The end of the first European Trip - 3rd Nov ‘19

So 19 days later - our longest Brunnehilda trip to date - we are heading home.

Given the awful weather we’ve experienced in the last 3 weeks it was fairly ironic that we packed up in the dry and travelled home in the sunshine!

The Burford site is shutting down for the winter tomorrow so it seemed that virtually everyone on the site was packing up and going this morning. Isabella was soaking wet so we just threw her in the back of the car - I will try and dry her out in the garden tomorrow.

After just 3 nights it was interesting to see just how many leaves had been shed over Isabella ...

The journey was an easy one- 90 mins up the A361 and we were at Whilton. Quite ironic though as we had 2 mishaps at the end of the trip... firstly, there was a power cut when we arrived at Whilton they couldn’t open the gate for ages. Secondly, when we went to motor move Brunnehilda one of the wheels wouldn’t engage! We pushed her back into her space and will investigate the mover malfunction at the weekend. We also plan to wash her then as she is absolutely filthy!

Then the funniest thing happened during the whole trip ... Kim was unloading the van when she slipped and did the splits between the bed and the table. She was stuck fast - had to take a picture before realising her!

So, after 8 sites in 19 days, here are the summary pros and cons for the 7 “non rated” sites we used:

Barfrestone Court Farm (Dover):

Pros

1) Fab setting in a very up market farm court yard

2) No one else there apart from us
3) Very friendly host - drove a Volvo!
4) Incredibly quiet - at first, see cons
Cons
1) Tricky road through village
2) The mooing cow kept us awake all night!




Camping Au Bord de L’Aisne (nr Reims):

Pros
1) Easy walk by the river into the wee town
2) Plenty of room - no neighbouring vans
3) Close to the motorway - less than 5 mins
Cons
1) Muddy /wet pitch
2) No toilet paper in toilets
3) Toilets and washing facilities just OK





Camping de Lyon (nr Lyon):

Pros
1) Close to the motorway - less than 2 mins
2) Close to huge shopping centre - over the road
Cons
1) Muddy / wet pitch
2) Noisy - let out a lot of mobile homes to “workers” who were having a fun evening!
3) A lot of works going on
4) Toilets and washing facilities just OK
5) Fairly long trek to washing facilities
6) No where “nice” to walk to

Camping Huttopia Royat (nr Clermont-Ferrand):

Pros 
1) Off the scale friendly and helpful lady - so so nice
2) Within walking distance of village / suburb
3) Very pretty - lots of trees shrubs
4) Fantastic pool and tennis courts - both unfortunately shut!
5) Nice generous / private pitches
6) Clean / new toilet and washroom facilities
Cons
1) Hard to get to from motorway- the wrong side of the city

Riva Bella (nr Caen):
Pros
1) Perfect position near port and restaurants
2) Good facilities, including an Ok toilet / washing block
Cons
1) The migrants camping outside the campsite
2) Noisy - a strange bang / explosion every hour or so all evening / night
3) Wet and muddy pitch - although not as bad as Reims and Lyon

Littlehampton Caravan Club Site:

Pros
1) Incredibly neat, tidy and well run
2) Immaculate toilet / washroom facilities
3) Pitch very close to all amenities
Cons
1) Rule dominated - told how to park!
2) Shut toilets for cleaning at 10.30 - punishing late risers like us!
3) No real boundaries between pitches - fine when not busy but ...



Burford Caravan Club Site:

Pros 
1) Very friendly and laid back wardens / greeters
2) Immaculate toilet / washroom facilities
3) Pitch very close to all amenities
4) Easy walk over to Cotswold Wildlife Park
5) Toilets / shut cleaned at 3 - perfect time to suit the guests not the wardens!
Cons
1) Too far out to walk anywhere (apart from the Wildlife Park)
2) Bloody hard to get the awning pegs into the hard standing!