Car Park aire at Le Faou.

Once again (once too often!!!) TomTom had a loon, although part of this is that the maps are out of date. The fact that I had updated France before we left means that they aren't being updated. The left turn it wanted us to take isn't a left turn and hasn't been for years.

Eventually, we got on the right road. The aire is right on the river and is an old campsite.

There are EHU bollards spread around. The first pitch we tried was a bit too dog poopy. We moved to a better one. With the 10m EHU we needed to be relatively close.

Once setup we had snacktime and then a walk along the river. The tide was in.

It was a quiet night.

FR26 - Day 16

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 17:58:30 +0000

We had to be up and packed up ready for the inspection of the freecamp bathroom and kitchen.

It was easy to keep them clean despite them providing little in the way of equipment. Brushes yes but no cleaning products. Luckily we carry all sorts in the van.

The inspection was over by 10.30am and armed with our chit we headed for the bins and then reception and they cancelled the €100 deposit.

On the road everything seemed to be going okay. A few problems with the TomTom as we entered Concarneau.

Despite looking on Google Maps that the aire was off the main road into the city centre, we had another wild goose chase around the back streets.... at one point following a German registered motorhome.

We were about to give up when Tom actually took us back to the main road that we had turned off!!! And at the same roundabout. The aire was only about 400m from there. Looking at the map it looks as though it was trying to take us on a road that no longer exists!!!

This isn't the first time the latest map is installed before we came away hadnt shown junction changes, like roundabouts, that have clearly been there for a long while and since the last upgrade.

It had been spitting with rain on and off. With raincoats on we set off for the Ville Clos. A walled town connected to the mainland by what I guess would have been a draw bridge.

Our first stop was lunch. Not as exciting today as we just had the plat. Claire with rognons and me with dandrade. The former was veal kidney with mash and a sauce. Mine was flaked salt cod with mash and a sauce. Both excellent.

Then in the rain, we went across the road to the Ville Clos.

The town is full of shops and restaurants and it's possible to walk around the walls with the sea almost 360° around.

We invested in some kouignettes. These are small kouign amann cakes, probably 3 inches in diameter. We bought six. Two each of different flavours.

The rain eased off and it was warm in raincoats. The walk back uphill to the van was a bit of a slog.

I have been having problems with TomTom and their website plan.tomtom.com. As a route planner it's not that flexible. Editing a route isn't the easiest once created.

The plus point is that you can import GPX files created in other app or websites. I use MyRouteApp. Over the last few days the upload hasn't worked. No error message. Simply that the route doesn't appear in "My Routes".

Added to this is that the place lookup on the planner doesn't always find where you want to go. Even if you type in the full name or even the coordinates from Google Maps. Nada too often.

I have a ticket logged with TomTom support. There initial reply was to tell me what to do. Step by step. The fact that I told them that's what I had done several times unsuccessfully in my initial call wasn't very good. They did say if that didn't work to send them the gpx file to look at. I have. It's Friday. It was 4pm UK time.

From Concarneau the plan was to move westwards to a Camping-Car Park aire at Pont l'Abbe. I finally managed to get a route to work on plan.tomtom.com by manually locating the destination on the map and "pecking" the spot a few times to get it to ask if I wanted to set that as destination!

The start point was covered by the "current location" option. Except it wasn't. It was the lunch restaurant....

We finally made it here to the Camping-Car Park aire at Pont l'Abbe around 4pm.

The aire looks quite new. I'll take some photos tomorrow.

We had a walk to Netto. About half a mile away to get some milk and a few bits.

Tomorrow? Quimper if the day parking is available, then we head northwards.

Dad RIP

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 23:10:00 +0000

Remembering our dad, who would have been 98 today. Rest in peace Dad.

Claude Charles Rosslyn Devall

FR26 - Day 15

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 19:18:30 +0000

Our last day at Flower Camping Bois d'Amour in Quiberon.

Apart from the day we got here the weather has been pretty decent.

Today after we had tidied up after breakfast we had another walk into town.

We were determined to get the wedding anniversary dinner or lunch we missed yesterday.

After a coffee we saw the Biscuiterie de Quiberon. We wanted to get something for our neighbour who sorts our mail out whilst we are away.

We bought kouign amann for us. It's a Breton tart. We had some last week but wanted more. It was a little pricey but it's quite a lump.

From there we went around to the restaurant from yesterday. La Corsaire.

We chose the €26 "menu express" with the entrée and plat option.

We both had fish soup and then diverged. Claire had the fish that came as scallops and masked potato. I chose the meat option and it was steak and chips.

I was so pogged I couldn't eat all the chips!

The walk back was a little slower than the walk into town.

The site's wifi is more iffy. Plus 5G with Tesco isn't a lot better. We did however finish series three of "Granite Harbour" on iPlayer.

Dinner was another Chef Paul creation. Soupe des Légumes. Simply cut the top off the tetrapak and into the pan. Heat on a low setting for about ten minutes. And. Eh voila. Dinner is served.

Tomorrow we need to make sure the freecamp huts are nice and ckean to get a chit and the deposit returned.

Where to? First stop a free to park.during the day aire in Concarneau. It's €7 to overnight. We'll probably give the overnight a miss and see where we end up.

Check this out at Amazon.co.uk

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 19:15:00 +0000

I bought this last year to carry in the van. It's only got a small capacity muck but with the van it's usually dust rather than bulky crap.

Handheld Vacuum Cordless,Car... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FKMSWTJN?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

FR26 - Day 14

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 19:37:36 +0000

Wedding Anniversary Day.

We had hoped to get out and have lunch as it's our special day.

Neither of us were feeling too great and for lunch we had soup! Cooked by me.

I won't bore you with the recipe as I simply had to snip the corner off the tetrapak and pour it into the saucepan.

A little later we set off to walk into Quiberon by the "grand plage". It wasn't as far as it looked on the map the campsite reception gave us.

We looked for somewhere for a coffee and we found one where we could watch the Belle Île ferry coming in and then out again.

We found Le Corsaire and had a pleasant half hour.

Then the walk back. Chef Paul used his almost Michelin 🌟 skills to open a ring-pull can of lentils and meat. Using the same saucepan (washed of course) another meal was quickly heated up.

Tomorrow?

Hopefully, the weather will be better again tomorrow and we can get earlier and we can get our anniversary lunch. Oysters anyone?

FR26 - Day 13

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 09:29:28 +0000

We didn't leave the aire at Josselin until around 11am. We needed to do the waste and rubbish bins and were in a three van queue.

The front van was usable to move as there were two vans trying to get in. The first was having a problem with the barrier.

Once away the TomTom Camper Max had another routing problem, taking us back into the village and then trying to loop around the river towpath. We had to wing it and followed the road signs to the N24. Finally, it got with the program and we headed towards the motorhome dealers as planned.

The dealers was on a newish looking business park. It did seem that prices of new motorhomes and vans seem lower than at home.

The Elsan blue "teabags" weren't though. A tub of them was €24. We usually use the Thetford branded ones. These are so much easier to use than large bottles of liquid blue or green.

We have tried Solbio and found it didn't mask the smells emanating from the loo.

I set the next destination for the campsite in Quiberon. Despite is being pretty much one road, TomTom kept trying to take us different ways including several times a 180° turn at roundabout.

Once again we were only about 35kms away before it and the road signs corresponded.

We arrived about 3pm at Flower Camping Bois d'Amour. When we checked in they asked if we had an ACSI card. We do. I hadn't thought to use it as I had booked direct.

I was expecting to pay around €67 balance but this came down to €47 with the card!

Working it out using the conversion to £ sterling on my Clarity Card shows that the stay totals £64.62 or £21.54 a night.

We have the Freecamp pitch. I thought it might be more "luxurious" for our wedding anniversary to have the private facilities on the pitch.

Freecamp gives us a covered outside picnic table and a small building with a kitchen in one side, and a shower and loo on the other.

Once settled we are a salad box from Aldi. We had done a bit of shopping on the way.

With that out of the way I needed a lie down. The side effects of some of my drugs, and thankfully I'm currently off the statins, are tiredness. I have no problem driving but like an old man I need a nap.

Then we could go for a short walk to find the beach. It's not that far. We had a walk along towards Quiberon itself.

It's very rocky with a small sandy beach. We both took a few photos.

Then it was back to the van. It started to rain and so we were van bound. We have quite noisy neighbours with a pop-top VW van. They talk loudly to their small child... a lot of goo-goo talk!!!

I had seen the site had a restaurant for our wedding anniversary dinner tomorrow. But it's only open weekends as it's not prime season.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be better weather and we can walk into town for lunch.

FR26 - Days 11/12

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 18:50:48 +0000

Sunday 4th October

After a week in one place we are back to touring for a few days.

The first stop was the Intermarché at Bernières sur Mer and then on the road to Caen and the A84 toll free motorway westwards.

The destination was the Camping-Car Park aire at Beauvoir. We have been before and it's huge with 180 pitches.

We arrived around 3pm and found a space. They aren't that well marked out!!! Then I found the 10m EHU cable wasn't long enough. I moved a little. No better!

As Claire chatted to the couple from Cornwall, and whose names we forget, I moved spaces to the otherside of the wooden fence. The cable fitted perfectly.

Once settled we took a walk towards Mont Saint Michel. Its 5kms away. We managed 2kms... it was getting a bit late, and after we had stopped for coffee at the Saint James shop.

lWe had the table and chairs out in front of the van in the shade. Then to the back.

In the afternoon I started a chat session with Tesco Mobile. We seem to be burning through our 30gb roaming limit on the phones. We use them as mobile hot-spot since the 30gb on the Lebara sim in the router stopped working.

We decided that 100gb for £14 was the way to go. The current contract actually ran out in November 2024. We worked though with Rishi and now have 100gb each. In fact with the "treat" it's £13. The older contract was costing us £11.70 a month.

Monday 5th October

We weren't in much hurry to leave and the destination was Josselin in Brittany. I had programed a stop at Fougères on the way as they have a massive castle. On the way I thought "It's Monday".... the castle will be closed. It was.

In fact it seems practically everything was closed. We parked in the official marked motorhome parking at €2 an hour.

We had a wander to the castle and looked for a coffee. Only two restaurants open and both only doing lunches.

So it was back to "Chez Nous"... We chatted with a couple from Belgium 🇧🇪 with a dog. It was a Bleu de Gascon. A rescue from being a failed hunting dog on death row.

From there it was Josselin. I had Rennes on the route with a park up that allowed day parking for camping cars. I removed it as time was getting on and we went straight to the Camping-Car Park aire in Josselin.

When we arrived the satnav took us through the tiny streets. Then it wanted to go up a street with a clear "no campervans" sign.

In the end we arrived. We had to wait to get in as there were two vans blocking the entrance. There are two service points but the chump in the second van didn't even acknowledge we were waiting. British.

Then it seemed the had a brainwave and moved onto the vacant service point. And we were in. Plenty of spaces. Loads of British.

We setup, then had a chat to the couple behind us from Wales with a spaniel. We seem to be talking to people with 🐕....

The walk along the river to the Castle only takes about 15 minutes. What a beauty it is.

In the town we found a bar that was doing a roaring trade. Maybe because it was open.

We chose a beer and a menthe a l'eau.

We retraced our steps back down to the river and returned to the site.

So. Tomorrow. We have a relatively short trip to Quiberon and three nights at the Flower Camping Bois d'Amour site.

We need some blue stuff for the toilet cassette and I have found a Camping-Car dealer a little way off the current planned route.

FR26 - Day 10

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 20:10:15 +0000

Life flashes past when you are away doing nothing.

Today, apart from a walk to the Carrefour we have done very little. We bought some very nice chocolate tarts. Along with eggs.

A bit of reading. A light lunch of scrambled egg on toast.

Plenty of reading and the day got away from us.

As we are leaving tomorrow we decided to pack away all the outside "camping" stuff.

In the morning we'll just have to disconnect the EHU and pack away the Milencos.

From the inside looking outside.

FR26 - Day 9

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 19:47:45 +0000

Well into week two now. We have been saying we must go to lunch for moules frites.

So today we decided it would be today.

A different way into town today. Past the Gare to take in the look church.

It's huge.

The way from there, and following the signs to the tourist office, took us right to the "border" with neighbouring Bernières sur Mer.

We came out a few hundred yards up from the memorial we visited yesterday.

Nearby is the Pub le Crabe Vert. We saw people eating there yesterday.

Moules Marinières. Before...

After...

We walked slowly back to the site. The washing was almost dry.

We had a "lazy" afternoon after that.

Later we met a couple of fellow Instagrammers, Paul & Gills Adventures. Nice to meet them.

After moules we decided we didn't need a cooked dinner, so we had a cheese and tomato baguette.

Another evening of YouTubes and "Granite Harbour" on iPlayer.

Tomorrow is our last full day here at Sandaya.

Vango Sizzle Induction Hob

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:44:15 +0000

We have been looking at alternatives to using the gas hob when we are away.

We already have an air fryer but it's no use when you want to use saucepans or even a frying pan.

So we looked around, took some advice and decided on the Vango Sizzle Induction Hob.

We have bought the single hob version as it packs small enough to carry in the van. It's designed for camping and has an 800w power limit.

It will work very well with our 2000w inverter and not stress or overload it.

FR26 - Where next?

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:10:30 +0000

When we leave here we have two days to get to the next campsite at Quiberon.

The initial plan in my head was one night at Mont St Michel, either at the official car parking for the buses to the Mont, or at the Camping-Car Park aire in Beauvoir.

The cost of the parking seemed a bit pricey. There are no services at all and its €25 a night.

The CCP aire is a little cheaper at €18 with all the services including EHU, but a 5kms walk to the Mont.

We have been before so then maybe we will give it a miss this time and do the CCP.

Where after that? I have pencilled in Josselin in Brittany. There's a Camping-Car Park aire there and a huge castle.

FR26 - Days 7/8

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 18:55:16 +0000

Day 7

Is it really the end of a week already.

Another day of not doing much. We did go to the laundry and do some washing.

The rest of the day was spent moving the whirlygig dryer around the pitch and the vacant one begind to "find the sun".

The pitches are very shaded with many mature trees.

For dinner we decided on a single pizza 🍕 and loaded frites instead of cooking.

Very nice as well.

As usual we read and then in the evening watched some YouTube and a programe on iPlayer about a Jamaican born Royal Military Police officer becoming a copper in Aberdeen. It looked grey and granitey as I remembered from visits in the 70's....

Day 8

Today it started sunny. It stayed mostly sunny. With no rain....

After emptying the cassette again, we set off for the town and beach.

I took the Canon with me in it's case. Perhaps, I should have brought the usual case as well, as lugging around the 300mm Tamron zoom adds to the weight.

The Gare de Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer is a short walk away. It looks like many station buildings in France. Except. There's no railway line. The line closed in 1950! There is a cash machine though. One that doesn't charge to use it.

Well. If you use a non French card it will make you an offer. Pay in Euros or your currency. In our case UK sterling. For €70 it offered us the £63.70 option. I decided to pay in Euros.

Good choice. The Halifax app showed the converted cost was £60.11. Success!

From there we headed towards the sea and the promenade. We eventually popped out about halfway along. There plenty of houses and villas, plus some restaurants.

We stopped for a coffee at one in the sun called Papagayo.

All along the promenade in this area there are beach huts. They look a little "less loved" than those in Cayeux-sur-Mer.

Once done we continued past the Office de Tourisme (fermé!) to the German gun emplacement bunker called Casemate 27.

Here there are flags of allied nations and a monument to the Canadian armoured troops and Royal Marine Commando that came ashore on June 6th 1944. D-Day.

We decided to walk back and have lunch and a "lazy afternoon".

On the way past the Snack Bar we got a croque monsieur to share. It wasn't that good. Not a patch on the pizzas.

The washing was finally dry and so I could dismantle the whirlygig and stow it away in the garage.

We had a chat about where to go next. I had thought about Mont St Michel. We have both been before but many years ago. It's €25 a night on the official car park. No services. Even the upto 3 hours and upto 6 hours parkings are eye wateringly expensive. We might give it a swerve and head to the Camping-Car Park aire where we have stayed before.

Tonight we will eat in. Cassoulet Toulousain.

Hopefully the weather might have looked up for a few days so we can get out again for another walk along the coast.

FR26 - Day 5 & Day 6

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:32:12 +0000

Day 5.

It started raining last night. It pretty much poured down all night and all day.

It was heavy at times and we have barely been out of the van.

It's been Kindle time.

By bed time, we had thunder and lightning.

Day 6.

Today after almost 18 hours of rain it cleared up.

We decided to get out the camping gear, mat, table and chairs. And "just in case" the roll out awning was deployed.

It's been cloudy most of the day and to be honest chilly at times.

We did have a walk late morning to the Carrefour Local supermarket. A slight diversion towards the sea and the casino before a few purchases.

With my left foot still painful I had had enough by then. Last week's steroids had not had much long lasting effect. The huge turmeric capsules that proved almost "miraculous " in Florida not having the same effect here.

Late afternoon there was some brief sunshine, but overcast is the weather situation for the day.

Tomorrow? Hopefully a bit more walking to check our St Aubin sur Mer.

FR26 - Day 3 and Day 4

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 17:28:49 +0000

With Day 3 consisting of the drive to Cabourg from Le Tréport that was consumed with visiting four different supermarkets, one purely for diesel, there's not much to report.

We did stop for lunch on the west side of the Seine after conquering the Pont de Tancarville. The toll for Class 2 vehicles was €3.70 and our Emovis tag dealt with it.

After we ate, healthy salad bowl, we took a walk to get a view of the bridge.

I took the Canon. There was a problem with the memory card and all the photos were knackered.

Luckily, Claire had her phone with her and took this one.

We ended up at Cabourg around 3pm. The aire by the Hippodrome on Search4Sites says space for six vans. It was ram packed with nine vans. Too much of a fire risk! Also, I do like to be able to open my door....

We continued to the other park up at the Carrefour Market car park. Also free plus the benefit of another supermarket very close by.

We found a nice space that was tree free. There was always one empty car space free on either side of us.

The view wasn't too great...

Day 4.

We had a very quiet night. With it being Sunday the Carrefour is open until 1230pm.

We were in good time to get a few bits for the day.

From here the plan was to visit the Merville Battery and maybe Pegasus Bridge on the way to the campsite.

These are already written up on Blogger - links here:

Merville Battery.

Pegasus Bridge.

From there to Sandaya Côte de Nacre. We checked in about 3.30pm. Got a bit heated being unable to find our pitch from the map... then enc1ountering a caravan bloke hitching up to leave part blocking the entry lane. We didn't know he was leaving....

We sat there whilst he and his wife ignored us. Then they started waving for us to go back and around. Our pitch was three along, 105.

In the end he backed up a foot to let us slip past. Simple?

We got the evil eye from the Germans opposite them! 🖕

In the we are here for a week. Planned to save Reggie too much stress and not much walking.

We have EHU so it doesn't matter if we don't get much solar.

Tonight?

Rest and do sweet fanny adams.

We decided to have a takeaway 🍕. You can go and order, or you can order from the Sandaya app. we tried the latter. Easy enough.

A trip to the shop for a small tub of ice-cream and we are set.

Pegasus Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 15:42:09 +0000

After the visit to the Merville Battery, the drive a few miles to Pegasus Bridge should have been short and quick.

Today, some bridges were closed and so the satnav took us almost into Caen and then northwards along the Orne.

If I had thought about it we could have parked in the Café Gondrée car-park.

Instead, we went into the road where the Memorial is situated. It's closed. We parked up along the road and walked back.

We had lunch in the Café. It's around forty years ago since I went there and had a drink from the café itself.

Claire and I along with Reggie came a few years back in Molly the Elddis. Coming over the other bridge took off our clean water drain tap from under the van.

As we walked back to the van I got a couple of pictures over the fence.

Signage says they are intending to have the works completed by June 2027.

Merville Battery

noreply@blogger.com (On the Road Again) — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 15:13:32 +0000

After leaving the Carrefour Market at Cabourg the first destination was the former German WW2 battery at Merville.

It was part of the Atlantic Wall. Maybe better historians, that I could ever be, explain why it was built basically from Norway to Spain.

If the Nazis had built "the thousand year Reich", why in around a decade build defences?

We arrived and found the dedicated motorhome parking. It's free to park.

The battery museum comprises of the four casement where they housed the guns.

The battery was there to defend the Orne estuary. It needed to be taken out before the D-Day landing on Sword Beach.

The story of what happened is one of endurance and bravery. Easily on a par with the capture of the "Pegasus Bridge" over the Orne.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Merville_Gun_Battery

Also on display is a Douglas DC3. This one was recovered from Bosnia Herzogovina and restored.

https://www.batterie-merville.com/en/the-museum/c-47-the-snafu-special/

Each of the four casements has displays and films explaining the events of June 5th and 6th 1944.

Admission for us was €9.50 each.