Ferry crossing to Calais and on to Guignicourt- 16th Oct ‘19

Well we were expecting a quiet nights sleep in our farm courtyard in the middle of no-where ... nope that was not what we got! At about 2 in the morning a distressed cow starting mooing and she (I’m afraid it was a lady beast) didn’t stop until we left at 8! I don’t think she was doing it to hack us off so the obvious conclusion was that she was in physical or emotional pain! Either way it pushes you one step closer to veganism - if only butter and cheese weren’t so bloody nice?!

We arrived at the port before 8.45 (90 mins before the sail time) so they put us on the earlier sailing - 9.25. The boat seemed less than half empty so lots of room to spread out. I have to say though the food was bloody disappointing- we were looking forward to some nice fresh croissants or pan au chocolats! No such luck, we didn’t fancy the nasty looking English breakfast so we did without - apart from a lousy humus wrap and a Starbucks - yuck!

The weather was not great but we still managed a quick stroll on deck!

The road we wanted to get to Reims literally was straight off the boat. The campsite was only 2 miles off this road (A26) so it was a fairly easy 150 mile trip. We stopped for a break at an Aire (French motorway service station). Another culinary disappointment as we ended up with a dried up pan au chocolat and an over sweet coffee eclair. I suppose we should have tempered our expectations - you wouldn’t expect much from a pitstop at Watford Gap after all?

The XC60 pulled Brunnehilda very well - although the fuel economy was not anywhere near as good today. Partly to do with the fact our average speed was higher but also because we seemed to be going uphill quite a lot!

We arrived at Camping au Bord de l’Aisne (just north of Reims) at about 3.45pm. https://camping-aisne-picardie.fr/ The site is about 1/10th full. They shut down at the end of October and clearly the busy season was over. The check in lady was very nice - her English was certainly better than our French! We soon got settled. Even quicker than normal as, wait for it... I managed to 90 degree back onto the pitch!!! Blimey, what a result! The most frustrating thing though ... there was no one there to see it! Apart from the current Mrs Pitts who was very complimentary without being patronising - most folks, I’m sure, would have gone the other way on that one?

The wee town is called Guignicourt. It’s a bit run down but very French. The campsite (and town) nestles by the banks of the Aisne - a very big river that lends its name to this whole area of France.
We had a nice walk by the river into town. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisne

Once in town we managed a trip to Carrefour (aka Tesco’s!!) for provisions. To be fair provisions was mostly 20 bottles (+) of Belgian beer - there was an offer on! We made it into a pizza / kebab place as soon as it opened at 6. Our culinary disastrous day in the home of fine dining continued. They only do pizzas at the weekend and while the kebabs and burgers looked good, it wasn’t exactly the menu of choice for 2 would be veggies. We both ended up with salad and fries. Have to say the fries were bloody good though.

We watched another episode of The Wire on DVD and headed for an early night - cup of tea and reading in bed - #rockandrolllifestyle. Hopefully there are no cows anywhere close tonight? If there are I might just be forced to get a gun and have a steak!!

Whilton Marina to Dover - 15th Oct ‘19

Wow, the day has come ... after 50 nights away in the UK we’re off overseas!! As exciting as it is terrifying!! Not sure if mainland Europe is ready for Brunnehilda?! Actually they’re ready for her - she’s just going hone after all - I’m not sure they’re ready for me pulling her?

Kim was working in the morning so we didn’t pull out of Whilton Marina until 12.20. We stopped at Thurrock for a bite to eat. Brunnehilda was parked amongst the HGVs as the HGVs had used all the caravan spaces! On all our 5 hour journey we didn’t notice another van - I guess most sensible caravaners pack them away by the end of September!?

The motorways were really busy which was surprisingly un-stressful! It doesn’t seem to matter if you’re going 40 with a van. You can only go at 60 anyway and so what if you’re running late- c’est le vie ... the life of a retired caravaner eh?

Barfrestone Court Farm just outside Dover is a smashing little CL site. It’s set in the courtyard of a very upmarket working farm. We were the only ones there so we had it to ourselves. The lady owner was super nice and very laid back. Also good as I didn’t feel any embarrassment (no onlookers) ad I motor moved Brunnehilda into the easiest of pitches.

As soon as we were set up we headed into Dover for a bite to eat. Not a lot to chose from but in the end we had a very nice one at Nandos. It was very busy so I guess most people had had the same problem as us in finding a suitable place to eat. I had a Mushroom and humus wrap which was really good - who needs chicken eh?

Returned to the site by way of a Tesco Extra. Not sure if the price of French diesel but we thought it prudent to fill up.

A quick read and then to bed. This place is in the middle of no where so there is literally no sound or lights at all. I think we’re going to sleep well.