Dalia, Spain.
Another day on the campsite. After some washing and jobs we walked into Dalia for the day.
Had some tapas, walked round the castle & bought a large ice cream.
About 8 mile round trip. Jess tired. We played Scrabble before bed. Sarah won.
Punta Negra, Spain.
Jess woke us at about 3am for a wee. Apart from that we had a good night’s sleep.
The pitch we had was covered by trees so we moved to a less covered pitch so we could get some solar to charge the batteries.
We then went for a walk around the rocky headland. Only a few miles but lots of rocks and scrambling on steep sections.
Thank proved hot thirsty work so a beer was needed. We stopped at a seafront bar for a swift one before heading back to the campsite.
Puff pastry pizza cooked on the Cadac for tea.
Denia, Spain.
Left the site in Navajas bang on midday after saying goodbye to D&C.
Travelled south to Denia where we’d found a site in town that sounded promising.
On arrival it didn’t so we moved on to the Los Pinos campsite by the beach at Punta Negra. Nice site with friendly staff who put us through as OAP’s.
Had a walk down the sea front before bed.
Navajas, Spain.
Went for a bike ride in the area around Navajas. Lovely ride on quiet roads.
After the ride we walked Jess down to the river to see the waterfalls.
Then it was beers and Sardines for tea…
Caudiel to Navajas, Spain.
Travelled from our site at Caudiel to the campsite in Navajas to meet up with D&C.
Nice site where we put the awning up for the first time.
Beers and a meal at the campsite restaurant.
Sueras to Caudial, Spain.
Had breakfast in the cafe then went for a bike ride around Sitjar reservoir.
Then moved on to Caudial (P4N #505655). Walked Jess to a bar for a beer.
After tea Sarah beat me (again) at scrabble.
Sueras, Spain. (P4N #32211)
Woke with a bit of thick head after the beers. Jess had us up twice in the night, probably because she got Sardine bits out the bin.
After a quick tortilla breakfast at the cafe we went to meet the goat man. He’s a lovely guy who doesn’t speak a word of English. He must be well into his 70’s but got the agility of a 30 year old.
He showed us his goats & sheep.
He also gave us some fruit.
Must be nice to live in a climate where you can grow Kiwi fruit in your garden. The large things are Sharron fruit we think.
Oh should have said the breakfast was two omelets & bread with coffees, all for €6.
After seeing goat man we went for a walk through the hills to Tales. In Tales we had a beer before walking home.
Earl evening we saw goat man again who gave us more fruit – this time it was Pomegranates. Lovely guy.
Then showers & bed…
Suersa, Spain. (P4N #
A day of two halves….
Woke up after a great night’s sleep as the sole occupant of the carpark. Beautiful sunny day after the nights rain.
We had a plan to move on to Suersa where P4N promised a good free site with a bar on site 🙂 It was only about 40 min journey so not far. After a detour to Decathlon & Lidl we arrived about 2pm.
We then went for a walk to a ruined castle on a hill. Interesting walk where we met archaeologists digging at the castle.
Post walk we had a beer in the onsite bar. We chatted to some Dutch who asked about eating in the bar. I didn’t understand the whole conversation but it seemed there is a festival in town.
Sarah then cooked some Sardines for tea which were disgusting & made the whole van stink.
We headed into town to see the festival which sadly involved a bull running around the streets. There were caged areas around the bars where licals looked on. The bull wasn’t happy – we left. Later we were told that the bull is killed. So sad.
We made our way back to the campsite bar where we chatted with the locals as best we could. Seems we arranged to meet an old guy to see his goats at 10am.
After some Patatas Bravas we wobbled home to find Jess had got the kitchen roll used to clean the Sardines pan & shredded it over the van. After a cleanup it was tome for bed…
Zorear, Spain.
The plan was to stay in Eslida (P4N #3001055) but when we got to the site it gave bad vibes & was covered in dog shit.
We moved on to a site a few miles down the road in an old church yard. (P4N # 301053)
The rain came in the evening.
Santa Pau, Spain. (P4N #428864)
Went for a volcano walk. We walked up Margareda and Croscat.
Sant Joan les Fonts, Spain. (P4N #204482)
Concrete car park for motorhomes in a small town.
Its a volcanic area so went for a walk around the area to look at lava flows.
Castellfollit de la Roca, Spain.
Is a small town on a high sliver of volcanic rock between two rivers.
We went for a walk around the valleys before having a few beers in a bar
Palol de Revardit, Spain.
I can’t rememberwhatwe did this day…
Cadaques, Spain.
Jess woke us early wanting a wee. It was before 7am and still pitch black so I headed out with my head torch who’s beam caught a TBW occupant going for a wee too !
After a coffee in bed the sun rose – another beautiful day. We walked the short distance to Salvador Dali’s house/museum. Sarah was told the first available tickets were 31st October so we gave up on that idea.
We then went to the local supermarket. Working out food labels highlighted how shit my Spanish is 😬
We then chilled at the van through the midday heat. Sarah played Ukulele, I fiddled with things & Jess slept under the van.
Today was a travel day. We were moving on from Carcassonne to Cadaques on the Spanish coast. This is where Salvador Dali’s house is.
The drive was more stressful than normal for French roads around Perpignan. Probably due to volume of traffic.
The last few miles to Cadaques was tight & steep. To top the journey I bottomed the van on rough ground entering the parking site.
The site was a free one for campers & was full. We had to wait around for a while before someone left & we could get their spot.
The area is definitely busier than we like but feels safe for the van with so many others around.
A quick walk around town & home for tea & bed.
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Carcassonne, France.
Second day in Carcassonne. Walked around two areas La Bastide de St Louis & La Cite (again).
We thought La Bastide area would be buzzing with shops & life. We were underwhelmed & headed off to La Cite which is inside the Carcassonne castle.
The castle is really impressive.
Then back to the van for food & a game of Scrabble that Sarah won 😕
Carcassonne, France.
Today was a travelling day from Avignon to Carcassonne. Our chosen site in Carcassonne was Aire de camping-cars Carcassonne (P4N #36930)
As we couldn’t arrive before 2pm we went to a big Supermarket. In the carpark was an outdoor Launderette. The machines were modern (card payment), well maintained & clean so we did all our laundry – washed and dried.
We arrived at the site just after 2pm. When sorted we went for an evening walk around the medieval castle in Carcassonne.
Truly impressive castle and free to enter. After a good nosey round we found a bar for a few beers. It was nice Leffe beer but 4 set us back €30.
Homes, France.
In the morning Sarah went for a ride down the Canal du Midi & i looked at the van rear breaks.
Not sure what’s going on but they seem to be getting very hot. I jacked the van up and spun the wheels. No binding at all. No play in the wheel bearings. Not sure why they’re heating up but breaks seem OK.
I then went for a test drive that took me to a boulangerie…
A dam fine tart 😋
Sarah returned & had a walk around Lac Jouarres & into Homps.
Homps, France (P4N #312621)
A travelling day. Villes-sur-Auzon to Homps.
Homps is a small town on the Canal-du-Midi.
Villes-sur-Auzon, France.
Today Sarah cycled up the classic TdeF climb Mont Ventoux !
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Ventoux
We celebrated with a meal out.
Woke early, just in time for sunrise. There was a cloud inversion.
We went for a walk to the nearby ski lift stations & on to the cafe. As we were returning the cloud level started to lift & not long after returning to the van we were in cloud.
The temperature dropped & the wind picked up so we decided to leave for a lower site by the lake. This decision turned out to be a mistake as all the sites nearby were full. The only option was to drive south until we found somewhere.
It didn’t take long before we got bored of this & picked a nearby campsite for the night.
Monieux, France. (P4N #5948)
Today we travelled to Monieux & did all big walk around the Gorges de Nesque.
Really pretty walk…
Avignon, France.
Had a second look around Avignon & a few beers in the centre.
Avignon, France.
After a disturbed nights sleep it was time to move on to Avignon.
We chose Aire de Camping-Car Pont d’Avignon (P4N #187907). A paid Aire with water and waste. It was close to town – a 20 minute walk.
After setup we walked into town for a look round and to find the Pont d’Avignon.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape, France.
Woke to a sunny day. Had croissants from the local boulangerie for breakfast.
Visited the Botte winery for a look round their museum & a tasting.
Good but didn’t get pissed on those portions ! …and what was more annoying was that the German woman next to me kept spitting hers out & pouring the remainder of her glass away !
Noisey second night in the town carpark. Young scroats playing loud music again.
We set off early for Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Sarah had found a great location in the woods just a few Km out of the village (P4N #449236) It was a lovely location & we went for a walk before tea.
As it got dark there was loud music from a kids car & loud noises in the woodland nearby.
Would probably been ok but we moved about 9:30pm onto a site in the centre of Chateauneuf-du-Pape (P4N #288902)
There were several vans here so had safety in numbers 🙂
From our campsite Sarah cycled to a new location I’d found at Albertville (P4N #397267). After parking up I gave Jess a walk & quite by accident came across a fine Boulangers…
…well be rude not to 🙂
After Sarah arrived I had a walk into Albertville to the supermarket for supplies & a new 16A euro socket. The euro socket was needed because the one on the our cable had become hot and melted slightly when we’d used it at one of the campsites.
I didn’t get the best nights sleep but felt much better. The day started with a short walk to the nearest bank for some cash – the campsite only took cash.
After emptying the loo & filling with fresh water we set off for a supermarket & a bike shop where Sarah bought some new cycle shorts.
After shopping we headed back up the mountain for a night. We parked at one of the ski station car parks with a stunning view of Mont Blanc. We ate tea (rice, veg & fish fingers) watching the sun set on Mont Blanc.
Today was big hill climb day. We’d decided to climb to the top of Semnoz who’s route started on the road past our camp site. The top is at 1699 meters and hosts a ski resort as well as mountain biking, hiking and paragliding.
Its a recognised cycle climb with markers every kilometer giving distance to the top and average gradient for that kilometer. The climb is 18km long.
The route winds through beautiful forest before finally clearing the tree line for the last few kilometers. I’ll not bore you with the details but it is a hard 18km with gradients up to 9%. Near the top I bonked, felt faint and was very slow. luckily at the top the cafe was open where we consumed several chocolat chaud & a fromage baguette. After a short lie down I regained enough strength to cycle down. The descent was the best ever – pity I wasn’t on top form for it.
When I got back to the van we decided another camp site was needed rather than driving up the mountain for the night. Sadly the site we’d been at was full so we found one round the corner. I went to bed & Sarah looked after me for the rest of the day.
Awoke to another sunny day. Todays plan was to cycle around Lake Annecy. There is a cycle path all way round & its mostly flat. We decided to go round the lake clockwise.
From our site we dropped down to the lake and easily found a beautiful quality cycle path. We followed it the short distance into Annecy where it got busy. The cycle lane even had its own set of traffic lights !
After Annecy centre the traffic thinned & the scenery became stunning…
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Sunday 5th October 2025: Day 6
We woke to a cold but sunny day. The site is a really pretty setting right on the river. This slightly blurry photo doesn’t do it justice really.
After a trip to the local Boulangers we set off for Annecy. We drove avoiding toll roads – it was a slow but pretty drive.
We arrived at our chosen site (Camping Le Belvedere #2493) to see a Car-camping Complait sign. I went in and asked anyway & was told there was one pitch left ! This was a surprise as we thought it wouldn’t be busy this time of year.
The guy told me to look at the pitch before deciding. I looked & it wasn’t the best for €27. I got talking to another brit who told us every site in the area was full & I’d better take it – we did !
We got set up & then walked into Annecy which is a post card beautiful town on a lake surrounded by mountains.
We had a walk around the town & then did what Brits do – we had chips & an ice cream !
Today was a day of two halves – the first being a visit to Troyes and the second travel further south.
We’d been told Troyes was a beautiful city & worth a visit so we used the trusty Park4Night app to find motorhome parking near the center. Again it didn’t let us down & we were navigated to a carpark with large spaces within 5 minutes walk of the old town.
Despite the rain Troyes was worth a visit with many old and knackered buildings that would get Philip really excited.
Our walk round Troyes ended with a visit to a fine Boulangerie where tasty treats were purchased.
We then had some lunch in the van & set off south. We drove for several hours before stopping at a free site near a river in Lamarche-sur-Saone (#1474). The rain stopped & we had a walk round the small village which had a very large church for its size.
Salmon & red wine for tea before an early night
After a good nights sleep I checked the oil & coolant levels while Sarah gave Jess a walk. We then went to the nearby supermarket before heading off to a new site at the top of the lake. Again we found this site on Park4Night site #34089 in Dienville. This site had water & waste facilities – all for free !
We had a quick lunch before cycling 26 miles round the nearby lake & forest. It was an overcast day – the first without sunshine !
After showers we cooked tea & chilled for the evening.
We awoke to a cool but sunny morning. Coffee, yoghurt & fruit for breakfast didn’t quite do it for me so I walked to the local boulangerie for some croissants. I bought two croissants and one filled with stewed pears. The stewed pears one was delish – the two croissants were saved for lunch.
After a lazy start we then walked Jess dog 4 miles along a cycle path by a canal towards Lac d’Orient. A beautiful walk with plenty of wildlife in and around a canal with clean clear water. Jess loved it but her nose is telling her somethings different !
Lunch was the croissants with Comte cheese & tomato followed by some fruit. So European but we failed at the last hurdle by washing it all down with a bug mug of tea.
After lunch we left Jess to have her afternoon snooze & went for a bike ride round the Lake. This was a lovely ride around a really well maintained cycle path. Made us both realise how poor the cycle infrastructure is in the UK.
Sarah then went further towards Troyes while I chilled with Jess in the afternoon sun. Our evening meal was a mix of noodles, beans, peppers, mushrooms & onions. This was washed down down with the last of the Ventoux red & supplemented with some cheap Lidl Pinot Grigio.
Over the last of the wine a plan was formed for tomorrow…
We woke about 8:30am to a warm sunny morning – what a difference a few miles south can make. We’d arrived in darkness so after coffee we went for a walk to see where we’d ended up.
The inscription on the building said “Generator” so I’m presuming its an old electricity generating plant. Google maps didn’t offer any further information so we walked Jess round the nearby river & ponds.
We didn’t fancy another epic driving day so we set off for Troyes with Park4Night showing a quiet parking spot near a canal in the village of Lusigny-Sur-Barse which is on the edge of the Foret d’Orient National Park. The drive down was easy with very little traffic compared with UK motorways. The only down side was the £50 in toll charges – ouch !
When we arrived there was only one other van in the carpark – a British couple from East Anglia on their way back to Blighty. We had a quick walk down the canal before settling in to cook tea & drink wine.
Todays little tipple was a red called Ventoux, which retailed for €2.99. We both agreed it was really good & worth stocking up on for our return to the UK.
We started off from Cumbria about 2pm and drove to Southwell to check Mum’s house & see my aunt. After a quick stop we set off south & arrived in Folkstone just after midnight. Driving through the night was great. The volume of traffic is so much lower that even roadworks don’t slow you up much.
The plan was to use the Chunnel rather than a ferry because Jess hates boats. We checked the prices and availability before we set off & it was ~£200 one way. When we got some miles in and had a better idea of our expected eta in Folkstone we tried to book. Over a few hours the price had gone up by £100. To get the lower price we now had to wait a further day in southern england. That wasn’t going to happen so we forked up for the 2:00am crossing.
I have to say the Chunnel is stress free & we were through in Cockelles without Jess suspecting a thing ! We then drove a further hour to get away from Calais. We used Park4Night app to find a nice little spot just off the A26 in a village called Fersinghem. By now we were knackered & fell asleep instantly…
Woke to a text saying our flight was going to be delayed by two hours…
We stole more bananas from breakfast to feed the iguanas again.
About 10am we started the long journey home. At the airport we had hours to wait so we all paid for a lounge. Comfort, food & drink eased the hours away.
The flight was rough so i really didn’t enjoy it & didn’t sleep much. As expected it was raining in Manchester when we arrived. The taxi was waiting when we cleared the airport. It took us to Emma’s where we retrieved our car. A great holiday with the Graces.
On the way to breakfast we saw loads of iguanas so we pinched two bananas to try feeding them.
After the feeding frenzy we headed to the beach for a chill.
Evening meal was in the Japanese restaurant. It was a lovely meal with the star being the starter – a plate of Edamame beans stir-fried in soy, garlic, ginger and chilli. Edamame are young soybeans, which means the beans are soft and easy to eat. The beans are cooked inside their shell. You don’t eat the shell. I use my front teeth to scrape the beans out of the pod (they pop out easily). As you scrape the beans out the sauce comes with the beans.
Tuna steak beautifully cooked.
Early to bed as its gonna be a long day tomorrow…
Slow start today after a bad night’s sleep. Awake a fair bit with bad stomach & worrying about mum.
On the way to breakfast we noticed these holes and that there was a LARGE set of what looked like spider legs inside. The legs disappeared when I poked my camera nearer.
If it’s a spider that would be a scarily big spider but enquiries revealed it was a crab hole. (audible sigh of releaf as these were near our room)
In the afternoon we took a tour to the Xcaret theme park for a wander round & the evening show.
There’s so much to do at Xcaret you could spend a full day there. We went for a swim down the river before the show.
Xcaret show in the evening was brilliant. A music & dance celebration of Mexican culture.
Another diving day. As walking to the dive shop I was thinking it was going to be rough as the wind had increased.
Yep the waves had significantly increased since the previous day. Luckily Rudy had a plan – the boat was moored at a more sheltered location at the next hotel west of us.
Our transport to the boat was a Hummer. Never been in one of these 😁
It’s MASSIVELY wide and long. Really no good for UK roads. Thing is its quite tight inside. Bit like an inverse Tardis !
Launching from the new location was much calmer which was was good for my old bones.
A great dive was had by all…
A good days diving 😁