Moving south again – 18 June to 2 July

On 08/07/202208/07/2022 By JuneIn FullTiming2 Comments

Having been as far north and as Far East as we could go in Norway the only direction we could go in now was south and begin our long journey home.

From Grense Jakobselv we headed into Finland as we had a few days to spare before meeting friends in Norway for a week’s holiday (yes, we still need a holiday from time to time!). With the need to do laundry in mind we picked Camping Uruniemi on Lake Inari and selected a lakeside pitch, €22 p/n without EHU. The contrast with Norway could not have been more apparent as we drove long straight roads surrounded by lakes and forests – beautiful in its own way but not the mountains we’d left behind. And with all the water comes the mosquitoes!

After just two nights at the lake we decided to move on back towards Norway and with our first choice of park-up not the best, we continued on to the coast and back to one of our favourite places near Talvik. It was here that we saw orcas a couple of weeks ago and this time we were treated to a humpback whale, caught completely by chance on camera as we tried to photograph the dolphins playing in the fjord!

We continued south along the coast finding yet more stunning places to stay. We always knew Norway would be beautiful but it has surpassed all our expectations.

Before we moved into the van we always had a week away with friends and wanted to continue this. COVID ruined our plans for a couple of years but we finally managed to arrange it so Sarah and Colin could meet us in northern Norway. Our last trip together had been to this area but in February so very different conditions. We had booked a house via Airbnb on a fjord for a week of relaxation and exploration of the Lyngen area – well worth a visit and away from the main tourist route.

We did one walk to the Blue Lake a few kilometres from the house. It wasn’t a long walk but not the easiest as most of it was over a boulder field. The lake at the end certainly lived up to its name.

This was a great week spent with our closest friends and we can highly recommend the place we stayed in. We also picked one of the hottest weeks to be there but swimming in the fjord was a great way to cool off and in the evenings we sat on the deck with a glass of wine/beer watching the dolphins and again, the midnight sun.

After a week there it was back on the road and next stop, Sweden.

Northern Norway – 1 to 17 June 2022

On 19/06/202219/06/2022 By JuneIn FullTiming, Norway2 Comments

We left the campsite near Trondheim and hit the E6 north towards the Arctic Circle. We’d bought forward all our plans by a couple of days and changed our mind on using the coastal road, as a bridge further north on the E6 had been damaged essentially cutting off the north unless you took a 600km+ diversion via Sweden and Finland. We’d been told it would be a quick fix given the importance of the road (it runs all the way through the country from the Swedish border in the south to the Russian border in the far north east) but we had still had lots to do and see before meeting friends at the end of the month so didn’t want to risk any delay.

Most of this part of the trip was staying on free spots found on Park4night but we did use a couple of paid parking areas on the Lofotens (more on those later!). As we mentioned before motorhoming here is so easy with plenty of places to stop overnight and accessible, free service points.

We slowly moved from the rivers and mountains of central Norway to the flat snow covered plateau at the Arctic Circle, encountering our first roadside reindeer of the trip!

The Arctic Circle visitors centre is mostly a souvenir shop and cafe but there are a couple of war memorials on the edge of the car park. You can stay there overnight and we were close enough to be able to use the Wi-Fi so took the opportunity to update apps and back up the phones 狼.

Our next stop was Bodo to take the ferry to the Lofotens. On the way we visited the Saltstraumen, one of the world’s strongest tidal-current maelstroms. The area has huge tidal variations and four times a day large amounts of water are pushed through a narrow gap to produce the eddy. This was not something to go out of your way too see but we were in the area and had timed it right for a high tide so thought why not.

A free riverside park up for the night near Namsen

We took the 3 hour 15 min ferry from Bodo to Moskenes. We were slightly delayed in leaving due to weather but as there had been a gale warning earlier in the day, we were thankful for a calmer crossing. If you have a ferry pass you can get the crossing for almost half price (full price was approx £175) but the toll/ferry tag we had didn’t cover this ferry and you can’t get the pass once in country as it’s sent to your home address.

The Lofoten Islands are quite simply stunning! Sharp, high peaks against fjords and the sea, hidden beaches and an abundance of the typical Norwegian fishing villages as seen in guidebooks.

On arrival we drove the short distance to the village of A, the starting point of the E10 which runs the length of the islands back to the mainland just north of Narvik. The Gammelgarden Bakery is well worth a visit for its cinnamon buns which are baked in a vintage oven.

We followed the E10 through the two islands of Moskenesoya and Flakstadoya, spending two nights near Fredang, from where we hiked up the headland to see the beach at Ryten. The “campsite” is nothing more than a grass field but has toilets and a shower, is close to the beach and the hiking path. The cost was NOK100 per night (about £8) which was the same price for day parking.

If a hike has a chain you know it will be a good one.

The view from Ryten was well worth the hike.

We took a detour off the E10 to the village of Laukvik where we stayed in the village aire. It’s a large quayside concrete car park but EHU is available and it has a building with showers, toilets and free, yes free, laundry facilities. It was NOK200 per night or NOK250 with EHU and one of the locals comes round to collect the money (cash or card). There’s a great little cafe in the village and a coffee roasting business, although the latter was closed when we visited and it was here that we got our first glimpse of the midnight sun. The lack of darkness is playing a little havoc with our internal clocks and we find ourselves going to bed later than usual but the blinds do a pretty good job at keeping the van dark.

Our last night on the Lofotens was in a remote park up near Fauskevag, south of Harstad, where we really got to see the midnight sun.

From here it was back on to the E6 on our way to Nordkapp. We found another amazing park up near Talvik where June got to dip in the sea, and yes we are still above the Arctic Circle.

The next stop was the most northerly point of Norway that you can drive to at Nordkapp. The E69 is a long windy road that takes from Olderfjord to Nordkapp, via coastal cliffs, open plateaus, deep tunnels (the Nordkapptunnel reaches a depth of 212m below sea level) and sees a never ending flow of motorhomes, motorcycles and a surprising number of people on good old fashioned pushbikes!

At the end of the road is the visitor centre where parking is free but you are supposed to pay NOK310 (£25) each to enter, even just to go to the cafe and souvenir shop. We had the misfortune to arrive at the same time as coach loads of visitors from a cruise ship that we had passed moored in the nearby town of Honningsvag. On the upside this meant we could sneak into the centre with the masses unnoticed, grab our sticker and use the Wi-Fi unnoticed! The coaches just kept coming with the last one leaving around midnight but the place was empty in the morning meaning we could take our photos uninterrupted.

We took a slight detour on the way back via Hammerfest just because June liked the name! We found it difficult to park in the centre due to roadworks and the fact that the cruise ship was now here, so no visit to the Isbjornklubben, aka the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society where you can become a lifetime member for a small fee. For an additional fee you can enjoy the dubious experience of being “knighted” with the penis bone of a walrus! Apparently it’s all very tongue in cheek. We did manage to park briefly by the Struve Geodetic Arc, one of a series of points stretching from here to the Black Sea in Hungary built as part of an experiment in the early 19th century to measure the shape and size of the Earth and determine the flattening of the planet at the poles.

Very well behaved Reindeer at Hammerfest waiting for the bus

These few days were mostly driving and from Hammerfest we headed across the north eastern region of Norway, as far as we could go to the Russian border. We spent a couple of nights at Grense Jakobselv on the Barents Sea, well worth the 50km of bumping down a road which in some places was tarmac but other places gravel and potholes. This was just another site we found on Park4night and there were a few other vans there, plus on both nights two different cyclists with tents. The site has toilets, a hut and fire pit with a ready supply of chopped wood and we spent the evenings chatting and drinking round the fire. We didn’t always understand each other – we were a mix of German, French and us Brits, but we understood enough. The Norwegian army patrol the area regularly but despite the guns, were very friendly and chatty. Sadly we didn’t get to see whales which are often seen in the area but we had seen some dolphins on our way here.

Coming together of nations. Two Brits, a Frenchman who had cycled over 6000 kms, 6 Germans and a dog

There were free logs for the fire provided in the shelter.

That’s the end of this part of the trip as we are now in Finland for a few days. We are making our way back to Norway to meet friends for a week’s holiday in a house on a fjord near Tromso and from there we start making our way back to the UK via a few weeks in Sweden.

West Norway, Lysefjord to Trondheim – 15 May to 1 June 2022

On 05/06/202205/06/2022 By JuneIn FullTiming, NorwayLeave a comment

After leaving southern Norway, we headed north and west into the western fjords surrounding Bergen. We followed Route 13 for most of the way with a couple of side trips.

This has to be one of the most picturesque roads we have ever driven (well until we got to routes 7 and 55…!) taken us alongside fjords, over fjords on ferries, through tunnels under and roads over mountains. To top the physical scenery, the area around Sorfjorden is known for apple production and the trees were in full spring bloom.

May 17th is a national holiday celebrating Constitution Day with most houses flying the Norwegian and we passed through several towns/villages having parades with people in national dress. We were able to stop for one parade and it was great to see what seemed like the whole village taking part.

One of the diversions we took off 13 was to the Folgefonna glacier. After a walk through the forest and a scramble over rocks (using ropes in places) we made it to the viewpoint at the base of the glacier. For the more adventurous it is possible to hire a guide and continue to the glacier but getting to the viewpoint was enough for us!

When it got tough there were ropes and chains to help you to the viewing point for the Folgefonna glacier.

Waterfalls are everywhere and not just little pretty streams – with spring arriving the snow is melting and the force of the water in the falls and rivers is phenomenal.

Another road worth a mention is the 7 which we followed on to the Hardangervidda Plateau, Europe’s largest mountain plateau and snow covered when we were there, where we visited Voringsfossen and stayed at the Sysenvatn Dam.

The sunsets are stunning. This was at the park up by the Sysenvatn Dam

We paid a brief visit to Bergen, Norway’s second largest city, taking the tram from our glamorous car park next to an ice hockey rink – NOK300 for 24 hours parking but services and EHU available. The tram was NOK40 per person each way direct into the centre. The city centre was fairly quiet despite several cruise ships being in port but after a walk around the old town and harbour we headed out to the next equally glamorous overnight spot in an IKEA car park!

Park up next to the hockey stadium Bergen

We continued north on the 13 and took another detour to the town of Fjaerland (or Mundal) which is known as Norway’s book town. We parked up on the old fjord side quay surrounded by places selling books; old cow sheds, a telephone box, a former toll booth and some conventional shops! Fjaerland is a small one street town but we found a quirky coffee shop (of course!),there are walks from the town, an outdoor activities centre and you can even rent the town sauna which floats on the fjord.

Sauna on the end of a pontoon in Fjaerland

Our next overnight stay was just outside Lom which we reached after driving another stunning road, the 55. On our way to Lom we had lunch at the highest point, 4,700ft above sea level, surrounded by banks of snow which were higher than the van in places!

Lom has a beautiful stave church, built from wood and originally dating back to 1200.

We were then hoping to visit Geirangerfjord and drive along the hairpin bends of Trollstigen but the roads hadn’t yet reopened after the winter so we headed towards the coast to see a couple of places in the hope that the situation would change.

We headed to the inner Nordfjord and Melkevoll Campsite in Jostedalsbreen National Park at the foot of the Briksdalsbreen Glacier. After a couple of rainy days we took the footpath up to the glacier which is a walking geology lesson, so right up our street! We were also lucky to pick one of the bright, sunny days to walk and spent a while sitting by the lake at the base of the glacier.

The waterfall behind Melkevoll Campsite.

Melkevoll Campsite is a mixture of open pitches and lodges surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. The cost was NOK280 p/n with no EHU and laundry an additional NOK20 per wash/dry. Machines are coin operated and reception will give you the change. The site also has a sauna and a small plunge pool in the river, if you’re brave enough!

Norway certainly has some amazing waterfalls

A chance conversation in a car park a few days ago, took us to the island of Maloy to see Norway’s “most photographed stone”! Definitely an interesting piece of geology but we have to confess to being slightly underwhelmed…….

The rock was slightly smaller than we expect

That same conversation also led us to the island of Runde, known as a good bird watching location. We hiked up to the island’s north shore and across the plateau to find the puffins which nest on the cliff side at this time of year. We sat for a while watching the puffins coming and going but also spottted gannets, razorbills, skuas and white tailed eagles.

Puffins, once we had found the correct cliff.

We stopped briefly in Alesund for a wander around the town. It was a Sunday so most places were closed but we did find a fish and chip kiosk open and the familiar smell drew us in!

One of the most well known roads in Norway is the Atlantic Highway, a stretch of road linking several small islands north of Alesund. We did miss part of it but drove the 8km section from Vevang which you see in the photographs. There are several pull offs along the road big enough for motorhomes where you can stop to take photographs and one of them has an information centre, a cafe, toilets and a small walk way around one side of the island.

Our final stop in this region was another campsite just south of Trondheim as again it was raining. We stayed a couple of nights at Hogkjolen Fjellcamp (NOK155 p/n no EHU) which has a lot of fixed pitches and some areas for tourers. First impressions were of a site that needed some tidying up but they were deceptive! We camped down by the trees and the services were clean and tidy. Great hosts too, which is how we’ve found all the campsites so far.

From here we head a north, a long way north!

Southern Norway, Kristiansand to Lysefjord – 8 to 15 May 2022

On 05/06/202205/06/2022 By JuneIn FullTiming, NorwayLeave a comment

After a mad rush through five countries we made it to Norway, the main destination for this trip. We took the ferry from Hirtshals in northern Denmark to Kristiansand on a bright day and parked up for the night just to the west of the city.

Day one’s task was to find a replacement tyre as Bob had noticed a noise coming from one of the front tyres as we were speeding through Germany. After trying several places we were pointed in the direction of a tyre specialist near Stavanger where we ended up having to buy two to keep a pair on the front. Not cheap but we decided to bite the bullet and get them done so the issue of not having a spare wouldn’t be a constant niggle at the back of our minds.

The dash from Kristiansand to Stavanger meant we didn’t see much of the south coast but as we’re discovering there is SO much to see in Norway, if we’d spent more time here then we would have had to cut back somewhere else.

Motorhome facilities are fantastic here in Norway. These are in a lot of lay-bys.

Before leaving the UK we had ordered a BroBizz tag which would allow tolls and ferry costs to be charged direct to our UK credit card (have Halifax Clarity Card so no conversion fees). In hindsight we should perhaps have also ordered a Norway ferry pass/tag which would have cut the cost of the ferries in the north of the country and to the Lofoten Islands. Unfortunately this couldn’t be done on the road as the tag is delivered to your home address. Without a tag, tolls and ferry charges are invoiced to your home address – everything is done via ANPR.

One of the many free park overs we have used.

As a general comment, motorhoming in Norway is a breeze! There are lots of free parking spaces in amazing locations (where you can’t park is clearly marked) and there are roadside standalone service points everywhere – we are using Park4Night as our source for both. Park ups have been clean and no-one seems to abuse the facilities or overstay. All probably why we are seeing hundreds of vans on the road!

After a night on top of Randerburg “Mountain” (we were about 100ft above sea level!), we left Stavanger via the 14.4km long Ryfylketunnelen under the sea/fjord to spend a couple of free nights in a car park on the edge of Lysefjord near Oanes. The weather is very unpredictable and when the weather forecast has been for a few days of rain we have headed for campsites to catch up on laundry and use their wifi.

A bit too damp to use outside seating at the Oanes aire.

Since the UK phone companies are all reverting to capping EU roaming allowances or charging for usage we are trying to be mindful of our data usage as we typically use huge amounts of data. We have looked into getting a local SIM but they have proved to be expensive and topping up would be difficult outside Norway (thinking ahead to Finland and Sweden). So we’re hoping that we can eke out our UK allowances until friends come out at the end of June and bring us a few new SIM cards!

Wathne Camping is a mix of lodges and camping with a couple of pitches on a small beach next to a fjord but after parking there for the afternoon watching the water rise, we retreated to a grass pitch in the centre of the site. As luck would have it, a raised waterside pitch with a deck became available the following morning so we snuck back down there again! The cost here was NOK300 (approx £25) per night including EHU with laundry facilities at NOK35 (£3) per wash/dry and operated on an honesty system – you tell reception how many times you used each machine.

Having caught up with ourselves, and with the rain stopping briefly, we managed one of the walks on the list of must things to do in Norway – the hike up to Preikestolen or Pulpit Walk. This also coincided with our wedding anniversary and we couldn’t have had a better day!

Mad cross country dashes – 22 April to 4 May 2022

On 13/05/202213/05/2022 By JuneIn FullTiming, United KingdomLeave a comment

After leaving Scotland the next two weeks were filled with seeing friends and van work.

Our first stop was a weekend with the Hymer Owners Club at a campsite near Clitheroe, Lancashire. We’ve been to a couple of these previously and they generally involve sitting around with like minded folk over a glass or two of beer/wine or anything else that takes your fancy, talking all things motorhome and travel related. On this weekend we were also able to meet a couple we’d been chatting to via social media (hello Tom and Nicky!). Luckily the campsite had indoor space for the use of people in tents but as the evenings were cold and there were few tents out, a few of us gathered there out of the wind!

The Hymer Owners Group group meeting. A really great Facebook group. Very supportive. Thanks for the photo Jacky Bindeman 😁

The town of Clitheroe is about a mile away and easily walkable. There were also walks along the river but we used this weekend to sort the van out and catch up with admin after a couple of months on the road.

From there it was only a short drive to Liverpool to catch up with Helen, Myles and the family who kindly all moved their cars off the front garden to allow us off-street parking. It was good to finally be able to put faces to all the names after so many years of hearing all about the children. Looking forward to a weekend together when they finally get their van!

Next was a stop for extra locks to be fitted to the cab doors. Some might question the extra security we have on the van but our opinion is that we want a thief to walk on and look for an easier target. After doing some research we used Midlands Van Security, a mobile lock service who came out to Criss Farm campsite near Burton-on-Trent to do the work. Arron did a good, clean job and we’d definitely recommend him.

The campsite had a large camping field next to a CL and we were on one of the hard standing pitches in the large field.

After a brief overnight stop at Oaklands Farm CL near Peterborough (a really well kept campsite but we seem to use it only when passing through or the van is in for work at a nearby Mercedes garage) we made it to Norwich to see youngest daughter Amy for dinner. We stayed at the Bell Pub in Marlingford again as they allow overnight stays and the car park is fairly quiet.

Our next night was also another pub stop, this time the Miller and Carter steakhouse close to home for a boozy night out with friends (nothing new when out with the Woods and the Smyths!). It was home to collect all the stuff we’d ordered knowing we’d be passing through and drop off more unwanted/unused items we had with us – even after a year on the road we’re still fine tuning what we carry.

When close to home we tend to use the C&MC site, Wyatts Covert in Denham. It’s handy for popping to the house but with the recent increase in prices in clubsites we will be limiting our nights there. It’s a typical club site with good facilities but at over £33 a night for this stay, it’s becoming expensive.

Last proper stop on this leg was at Cornish Farm Campsite after a dash down the M4 and M5 motorways and courtesy of VanBitz for the biggest upgrade we’ll do to the van. After much discussion we decided to replace our AGM leisure batteries with lithium ones sooner rather than later which will allow us to be completely off grid power wise. It wasn’t a cheap option but with different and often unstable voltages in the Americas, we no longer have to worry about hooking up and potentially destroying the van’s electrics! We’ve used VanBitz several times previously and continue to recommend their great service.

2 x 150 Ah Lithium Batteries should now see us OK

For the technically minded we now have 2 x 150Ah of lithium batteries (previously 3 x 95Ah AGMs), 240W of solar and a Battery Master allowing charging from the alternator once the engine battery is full.

With a Eurotunnel crossing booked for early the next morning we hightailed it back up the motorways and the round the M25 and Down the M20 for an over stop at a Canterbury Park and Ride, about 25 mins from the tunnel entrance and with motorhome emptying/filling services.

Campsites used:

Edisford Bridge Farm, Clitheroe: £23 p/n (special meet rate). Hard standing pitches with EHU. Mixed campsite with full facilities.

Cross Farm Campsite, Burton-on-Trent: £15 p/n on main campsite. Large sloping field with a couple of hard standing pitches. Toilet, shower and laundry building.

Oaklands Farm CL, near Peterborough: £17 p/n. Immaculate pitches on a tiered site.

The Bell, Marlingford: Free (£10 if not eating). Pub car park, no facilities

Miller & Carter, Rickmansworth: Free if eating in restaurant. Quiet car park and can back on to a stream.

Wyatts Covert, Denham: £33.65 p/n. Standard C&MC site with all facilities.

Cornish Farm, Taunton: Free as a customer of VanBitz. Small site with hard standing pitches with EHU. Toilet, shower and laundry block.

Canterbury, Old Dover Road P & R: £8 p/n. Large carpark with area sectioned off for motorhomes. Clean water and dumping facilities but no EHU. Overnight cost includes bus fare to Canterbury centre for up to 7 people.

Fort William to Edinburgh

On 24/04/202224/04/2022 By JuneIn FullTimingLeave a comment

From Skye it was back to the mainland and first stop Fort William where we did our bit for the local economy with a couple of trips to outdoor shops! We had thought about going up Ben Nevis but with the forecast saying that winter equipment, ie crampons and ice axes, should be carried we decided against that and instead walked from the campsite along Glen Nevis.

This was another stunning walk to the Steall Waterfall and included on the return, a rather nervous crossing of the river via a cable bridge! Anything to not go back up the valley side again 

We’re being spoilt for choice on places to visit and after a couple of nights on a campsite, it was back to wild camping, well as wild as you can get in a fully kitted out motorhome!

Today’s drive was along Glencoe and Glen Etive, both of which featured heavily in the film Skyfall although the house used as James Bond’s childhood home was actually purpose built in Surrey! After several miles along a single track road you come to the end next to the northern edge of Loch Etive where there’s a small spot where you can park overnight.

View from the park up at the end of Loch Etive

Forestry and Land Scotland has reopened its scheme for self-contained motorhomes and camper vans allowing overnight parking as part of its Stay the Night initiative. Vans are allowed to stay one night in certain locations – some charge, others not (we used Littlemill near Inverness) Hopefully the scheme won’t be abused and more places will open up.

And then came the Cairngorms, a simply stunning area to visit for walking and just submersing yourself in nature. We had a couple of snowy nights in the ski centre car park where we hit the cafe a couple of times and went for a short walk but were defeated by the weather when a snowstorm blew through. We had originally planned to take the funicular railway up Cairn Gorm mountain but it’s currently undergoing refurbishment. We made the suggested parking donation (which they say is optional if you use the cafe or buy something in the shop) but it looks like barriers are going across the car park for proper paid parking.

Park Up at the Ski Centre in the Cairngorms

A lot of the southern area of the Cairngorms makes much of its historical royal connections beginning with Queen Victoria. We visited Ballater, Balmoral and Braemar and found some great walks around the River Dee and up into the mountains where there was still plenty of snow on the ground.

Our last two stays in the mountains were at the Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve from where we followed the well marked path to Corrie Ardair, and then in a small car park at Kinloch Rannoch parked right alongside the loch. There are just so many beautiful free sites in Scotland and hopefully campers in every form will respect and preserve them. We made use of the service point in Kingussie – £5 to empty black and grey tanks and top up with fresh water.

The time then came for us to start heading south. We stopped overnight at the Kelpies near Falkirk as for some reason we had missed them on our previous trip. The car park was busy (school holidays and bank holiday weekend) when we arrived so we diverted to the Falkirk Wheel where it is also possible to stay overnight for £15 (or £3.50 for day parking). After a while of watching the wheel, a fascinating piece of engineering, the car parks began to clear so we headed back to the Kelpies.

Our final destination on this trip was Edinburgh for a little sight-seeing and catching up with friends. The campsite is a little out of town but the buses are reliable despite the sheer amount of roadworks currently underway in the city! The city centre was quite busy so we decided to wander up Arthur’s Seat to view it from a distance – we have definitely come to prefer being away from crowds! Lovely though to catch up with old friends over coffee and dinner and meet Felicity and Ben’s gorgeous baby, Milo.

Sites used:

Glen Nevis Caravan & Camping Park, Fort William: £31 p/n – hard standing pitch with EHU. Large, modern campsite with all expected amenities a short drive out of Fort William close to the Ben Nevis path.

Glen Etive: Free. Small car park next to Loch Etive at the end of a long single track road. No facilities.

Littlemill Forest, near Inverness: Free. Forestry and Land Scotland car park allowing overnight parking for self-contained motorhomes. A couple of short walks from the carpark.

Culloden Moor Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite: £28.20 p/n – hard standing pitch with EHU. Typical C&MC site with full amenities. Near to historical sites.

Cairngorm Ski Centre car park: Suggested £2 donation for parking but looks like pay barriers are going in. Bumpy uneven car park but spectacular views and walking including the Cairn Gorm mountain. Funicular railway being refurbished at the time of writing (April 2022). Visitor facilities include cafe and 24 hour toilets.

Ballater Caravan Park: £25 p/n – hard standing pitch with EHU. Independent campsite with all facilities. Free wifi! Easy walk into the town centre and several well signposted walks along the River Dee and around the local area.

Loch Muick visitor centre car park: £10 for 24 hours. No facilities (toilets were closed when we visited). Motorhomes is are asked to use the upper car park which is uneven. Great base for walking around the loch or up to Lochnagar.

Balmoral Castle coach park: £10 for 24 hours. No facilities but local visitor centre has toilets and a water tap (albeit not for parking and filling by hoses given its location). Quieter than expected despite being next to the main road. Easy walk to the castle and the wider Balmoral estate.

Braemar Caravan Park: £30.50 p/n – hard standing pitch with EHU. Independent site with great facilities and really friendly staff – the drying room was a great addition. Easy walk into town for cafes and shops.

Creag Meagaidh National Nature Reserve: Free but donation requested. Short walk to toilets in an information building but no other facilities. Great walking.

Kinloch Rannoch: small loch side car park just out of the village – free. No facilities other than rubbish bins. Wardens came visiting to remind us to be considerate and preserve the beauty of the location. Stunning views along Loch Rannoch.

Helix Park (the Kelpies), Falkirk: £7.50 overnight parking at in the car park near the play area. Toilets available by the Kelpies.

Edinburgh Caravan and Motorhome Club site: £38.80 p/n – hard standing pitch with EHU. Typical C&MC club site with full facilities and located on the River Forth. Easy bus ride into the city centre

SW Scotland to Skye and the Outer Hebrides – 4 to 31 March

On 05/04/202207/04/2022 By JuneIn FullTimingLeave a comment

We were both very excited to see the Welcome to Scotland sign and as soon as we crossed the border we headed west to follow part of the South West Coastal 300 route. Scotland now has a few established driving routes including the NC500, the SWCoastal 300 and the Heart 200 and there’s plenty of information available online. The country is also better set-up than England and Wales for motorhomers with plenty of stopovers available outside campsites and some have services for which a small charge is asked.

June got to see one of her iconic Coooows

One of the fantastic park ups we found. This one was on the Mull of Galloway 54.639 4.87768

For the first part of this trip we followed the coastline from Dumfries to the Isle of Skye and then took a ferry to the outer Hebrides. Our overnight spots have mostly been car parks, some paid and some not and some with slightly better views than others! There are lots of little three or four van community maintained park ups where you are asked for a donation, usually between £5 and £10, to help with the upkeep. Some have water or toilets or are just in a perfect location and we hope that all campers do donate as suggested. We’ve also found clean water and toilet disposal points at leisure centres, ferry ports and even a local tip, so have never had any worries with filling and emptying the tanks.

We are lucky to be able to visit out of season as a lot of the roads are single track and in the summer are very busy, although travelling at this time of year means that a lot of places have not yet reopened after winter. Not needing to rely on electric hook-up also meant we could camp at remote spots or beachside where we’ve often been the only van.

Transport between the islands is via CalMac ferries. There were a lot of issues in the past couple of years for locals with visitors and motorhomes using the ferries so they have recently updated their pricing and standby policies. Motorhomes are now charged the same as commercial vans of the same length and are no longer able to use standby tickets. We had planned our trip to take advantage of the winter timetable but due to technical followed by weather delays on the Berneray to Leverburgh trip we nudged into the more expensive summer fares. CalMac no longer do hopper tickets so all legs are bought as single trips but this apparently doesn’t affect the total cost and changing bookings was really easy with very friendly staff on the customer service phone line. Our total ferry costs for Skye-North Uist-Harris-North Uist-Skye were just short of £240.

We started this trip by following the SW Coastal 300 route from Dumfries, along the coast of the Solway Firth and Irish Sea to Stranraer, from where we dropped down to the southernmost point of mainland Scotland on the Mull of Galloway. This was mostly following main roads but there was still plenty to see.

After a night overlooking the River Clyde at Greenock to the west of Glasgow, we went back to quieter places, parking up on Loch Lomond, Southend overlooking the Mull of Kyntyre and the southern end of Loch Etive. Whilst on Kyntyre we took a diversion to Skipness on a recommendation – found a great smokehouse and came out with salmon, kippers and wild garlic pesto. All very delicious! From there it was out to Skye for our first stop there.

We spent six days exploring Lewis and Harris which are two islands that appear as one on the map and are the most northerly of the Outer Hebrides. Southern Harris is very mountainous whereas north Lewis is flatter open moorland. There was so much to see on these islands: golden eagles on North Harris, ancient history at the Calanais Standing Stones and more recent history at Na Gearrannan, both on western Lewis. June did her most northerly dip in a beautiful little cove near the Butt of Harris.

June’s most northerly dip beach. Sadly Bob was too busy talking to a local about drones to get ‘the’ shot.

Uist takes in eight islands from Berneray in the north to Eriskay in the south and all are linked by one main road. We spent most of our time at the northern end of the chain, mostly chilling out parked up next to the most amazing white beaches and marvelling at the sunsets! The circular walk around Berneray is worth doing, taking in beaches, heather clad hillsides, the old harbour and the seals. We did one walk on South Uist from East Kilbride to a hill overlooking Loch Boisdale – it wasn’t too far but exhausting trying to walk through deep heather and peat bogs!

Our view from one of the overnight stops on Berneray

We had two separate stays on Skye on our way to and from the Outer Hebrides. For our first stay we used Uig Campsite as we had washing to do and from there we explored some of the north west of the island in the van. We did some of the walk along The Quiraing, where a landslide has left a series of sheer cliffs and rock features. We noticed that since our last visit here, there is now a large carpark and a parking fee of £3 or £6 depending on length of stay (no overnight parking).

On our return we visited Gill and Ian, old colleagues of Bob’s and now more known for their art. We ended up spending three nights in their “Hide” overlooking Loch Snizort – the views were amazing both day and night when the clear skies showed the stars and the Milky Way.

The view from our window while staying with Gill and Ian. Thank you both so much for your hospitality.

We had a couple of nights of faint auroras which were nothing more than a glow on the horizon to the naked eye but captured by Gill on camera in all their glory (check out Gill Williams Photography on Facebook and Instagram for more awesome images). Ian paints and sculpts and prior to going to Skye we had both seen on Instagram (Ian.williams83) one of his Iceland inspired bowls and were glad to see them in his gallery, so purchased an early wedding anniversary gift to ourselves!

One of Ian’s amazing ceramics. Inspired by geology and his visit to Iceland. We both fell in love with it the minute we saw it on his Instagram feed

We had a day walking with Gill and she took us out to the headland at Loch Brittle when there is evidence of Viking dry docks and we found an ancient chambered cairn.

Whilst having a quick lunch we spotted a sea otter, which we swiftly named Colman due to the pork pie and mustard conversation happening at the time, on its lunch break. We are gradually ticking off the wildlife list! The weather was a bit crazy this day and whilst we walked in glorious sunshine, snow came in on the north of the island. It was hard to leave the following day after being totally spoilt for a few days, but armed with details of new places to explore it was back to the mainland to continue touring this beautiful country.

Sites used:

Castle Corner, Caerlaverock Castle near Dumfries: £10 online donation. Parking is a clearing in the forest on a nature reserve. No EHU but drinking water tap and black disposal

Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool Aire: £10 donation for EHU (or £4 just for services) clean water, grey and black disposal. Easy walk to town centre.

Mull of Galloway: remote beachside parking down steep uneven access road. £5 to park. No services.

Battery Park, Greenock: Free. Leisure centre car park no services. Riverside.

Tarbet Pier, Loch Lomond: Free car park overlooking the loch but £5 donation requested for use of motorhome service point. Local cafe.

Southend, Mull of Kyntyre: Free car park, across road from beach. No facilities.

Glasdrum Wood National Nature Reserve, Appin: Free, no services. Overlooking Loch Etive and access to woodland walks.

Uig Campsite, Skye: £21 p/n. Hard standing pitches with EHU (grass and tent pitches also available). All services available plus laundry. Great for access to ferry.

Balnarald Bay, near Houghharry, North Uist: £10 donation. Grass beachside pitches. Water available at nearby house.

Kilbride Campsite, South Uist: £22 p/n. Hard standing pitches with EHU (grass and tent pitches available plus on-site hostel). Full services available including laundry and kitchen. Across road from beach and cafe on-site.

Clachan Sands Camping, North Uist: £10 donation. Parking on grass, beachside. Water tap available.

East Beach, Berneray: grass parking in the dunes. The area is divided but hard to see where! One side charges £10 and the other is free. No facilities.

Luskentyre North Beach Carpark, Harris: £7 donation. Small beachside carpark (but no real view). Clean water and toilets available.

Huisinis, North Harris: £10 to park overnight plus £3 to use black water disposal point. Hard standing car park next to a building with toilets and showers and a large room containing local information. Beachside and access to walking paths. Access is via a long single track road but worth it!

Bosta Beach, Breaclete, Lewis: £5 donation. Hard standing car park with toilets, behind dunes.

Port Stoth, Butt of Lewis: Free. Two concrete pitches overlooking small cove a short walk from the lighthouse. No facilities but we stopped at nearby Lional Sports Centre where for £4 you can fill up with clean water and dump black.

Rhenigidale, North Harris: Free. Hillside car park overlooking a sea loch. Picnic seating. No facilities.

Finsbay, Harris: Free. Hard standing car park with small picnic area. No facilities ( black water disposal available at Tarbert tip for £3). Overlook the village and loch – good for watching seals.

Baleshare Beach: Free. Hard standing and grass beachside parking. No facilities but amazing sunsets!

Van stuff, walking and home again – 16 Feb to 2 March

On 16/03/202216/03/2022 By JuneIn FullTimingLeave a comment

After another quick stop at home for a routine medical appointment, we then started a week or so of van related work but with the promise of a weekend in the Peaks at the end before popping home again.

First stop was Tyrepal at Banbury to get the tyre pressure monitoring system sorted. Turned out that a replacement monitor we had received recently was faulty so we were given a new one immediately and the system was backing fully working. As that was a quick job, it was straight on to our overnight stop at Burton Hill Farm CL. We were surrounded by some beautiful countryside but as we were there just the one night, we didn’t have a chance to see much of the campsite let alone explore any further.

Not often you get to see the underside like this

The next job was in Shropshire where, after a lot of shall we / shan’t we, we were having a Planar diesel heater fitted by Autoterm. We have warm air heating which runs off LPG or electric so we’re not at all cold but the diesel heater gives us another option if we need to watch the LPG usage and are not hooked up to electric. There are a couple of options for diesel heater fitting and we went for the middle cost wise (it was £925). Yes there are certainly much cheaper heaters available but we wanted to ensure it was fitted correctly and that the reliability was there. We’re very happy with the results and are putting the heater to daily use in Scotland!

The Diesel Heater now under the passenger seat.

Ahead of having the heater installed, we sat out storm Eunice in Roden Nurseries CL, attached to a garden nursery. The owners were very friendly and even came out to check we were OK during the storm. It was very wet but we seemed to avoid the worst of the winds (unlike the house where we lost six roof tiles!) and the relentless rain led to a couple of nights of interrupted sleep. At times like these we have no excuse not to do the “housework” and there’s usually plenty of cooking going on.

What we had planned to be the third and final work stop was a little further north to finally get some carpets fitted. We had checked in advance with the campsite (Stoney Leach Nursery) that we could have the work done on-site and that wasn’t an issue for them. For various reasons we’ve tried multiple times to get these done but we finally arranged a date with Carpets for Caravans and are really pleased with their work. Something else to help with the warmth too.

There’s a little walking from the campsite which was really quiet and peaceful despite it being busy.

Having had all the work done, or so we thought, we moved across country to the Hope Valley in the Peak District and to a campsite we first stayed in last year. Newfold Farm is located in a stunning area with some great walking – Bob went up to Mam Tor with his son Tom one day and with the weather being so glorious we also took a 5 mile “stroll” the following day along part of the Penine Way to Crowden Brook. We’d use again given it’s location.

Another reason for visiting here was to meet up with Paula (an old school friend of June’s) and David who bought their motorhome last year. It was a bit cold to sit outside so we squeezed into each other’s vans for a couple of nights of reminiscing and putting the world to rights over a bottle or two of wine!

We were both itching to get back on the road properly and start our tour of Scotland but another medical appointment (and thankfully almost probably the last for the foreseeable – getting old sucks!) and a warning light on the dashboard sent us back home again. On the plus side, we were able to get all the washing done despite more rain, catch up with a post-COVID Chloe and have dinner with friends.

We managed to get an appointment with Inter County Mercedes in Milton Keynes so after an overnight stay in a car park near Tongwell Lake, it was straight in to the garage where they were quickly able to diagnose and fix the problem. It transpired that when Hymer removed the standard Mercedes front seats to replace with their own they had placed the cable for the seatbelt sensor in such a place that over time it would be crushed and eventually severed. After replacing the seat belt sockets and rerouting the cable we were on our way and we’ll take the issue up with Hymer directly.

Tonight’s stop would be Tebay Services on the M6 and tomorrow – Scotland!

Sites used:

Burton Hill Farm CL, Southam, Warwickshire: £16 p/n. Hard standing pitches with EHU. Other services Roden Nurseries CL

Roden Nurseries CL, near Telford, Shropshire: £17 p/n. Hard standing pitches with EHU and water. Use of outside toilets of adjacent garden centre and motorhome washing facilities available.

The Elms CL, Whittington, Shropshire: £10 p/n. Hard standing pitches with EHU. Clean water and dumping facilities close by.

Stoney Leach Nursery, Wrightington, near Wigan: £15 p/n. Hard standing pitches with EHU. Clean water and dumping facilities close by.

Newfold Farm, Edale, Peak District: £25 p/n. Hard standing pitches with EHU. Clean water and dumping facilities close by.

Tongwell Lake, Milton Keynes: Free. Public car park on a business estate.

Tebay Services, M6: £18 overnight but given £3 voucher to spend in shops. No facilities in car park. Services also have a campsite but it was closed at the time of our visit.

2022 and back to Plan A

On 21/01/202221/01/2022 By JuneIn FullTiming2 Comments

Having taken the option to get our inbound COVID test at a drive through centre on the way home (thankfully both negative still!) we were clear to go about preparing for Christmas almost as soon as we got back home. It wasn’t quite the rush we anticipated as like for a lot of people, the holidays were pretty quiet although it was good to see the family and friends that we did.

We managed one of our favourite walks while at Chloe’s

After almost three weeks of feeling strange in our own house (home is now most definitely the motorhome and the house is Chloe’s home), we got the call from the Mercedes garage to say that the issue with the central locking and remote key system caused by the lightning strike was now resolved. Luckily Chloe was home so we had use of her car so the following day it was up the A1 to collect the van and back again to check in to the local campsite. We both sat in the van that evening with a big smile on our faces and had our first decent night’s sleep in weeks!

Great to have breakfast at Denham Airfield with friends

After a couple more days of catching up with people we headed down to Hayling Island for a couple of nights to get some warranty work done on the van. With the dealer we bought the van from having stopped trading, we’ve been lucky to find another dealer (Southdown Motorhomes) willing to take on the warranty work. Great service from them! We stayed at Stoke Farm, a fairly new CL, with the remaining grass pitches currently being made hard standing. All have EHU and and own water. Sadly we didn’t get much chance to explore the area but this would make a good base.

Whilst getting that sorted we were made aware by a few drivers that our reversing lights were permanently on so it was a quick dash the following day to the Mercedes garage recommended by Southdown – Marshalls Andover who kindly squeezed us in and ran the diagnostics. The problem had actually righted itself that morning although we had another scare on the way to the garage when the van wouldn’t start at all. But whatever had caused these glitches had disappeared so we found a CL near Salisbury and headed there for a couple of nights with the aim of getting a decent walk in.

We spent two nights at Copse Side Farm where we were met by the owner. Sad to say we did’t get her name but she was so chatty, telling us about caravanning around Australia many years ago and giving us the history of the area around us. Camping is in a long thin field with a view to the hills of Cranborne Chase and there is a footpath directly from the campsite out on to the hills. We managed one very muddy walk out on a glorious winter day!

Whilst here we noticed that the alarm indicator lights weren’t working so it was on to VanBitz who told us to bring the van in. This entailed a trip down to Taunton which we would do the following week. In the meantime we decided to visit Portland in Dorset and spent two restful nights in a free car park overlooking Chesil Beach. The weather continued to be sunny (but cold!) so we drove down to Portland Bill for a stroll along the coast there. On our way to Somerset, we spent a few hours in Lyme Regis having a wander along the harbour wall and the sea front. Probably because it was a Saturday but the harbour side takeaways had really long queues so we decided to treat ourselves to a sit down lunch in the pub. Has to be done from time to time!

Although VanBitz is located next to a campsite as our appointment wasn’t until 10am we decided to stay near Somerton in Somerset on Millway Farm CL. From there we were able to walk out to a very muddy Combe Hill (the mud goes with the time of the year!) and the surrounding woods. The CL is on a working farm and there is a small farm shop selling produce as well as homemade jams and chutneys – can recommend the apple and blackberry jam!

After three LEDs were replaced at VanBitz it was back to Dorset. With all the running around to get the van sorted we really hadn’t settled back in to van life so after one night at Dorset Springs, an immaculate CL with pitches located around a lake, we decided that our next stop would be for at least three nights to give ourselves some breathing space.

Upon arriving at West Farm CL, near Verwood, we extended our original three nights to six. This is another well kept CL with great facilities – by this time we needed to look for a laundry and as well as a washing machine and tumble dryer, they also have a drying room with racks and hangars so we’ve managed to get everything done. There is also plenty of walking from the site and the New Forest is just a short drive away.

It may sound strange to non-van dwellers but sometimes you really do just need to stop and park up somewhere for a few days! The UK is not very well set up for motorhomes and vans so it’s a constant search for places to park, places to empty and fill water tanks and empty the loo. Campsites can be expensive and whilst we are lucky to have a monthly income, we still have a budget. We’re not whinging though and wouldn’t change this lifestyle for anything.

And finally, our plans for 2022. Plan A was for us to have shipped the van to Canada in April 2021 but we all know what COVID did to global travel plans that year! We therefore moved Plan A to September 2022 when, all being well, international travel will have fully resumed and we can head across the Atlantic to start our US, Canada and PanAmerican adventure which had always been our dream for van life.

In the meantime, we will continue to tour the UK, including six or seven weeks in Scotland and then use a full 90 day Schengen block in Norway and Sweden starting in May.

Campsites used

Stoke Farm, Hayling Island: £18 per night. Water and EHU on each pitch. Two hard standing pitches but planning to make the other 3 the same.

Copse Side Farm near Salisbury: £15 per night. EHU and fresh water. Black and grey water disposal. A long thin site with one, maybe two hard standing pitches. Bins available

New Ground Car Park: Free. No services other than rubbish bins.

Millway Farm Somerset: £12 per night. EHU on each pitch and all hard standing. Water along with black and grey water disposal.

Dorset Springs: £20 per night. EHU on each pitch and all hard standing. Water along with black and grey water disposal.

West Farm near Verwood. £19 per night. Two hard standings with EHU on all pitches. Water along with black and grey disposal.

The not so long slog home – 7 to 17 Dec

On 14/01/202214/01/2022 By JuneIn FullTimingLeave a comment

Despite bringing the return train forward a few days, we still had plenty of time to get back to Calais with days built in to allow for any delays (some of the mountain passes were already closed due to snowfall). Our route was through the same countries as the way down, so back through Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and France, COVID restrictions allowing, and with the hope of catching at least one Christmas market.

We had our first onboard inspection as we crossed the border from Bosnia to Croatia but they were only interested in alcohol and tobacco, and we didn’t much of the former and certainly none of the latter.

Much of the tourist focus for Croatia is along the coast – 4 of the 5 sections of our guide book are about the coastal regions, but the inland northern area is worth visiting if you like more remote countryside.

Our journey through Croatia (and Slovenia) was mostly along the banks of the Sava River through the flat wetlands of the Lonjsko polje, an area of wooden houses, open fields and storks.

We also visited several spomeniks (monuments) which had been built during the by the former Republic of Yugoslavia. These were mostly dedicated to local soldiers who resisted the invading forces of World War 2 but also included the Jasenovac Memorial and Museum, built of the site of a former concentration camp.

The camp housed mostly Serbs, Roma and Jews plus Croats who were opposed to the Ustasha (the government of the Independent State of Croatia established by Nazi Germany). The camp grew to be the third largest in Europe and the inmates were put to hard labour in the brickworks.

Around the monument, the ground has been landscaped to leave small mounds where different parts of the camp were and in the museum, from the ceiling hang multiple glass panels bearing the names of the captives known to have died there.

We were the only visitors that morning and they opened the museum just for us. It’s only small and free to enter but so moving. There are rumours again of more unrest in the region within the various ethnic groups – do we never learn…..

By contrast we also visited Zagreb to go the Christmas markets but have to say we were very disappointed. We appreciate that times are still uncertain especially with the latest COVID variant, but there were no more than a couple of dozen non-food stalls spread across multiple sites in the city. On the upside we did have our first mulled wine of the season. Great campsite though at Camp Zagreb which is located out of the city but by a lake. Lots of facilities and activities during the armed months and a great little pizza restaurant on-site. We walked to the next town to take the train into Zagreb but in the summer, the site runs a shuttle bus.

While the Christmas Markets were disappointing the hot chocolate certainly wasn’t

The crossing from Croatia to Slovenia took two attempts having initially tried a what we now know to have been a checkpoint for EU nationals only! Non-EU nationals have to cross via the larger border points which fortunately in this instance was just a few kilometres away. We had opted for the smaller crossing because it wasn’t on a motorway – we needed a vignette to use motorways but didn’t have one plus and to be honest, we prefer non-motorway driving.

On our way to our next camping place we stopped by some hot springs at Smarjeske Toplice which were not so hot, but there is something to be said about taking a dip in warm water with snow on the forest floor all around. We don’t know if it’s because only slightly insane people would visit during winter but it was quite a descent down the hill from the only car park we could find to the springs. There was also no-one around to collect money for parking.

Beautiful views from the campsite at Dol pri Ljubljani

We found a great motorhome park up in Dol pri Ljubljani with stunning views over the snow covered countryside. The park up has immaculate facilities including a washing machine and offers undercover, hard standing and grass pitches. We has originally planned to stay for one night but extended it to two. On our second day we walked through the village and up the snow covered hill for a hot chocolate at the restaurant at the top.

The next couple of days became driving ones. We left Slovenia on a Sunday and decided this would be a good day to drive as far as possible across Italy, beyond Milan if we could. The plan worked and after spending a night in a sosta in Magenta, we hit no traffic on the Monday morning thereby having an easy run into France. We did take the motorway through Italy just to make ground but it did come at a cost of €66.

After a stunning drive through the Alps, we hit the motorway again with an eye-watering total of €115.50 to get to Lake Annecy for an overnight stop in, thankfully, a free aire. By coincidence the aire was just in front of a hotel we had used a few years ago. Having got this far in two days, we stayed to the back roads and used a couple more Aires before reaching Calais the day before our train departure. Tried to visit the Christmas market here too but nothing seemed to be open….

On our way to Calais we also had to arrange for COVID tests no more than two days before our crossing to be allowed back to the UK (assuming they were negative of course!). We have found France to be so much better organised than the UK for testing and the cost is fixed so we were easily able to locate a pharmacy on our route who for €50 did two lateral flow tests and provided certificates within 30 minutes.

With our documentation all uploaded to the Eurotunnel site we were granted permission to travel so on Friday 17th we came back to the UK for three weeks of living in a house over the holidays and whilst work was carried out on the van to sort out the electrical problems caused by the lightening strike.

In hindsight the decision to come back a few days early was a good one as France closed its borders to UK travellers the day we came home (longest queues we’d ever seen at Eurotunnel to get out of the UK before the midnight deadline!). Whilst we were allowed to be travelling home, by leaving sooner we took away any potential grief caused by a UK plated vehicle travelling through France. We’d already been stopped once in France by customs for a drug search and although they were perfectly friendly and polite, we didn’t want a repeat of that.

Out on the road again in January for a few months in the UK. We have plans for, fingers crossed, Scandinavia in May for three months, and then back to Plan A for Canada and the US in September…..

Campsites used

Campground Zelen-GAJ, Lonja: KN100 (£11.10) for one night after some haggling! Due to being out of season no facilities available other than bins. Mostly grass pitches.

Camp Zagreb: KN211 p/n (ACSI rate). Hard standing pitches with EHU and multiple water points. Restaurant and spa on site.

Camperstop and Storage Facility, Dol pri Ljubljani: €15 per night. Various parking areas including undercover. EHU and access to a new kitchen area including a washing machine.

Area Sosta, Magenta, Italy: free car park next to a large caravan/motorhome/camping shop. Little road noise but free water fill up, black and grey water disposal.

Parking Camping Car, Annecy: free car park. Water point but not working/turned off for winter.

Aire at Bruyeres et Montberault, near Laon: free car park, no facilities.

Aire at Montreuil: free parking. €2 to fill water and empty WC.

Calais Aire: €10 per night to park in secure hard standing area. Free facilities outside gates – water filling, grey and WC disposal.

Bosnia 2 – 29 Nov to 6 Dec

On 24/12/202131/12/2021 By JuneIn FullTimingLeave a comment

Having decided to bring our return crossing home by a few days due to the ever-changing COVID situation (a new strain is prompting some countries to lock down again) this week marked the start of our journey northwards and ultimately, home to the UK. This meant we had to cut short out time here but we plan on returning.

We left Mostar and headed out to the countryside, continuing to follow the Neretva River. We took a slight detour at Konjic to visit Tito’s Bunker, an underground bunker built to house the president and senior officials in the event of a nuclear war.

Facility D-0 was built in complete secrecy over a period of 26 years between 1953 and 1979 at a cost of 4.6 billion US Dollars ($10 billion equivalent today). It was to be the place to which Tito, President of the former Yugoslavia, his government and senior military officials would retreat in the event of a nuclear war. The site which is built into the mountainside behind three cottages, was fully self contained, had fresh water and air circulation systems and was filled with six months worth of food for the few hundred chosen individuals. The furnishings were the height of 70s luxury and the systems were state of the art for their time.

When Yugoslavia fell, a couple of soldiers disobeyed the order to destroy the place and it is a now a perfectly preserved memorial to what might have been and many of the rooms are now being used as a art gallery. We were both fascinated with the place and would recommend a visit. The cost to visit was KM20 each (approx £8.50) and you have to take the guided tour but its worth it. Tours leave at set times so check the website (titosbunker.com) if visiting.

As we left Konjic and headed towards our next stop we noticed that the cars coming towards us were starting to show signs of snow fall. “I hope we’re not heading into a snow storm” said June and as we got higher, that’s exactly what happened and we arrived at Rama Lake. It certainly made for a fun drive!

We stayed at House Franjusic, a property consisting of a few holiday lets that also allows camping in its garden/car park. We arrived as the snow was falling quite heavily so just plugged in, sussed out the WiFi and shut the door for the night.

We awoke the next morning to glorious blue skies and a beautiful snowy landscape. A knock on the door and we were invited into the house for a coffee which turned into a full blown breakfast. We were also told by the delightful Anje to comeback at 12 noon for lunch! Unfortunately power cuts delayed that, for which Anje was most apologetic but it was hardly her fault, but the handmade burek was well worth the wait. Conversation was interesting as she spoke only Croatian and Russian but we managed to chat a little (O Level German has proved handy on this trip but not in this case!). The house is one of a few strung out properties on a peninsular jutting out into the lake and had some great walking although we couldn’t do too much on this visit. Because of the snow we only made it the short distance to the local monastery but there are walks through the nearby forests.

It was then back to the city for a visit to Sarajevo, another place that immediately bought the war to mind. The roads had been cleared of snow and there was little on the ground by the time we reached Sarajevo. Our campsite was Oaza Camp, which was a little out of the centre and close to the airport (thankfully relatively quiet but we think it would be very noisy in the summer or even more normal times. The campsite was a typical resort type with mixed camping and holiday flats/chalets. The shower/toilet blocks were shut but water was available and we were offered the use of a room to shower if we wanted. Not our favourite campsite but it served a purpose.#

Reception was able to organise a taxi for us the following day into the city (around KM20/25) and we were dropped near the old market. Today the snow had turned to rain so we didn’t stay too long in the city but we did do a free walking tour we found online and grabbed a spot of lunch. From comments we’ve had since, we don’t think we saw Sarajevo at its best and if we were to go back again, we’d also look for another campsite.

After Sarajevo we reverted to type with an out of the way stop at a new small campsite on an organic farm close to Zepce. Because of the snow and rain we didn’t make it on to the actual grass camping area for fear of not getting out again but were able to park at the entrance and still get hook up. The Bosnian hospitality continued as we were treated to cake when we arrived and the owners were quite apologetic that due to the weather and time of year they couldn’t offer us more. This was a new type of campsite opening in Bosnia and we’d highly recommend finding these more remote places.

We only spent one night on the farm and then continued to head north following the River Vrbas to Jajce. Another stunning drive passing along valleys, over mountain passes and through ancient fortified towns (definitely need to go back to Travnik).

Another little detour took us to the mysterious large stone balls near Zavidovici. There are a few odd theories on how these were formed other than the standard geological theory of water!

We stayed at the riverside campsite next to the Jajce Hostel which is quite basic but fully functional. You are also able to use the hostel’s laundry (€2 per wash and dry) and showers.

Jajce is famous for its fortress and waterfalls and the rain eased enough for us to go for a quick walk to the falls.

As we left Jajce, we visited the falls at Lake Plivsko and some old small watermills.

Our final stop in Bosnia was near the Kozara National Park as we decided to go on a Spomenik (monument) hunt. There are number of huge (and we mean enormous) monuments spread across the former Yugoslavia built in memory of partisans who fought against the invading German and Italian forces in WW2.

Kozara was another beautiful place to visit – there are so many places we want to go back to in Bosnia. We have been blown away by the stunning scenery and the kindness and hospitality of the locals. New campsites are opening and for this last night we stayed at another new site which is still being built. Danijel, the owner, greeted us on arrival with a huge bag of apples from the family orchard and shared his plans for the site which is located on the edge of a forested area next to a stream. The focus is on the environment and he has so far built a communal kitchen and dining area with plans to build shower and toilet facilities next.

Considering we hadn’t originally planned to Bosnia, we are really keen to go back. Just need to find the time….!!!

Campsites/parking used:

House Franjusic, near Ripci: KM20/€10 per night. Grass and hard standing, EHU and water.

Oaza Camp, Sarajevo: KM41.80 ACSI rate (standard KM45/€22.50) per night. EHU, water and full emptying facilities. Showers, toilets, restaurant (open all year) and laundry (in season).

Eco Farm, near Zepce: KM30/€15 per night. Grass pitches. EHU and water.

Jajce Hostel, Jajce: KM24/€12 per night. Mostly hard standing and some grass. Laundry.

Campsite Bukovica, Gorni Podgradci: KM20/€10 per night. Grass. No facilities at time of writing.

Bosnia 1 – 24 to 28 November

On 21/12/202122/12/2021 By JuneIn FullTimingLeave a comment

We decided fairly last minute that as our insurance covered us we would visit Bosnia so came into the country having done no research and with no preconceived ideas. And having toured through a lot of the western part of the country, we are so glad that we did make it here!

We entered Bosnia though one of the main border crossings at Metkovic, at the eastern end of the Neretva Delta, the large area of agricultural land we had driven through in Croatia. It was an easy border crossing in that we had the necessary documents – passports, van registration and COVID vaccination details (first time we’d been asked for them!) and we were soon able to continue our drive along the stunning Neretva River.

On our way to our first campsite we stopped at the Kravica Waterfalls. We don’t know if the man in the ticket booth overcharged us having seen us arrive in the van, but we hadn’t got our head around the exchange rate at that point so paid the KM40 (approx £17) without questioning it. On reflection this was very expensive for what was there but in the summer, there are accessible man made beaches (I use the term loosely!), a decked bar area, restaurants and boat trips and you can spend the day there and swim in the river which makes the entrance fee more reasonable.

There is a second waterfall about 1km downstream from the main falls. It is walkable unless there has been a lot of rain (there had!) in which case the river banks are waterlogged and slippy. We speak from experience as Bob had to grab June by the belt to stop her sliding face down in the mud into the river!

Our first campsite was Autocamp Green Park on the banks of the Neretva in Zitomislic. The high running river meant that the only parking was the main car park and being out of season, the bar, restaurant and other facilities were shut, but we had EHU, water and WiFi so needed nothing else. The site also has a few rooms (we were offered the use of a toilet and shower in one) and more building was going on. We were also able to use a washing machine (€3 per use) although it seemed to be the owner’s personal machine as it was in their bathroom! We had great fun with the owners who spoke little English muddling through in a mix of GCE German and holiday Italian but thankfully they had a couple of English speaking younger workers who were able to help out.

Before we arrived we had received warnings from the UK FCO of flooding in Bosnia and it continued to rain throughout most of our time here! Luckily we are fairy hardy souls and did our best not to let that stop us getting out and about.

The next stop was a few miles away at Autocamp Blagaj, a 15 minute taxi ride from Mostar. With not having a local SIM and with the MiFi having been fried in Croatia navigating between places became a bit hit and miss if we’d not saved the details offline. We weren’t 100% sure of where we were staying which wasn’t helped by having muddled the name of one campsite with the location of another park up in the sat nav! As we were trying to work out the details a car pulled up in front of us and man jumped out into the pouring rain to ask if we were looking for his campsite. In hindsight we realise he was trying to be helpful but we were wary of being taken to somewhere we hadn’t booked and so brushed him off. Having got to the park up and with the owner given us his WiFi password, we soon realised that we were in the wrong place so snuck out very quickly! We finally worked out where we should be, and yes it was the campsite of the man who had tried to help us earlier. As we would find out over the next few days, Alen was a genuinely friendly guy and he was so generous during our stay.

The rain continued but managed to hold of during our visit to Mostar for which we took a return taxi from the campsite for KM30 (£13). Like most people of our age most of our memories of the region come from the division of the former Yugoslavia and the war of the early to mid 1990s. Parts of Mostar have been totally rebuilt including the famous Stari Most, the Old Bridge, although at this time of year there was little sign of the divers who, for the right price, will dive from the bridge into the Neretva some distance below!

We had a wander through the streets of the Old Town (very similar to the souks in Morocco and bazaars in Turkey, ie tourist trap and heaving during the summer!) and walked a little further afield in the city. It’s a real mix of old and new, lots of bullet hole riddled buildings and rather strangely, a statue of Bruce Lee in one of the parks. It’s definitely a place worth visiting.

A short distance from the campsite (not quite walking though) is the Tejika Blagaj, or the Dervish House. Parts of the site have been dated back to the late 1400s and the first written history is from 1664. Its location at the base of steep cliffs plus at times due to neglect, has meant that the buildings have ben destroyed and reconstructed several times with the last building in 2012.

The site is now a pilgrimage destination to celebrate the birth of the prophet Mohammad and one of the most visited for followers of Sufism.

Entrance fee to the complex was KM5 each (a little over £2) but it can been seen easily from a number of restaurants just across the river or a path that runs behind the restaurants down to the base of the cliff. It would seem that in the summer there are a number of souvenir stalls on the road at the entrance to the site but we were lucky to miss those!

Sites used:

Autocamp Green Park, Zitomislic: €15 per night. Winter hard standing, grass in summer. EHU, water, grey and WC dumping.

Autocamp Blagaj, Blagaj, near Mostar: €15 per night (possibly because it was winter but that reduces for stays of 3 nights or longer). Hard standing pitches with EHU and water, grey and black disposal. Shower and toilet block and washing machine. Bar and restaurant which seemed to be open.

South Dalmatian coast – 15 to 24 Nov

On 23/11/202126/11/2021 By JuneIn Croatia, FullTimingLeave a comment

After a couple of strenuous days sightseeing we moved on to a remote cliff side campsite near Omis at the recommendation of @john.n.kellie, another couple of van dwellers who were spending time in Croatia and who we would catch up with in person a few days later.

Although Omis is only a few kilometres from Split along the coast, we took the long winding road via the Cetina Gorge and over the Dubci Pass to come back around to the campsite.

Autocamp Sirena is a terraced campsite between the main road and the sea. We opted for one of the lower terraces (with just two other vans there we had plenty of choice!) and parked up facing the sea. That didn’t last long as once the wind picked up, as it does frequently along the coast, we were being rocked all over the place. A quick 90 degree turn to get the nose into the wind helped and we managed a decent night’s sleep.

Throughout the the campsite there is access to the sea, via either small pebbly beaches or the rocks. Bob couldn’t be persuaded but June went in for a quick dip and it wasn’t so bad.

The campsite has a small shop and will provide bread and croissants of a morning if preordered. We also ate in the restaurant where we were treated to the hospitality of Milan and the food cooked by his wife. We (not just us I should add!) were left with six numbered bottles of schnapps like alcohol and a dice in case we couldn’t decide which one to have next!

Having been quite controlled with the free alcohol so hangovers averted, we moved on to Dubrovnik, one of our last stops in this part of Croatia. Our campsite was Autocamp Matkovica in Srebreno, south of and just a short bus ride from Dubrovnik. Hard to tell exactly how many pitches there were but most of the site was hard standing and all have EHU. Showers and toilets available plus use of a washing machine (paid for). Whilst here we met up with @landylifeoverland again as well putting spending a couple of afternoons with John and Kellie who are spending a couple years touring Europe from Australia.

The owner gave us a local map and pointed out where the bus stops were and well as giving us the bus timetable. The bus was kn18 each one way and the drivers all seem to speak some English which helped.

We really enjoyed our day in Dubrovnik where we walked around the impressive city walls (not cheap at kn200, £22, each but we thought worth doing), wandered through the alleys and streets of the Old City and took the cable car up to Mount Srd for panoramic views over the city. The cable car was kn170, £19, each but again we thought it had to be done. There is a restaurant at the top and the Homeland War Musuem dedicated to the Croatian War of Independence.

Within walking distance from the campsite is Kupari, a favoured beach resort of the former socialist Yugoslav government and army which has now been left to fall into disrepair. The resort consists of several hotels – the colonial looking Grand Hotel and then a few concrete monstrosities, and you are free to wander around what remains there. Maybe not a good idea to go to far into the buildings!

A little further round the coast is an old villa that belonged to Tito, the former ruler of Yugoslavia. It is sill guarded and you can’t get to it but you can see the ruins of a house he had built for his wife and walk on the rocks from which the elite would have accessed the sea via concrete stepping stones.

A short distance in the opposite direction along the coast is the picturesque fishing village of Mlini. A lot of history here with old mills for olive pressing, a raging stream running through the village (well it had been raining – a lot!) and a couple of churches. If you’re thinking of visiting Dubrovnik, this would be a great place to stay and take the bus into the city.

We ended up having two stays in Autocamp Matkovica, albeit the second unplanned! After our first four days we headed about as far south as we could go to stay on a disused former airbase which is now a popular place for vans to overnight. It’s a large site and our plan was to spend the night on the old helipad after watching an amazing sunset. The site also has great views over Montenegro where we had hoped to visit but sadly our insurance won’t cover on this trip. We were that close that the phones kept trying to pick up Montenegro networks but we soon stopped that as it was not covered by our UK packages!

After a quiet evening we settled down for the night, knowing that rain was forecast and that it could potentially get a little windy. At this point we were contemplating spending the following day really exploring the base and possibly spending a second night there.

The best view from any helipad that Bobs ever been on.

We awoke the following morning to very grey skies, more rain and the continued rumbling of thunder somewhere offshore which had been going on for a few hours. As we were sitting having our breakfast, there was suddenly the loudest clap of thunder and a simultaneous flash of lightning followed by the sound of things hitting the van. We had been parked just a couple of metres from a lightning strike which destroyed a wall and it was pieces of brick and mud that we could hear hitting us.

At first we hadn’t seen the damage to the rear quarter.

In addition to the “blast” damage we also realised there were some electrical issues with the van so we decided to head back to the previous campsite to take stock.

Having seen some photos of the damage to the wall (thanks to @vanstgramage who were staying in the area and went to the helipad after we had left. They were over a km away and heard the strike and a local bar owner compared the destruction to a bomb blast ) we got away quite lightly!

The ruins of a wall that was complete before the strike.

The dents that have potentially pierced the shell of the van are now taped over with clear gaffer tape, a travelling essential, and after changing a few blown fuses we are left with just our electronic key fobs not working properly so the van is booked in with Mercedes when we get back to the UK. Our mifi was also a victim but we don’t know yet if it’s the internal dongle or the external aerial. Having originally thought we had no insurance cover (policy document specifically states that), it turns out we are covered but have a huge excess so once we’re home we’ll get quotes and try to decide if the cost of claiming,including future premium increases, is worth it.

Such a stunning sunset the night before the strike

After a day of running around we were both feeling a little flat the following day so decided to spend one last day at the campsite before moving on to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We’ve really enjoyed what we’ve seen of Croatia so far. We may explore a little more when we start heading back towards home as we have to cross through the northern part of the country. That will depend on how long we spend in Bosnia and Herzegovina and any changes to the COVID situation. At time of writing Europe is starting to impose restrictions again so we’ll just keep an eye on the news and FCO updates.

Croatia – Senj to Pag 1 to 8 Nov

On 23/11/202123/11/2021 By JuneIn Croatia, FullTimingLeave a comment

On leaving the Istrian peninsula we began to zigzag across the country heading in a general southerly direction. We had no particular plan, just a few places we thought we’d like to see, and a loose timeframe of about five or six weeks before we had to start heading north again.

Our first stop was the small coastal town of Senj and an overnight stop in a car park. As we walked around the town, which like many Croatian towns has an old part which is all narrow alleyways, and a fortress, we could see the sky turning greyer and darker.

We had parked in the main car park and as we were staying the night, we had headed to the far end by the harbour wall to be out of peoples way. Those grey skies we had seen earlier were the edge of an incoming storm and we were rudely awakened in the early hours by the waves coming over the wall and crashing down on to the van roof!

We then headed inland on our way to Plitvice Lakes National Park, one of the leading tourist spots in Croatia. Once over the coastal mountain range, we found ourselves on a wide open, agricultural plain and spent the night in Otocac. Another strange night in that we were parked in an unused motorhome aire – it had EHU posts, toilets, showers, barriers (one side was permanently raised) and a little office complete with a computer and screen, but nothing was connected. Still, we were able to empty the grey tank and the WC.

As recommended on their website, we booked the Plitvice tickets online but at this time of the year that’s probably unnecessary – tickets are limited and you get a timed entry but there was no more than a handful of cars in the car park when we visited. Our tickets cost kn80 each (about £9) but in the peak season, admission is kn250 or £28, plus parking of another kn80 for a motorhome. The entrance fee does include use of the boats and busses within the park and multiple day tickets are available – there are extensive hiking trails in the wider area.

After entering the park (a reasonable walk from car park 2 and all uphill on the way back), we chose the lakeside walking path which took us down to the lower lakes and main waterfalls ending up at Veliki Slap which literally translates as “Big Waterfall” although as there hadn’t been too much rain at that point, it wasn’t so big!

We had originally planned to follow the longest walking path which is about 18km but with the shorter days, the park closes earlier so instead we took one of the boats back across the main lake which gave great views of the surrounding hillsides and the glorious autumn colours. From pier 2 we were able to explore some of the upper lakes via the wooden boardwalks and we could see close up the travertine formations that had created the lakes and the waterfalls in the crystal clear water.

There were boardwalks all around the park.

There was limited local camping and the campsites that were open were very expensive but we managed to find a place via Park4Night. It was basically someone’s back garden in which they let a couple of vans park. Entrance is via a steep driveway, the owner is really friendly and the site is only 10 mins from the park entrance and has stunning views across the valley. We also met for the first, but not the last time on this trip, @landylifeoverland who we knew via Instagram, and spent a couple of hours chatting about van life.

Throughout the countries that made up the former Yugoslavia there are plenty of reminders of the period of socialist rule and the subsequent war that saw the break up of the country in the early 1990s. Close to Plitvice is Zeljava Airfield, a now disused airfield from the Cold War where the hangars were inside the mountain.

There are miles of tunnels through the mountains running in to Bosnia and Herzegovina (there is a continual police presence as the tunnels are used by immigrants trying to cross the border in to the EU) and the border between the two countries also crosses one of the runways. An eerie but interesting place to visit!

The entrance to the hanger inside the mountain

We moved on from Plitvice back out to the coast and on to the Pag peninsula. Big commercial all-singing campsites are not our style but with limited choice we opted for Camping Village Simumi, a huge complex of touring pitches, static caravans and holiday lodges. Thankfully the campsite offered a special winter rate – summer rates for the beachside pitch we had went as high as EUR80 per night, but we pretty much had the place to ourselves on a fully serviced pitch and with free use of the washing machines as a bonus!

Not a bad pitch. One we’d keep away from in the summer though

We passed our time here walking along the coast and swimming. One of the onsite restaurants was still open but we didn’t use it and there was quite a bit of work going on – luckily we were there for the weekend and were only woken by workmen once when they started just before 7am on Monday morning.

Sites used:

Senj harbour car park: kn40 (approx £4.50). All tarmac and no facilities

Camping Otocac: free when we stayed. Small aire like site but currently disused. Full EHU and facilities looked to be in place but all switched off.

Apartmani San Poljanak 5A, near Plitvice: kn70 p/n. Steep sloping grass parking. No facilities other than rubbish disposal and fresh water.

Camping Village Simuni, Pag: kn142 p/n (about £16.50) for beachside pitch in November with EHU and water. Huge site with various price bands based on proximity to beach. All the facilities you would expect of a site this size catering for families. 6 beaches and something like 500 pitches (mix of touring, seasonal and lodges).

Croatia – Istria, 28 to 31 Oct

On 15/11/202115/11/2021 By JuneIn FullTiming2 Comments

A little later than we originally anticipated having been waylaid in Italy, we finally crossed into Croatia today. The country had been on our list for a while but since the implementation of Brexit it has become a destination for Brits managing their Schengen allowance because although Croatia is an EU country (yippee – UK phone package works here!) it is outside the Schengen area so doesn’t count towards the 90 day limit. At the moment it is necessary to get your passport physically stamped for proof of entry in/out of Schengen so we opted to enter via one of the main crossings near to the coast.

With passports stamped and no further questions asked we headed to our first Croatian campsite for a few days of relaxing by the beach, getting the washing done and planning where we were going to go over the next six weeks or so. One of the major issues facing us was finding campsites that were open – the coast is strewn with beachside sites but most are closed. The Lighthouse Campsite was a little gem and busy because we arrived on a Thursday to stay the weekend. Despite the site being full, it didn’t feel overcrowded as even the small pitches had plenty of space, and for the washing to dry too! The facilities were clean and modern (free rapid dishwasher if you’re fed up with dong the dishes!) and the staff very helpful and friendly. Other than a few chores, we spent our time walking along the coast and admiring the sunsets. We may have had #justttheone at local beach bar Levante to admire the view – would have been rude not to!

We headed south down the coast road through towns which I imagine in the summer are overrun with tourists. Our first stop was Porec for a wander around the old town to visit the Basilica of Euphrasius, which being a Sunday was closed! We were still able to see some of the buildings which date from the sixth century.

There is a large car park about 15 minutes walk from the port in Porec which has a section for motorhomes. The barrier was up when we arrived (still the bank holiday) but it is possible to stay overnight there although there are no facilities.

With so much closed we moved on to our next stop, Pula. With no campsites open, we looked at Park4night for any motorhome parking spots and having checked out a couple of them we opted for a large car park between the station and the port, where several other vans were already parked up – safety in numbers! There were several reviews saying that people had been fined if they didn’t have the right parking ticket and the options to pay were either by coin at the machine or via an app. Not having any local coin we downloaded the app and completed a test payment but it wouldn’t let us buy a 24 hour ticket. OK, we thought, it’s Sunday so maybe it’s free so we set our alarm for 7am the next morning when parking restrictions appeared to come into force. But….we still couldn’t buy a ticket for that day and it would only give us an option for the next day. Then we twigged – it was All Saints Day, a bank holiday in most of Europe and we didn’t need to pay at all or so we hoped!

Our reason for visiting Pula was to go to the amphitheatre, a remarkably intact Roman construction built in the first century BC. We arrived as they opened at 9am and had the place to ourselves! Entry fee was kn70 per person, approx £8.

The museum under the arena provides some history of wine making and olive oil production in the region, two industries still ongoing today.

Sites used

Lighthouse Campsite, Savudrija: kn177 p/n (approx £20). Hardstanding with EHU. Showers and toilets available plus laundry at additional cost.

Pula: Large car park next to harbour and close to the Arena, no facilities

Slovenia, a hidden gem – 23 to 27 Oct

On 14/11/202123/11/2021 By JuneIn Croatia, FullTimingLeave a comment

Both of us had been to Slovenia previously when part of Yugoslavia, so some years and what seems several lifetimes ago, and we crossed the border with Italy with no issue.

Our initial plan had been to stop at Kranjska Gora, a ski resort close to the Italian and Austrian borders but we changed our mind on arrival as the motorhome parking was along a service road and we were reluctant to potentially pay €20 for parking along a road with no services. We therefore headed into the Julian Alps and before we realised it, we were climbing up the Vrsic Pass, the highest mountain pass in the eastern Julian Alps which tops out at 1,611m or 5,285 ft and consists of 50 of the tightest, shortest hairpin bends we have ever driven!

Many of the campsites we tried were already closed for the season but we found Kamp Korita, close to the village of Soca open. With just one other van there it was bliss! Having read a recent travel article on the area, the Soca Valley and the wider Triglav National Park, was on our list to explore and the campsite has direct access on the walking path that starts where the Soca River rises and passes through stunning valleys and gorges.

We walked the section from the campsite to where the river passes out of the Great Soca Gorge which just a couple of metres wide at this point. The water is the most amazing colour, crystal clear and has carved hollows in the rocks where it swirls around. The river is also renowned for trout and the fish can easily be seen with the naked eye.

We drove out of Soca and followed the river along through the towns of Bovec and Tolmin before turning back in to the southern side of the National Park heading towards Lake Bohinj. On our way we stopped at the Boka Waterfall, one of Slovenia’s highest waterfalls but on the day of our visit, quite dry – maybe best visited once the winter snow melts!

Lake Bohinj was still quite busy when we arrived so we drove to the western edge of the lake and walking along the southern shoreline for a short distance. Camping directly by the lake or in the town was expensive (can’t imagine what the summer prices are!) so we actually overnighted at a small village a few minutes away. Another very quiet pitch even if we were joined by a large overlanding vehicle and with views over the surrounding countryside.

With our days in Schengen starting to clock up we decided on just one more stop in Slovenia at Lake Bled but we’d take a roundabout route to get there. The road took us over an unnamed pass where we drove more small, tight hairpins right in amongst the autumnal forests to reach the Vintgar Gorge on the way to Bled. Whilst most places we have visited are free, there is a fee to visit Vintgar (€10 each plus another €10 for parking the motorhome) but in our opinion it was worth it. It’s a circular walk through the gorge along a wooden boardwalk and you exit via one of two routes along the top of the gorge, so whilst the walk through the gorge is flat, it’s quite an uphill climb out of it! Again the water is crystal clear, in various shades of blue and green with bridges taking you over the river at the base of the high, tree covered sides of the gorge.

Our final stop was in Bled where we spent a couple of nights at the city centre stellplatz. It’s at the back of a building site (no noise issues though when we were there), close to a couple of supermarkets and an easy walk to the edge of the lake where you can pick up the path that encircles the lake. We were blessed with great weather and were able to see the lake at its finest but without the crowds 😊

There is still so much of Slovenia that we didn’t see so we will be back!

Sites used:
Kamp Korita Peter Della Blanca, near Soca: €24 p/n including EHU. Hard standing. Showers and toilets on site plus a small restaurant during season

PZA Srednja Vas motorhome park, near Bohinj: €10 but price varies. One EHU post but water and WC disposal available.

Bled Stellplatz, Bled: €20 per 24 hours. Hard standing and depending on ticket bought, limited EHU and water available. WC disposal.

Europe bound – 10 to 22 Oct 2021

On 06/11/202106/11/2021 By JuneIn France, FullTiming, Italy, RoutesLeave a comment

Woo hoo! After six months on the road in the UK, we boarded the 07.20 Eurotunnel service to Calais and set our wheels down on foreign soil for the first time in a year. The crossing was very easy and although we had all the paperwork we could have been asked for (COVID certificates and French Passenger Locator Forms), the only change to previous crossings was that our passports were stamped by French immigration. We had abided as far as possible with the requirement for no meat or dairy but with living full time in the van, and as June likes cooking, we have an extensive store cupboard. So the fridge was empty but we took a risk with the stock cubes and seeds in the spice rack (never knew they would be on the banned lists but stock cubes are a meat by-product and theoretically mustard seeds can be planted); thankfully no inspection but we would have dumped them all if need be.

The plan is to head quickly through France, Italy and Slovenia (soon derailed when we reached Italy!) to minimise the days in the Schengen Area thereby ensuring there would be no impact on next year’s travel plans. I’m sure most people are aware but for those who are not, since the beginning of 2021 when the glorious Brexit was implemented, UK passport holders, like all other non-EU citizens, are now limited to a maximum of 90 days in any 180 in the Schengen Area. This means that whilst long term travelling in Europe is not impossible, it does now require some planning to bounce in and out of the Schengen and non-Schengen countries. Hence the ultimate destination of Croatia which whilst in the EU is not in Schengen. Confused? You will be…… (really wish they’d put Soap on one of the streaming services. Sorry for the obscure reference to a 70’s TV program but if you’re of a certain age you’d understand!).

The first day in France was spent on the peage trying to cover as many miles as possible plus a supermarket stop to refill the fridge and cupboards. Although the tolls add up (€80.70 for this leg and a total of €128.30 in France and Italy on the way out), we think it’s worth paying as the peage roads are usually the most direct and we’ve never, as yet, been caught in traffic other than once after an accident – not us I should add! Beaune apparently is a great place to stop and on a wine route but this was just a quick overnight for us in the city aire.

Our next night would be close to Lyon as we had to find somewhere for a PCR test to enable us to get into Italy. If we had spent a couple of weeks in France this wouldn’t have been necessary but as we’d only left the UK the previous day, it was a requirement for us to enter Italy despite us both being double jabbed. Clinics offering PCR testing are widespread in France and although free to residents, we had to pay €44 each but the test was quick and the results were emailed to us within six hours. When we arrived at the campsite, the staff were really helpful in calling the clinic on our behalf to ensure we could get a test same day as well as sending us off in the right direction!

We only overnighted at Camping Barolles, but we would use it again – friendly, helpful staff, a small shop of essentials, fresh bread deliveries and a small bar plus all the usual facilities. Pitches were all of a reasonable size.

We’ve kept a close eye on the ever-changing requirements for travelling post-COVID and would suggest that if you are thinking of travelling you sign up to the respective country destination page on the FCO pages of the UK Government site. We’ve set up email alerts so we’ll be notified of any changes for the countries we are potentially visiting. Another good app is “Re-open EU” where you can input your originating and destination countries and it will tell you the latest requirements. We are amazed at the number of people whose first port of call for any travel information is social media!

From Lyon we headed towards the Alps where just off our route June spotted the road to Alpe d’Huez, one of the iconic Tour de France climbs. Well it had to be done and 20+ hairpin bends later we were at top! All we can say is “chapeau” to anyone who cycles up there. We had thought about staying here but it was still early afternoon and being in between seasons, nothing was open (a frequent occurrence on our travels) so we decided to drive back down again and cross the border into Italy. We only had a 48 hour window from having the negative PCR test to reach Italy so we would have gone the next morning anyway.

Armed with our test results we reached the border where they didn’t even give us a second look, let alone ask for any documentation! A bit miffed as it seemed that we had wasted €88 but best to be on the safe side and have everything in order.

Like Alpe d’Huez, the ski resort at Sestriere was mostly closed and a lot of building was going on in preparation for the forthcoming season, but the sosta was open so we overnighted there. Not the most glamorous of places but we were just sleeping there and we had a beautiful view out of the window to the valley the following morning.

After three countries in as many days we were looking forward to a couple of days catching up with ourselves in the Italian lakes and found a free sosta on Lago d’Idro, a small lake to the west of Lake Garda. The sosta is at the northern end of the lake near the town of Baitoni and was a great find as there was so much to do and see. We walked around part of the lake and the valley sides, sat watching the kite-surfers and found hides in the small nature reserve from where to watch the local birdlife. The field next to the car park is a landing site for paragliders and morning and evening we had parachutes overhead on their way to landing.

Away from the lake, there are multiple footpaths up into the mountains where there are many monuments and dedications to those who fought in World War 1 – the area is full of history as it had been part of the border between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian empire.

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Note the steel cable to hold on to as there was a drop off of about a couple of hundred feet.

We had originally planned just a couple of nights but after four nights we pulled ourselves away and moved a little further north to the village of Castelfondo. After a steep uphill climb through the narrow streets of the village, we spent a couple of nights in the sosta there from where we have stunning views over the valley which eventually runs through to Lake Garda. The area is very agricultural and the main crop seemed to be Delicious Apples – both red and golden. We really didn’t know that Italy grew so many apples!

Our main destination in Italy was the Dolomites where we wanted to do the one walk we had been unable to do on our 2018 trip. We also completed a couple of the mountain passes that we had only done from one side previously as the summits had been closed due to snow. Firstly though we needed to replenish food supplies so went to the city of Bolzano. We don’t know what it is with the South-Tyrol region of Italy but none of the supermarkets has a decent sized carpark so after trying a few shops, we headed straight out of the city and it took another couple of days before we found a place to shop. That was at Euro Spin just south of Cortina if interested!

We had one night near Val Gardena in another ski resort car park and then the next in the Valle di Cadore, at a free sosta before going to Misurina to be able to do the walk around Tre Cime which was on Bob’s to do list. We used the sosta at Misurina but had been unable to get the water we needed as the tap was broken (still had to pay €20 for the night!) but fortunately there was a tap in the town which we could use. Having to use this tap led to chance meeting with a fellow motorhomer who had been on the road for two years, leaving from his home country of China! He and his friend were travelling and cycling and had visited a number of countries on our wish list although for some of them his passport made visiting a lot easier than ours.

We were up at the crack of dawn the following morning to head up to the car park at the base of the famous Tre Cime peaks. Throughout the summer there is a toll to use the road but the ability to pay and park for up to a day and a half meaning you could spend the night there. We had just missed the cut-off for that so whilst we didn’t have to pay the toll, the car park ticket was only valid from 8am until 2am the following morning so if you wanted to spend the night, you had to buy a two day ticket at the cost of €45 PER DAY!

We opted for the one-day ticket but it was worth every penny. There are various walks around the formation, all clearly marked and we opted for one just short of seven miles taking us in a wide loop around the base of the peaks. The weather was on our side and we ran out of superlatives – it was all we’d hoped for.

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When we initially planned this trip, we’d thought maybe a week to get to this point…. Well having left home almost two weeks ago and having cut France to two overnight stays, we really had to move on to our next stop – Slovenia, but that’s for the next post!

Sites used:
Charles de Gaulle Aire Park, Beaune: €6.90 for 24 hours, €4.20 for access to WC emptying point. EHU and water available at additional costs. Large car park close to town.

Camping Barolles, Saint Genis Laval, France: €20.94 p/n plus EHU at additional cost. Small tiered, hard standing. Bus service from outside into Lyon.

Sestriere ski resort motorhome car park: barrier was open when we stayed so probably charges in summer/ski season. Some EHU points, water and dumping facilities.

Lago D’Idro motorhome park, near Baitoni, Italy: free parking. Water and dumping facilities a short walk away.

Castelfondo motorhome park, Italy: €15 p/n. Water and EHU on each pitch. Service point available for dumping grey and black water.

Val Gadena: barrier was open when we stayed but charges applicable in season. No facilities. Sloping car park.

Valle de Cadore sosta: free. Water and dumping facilities.

Misurina camper sosta, Italy: €20 p/n. Water and dumping facilities (water not working when we visited).

Lago d’Antorno, Italy: free. A rutted, muddy area where motorhomes pitch up for an overnight stay.

Norfolk and back x 2 – 24 Sept to 9 Oct

On 27/10/202106/11/2021 By JuneIn England, FullTiming, United KingdomLeave a comment

This is why we’ll never make travel blogging a job – we get so carried away with what we’re doing we forget to update it! Sitting down last night, we thought our last blog couldn’t have uploaded properly but then when we looked at the PC, we realised we hadn’t actually written anything 😊

Here we go with a couple of weeks of bouncing back and forth between Norfolk and home – not the best thing to have to do when there’s a fuel shortage! However, it couldn’t be avoided and luckily we were never in the position of almost running out of diesel.

We had a couple of days at Swans Harbour Campsite, Barford just to the west of Norwich so we could pop and see Amy in her new house. Not our favourite campsite! It seems that about half the pitches are permanent residents and the whole place felt very tired and worn down. We also had a neighbour who came home between 2/3am the three nights we were there and proceeded to shout at his girlfriend each time. However, the local farm shop was a great find and we had a visit from an old school friend of June’s who happened to be in the area.

We then headed up towards the coast, spending one evening with Bob’s cousin in Stanhope, staying at Holly Farm Cottage CL, an immaculately kept grass field behind the owner’s house and next to the village pub (sadly not open Monday or Tuesday nights at time of writing). That was followed by a night in Burnham Market, AKA Chelsea on Sea due to the number of rich bankers owning second homes in the village! Fallowfield CL is just on the edge of the village and whilst the CL was full, we were able to park in the adjacent rally field. We did manage one short walk from here, spending an afternoon wandering around the various Burnham villages.

After a quick trip home, we moved just a couple of miles up the road to Burnham Deepdale to spend the weekend with fellow motorhomes, Jason and Katie plus Elsa of course! Deepdale Camping has something for everyone whether in a motorhome, caravan or tent and also has a hostel on site. Local shop and café just outside the site and there was a mobile pizza van there on the Friday and Saturday night we were there.

The plan was to walk a little and lounge around the vans but the weather intervened and we got rather wet and windswept on the one day we did get out! The weather did let up in the evening which allowed us to get to the pub for dinner and watch the sun set over the marshes. Rainy days do though give us the chance to catch up on admin and laundry (very cheap washers and dryers here!).

The next stop was Wells-Next-The-Sea, a picturesque village with a harbour full of boats. Mill Farm seemed to have a couple of camping areas and we were in the CL with views across the fields to the marshes. We were able to follow the coast path through the marshes to Stiffkey where we sat on the white sand for a coffee watching the bird life and whilst stopping for our last coffee break of the day, an old work colleague of June’s walked past with her husband and dog!

The area is known for its seal population and a number of local companies do boat tours. On Katie and Jason’s recommendation we went with Beans Boats (£20 per person for a 60-90 minute trip) but sadly the trip wasn’t so successful in that there were no seals basking on the sand banks as the weather kept them in the water – who knew that seals don’t like the rain!

Our last night in Norfolk was a free overnight stay in the car park at the Water’s Edge Restaurant, Woods End where we had dinner with an old boss of Bob’s – this was a real sociable couple of weeks!

We’ve loved the short time that we’ve spent in Norfolk and will be back.

After a couple more days back close to home clearing admin and doing the washing, it is time to move on much further afield and 180 days from the day we were released in April, for the last night of this post were sat in a field (Page Farm CL – great for easy access to the Eurotunnel terminal but would also be a good base to explore the local area) near to Folkestone ready for the 7.20am Eurotunnel train to Calais tomorrow.

Our plan is a quick dash through France, stopping long enough to get a PCR test for Italy where we heading to the Dolomites to visit a couple of places we missed when last there. On then to the Julian Alps in Slovenia before spending 7 weeks or so in Croatia and Bosnia.

Let the Schengen Shuffle begin!

Sites used:

Swans Harbour Caravan Park, Barford, Norfolk: £16 per night. EHU, water and dumping facilities. Showers and toilets also available but we didn’t use them. Mixed pitches.

Holly Tree Cottage CL, Stanhoe, Norfolk : £15 per night. EHU, water and dumping facilities. All grass.

Fallowfield CS, Burnham Market, Norfolk: £13 per night. No EHU (available on main field) but water and dumping facilities. All grass.

Deepdale Campsite, Burnham Deepdale: £21.33 per night. No EHU (available on pitches) but water and dumping facilities. Mixed pitches.

Mill Farm CL, Wells-next-the-Sea: £20 per night. EHU, water and dumping facilities. All grass.

Page Farm CL, Postling, Kent: £15 per night. EHU, water and dumping facilities. All grass.

Home again via Liverpool, Norwich and Basingstoke!

On 14/09/202114/09/2021 By JuneIn England, FullTiming, United KingdomLeave a comment

After a wonderful six weeks exploring Wales (but still so much to see so we’ll be back!) it was time to catch up with children which is not so easy when they are spread across the country 😊.

First stop was Liverpool to see Chloe and the latest production she is touring with (Heathers The Musical for anyone interested). Hidden Corner was a quiet, well looked after site close to Maghull North station, a short train ride in to Liverpool. As this was also around June’s birthday, Amy took a train from London to join us and for one night we had an AirBnB in the city. There was a slight hiccup with the show we’d booked being cancelled due to positive COVID tests so although we couldn’t see Chloe at work, it did mean that we got more time to spend with her. We spent a couple of days on the tourist trail taking in the sights via a bus tour and on foot – more exhausting than hiking Welsh mountains!

As previously mentioned, one good thing about travelling round the UK is being able to catch up with friends and here we met up with Helen, former customer turned friend of June’s, who drove us out to the coast to see the Anthony Gormley’s “Another Place” statues on the sand before meeting up with her family for dinner.

The overnight stop at Oaklands Farm was on our way to Mercedes for a couple of quick jobs to be done on the van. It’s a shame we couldn’t have stayed longer as it was an immaculate site surrounded by rolling countryside so it’s on the list to go back to.

Our next proper stop was near to Cromer, north Norfolk. Bramble Park was a small, but again well looked after site within walking distance of the beach at Cromer and Felbrigg Hall, a National Trust property. Our reason for coming here was to move Amy from her university accommodation and put her stuff into storage ahead of moving into a shared house the following month. Luckily we managed to get everything, and she had a lot of stuff, moved the few miles in one go in the small van we’d hired which allowed time for lunch and shopping.

We had something a little different planned for the weekend – the Van Life Eats Big Picnic festival being held at Dummer Down Farm near Basingstoke, so we spent one night at Popham Airfield to make sure we were there as early as possible when the gates opened. The CL is a field close the hangars and runway so a great place to watch small planes and microlights.

The festival was a weekend devoted to van living (although mostly in campervans and conversions rather than motorhomes) and food so right up our street! We had also arranged to meet up with several other van owners that we had previously only known through Instagram. It was a great weekend putting faces to names and chatting about van life, gadgets and future plans whilst sitting around the fire pit. We didn’t get to too many of the talks nor did we see any of the live bands but we did go foraging and to a couple of cookery demonstrations.

We had intended to stay on the south coast, moving on to the Portsmouth area to have some work done on the van which is required to keep the warranty valid but the garage called to cancel as they had a number of staff off sick. We therefore spent just the one night in Winchester before heading home and spending a couple of nights at Wyatts Covert before putting the van into storage for a week.

Wyatts Covert is another great site for plane lovers as it’s across the road from Denham Airfield but the planes only tend to fly during daylight hours so it’s quiet at night. We had planned to walk to Denham Country Park but sadly the HS2 works had closed a number of footpaths leaving the only access to be via walking along the main A412 which has no pavements so we gave that a miss.

A few days ago we had put the van on a weighbridge and discovered we had an issue meaning we had to drop 190kg quickly – we knew we’d be close to one of the axle limits (total gross weight is fine) but were shocked to find we were so much overweight. On the way from Norfolk to Hampshire we stopped at home to unload some big items, eg the unused bikes and collapsible ladder, and changed our policy of travelling with a full water tank to lose most of the weight. We also tried to redistribute what weight we could to the front of the van and we used the time at Denham to have another sort out of “stuff” to see what else we could leave behind. We knew these first few months would be a learning process but this had been quite an eye opener as we had always been conscious of what we were carrying. We look at other vans and see what people unload from their garages and wonder if they have any idea of their weight!

And then a week in a proper house and back in our old bed which now is nowhere near as comfortable as our bed in the van! It felt strange being in the house as is the short time we have been gone, Chloe has, rightly, stamped her mark and rearranged things. We did a few things around the house and tidied the garden a little. It was great though to catch up with friends although at the end of the week we were both itching to get back in the van – it did feel like coming home when we picked it up from storage and headed to a nearby campsite.

Sites used:
Hidden Corner CS, near Liverpool: £16 per night. EHU, water and dumping facilities, showers (coin operated) and toilets. All grass.

Oaklands Farm CL, near Peterborough: £15 per night. EHU, water and dumping facilities. Hard standing pitches, some sloping.

Bramble Park CL, near Cromer, Norfolk: £16 per night. EHU, water and dumping facilities, shower and toilet available. All grass.

Popham Airfield CL, near Basingstoke, Hampshire: £10 per night. No EHU but water and dumping facilities. All grass.

Morn Hill CMC, Winchester, Hampshire: £21.96 per night. EHU, water and dumping facilities. Hard standing pitches. Laundry rooms.

Wyatts Covert CC, Denham, Bucks: £30 per night. EHU, water and dumping facilities. Hard standing pitches. Laundry room.

A driver called Younes, a couple of kasbahs and 20,000 or so photos…..

On 04/02/201531/12/2015 By JuneIn Morocco, TripsLeave a comment

An early start today as we were heading over the a High Atlas and back again in a day; luckily we were not driving but were able to book a car and driver for the day at a very reasonable rate. Younes from Ecovoyages Marrakech arrived promptly and by 7.30am we were clear of the city traffic and heading towards the mountains. A quick stop for coffee after a couple of hours before we hit the Tizi-n-Tichka pass, the highest pass over the High Atlas.

Our first destination was Kasbah Telouet and a real gem of a place and well worth the long drive along a road which in parts lacks any Tarmac. At first the place looked nothing more than a pile of ruins (the whole site is actually three kasbahs in various stages of decay) but there was a surprise awaiting in the form of four rooms almost exactly as they were the Kasbah was built in the 19th century. Our guide Rasheed was very knowledgeable and well worth his tip as he explained the history of the site. The family who lived here made their fortunes from the caravans passing through from the south to Marrakech, exchanging salt for gold and sugar for marble.

From there we continued along the same road following the Oued Mellah (literally translated as river of salt. Lesson learned today was that Morocco had salt mines!) and on to Ait Benhaddou whose claim to fame is to have appeared in numerous Hollywood films: Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth and Gladiator but to name a few. We didn’t have a guide, despite their best efforts for us to hire them, and were happy to wander around the place on our own.

: Ait Benhaddou

: Ait Benhaddou

: Ait Benhaddou

People still live in the kasbahs which make up the area and to get to the highest point you have to run the gauntlet of several shop owners trying to entice you to view their wares. We did give in on the way back down and took tea with Hachim whilst negotiating on the price of a silver necklace and an “antique” wooden spoon….. Bob retained his reputation of bartering like a Berber and we were all happy in the end!

Then began the long drive home and this is where the 20,000 photos comes in. Having got a new toy after a last trip here (thank you Colin!), Bob had attached his GoPro to the outside of the vehicle and recorded time lapse photos of the routes we were taking. The plan was now to record the journey back over the Tizi-n-Tichka pass. The camera stayed in place but we won’t be able to post the short video until getting home to the UK.

The long day ended with a spectacular view of the sunset in the mountains and home to Jamila’s wonderful cooking…

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Bob and June

Author: June

Moving south again – 18 June to 2 July

Northern Norway – 1 to 17 June 2022

West Norway, Lysefjord to Trondheim – 15 May to 1 June 2022

Southern Norway, Kristiansand to Lysefjord – 8 to 15 May 2022

Mad cross country dashes – 22 April to 4 May 2022

Fort William to Edinburgh

SW Scotland to Skye and the Outer Hebrides – 4 to 31 March

Van stuff, walking and home again – 16 Feb to 2 March

2022 and back to Plan A

The not so long slog home – 7 to 17 Dec

Bosnia 2 – 29 Nov to 6 Dec

Bosnia 1 – 24 to 28 November

South Dalmatian coast – 15 to 24 Nov

Croatia – Senj to Pag 1 to 8 Nov

Croatia – Istria, 28 to 31 Oct

Slovenia, a hidden gem – 23 to 27 Oct

Europe bound – 10 to 22 Oct 2021

Norfolk and back x 2 – 24 Sept to 9 Oct

Home again via Liverpool, Norwich and Basingstoke!

A driver called Younes, a couple of kasbahs and 20,000 or so photos…..