Feb 2020 – THREE GO TRAVELLING

Week 34: Toulouse to the Île d’Oléron via Bordeaux

Monday and it was raining in Toulouse. We had wanted to cycle in to the old town and have a mooch around, but it was that fine rain that will soak you in seconds., so instead we sorted some chores and then headed out to the Supermarket and Garage to fill up with food and LPG (GPL in France).

Tuesday and the sun came out, so we got out our bikes and headed along the Canal de la Garonne to the end of the Canal du Midi, The point where the two meet (along with the Canal de Brienne) is called Ponts Jumeaux (Twin Bridges). We can now say we have been to both ends of the Canal du Midi, although some deem the Canal de la Garonne to also be part of the Midi – known in full as the Canal Entre Deux Mers.

We cycled along the Canal du Midi (we actually thought it was the Canal de Brienne!) until we headed towards the Capitole. We stopped in the square opposite the Capitole, where there was a market and ate our lunch, before heading off to see some sights, including the Monument aux Morts, les Abattoirs and the Pont Neuf, before having a random cycle around and returning to the campsite along the canal.

Wednesday, we left Toulouse and headed along the Canal de la Garonne towards Bordeaux. The landscape changed several times and we passed fruit trees and polytunnels before heading into the vineyards and chateau landscape of the Bordeaux region. We only passed three Convoi Exceptionals, and we didn’t need to drive up any driveways to escape from them! We stopped for the night outside Bordeaux in Créon.

Thursday morning after a short stroll to the bakery for bread, we set off to Bordeaux and a campsite on the outskirts in Bruges. After a quick alfresco lunch in the sun, we went on a short cycle to the city, just to have a brief look. We cycled along the river bank to the Pont de Pierre, along the opposite bank to the amazing Pont Jacques Chaban Delmas, before cycling back over it and back to the campsite. The Pont Jacques Chaban Delmas, was opened in 2013 and has a horizontally rising platform to allow boats to pass under. We had gained a couple of ducks as friends today, although they did get a tad too nosey!

Friday, we set off into the city on our bikes for a proper look and after cycling to the river bank, we headed to the Place de la Bourse – with its square and buildings on three sides (although part of the building was covered for renovations) and its reflecting pool – closed for the winter. Next, we headed to the Cailhau Gate and the Opera building, along with the Big Bell of Bordeaux. We then cycled off on our own random route, before heading back to the river and the campsite. Along the river we saw a barge transporting part of an Airbus A380. Today on the campsite we have another little friend a small black cat who tried to come in to see us!

Saturday, we headed off again towards the coast and stopped in Arcachon. We are going to be travelling up the west coast and this seemed like a good place to start.

Sunday, we started our day with a trip to the Dune du Pilat, the largest sand dune in Europe. We parked up and started the trip to climb it. We think that the whole of the local community and their friends had decided to do the same – it was so busy. After removing our shoes we climbed almost to the top, looking at the amazing views across the bay, but thought we’ll come back another time, when we are more prepared – we needed to take a lunch basket and water to be able to appreciate it better. We also had a ferry to catch across from the peninsula at Point de Grave to Royan.

The ferry to Royan is a brief crossing about 25 minutes long, but it did feel a little choppy – a little like the Solent on a bad day, so not terrible. We carried on to the Île d’Oléron and the campsite we had chosen for the night, but being out of season there was not a lot open and even the one we had chosen, had no-one available to see, so we headed along to another we’d found. The landscape on the island had changed to oyster farms and vineyards. The weather has changed and it’s now drizzly and grey.

Tomorrow, we’ll continue our journey along the west coast. We have a vague idea of where we’re going, but next week we’ll share with you our trip. Thank you for reading.

Week 33: Canal du Midi, France to Toulouse

We decided that our tour of France, this time would involved heading northwest from the Mediterranean to Toulouse via the Canal du Midi – or as much as we could with a 7.4 metre long (8 metres with the bikes), 3.1 metre high (with the Satellite dome) 3850 Kilogramme Motorhome!

We set off from our campsite at St-Jean-Pra-des-Cants and headed to Marseillan Plage, where the Canal du Midi enters the Etang du Thau, technically the end of the route but we’re heading back along it to Toulouse. From here we headed to our campsite in Colombiers, via Agde and Beziers.

The town of Colombiers, is right on the Canal and the campsite about a five minute walk. After a relaxing evening we decided the following morning we would cycle along the canal to Beziers via les neuf ecluses de Fonseranes (the nine locks of Fonseranes). These locks allow the canal to rise 21.5 metres over a distance of 300 metres, and having travelled through Neptune’s Staircase at Fort Augustus on the Caledonian Canal, we felt we should visit.

The weather wasn’t favourable again today, the wind was so strong, but we managed to stay on the cycle path and arrived at the Locks.

From here we followed the new (nineteenth century) section of the canal to the Basin at Beziers, having crossed the Aquaduct. Next we headed up to the old town, passing the statue of Pierre-Paul Riquet, the Chief Engineer of the Canal, then cycled up to the cathedral, and the Palais de Justice. We found the coloured letters of Beziers and a Promenade named after one of the Priests who was martyred in an Islamic terrorist attack in 2016, feeling a little somber, we headed back through the old town over the old bridge (Pont Vieux) and negotiated the one way system, with normal traffic, back to the Locks and lunch.

We cycled back to Colombiers and beyond to the Malpas Tunnel, before returning to the town and having a mooch around. This is one place we will add to the list to return to.

Wednesday morning, having cycled into town for bread, we headed off following the route of the canal up to Carcassonne and Castelnaudary, before arriving at our stop for the night at Le Lac de La Thésauque.

On the way, we met a total of seven Convoi Exceptionnels having had to pull up on someone’s driveway, as directed by the outriders, and subsequently reverse back onto the busy road, to allow three of them to pass! The remaining four we passed in larger towns of parked up in laybys! We passed the Obelisque de Riquet and followed the canal as close as we could.

After spending the night at Le Lac de la Thésauque , where we had to change pitches as the ground was so soft, we didn’t want to have to require a tow out (again), we set off towards Toulouse. We found a lovely little campsite, Camping les Violettes in Deyme, just off the canal and after lunch, we sorted out the bikes and headed off along the canal towards Toulouse, we didn’t think that we would reach it as it looked too far away on the map, then just as the rain started, we were in the city – hiding under a bridge waiting for the rain to pass.

Once it passed we had a little cycle, then headed back to Nortia, before the rain fell again. We had limited battery power left too, so they needed to go on charge and we would cycle in another day.

Friday, batteries charged we headed off south down the canal, but it wasn’t as interesting as the ride north, so we decided to head back, Just as we decided that we saw a creature in the canal, we assumed it was an otter and watched it swim to the river bank. We carried on to the next lock, before turning around and on the return, the creature was on the canal bank, a beaver! A quick stop and sorting out the phone and we were able to take some photos of it in the water. We’d not (to our knowledge) seen a beaver in the wild before!

Saturday, we have decided to head to another campsite north of the city. The campsite in Deyme, was lovely and so well placed – it is an ideal stop over if you’re heading south as just off the main autoroute to the Med, Spain and Andorra or just if you’re passing. We knew there was a car wash further up the road too, with a gantry, which would allow us to clean the roof – something we haven’t yet been able to do and knew we really should – we have a solar panel and satellite dome on the roof, both benefit from being kept clean! An hour later and the lovely Nortia was back to white!

We carried on the the campsite we’d chosen, Camping le Rupe, just outside the city and were lucky to have our lunch outside in the sunshine, after a busy morning, we chose to relax in the sun and plan our stay. We had decided we would go and see Concorde! Toulouse is the capital of French Aviation and the home of Airbus. A short cycle ride away from the campsite is the Aeroscopia Museum.

Sunday morning and chores completed and a quick lunch we set off to the Museum. It is located in the suburb of Blagny, next to the main Toulouse-Blagny Airport and as you cross over the Autoroute there is one of the two Concordes they have in the Museum. We parked our bikes, put the batteries and non-essential bits in the lockers provided and headed into the Museum. Along with the Concordes, there are also an Airbus A300B, an Airbus Super Guppy (used to transport the space shuttle landing stages from California to Florida, an Airbus A380 and an Airbus A400M. You can actually go onto one of the Concordes and the A300B.

As a quick note, there is Motorhome Parking available in the car park and you need to have your passport to visit Let’s Visit Airbus, Driving Licences are not accepted and it’s not open on Sundays. It is a great Museum to visit though.

Tomorrow, we’re heading into the city, so you can follow our journey there and beyond in our next post. As always, thank you for reading and following our trip.

Week 32: Cambrils, Spain to St-Jean-Pla-de-Corts, France

We left the lovely campsite in Cambrils and followed our instincts into the mountains, stopping at a site in Prades. Prades sits in the Muntanyes de Prades, and the area is stunning, just what we needed after the coast.

On our way up, we headed off to Carrefour and stocked up with a few bits, but in the International aisle, we discovered a whole load of English (UK) goodies – crumpets, Aunt Bessie’s thick cut oven chips, Richmond sausages, Cornish Pasties and cottage cheese! We do love Spanish food and some that we have tried has been excellent, but when you crave a sausage sandwich, the Spanish ones aren’t quite right!

On arrival at the campsite, you are handed a welcome pack, which includes things to do / see and there was a walk which looked good. So the next morning we set off to the town and followed the directions up to La Roca Foradada (the holed rock). First we passed the Ermita de Sant Antoni, then a lake with frogs before we found the Rock itself. It literally is a large piece of sandstone, with a hole in it! We headed back down and wandered back through the old town, looking at the architecture. There is also a photo exhibition of people who lived in the town on the walls of some of the buildings.

We have had some more weather here! We arrived with an amber weather warning for wind on Tuesday, it was a bit blustery but after Storm Gloria, seems a little tame! It started gusting in the night and continued until about five o’clock in the afternoon, when as if a switch had been hit, stopped dead! However that night it did get cold and we awoke to frost.

On Wednesday, we continued our journey across, above Barcelona to the Massis del Montseny and the lovely town of Taradell, just outside the town of Vic. The campsite was a gem and is another we will come back to, but the weather has turned a little colder up here and getting back to the coast is on the cards.

Thursday, we set of again up the mountain passes towards the Costa Blanca. We passed through Vic and then on to Osuna, another Game of Thrones location – we really need to get up to speed with GOT and find out what we need to know! Next, we headed into the Parc National de la Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa, and on to Palamós. Our stopover here is a Camperstop, with amenities but it is well kept and quiet.

The town of Palamós is close by and the following morning (Friday) we cycled down to the Marina and the old town. The wind off the sea was bitter and very cold, so we headed back to Nortia and the remainder of the sunshine, to cook ourselves a curry. Ric had been wanting to cook a beef curry for a while so I duly found what I thought was beef, to discover it is lamb! Knew I should have checked with Google!

We decided we would stay another day at the Camperstop Empordarea, where we felt comfy and there were (limited) services – motorhome service point – also available to drive in and use for 3 Euros – toilets (1 male and 1 female) and 2 showers – 1 Euro for 5 mins. It is also about a five minute walk from the Supermarket and about 15 minutes from the town / beach.

We set off on our bikes towards Platja d’Aro and as the cycle route disappeared in several places, we stopped at the town and returned to Palamós, before heading off on another Via Verdes (green route) towards the town of Palafrugell. After 21 miles, we returned to Nortia and stayed comfy and warm.

Sunday, we had already decided we were going to leave and head over the border to France. We set off along the coast road to Sant Antoni de Colonge and then inland to Colonge, where we followed French cycle training group up the hill, they pulled over at the top and we carried on towards the border and were stopped by a cycle race in progress. We continued to the border, where the number of parked up lorries, service stations, cafe/bars, restaurants, shops and prostitutes increased. At the border the number of Police also increased and once safely over the border and back into the quiet of the countryside we could breathe again! We stopped overnight in Saint-Jean-Pla-de-Corts, on a little campsite with views of the snow capped peaks of the Pyrenees.

Tomorrow, we’re off again on a new adventure, where will we go? Find out next week! As always thank you for reading and following our travels.

Places We’ve Stayed (2)

PART TWO: September to December 2019

These are in the order we stayed and not country order. OK – we wouldn’t mind staying again if passing; LOVE – we would go again; NO – we would never stay again.

TYPE – ACSI; CC – Campercontact APP; SP – Stellplatz APP; Sat – Sat Nav CCC – Camping and Caravanning Club; CMC – Caravan and Motorhome Club

NOTES – Things we did or what made it good!

Site NAme	Town	type	Verdict	Notes
FINLAND
Mericamping	Merikarvia	CC	OK	Cash only or International Bank transfer
Strand Camping	Larsmo	CC	OK	Restaurant and Smoke House Hire a Sauna Boat!
Juva Camping	Juva	CC	LOVE	In forest, by a lake
Helsinki City Camping	Helsinki	Web	LOVE	By the Metro to the city
ESTONIA
Pirita Harbour Camping	Tallinn	CC	LOVE	Close to town, on the Olympic Port
Willipu Kulalistemaja	Pusi, Tartumaa	CC	LOVE	On the lake (border with Russia)
Konse Motel and Caravan & Camping	Parnu	CC	LOVE	Close to town
Camping Pikseke	Haapsalu	CC	LOVE	Close to the Island Ferry
LATVIA
Riga City Camping	Riga	Web	LOVE	Close to the city and shops.
Camping Lakeside Sigulda	Sigulda	CC	LOVE	quiet small site
LITHUANIA
Camping Zarasai	Zarasai	CC	OK
Downtown Forest Camping	Villnius	CC	LOVE	Close to the city, steep road in
POLAND
Camping Mazury	Ryn	CC	LOVE	Perfect place and site
Camping 222 Kaputy	Kaputy	CC	LOVE	Close to Warsaw
Auschwitz Motorhome Parking	Auschwitz	CC	LOVE	At the Memorial
SLOVAKIA
ATC Jumi	Namestovo	CC	LOVE	on a reservoir, beautiful
Stellplatz Cillstov	Cillstov	SP	LOVE	basic facilities
CZECH REPUBLIC
ATC Apollo	Lednice	CC	NO	1950’s feel and facilities
AUSTRIA
Donaupark Camping	Tulln	ACSI	NO	Rally on site, placed out of the way – good facilities
Camping Schloss Burgau	Burgau	ACSI	NO	Expensive, basic facilities
SLOVENIA
Terme Ptuj Resort	Ptuj	ACSI	LOVE	Close to town, Lovely
Camping Menina	Recica ob Savinji	ACSI	LOVE	Good facilities and activities
Adria Camping & Resort	Ankaran	ACSI	LOVE
Camping Bled	Bled	ACSI	LOVE	Perfect! Walks cycling facilities….

SITE NAME	TOWN	TYPE	VERDICT	NOTES
CROATIA
Kamp Opatija	Icici	ACSI	LOVE	Close to town and beach
Camping Stoja	Pula	ACSI	LOVE	Close to town and beach, good facilities & restaurant
ITALY
Agriturismo Sponga	Belluno	SP	LOVE	At Fishing Lakes and Restaurant (closed Sundays)
Camping Soal	Mazzin	ACSI	LOVE	In the Dolomites
Agricampeggio Pardiso	Lake Garda	ACSI	LOVE	Lake Garda, small site Olive grove and oil sold
Camping Le Fonti	Busana	ACSI	LOVE	free coach to train and beach. Restaurant
Eurocamping Calvisio	Finale Ligure	ACSI	NO	DISAPPOINTING
FRANCE
Camping l’Hippodrome	Villeneuve	ASCI	LOVE	Perfect, supermarket and town close-by
Yelloh! Village les Tournels	St Tropez	WEB	GOOD	Good facilities
Camping le Bourg	Digne les Bains	ACSI	GOOD	Close to town
Camping les Peupliers	Lepin-le-Lac	ACSI	LOVE	On the lake, in mountains slightly dated but quirky
Camping les Genets	Gex	ACSI	LOVE	Close to town and Supermarket. Views over mountains
Camping de Besancon-Chalexeule	Chalexeule	ACSI	GOOD	Good Facilities, close to bread shop and supermaket
Camping d’Ill (Huttopia)	Colmar	Web	LOVE	Close to old town
Camping le Moulin	Andelot	ACSI	LOVE	In the countryside, good facilities
Les Etangs du Moulin	Suzy	ACSI	NO	Western style saloon and huts
Camping le Port de Plaisance	Peronne	ACSI	LOVE	Close to town and Vet. Good facilities
Camping de la Licorne	Dunkirk	ACSI	LOVE	Close to town and beach, good for tunnel and good facilities
BELGIUM
Camping Jeugdstadion	Ypres	CC	LOVE	Close to Menin Gate and town
Veld & Duin Campground	Bredene	ACSI	LOVE	Close to beach and town, Good facilities. CASH only. Chinese next door!
ENGLAND
Bearstead CMC	Bearstead	CMC	GOOD	Close to tunnel and Dover. Good facilities and dog walk
Polstead CCC	Polstead	CCC	Good	Good facilities and Indian delivery
Rutland Caravan and Camp Site	Oakham	CMC	LOVE	Close to town, good facilities, good location
Conkers CCC	Swadlincote	CCC	GOOD	near to National Arberetum
Sheriff Hutton CCC	Sheriff Hutton	CCC	GOOD	Close to York
River Beamish CMC	Powburn, Alnwick	CMC	LOVE	Great facilities and site
Berwick Seaview	Berwick	CMC	LOVE	Great facilities and site, close to town and beach good views
Hawes CMC	Hawes	CMC	LOVE	Close to town and countryside
Castleton CMC	Castleton	CMC	LOVE	Great views and facilities
Love 2 Stay	Emstry, Shrewsbury	CMC	LOVE	Good facilities and location
Cheddar CMC	Cheddar	CMC	LOVE	Close to town, good facilities
Hillhead CMC	Dartmouth	CMC	LOVE	Great views close to town
Carnon Downs	Truro	CMC	GOOD	Ideal for Lands End and Lizard Point
Tavistock	Tavistock	CCC	LOVE	Perfect
Manor Farm	Charmouth	CC	NO	Expensive and dated facilities
Hunter’s Moon	Wareham	CMC	GOOD	Good facilities and site but too many traveller families
Brighton	Brighton	CMC	LOVE	Great site, close to city good facilities close to family!
Gatwick	Crawley	CMC	LOVE	Good site, but very close to runway. Close to town and family.
Black Horse Farm	Folkestone	CMC	LOVE	Great site, just don’t depend on the pub – food OK, no card payments.
SCOTLAND
Edinburgh	Edinburgh	CMC	NO	Good facilities, but bike thefts prevalent
Glenearly Caravan Park	Dalbeatie	CC	GOOD	On NW250 route. Good site and facilities, close to town
Low Glengyre Farm	Stranraer	CMC – CL	LOVE	On NW250 route, Small CL site
Moffat	Moffat	CCC	LOVE	Close to town and facilities
WALES
Morris Parks	Llanberis	WEB	LOVE	3 for 2 Close to town and Snowdon

Places We’ve Stayed (1)

PART ONE July and August ( and a bit of September, it seemed wrong to leave out two dates in Sweden)!

These are in the order we stayed and not country order. OK – we wouldn’t mind staying again if passing; LOVE – we would go again; NO – we would never stay again.

TYPE – ACSI; CC – Campercontact APP; SP – Stellplatz APP; Sat – Sat Nav

NOTES – Things we did or what made it good!

JULY 2019

Site NAme	Town	TYpe	VERdict	Notes
NETHERLANDS
Camping Buitenlust	Alphen,	ACSI	OK
BELGIUM
Camping Fort Bedmar	De Klinge	ACSI	OK
NETHERLANDS
Vankantie De Klepperstee	Ouddorp	?	LOVE	cycling routes
Camperplaats Het Groene Hart	Abbenes	CC	OK	Stellplatz
Gaasper Camping	Amsterdam	CC	OK	close to city centre short tram ride
Recreatiecentrum Mounewetter	Witmarsum	ACSI	OK	On canal short walk to town
GERMANY
Elbdeich Camping	Kollmar	ACSI	LOVE	Flag raised in honour cycling routes nearby
DENMARK
Tønder Camping	Tønder	ACSI	OK	Close to town and shops
Søndervig Camping	Søndervig	ACSI	OK
Bygholm Camping Thy	Vesløs	ACSI	OK
Skagen Camping	Skagen	ACSI	LOVE	Cycle Routes and close to town centre
Aalborg Familie Camping	Aalborg	ACSI	LOVE	Cycle routes and close to town centre
Faaborg Camping	Faaborg	ACSI	LOVE	Lovely town nearby
SWEDEN
Lomma Camping	Lomma	ACSI	NO	Mosquito city
City Camp	Halmstad	SP	OK	Stellplatz in town centre
Bua Hamn	Bua	SP	LOVE	Harbour parking
Hamnen I Henån	Henån	SP	OK	close to town centre
NORWAY
Bogstad Camping	Oslo	CC	OK	City Centre camping
Lystang Camping	Notodden		LOVE	on a river; cycle to town been before and love
Flothyl Camping	Edland	CC	OK	found by accident and would go back
Taulen Camping	Vossestrand	CC	OK	found by accident and would go back
Horndøla Camping	Horndøla	Sat	OK	look out for tour coaches – cafe on site
Gullberget Camping	Åsen	ACSI	OK
Mosjøen Camping	Mosjøen	ACSI	OK

AUGUST 2019

SITE NAME	TOWN	TYPE	VERDICT	NOTES
NORWAY
Saltstraumen Camping	Saltstraumen	ACSI	OK	Go see the tide
Ballangen Camping	Ballangen	ACSI	LOVE	fish in the Fjord
Tromsø Lodge & Camping	Tromsdalen	ACSI	OK	curry delivery to pitch!
Fosselv Camping	Sandelva	ACSI	OK
Russenses Hotel & Camping	Olderfjord	ACSI	OK	enroute to Nordkapp
Nordkapp	Nordkapp		LOVE	included in entry price wild camp with facilities til 00:00 from 06:00
Iford Camping	Iford	CC	LOVE	Basic and rustic but being renovated
Wild Camp	Neiden		OK	stop for night – no facilities
FINLAND
Ukonjarven	Lomakyla	CC	LOVE
Wild Camp Site	Olkkajarven Venesatama	CC	LOVE	on a lake, with toilet, close to Santa’s Village
Iin Sillat	Ii	CC	LOVE
SWEDEN
Gallivare Camping	Gallivare	CC	LOVE	Near Ski resort, free laundry close to town (with Chinese)
Ljuselfosens Rastplats	Moskosel	CC	OK	Wild camp with toilet. Right on the river
Kvarkenfisk Stellplatz	Taftea	SP	LOVE	Don’t be tempted to try the stinky fish
Snubbens Camping	Ramvik	CC	LOVE
Galtstrom Vid Havet	Galtstrom	SP	LOVE	LPG in town Facilities Wild camp Fishing available
Wildlife Sweden	Angra	CC	LOVE
Lesjors Stellplatz	Lesjors	SP	LOVE	Next to Lake toilet & Disposal
Ornas Camping	Amal	CC	LOVE	On the Lake
Hamnen I Henan	Henan	SP	LOVE	harbour location, close to town with facilities and free laundry
Holsljunga Stellplatz	Holsljunga	SP	OK
Alholmens Sand & Camping	Solvesborg	ACSI	OK
Tostsberga Hamn	Tosteberga	SP	LOVE	might be a squeeze but worth it Euro or SEK CASH Only
Dalskars Camping	Bergkvara	ACSI	OK
Gronhogens Hamn	Gronhogens	SP	LOVE	Cycle trips out on Island
Boda Hamn	Boda, Borgholm	SP	LOVE	Facilities and restaurant
Paskallaviks Gasthamn	Paskallaviks	SP	LOVE	Pizza take away, near by and Free Laundry and Facilities
Grannas Camping	Valdermarsvik	ACSI	OK	Check the Stellplatz in town first.
Femore Gasthamn	Oxelosund	SP	LOVE
Rosjobaden Camping	Sollentuna	CC	LOVE	Walking and cycle trails. Good facilities close to Stockholm
Tallink	Silja Galaxy	Ferry		To Finland

Week 31: Peñiscola to Cambrils – a search for flamingos.

On Monday, we left Peñiscola and headed up the coast to the Parque Natural Delta del Ebro, where we’d found a camperstop and heard we could see Flamingos. We’d already seen some on this trip on the road to Cadiz, but here they are supposed to be prevalent.

As we turned off the main road onto the single track road which takes you down to the Parque, we were surrounded by rice fields and birds. This looked like the ideal stop over, although there are no amenities as such – you can empty your waste water and toilet between 10:00 and 13:00 for 3 Euros, but otherwise you are on your own! There is also a restaurant at the Delta.

We found ourselves a nice pitch with a view of the mountains and the rice fields, and having heard it could get quite busy were tucked out of the way of the main camperstop. We set off to the closest Mirador (viewing platform) to have a look for flamingos – and there were some! There were also herons and storks.

The next day, we set off on our bikes towards the sea and the beach, passing more flamingos on the way – you can’t tire of seeing them, they are beautiful and various stages of colour from white to deep pink. We then headed down to Sant Carles de la Ràpita, before heading back having cycled 23 miles. The camperstop was filling up tonight and several of our neighbours asked us about the flamingos!

Wednesday, we set off again to the coastal town of Cambrils. I (Sarah) had previously been to Salou, but as none of the campsites there were open, we chose the nearby town. What a surprise it was too. We were asked to select a pitch and having duly measured one and checked the sun position, we drove in. One slight hitch was the gnarly trees, whose branches were quite low and positioning Nortia, took a bit of effort – we even had to remove the bikes to get sorted. We completed the task and are still talking!

We went for a stroll along the prom into the town, it’s about 500 metres away with lots of restaurants, bars and shops. We decided we’d stay for a few days. Thursday, we were finally able to catch up with our blogs, and set off on the bikes to Salou. There is a cycle ride along the beach, however Storm Gloria has left her mark here and we had to abandon the cycle path in places, where the sand hasn’t yet been cleared. Salou is not how I remembered it from 20 or so years ago, and Cambrils feels a lot more like the Salou I recall. Salou appears to have had a big renovation and in some ways reminded us of a mini Benidorm! We headed back along the road and looked out for a Restaurant we’d been recommended, but it’s not yet open.

We had decided that on Friday we’d go to Barcelona by train, so having heard that the train station had moved, we set off again on our bikes to find the station and the train times. We chose the 10:33, as its an hour and a half each way and set off on foot on Friday morning to the station – 30 minutes away. The train ride was pretty uneventful and we got off at Barcelona – Passeig de Gràcia, which is the closest to the Sagrada Familia. As we strolled along, we found a restaurant advertising home cooked fish and chips, so challenge accepted – Somewhere Aragó. It was as good as expected! We continued to the Sagrada Familia and joined the hoards of people in the vicinity. We opted not to go into the Church itself as there was a 20 Euro entry fee each!

We headed off from here to the home of Barcelona Football Club – Nou Camp, before heading back to Barcelona – Sants Station, to get the train home to Nortia. We strolled back through the old town, before collapsing at the Motorhome. It was one of the longest days we’d had!

Saturday, the sun was shining and the temperature was due to reach 22°C, which it did and possibly some more – as we were in direct sun. We had to keep reminding ourselves it was 1st February! We didn’t do too much except, hunt down a Chinese Restaurant in town and head back later in the evening for dinner.

Sunday, the sun was still shining and although possibly a little cooler, it was a great day. We headed out on the bikes to the old town of Cambrils. What a gem of history, this place has. In the Civil War, Catalunya resisted the Franco Regime and as such was bombed by the German and Italian air-forces, at Franco’s request. There is a trail through the town with information in English, and an air raid shelter under the street, which you visit via the Museum. We’re moving off tomorrow, hopefully up to the mountains nearby.

If you’ve ever fancied the idea of doing what we are and blogging for the Erwin Hymer Group, they are looking for couples, families and solo travellers for their 2020-2021 Blogging Team. Their request is, “If you believe you have the qualities and spirit of adventure we’re looking for, are engaging and inspiring, set the wheels in motion and get in touch today”. Email Rachel and Emma at bloggers@erwinhymergroup.co.uk

Thank you as ever for reading.