France Summer 2024. Review Camping Saint Nicolas .Le Bec Hellouin

 Our second night of the summer road trip and we were off to Camping Saint Nicolas. First we had the relaxing, stress free jaunt through Rouen to contend with. To add to the stress I had very cleverly forgotten the essential electric toothbrush. Fortunately, we had the brush heads in the van, so our teeth did sparkle, but not as brightly.

Thank goodness for Madam Satnag!!

Denis was reluctant to return to Euro Cite from Escalles, opting instead for searching the joys of hypermarkets near Rouen for toothbrushes! We diverted to the back streets of Rouen, fortunately we had our trusty Crit Air, so at least we were legal. Through the town we sped, avoiding buss lanes, no entries and other obstacles to arrive at a hypermarket somewhere in the suburbs. Job done, our teeth would sparkle again!! Now to navigate through the centre of Rouen. Done, over the bridge and we made it through, with never a cross word, just a few scowls and the odd expletive.

On route to Le Bec. Beautiful sunny day and quite a nice drive all things considered. We were soon parked up and in the bar, sampling the local plonk, we needed a drink or two.

Saint Nicolas is a beautifully maintained site. Clean, tidy facilities, small swimming pool, tennis courts, outdoor play area with a bar and restaurant. It has been transformed by the new owners from our first visit many years ago, when it had a been a municipal. Primarily used by Dutch and Germans, with a sprinkling of French and a few Brits. handily placed for trips South and North. Usually quiet in the morning it quickly fills up after 2.00pm, booking can be done on line.

A beautiful walk through the woods takes you to the village and Abbey of Le Bec Hellouin. The walk down through the trees, easy for a mountain goat, mere mortals need stout shoes and a stick is handy. Don't even think about the walk on a wet day!!

Even on a dry day, the walk back can be challenging. Getting lost is another option which we managed once before. Take water!! Machetes are also an optional extra which could prove useful. Oh, and don't forget the mozzie cream.

Once in the village, all is well. With God on your side and He's around in abundance at the Abbey, the village is well worth a visit. The French, the just and good, were around in their Sunday best, it was a feast day with a few priests and nuns in attendance.

Absolutely picture perfect. Restaurants, cafes and culture abounds. The is a picture gallery and other " arty" things. We especially liked the gallery selling reconstructed metal things.

Too heavy to take home!!

Two expressos later and we were ready to climb the mountain back. Our friend Colin and his strimmer would have come in handy.

All in all, a friendly relaxing 3 night stay. Two lovely restaurant meals and we were ready for our next stop.

Moments to remember. 

A visit from a few dozen horses taking the air around the campsite and obviously on holiday.

The bells, the bells...... the Abbey is down the road. God is in attendance.

The bus stop is outside the campsite, only in France...the bus driver parks the bus with customers and nips into the bar for a quick coffee ( well here's hoping it was coffee!)

The almond brandy is very nice.

Don't park at the top of the site by the hedge there is a local bottle bank behind you. We didn't care!!

A horse holiday.

France Summer 2024 Review Les Erables Escalles

Off on another road trip France. This year we looked at various cross channel offerings and after pricing a few, settled for Le Shuttle again. pretty easy crossing as usual and we arrived in France around 3.30pm. No channel checks and a rapid wave through at customs after we had been asked about our gas. We arrived early so we were quickly shunted onto an early crossing.

Two sandwiches and a quick read of the paper and we were in France. Quickly settled onto the very busy Les Erables site at Escalles. Just as well we had e mailed Sabine as the "complet" sign was on the door and the campsite was packed, mainly with Dutch and Germans. An uneventful night followed. We walked into the village and managed to bag a table at Les Falaises, just as well we went pretty early because by 7.00pm it was rammed. Lovely meal and a sunny evening walk home.

All clear across Le Manche and no signs of migrants.

A great start to the hoilday.

10 day Road Trip. Leeds Habitation, Kingsbury Water Park, Cheshire, Review Port Merion & Hereford.

 Time for the annual pilgrimage to Leeds for the habitation check at the Vantage factory and a little road trip.

Each year around July we trundle up to Leeds for Krystal's annual check up. I guess we could find somewhere nearer but the Vantage factory is excellent at keeping everything up together and great at repairing anything that needs it! We usually have one night in a Premier Inn and do a little road trip combined with a visit to rellies in the Cheshire  village of Tarporley. Not too much of an arduous journey overall and makes a pleasant mid summer break.

This year we decided to stop enroute to Leeds and break the journey just outside Birmingham at the Camping & Caravanning site Kingsbury Water Park. An easy quiet motorway journey and we made good time. The site is just off the M6 and easy to find. A usual club standard site, clean and tidy. The shower block could do with a little update, not my favourite showers but overall well looked after   and surprisingly not too busy.  A little noisy as it is very near the motorway, but a good stopover nevertheless with a handy pub a short walk away.

It was a lovely afternoon so we set off for The Dog and Doublet just up the road. A nice walk through the park to the river.

The pub is right by the lock so on a nice afternoon a quiet place to sit.

 Food served here all day but we decided to cook. The following morning just enough time for a quick sashay around the lake for bit of feathered friend spotting. A good spot for fishing too.

Next port of call later that day, Leeds, to drop Krystal off. A couple of hours later and we had arrived. Dropping the van at the factory, we made our to a local Premier Inn at Whitehall Road opposite the railway station, for £89 a night we thought it was reasonable and in the town centre as an added bonus. Just a 35 minute stroll back to the factory the next morning.

Krystal flew through all her checks and after picking her up the following morning we were off the Moor Lodge at Bardsley.

Always a good stop over. Beautifully kept site. The owner told us the only tourers he was accepting now were clients from Vantage and Consort. The site was primarily for holiday lodges. We wandered off down the lanes to the Bingley Arms  and had a lovely meal. It gets very busy so you do need to book if you want food. Another very pleasant night spent in Krystal.

Our next stop was Shays Farm near Tarporley in Cheshire. A lovely friendly site with a short walk to the Shrewsbury Arms, anothr great English pub. There is also a campsite there, but we love Shays Farm, quiet and very clean and tidy.

Fabulous glamping pods complete with hot tubs also on site. We wandered up for a look.

Certainly very inviting. We spent a great two days here and met up with Paul and Ann-Maria for a trip to Chester. Very busy and full of tourists. We went into the Cathedral where a very tuneless organ recital was underway. Ann-Maria and I clocked in to listen....very avant-garde!! Um...not really a quiet meditative experience! Den and Paul went off to explore the shops, Ann-Maria and I drew the short straw. Still, it was an experience.

The grounds and gardens were certainly more tranquil.

Soon time to say goodbye and move on! We were on our way to Port Merion in North Wales. The Italianate village where the 70's cult series The Prisoner was filmed we were looking forward to a return visit, the last time we went was in the eighties.

A very promising start and a warm welcome at Port Merion. Check in time wasn't until 2.00pm, we joined the queue. We were given a welcome pack and everything was explained. All the facilities were open to us as we were residents. We could eat at the hotel but we would need to book. All the other places that served food and there were quite a few, closed at 4pm. On checkout day we would have to leave our pitch by 10am but we could park up in the free carpark and enjoy the facilities for the rest of the day. We had booked two nights.

The campsite was all hard standing with water TV point and electric. We thought the pitches were a fair size we had opted for a medium pitch. £130 for two nights!! Toilet and shower facilities were OK, pretty standard, sadly only three showers and three loos in the ladies. Open wash basins with no privacy cubicles. Washing up sinks were limited to two but the water was hot!

We had a good look around the village finding it mildly disappointing. Everything was a lot shabbier than we remembered. We were also unable to get a table in the restaurant on the following evening so had to settle for a table that night. We had a pleasant lunch on the terrace outside one of the numerous cafes.

The village was pretty busy, but not as exciting as we remembered. A Few shops and more cafes selling mediocre food. Lots of nice walks though difficult to get away from the crowds.

Dinner was at The Port Merion Hotel, overlooking the estuary. Not a fabulous experience, fine dining and well over priced. The steak was nice though, the "heritage carrot" was a joke. the bill  was £203 for two. Not one to go back for. The view of the estuary was stunning, shall we say it was an experience!

The following day showed the site in all it's glory and it was raining. We were woken up early to the gentle sounds of smashing glass as the bottle bank next to our pitch was emptied. Unfortunately the position of the motorhome park is next to housekeeping. We were also serenaded by the gentle peeping of back up delivery lorries. The showers were disgusting, running in water and not too clean, I gave it a miss. We tried more food in a very grubby café, where the ladies loo was blocked, Port Merion really needs to get a grip on it's facilities. Needless to say we will not be back. Port Merion is well and truly out of our system. The moral or the story, never look back!!

Last stop and suddenly the sun came out. Back to Luckshall near Hereford. A lovely meal in the riverside restaurant, a peaceful night on a beautifully kept site. Sadly no paddle board with us as we could have gone up the river. Always next time.

Have 9 nights really flown by? Another lovely trip. Next stop France.