We crossed the Channel on 26th November and our first stop was The Ketch at Kniverton a village near Ashbourne in Derbyshire. We had mains power in the van and were snug in the bitterly cold weather. We also had a great choice of delicious food in the pub as well.
After 3 weeks in Benidorm we had to head back to the UK to get the 12v electrics fixed by the factory in Elland, West Yorkshire.We set off from Benidorm last Sunday to see family friends in Javea just an hour up the road. We had such a good long lunch with the Tynes that we were still there for breakfast in the morning.
We headed north through Spain and spent the 1st night outside a fortification in Jaca. We took about half an hour walking round the town to find a pleasant eatery called The Pilgrim's Café. We slept well but it was a night for the thermals as we were very close to the Pyrenees. Sure enough as we crossed the border into France it was snowing quite heavily. Timing was perfect as we don't have snowchains and the authorities would have prevented us using that road if we had been stopped.
We travelled north through France using A roads and avoiding tolls. We had two nights in Aires in
France. These are night parking spots for Motorhomes and are often free.
We headed north through Spain and spent the 1st night outside a fortification in Jaca. We took about half an hour walking round the town to find a pleasant eatery called The Pilgrim's Café. We slept well but it was a night for the thermals as we were very close to the Pyrenees. Sure enough as we crossed the border into France it was snowing quite heavily. Timing was perfect as we don't have snowchains and the authorities would have prevented us using that road if we had been stopped.
We travelled north through France using A roads and avoiding tolls. We had two nights in Aires in
France. These are night parking spots for Motorhomes and are often free.
Our on board electrics continued to let us down so in desperate need of a hot shower we managed to find a campsite open all year at Wimereaux near Boulogne. We had to purchase a 1 euro token for hot water. 6 minutes of lukewarm water in an unheated shower block I was clean but completely chilled to the bone.
I remained dubious when Mike said there would be a shower on the ferry. I took his word as that seemed better bet than another freezing ordeal in the shower. Three times I went and tried the door on the ferry shower and each time the notice said it was closed for cleaning whilst in the harbour. As we were well out of the harbour I went to the Guest Services Desk and enquired if they really were closed. A nice lady collected a jailers set of keys and let us into the gents and ladies respectively. Turns out they always keep those ones locked to stop drivers of all nationalities having nooky in there. Mike and I must have been giving off need to get clean signals rather than dirty ones!
I remained dubious when Mike said there would be a shower on the ferry. I took his word as that seemed better bet than another freezing ordeal in the shower. Three times I went and tried the door on the ferry shower and each time the notice said it was closed for cleaning whilst in the harbour. As we were well out of the harbour I went to the Guest Services Desk and enquired if they really were closed. A nice lady collected a jailers set of keys and let us into the gents and ladies respectively. Turns out they always keep those ones locked to stop drivers of all nationalities having nooky in there. Mike and I must have been giving off need to get clean signals rather than dirty ones!
