So……after several months of non-planning i.e the only thing we were sure of was our date of departure from our home in Co Down and that we were going to head South to warmer climes for the winter – other than that, our agenda was pretty much of the “turn right in Calais and see where we end up….” variety – we can now say that we are well and truly On The Road!

A full two weeks after leaving home, having spent time in Scotland and various counties in England with family members – the longest goodbye in the history of man, possibly- we finally drove onto Le Shuttle at 1320hrs on Sat Nov 5th 2016.

This was a first for me and it certainly was a very strange sensation – as we pulled out of the terminal, the ride was so smooth that we could hardly tell we were moving but then, as we entered the tunnel, it was as if we were being buffeted by high winds from all directions- I can only assume this was due to the high speed as just 35 minutes later, we were on the other side and driving out on to the A26!

We managed to find a Lidl just before taking the motorway and, with our wine stocks having been decimated during the previous two weeks, and with curiosity getting the better of us, we pulled in and went for a gander. 20 minutes later and with our wine stores suitably replenished, and, naturally, a bagful of food items which we felt we just HAD to have, despite our fridge and freezer being pretty much full to the gunwhales, we resumed our journey South.

Consultation with our various resources – Camperstops, All The Aires etc- revealed an ideal overnight parking spot for us just over an hour away at Cucq Stella Plage. Close to the biggest sand dunes outside of Portrush, a short walk from the town and, best of all, it was FREE!! Always a bonus! Despite TomTom’s best efforts, we managed to find it without too much trouble. The French have a reputation for being exceptionally motorhome-friendly and this seems to be well-deserved with their hundreds of Aires and other designated camping car overnight stops all over the country.

Harley had an absolute blast in the dunes – check out his paw prints in the photo below…

That’s all for today, folks. We’ll endeavour to post regular updates as to our whereabouts, as and when Net access allows.

Cheers

Roy, Karen, Harley & Sebo xxx