8 January 2020 – El Catllar

We'd more or less decided last night to stay put today so had a bit of a lie-in. Not as cold overnight and the sun quickly warmed everything up, although a bit too low in the sky to have much effect on the solar panels.

A lazy morning, just pottering about until just before lunch we took Jamie for a walk into the village, which really isn't very big with just a supermarket, post office, a couple of bars and an agricultural cooperative, which seemed to be the focus of interest as there were a lot of people around it although we couldn't see why. There is also, of course, a church halfway up the hill which is crowned by the renovated ruins of a 13^th century castle, closed up for the season but we could see most of it from outside. Then back to Bertie for lunch to find another Brit parked up next to us.

Castel de Catllar

After lunch Bren dosed herself up with Lemsips and got her head down whilst Terry took Jamie for a walk along the adjacent nature reserve where the locals had made a wide circuit which was being used to get their exercise – we saw several elderly folk taking advantage. Then a little planning and a bit of messing about before tea.

At last it's been quite warm all day but, as usual, as the sun went down so did the temperature although the forecast is for “warmer” tonight – we'll see! Meanwhile tomorrow we'll head down onto the coast and see where we end up after a bit of shopping and hopefully get the gas refilled. The first bottle gave out yesterday morning, unsurprisingly given that the heating has been on a lot.

Tuesday 7 January – Foix to El Catllar

Foix to El Catllar - 187 miles

Not quite as cold during the night and we were up early as we had a long driving day ahead of us. Breakfast and we were again able to do a full service before heading back to the main road. Today we planned to transit Andorra, a new country for us, and the map showed some serious mountain driving. Fortunately the weather forecast was excellent, indeed significantly warmer than normal so we looked forward to some good scenery.

It wasn't long before we started climbing quickly into the snow-capped mountains and soon reached the snow line at about 5000 ft. The roads were clear and dry, with no apparent recent snowfall, so no problems there although we are prepared with winter tyres. Higher and higher, we eventually came to the border with Andorra where we were held up a few minutes at the police checkpoint, although they didn't bother us.

Andorra is a strange blend of France and Spain; we couldn't work out which was predominant as names were sometimes French, sometimes Spanish. We did notice the fuel was ridiculously cheap, around 94p a litre, which made us regret filling up yesterday at £1.33! All the towns were quite modern, usually consisting of a main street with small offshoots although there were also a few quite large, such as Andorra la Vella itself. There was a lot of skiing industry evident too but as there wasn't a great deal of snow it was quiet in that respect.

Andorra is a low tax country and not actually part of the EU so when we crossed back into Spain we were briefly searched and asked if we had bought any tobacco or alcohol – which we hadn't so were on our way quite quickly. About 20km further on we pulled off the road into a layby of sorts for lunch – Jamie was more than ready for a break after over 3 hours; mind you so were we!

Up to now the weather had been absolutely superb but as we got further south we encountered mist and low cloud with the accompanying low temperatures, a bit of a disappointment after the last few days. We were heading for the coast at Tarragona, having by-passed Lleida on excellent main roads, then as we crested a mountain pass near Tarrega the mist suddenly cleared and we were back to sunshine, the valleys below still hidden by low cloud banks.

Having already checked for an overnight stop we had programmed a nice-looking aire at El Catllar, about 10km from Tarragona, and TomTom took us there without fuss. A very pleasant spot on the edge of a small town in the late afternoon sun, we were satisfied with our choice so parked up and put the kettle on. Although mileage has not been huge, in fact it was only 29 miles across Andorra, it has still been a lot of driving and we're ready for a break. We'll see how we feel in the morning but are considering stopping for a couple of nights. Bren in particular is suffering from a persistent cold so a break would be a help.

Monday 6 January 2020 – Gourdon to Foix

Gourdon to Foix - 158 miles

Awoke to a heavy frost and outside minus something, but the heating quickly warmed things up and it wasn't long before the sun came over the hill and melted the frost to make a gorgeous bright blue sky, which persisted all day. Breakfast then discovered a problem with the charge for fuel on Saturday, but a quick call to a very helpful Barclays hopefully has sorted it out – we know what has happened but not sure why and will check again in a couple of days.

With the water tap now unfrozen we did a full service before getting on the road again; this is a lovely little spot and if it hadn't been so cold we felt we could have stayed a day or two, but the sun is calling us............... A really lovely run, though, through a nice part of France we haven't explored before and is on our “places to go back to” list. A fast and reasonably quiet road, we skirted Montaubin and then stopped just before Toulouse for a bit of shopping, lunch and to refuel. We haven't seen any evidence of shortages but needed more to reach Spain and it was only a few pence more per litre than at home.

Toulouse was hectically busy, not helped by the laptop navigator going on strike, but fortunately we carry good maps as backup and had no problems, eventually getting clear and espying the Pyrenes Mountains ahead of us. But it soon became clear that we wouldn't get that far in daylight so, having a reasonable choice of places to stop, we chose a free aire in the largish town of Foix which had reasonable reviews. A bit awkward to find, we eventually arrived at a non-descript motorhome parking area tucked away about 700m from the town centre, with a couple of “permanent” resident, well we suppose you could call an old ambulance and a converted box lorry, “motorhomes”. Not very impressed, especially after the lovely spots we've had up to now, we decided we'd stay but be a bit more “security conscious” as it was a bit late to move on to an alternative. However it is free and there is water and waste disposal. We were joined later by another “proper” van!

Although not as cold as this time yesterday, it's not really warm enough for a look around the town. Andorra is around 100km away so we'll try for an earlier start in the morning.

Sunday 5 January 2020 – Thielly to Gourdon

Thielly to Gourdon - 218 miles

Another cold night but a nice bright partly cloudy start, which gradually improved throughout the morning until it became wall-to-wall blue sky, although the temperature didn't get much above 6/7 degrees. Full English Sunday breakfast of course then empty the waste tanks and get back onto the road towards Vierzon. Then Jamie started creating for some reason so a short stop whilst he got walked again until he settled once more.

Shortly before Vierzon we joined the A20 non-toll autoroute, and stayed with it then for most of the day. We don't normally “do” motorways but it was going in our direction and, although in no rush, we had no real wish or need to stop off anywhere so we thought may as well get some distance in on our way to the sunshine! So with the cruise control set we enjoyed a steady run through quite attractive countryside, at one point crossing the Dordogne, stopping for a leisurely lunch at a very nice aire de repos where we managed to refill the water tank – 5 trips with the watering can....!

Just after Brieve the motorway became a toll road, which we definitely don't do, so dropped onto the D920, which is the old N20, for a slower but much more “scenic” (read twisty and hilly) route through what was now the Lot region of France. We were heading for Cahors but it soon became clear that that was as far as we would be going today, so Bren got the books and maps out and from a limited choice spotted a nice looking place about 10km off our route.

Gourdon is an attractive small hill top town and the aire de camping car was nicely set just off the town centre in a little valley. With nobody else on it we settled in and found free electric and water – the latter was turned off but Terry found the stop-cock............! The electric switched itself off after an hour but could be turned back on again – fair enough so that it wasn't abused.

Next morning - a bit frosty!

With the sun going down the temperature dropped again so screens up and blinds closed for a quiet evening. We took advantage of the electric/water for a shower in the van after tea before log, blog and books. The onward route is pretty much planned out now; tomorrow head for Toulouse then south across the Pyrenees to Andorra, a country we've never visited, and then on into northern Spain. The weather forecast is good, if cold, so we are looking forward to a different experience.

Come back tomorrow for an update!

Saturday 4 January 2020 – Pont de L'Arche to Theillay

Pont de L'Arche to Theillay - 163 miles

The sky did indeed turn clear resulting in a cold night with a frost still hanging around as we surfaced, at a reasonable hour for a change. The heating however soon made it comfortable for breakfast before tidying up, emptying the waste tanks and rubbish bin then heading on out into a totally different day to yesterday. A bright and clear morning with only light traffic made quite a difference!

Initially sticking to our usual route we passed Evreux, Dreux then Chartres but then headed for Orleans, rather than Tours, as we had planned a more easterly journey for a change, which also avoided the long, slow and boring N10. Instead we took the N20, now called the D2020. To be honest it wasn't a lot different, just more of the same scenery but plenty of towns we haven't seen before.

Approaching Orleans we spotted an Aldi so called in for some shopping and a latish lunch. Then a few miles further on we refuelled at a LeClerc to ensure we didn't get caught out if there was a fuel shortage, although we saw no sign of any problems.

The next major town on our route was Vierzon, quite a way on a dead straight road. Although there was a choice of stopping points after Vierzon we decided to check out a quiet looking spot, just off the main road, at Theillay which is some miles short. Really just a bit of gravelled over spare land with a home made service point (again no water) next to the Fire Station and cemetery – so no noise from the neighbours! Initially we were on our own but were joined by another motorhome just after dark. Perfectly adequate for an overnight stop so we called it a day and put the kettle on before settling down for the night, which looks like it might be another cool one despite several weather forecasters proclaiming it to be “unseasonably warm” whatever that means!

Sorry there's no photos up to now, nothing really special to see. Even the roundabout art has been very poor this year, but at least there is a map to show where we are.

Friday 3 January 2020 – Wissant to Pont de L'Arche

Wissant to Pont de L'Arche - 143 miles

With the expected rain falling during the night we awoke late to a miserable morning which didn't improve until late afternoon, resulting in a tiring drive. With no facilities we were on our way after breakfast, somewhat later than we wanted but hey-ho we're “on holiday” so it doesn't matter! Sticking to our tried and tested route we made steady progress south on quiet roads down past Boulogne to Abbeville then the autoroute to Rouen, pausing at a rest area (Aire de Behan) for lunch. We noticed the water was on here so took the opportunity of topping up the freshwater tank – at this time of year most water supplies are off to prevent freezing so we always take every opportunity.

Following recommendations we'd planned to head for an aire de campingcar at Nonancourt, so had it programmed into the satnav which showed us another way through Rouen, although we did end up in the same place as before but with apparently heavier traffic. Unfortunately our late start meant that we would probably arrive after dark, not something we were keen on especially not having been there before, so as we were passing very close to another favourite, at Pont de L'Arche, we thought we'd have a quick look. Not unexpectedly there was plenty of room so we called it a day and picked a reasonably level spot and put the kettle on!

Joined later by several other vans of varying nationalities we relaxed and caught up with “the paperwork” before tea and hopefully another quiet night. Jamie has been as good as gold but does seem to want more walkies, something we're quite happy to indulge him with.

Checking in with the MotorhomeFun forum we learned of another planned fuel strike in France, starting next Monday for 3 days. It's possible that this may cause us a problem but we'll refuel every day for now and not let it get below half – hopefully that will mean we'll have enough to get to Spain, where it's far cheaper anyway. But if not we'll just find somewhere nice to stop and wait it out – we're in no rush!

Starting Out

Well Christmas, although quiet in itself, saw us trying to get things finished off and sorted before we left – we thought it was all done but later events have shown that it hasn't all gone right so we'll be doing some updating along the way.

So with the van loaded to the gunnels we eventually got away on Monday before New Year to travel down to Terry's Mum in Lincolnshire. An uneventful, if busy, trip saw us parking up on her driveway by teatime and we spent a few pleasant days enjoying company, exchanging gifts (really Mum, 3XL?) and sorting out (or not!) a few electrical problems caused by a lightning strike that badly damaged a close neighbours bungalow. Although we didn't intentionally stay up to see the New Year in, we hadn't gone to bed as we were fully expecting any local fireworks to set Jamie off. We'd dosed him with a sedative tablet that the vet provided but thankfully there were only a few loud bangs and once he finished shouting at them it was all peace and quiet.

So with the Chunnel booked we left late morning yesterday for the long haul down to Folkestone, again on very busy roads but with only a couple of minor holdups. As it appeared fuel is cheaper in the UK we topped off at a Tesco next door to the tunnel terminal before checking in and being put on a train a full hour earlier than booked, with just enough time to empty a rather full toilet cassette!

Not sure if it was correct but they announced a 25m crossing time, which felt about right, rather than the 35m we've been used to – faster trains maybe? Whatever we arrived in France in the dark but, due to the closure of our normal overnight stop at Citie Europ, we had to drive around 10km to another favourite, at Wissant. There was some pretty poor parking by several German registered vans as well as several Belgians and Germans in the bus bays – that would have been fun if the buses had returned, but they must still be on holiday as we didn't hear any altercations! We managed to find a spot big enough for us (with the luggage rack on the back we're a little longer than standard) so settled down with a nice meal and a welcome sound night sleep.