St Malo to Bonterra Resort Spain and Back

 We were finally off on our delayed trip to Spain. Revised to August probably, not the best time for a Spanish trip. 

We had opted to use the Western route through France  via Bordeux crossing into Spain at Urrugne, with a one night stop at Zaragoza. We had allowed 3 days for the journey through France and had booked all the camp stops before we left, as it was August!

The trip from St Malo to our first stop at St Jean D'Angley was fairly uneventful, except took a lot longer than anticipated. The site Val de Boutonne is on the outskirts of the town and easy to get into, we have stayed there quite a few times. As mentioned, I had pre-booked, the site was not completely full, but very busy.

A slight drama at the entrance however and Pebble got her first war wound! A tiny scratch. As we were about to go through the barrier, an Italian managed to jump in front of us and then reversed. Den managed to avoid him but collided with a STOP sign! Fortunately minimal damage, but not a happy start. Crazy really because there was loads of room.

We had a very convenient grass pitch and spent a good first night. We had managed to stock up on provisions and fuel just outside the town, so we were well set up.

A nice site this one and well worth another slightly longer visit, perhaps next year. The town is an easy walk with bars and restaurants. As it was high season the snack bar on site was open for drinks and pizzas, free wi-fi. Mainly populated by French families with a few other nationalities passing through.

The next morning we were off for the long drive South. Urrugne and Camping Larouletta on the border. We have stayed there many times before. Again, checking in was no trouble as we had pre-booked. This was another very long haul and we would definitely be looking for shorter drives on the way home. The Bordeaux Rocade was busy and generally there was more traffic everywhere as it was a Friday and high season.

It was also very hot, well into the top 30's. Luckily we got a nice shady pitch.

The site was pretty packed mainly with French holiday makers. We actually found the lake which was rammed with families.

Everything was open which added to the family atmosphere. Usually when we come here it's end or the beginning of the season so much quieter. We had a cold beer in the bar and booked an evening table. Sadly, the meal was awful and the steak like cardboard, we made the best of it. With hind site the pizza looked more appealing, still they were friendly.

The next morning, Day 3, we were off to Spain and Zaragoza. As we drove away through France the mercury was rising 39C by the time we got to the campsite in Zaragoza. The municipal in Zaragoza is on the outskirts of the town. We have stayed on the Aire in the centre by the tram line but the campsite felt safer. Full of Spanish families enjoying the pool and the sun it was busy.

The bar was a welcome relief from the sun, a shady spot.

Not much shade on our pitch but we were only there for one night. We had a very pleasant meal in the restaurant and a comfortable though hot night's sleep. We were up early, ready for the final drive to the coast and the Bonterra Resort in Benicassim.

Three weeks later and time to go home again. This time we decided to take longer to drive through France. 

We had discovered ChatGP!! 

What a nifty little tool for planning, it saved me hours of work. Thanks for the suggestion from someone on Motorhome Fun, it works brilliantly.

Our new route back to St Malo. We planned to only drive a maximum of 3 hours a day Zaragoza, through the Somport Tunnel, Navarrenx, Bordeaux, Ingrandes, St Malo. 

We asked for sites with good facilities and a restaurant, not too far from the route we were following. The Bots came up with the goods, giving us loads of sensible suggestions which we then checked out on Camper Contact and SearchforSites.

The first site was back to Ciuadad Zaragoza, much quieter now but a good stop.

The next morning a lovely drive through the mountains and Somport Tunnel to Navarranx and Camping Beau Rivage. A great little site on the edge of an interesting village. The site had been owned by Brits but had been bought by a friendly new French owner. There was a small bar and pizza was available on certain days. Lots of Brits on site some in permanent pitches but all very friendly with tidy clean facilities.

The bar. Very well attended and pizza shack.

We walked into the town and spent some time strolling around the ramparts and looking in the museum.

The free town museum. I could just about work out the captions. How do these small French towns manage to keep everything so up together?

We had a quiet drink in the town square, watching the world go by! 

Definitely a place we would go back to when we have more time.

The next morning we were up fairly early and making for Bordeaux Lac. A site I had on my list to visit for a while.  A large site next to the arena on the edge of the rocade, so quite simple to find. The approach looked interesting. We hadn't booked this one so we kept our fingers crossed that there were no "events" planned there.

We checked in with another van, a huge German expedition van. Pebble was obviously over awed!! 

Quality not quantity we thought.

Just the thought of driving something that size made us feel queasy.

We were soon set up on the site and sat in the bar by the lake.

I think "lake" was a slight exaggeration, more like a collection of large ponds but nicely set up. Sadly the restaurant was closed for a private function, so that night we had to make do with store cupboard staples. We did however enjoy a few drinks in the very pleasant bar.

 We enjoyed a comfortable night on a fully serviced pitch. Slightly noisy, as there was a "rapper" event in the arena, but it finished early and didn't keep us awake. Bordeaux Lac is another site which we would be happy to try again and great for an easy stop over. A bus ride into Bordeaux would be well worth the journey....next time perhaps!

Our next stop, Le Petit Trianon at Ingrandes.  ChatGP had come up with the goods again. Another 3 hour drive and we had arrived at another quiet but well set up friendly campsite. In the grounds of a small chateaux, clean tidy site with a restaurant that was open.

Beautiful campsite in a lovely setting, we were practically on our own in a large flat well mown field.

This is a very well kept site with an outdoor unheated pool, fabulous on a hot day. 

We had dinner in the chateau which was lovely, with friendly staff and good service. Another place to return to I think.

Our final stop the next day was Domaine Du Logis at La Chapelle aux Fitzmeens around an hours drive from St Malo. Another good find.

Very quiet in September, but I imagine, very busy in the high season. Bar and restaurant closed on a Tuesday, we survived.

 Another very well looked after site with good facilities and handy for the ferry. Our last French site for this year😞 

We found a five day leisurely drive suited us so much better, than a motorway dash. Less rushing and more relaxing is the way forward for us.

Never mind, next year is calling, it could be France.  

 

Route Bencassim ( Bonterra Resort) to Calais

 Finally time for the homeward bound journey after a lovely month in Spain. This year we were told the weather had been unseasonably chillier than normal in Spain. A bit strange as most of the people we met had healthy sun tans! As we understood it, instead of the high 20's, the sun had been in the mid 20's with a smattering of actual real rain! During our visit the weather had been pleasantly warm for us, which meant, as a bonus, fewer flying, biting and stinging creatures!

Looking at the weather ap, France had been having more than it's fair share of wet, miserable weather. We counted our blessings, at least we had both developed healthy tans.  Originally we had planned 7 days to travel back to Le Shuttle, we decided to stay with the sun for as long as we could. This left 4 days for the trek home.

Our journey down to Benicassim had been pretty straightforward and all the stops had been fine. However, we decided to try a few different sites on the way back, being later in the year there would be more sites open we hoped!

We planned an early start with a first stop at Zaragoza. On the way down through Spain, we had stopped at the municipal site Ciuadad Zaragoza which had been fine. Clean, serviceable, with an easy in and out. Unfortunately the site restaurant there was pretty uninspiring, with a main menu consisting of pizza. Just about OK for a cold beer. Very busy with Spanish families.

 This time with the help of Camper Contact and Searchforsites, we headed west from Zaragoza up into the mountains, to a site called Camping Verula Moncayo

The drive was very pleasant going through small mountain villages passing all the bodegas in the wine area. It could be an interesting area for a summer  Reviews of the site were mixed, it appeared to have a restaurant, so we hoped to be in with a chance of a decent meal of some kind. We always aim to arrive mid afternoon. Our initial impressions of the camp site were that it appeared to be in a lovely spot in the mountains. On the edge of the village of Vera de Moncayo with the mountains in the background. We were greeted by the camp owner who showed us around the site using a large beach umbrella as the rain had started.

 

No English spoken here, but the owner was well used to Google translate. Toilets and showers were in porto cabins, scruffy but clean and the water was hot. We found a pitch on fairly solid ground very aware that the heavy rain could cause problems in the morning the next day.

Not many people on site but a few tenters in the bottom field. We would imagine this to be a lovely spot for walkers and the monastry up the road would have be a good place to explore. However, rain stopped play and we were too tired to wander far.

Camper Contact told us there was a restaurant next door so we went in search of food. This turned out to be a very entertaining experience!! The restaurant was in a large lean too obviously used by the locals. We wandered in to be greeted by a Spanish after dinner group well into a large number of bottles of the local red vino. The restaurant owner making good use of jolly old google translate showed us the menu. 

"Sorry steak not available" said Google.

 "I only have one left!" We had asked for two.

 "That's OK", we said "We will share"

It was a long wait as the chef then had to be summoned. He appeared from nearby and was soon happily banging about in the kitchen. While this was going on, we were serenaded, increasingly loudly, by the Spanish drinkers who obviously wanted the English to hear their favourite operatic Spanish songs.

The steak arrived 800g of full on Spanish rump, fortunately to share! A lovely meal washed down with local Spanish plonk. Thank you Google translate.

Definitely a night to remember.

Would we go back to Verula Moncayo? Not for everyone, scruffy but fun. Yes, thanks for the memories.

Next morning getting over the steak and wine, we set off back through the mountains heading for France.

A long, too long, drive. We were looking for another stop and settled for

 Camping Parc du Val de L'Eyre

Not a happy experience. North of Bordeaux at Salles in the Gironde. Looked good on paper but sruffy, dirty and the electricity went off.

It didn't look too bad but itinerate workers and other residents gave the place a very uncomfortable feel. We ate in the van as we really didn't want to leave it unattended. Showers and loos not too clean and outdoors cold water for washing up.

Not somewhere we will return to, probably made worse by the damp dismal weather.

Glad to be  moving on we headed for the next stop Fresnay Sur Sarthe and

Camping Sans Souci 

We had been to Fresnay many years ago and were pleased to be going back for a proper look.

What a delightful site. Absolutely beautifully kept on the edge of a small town by the river. The facilities were spotless and everything was really well maintained. A mixture of camping places and lodges with tennis courts, an outdoor gym,kiddies play area and a municipal swimming pool next door. We settled down on our pitch with the sounds of the river behind us.

The village of Fresnay Sur Sarthe was a five minute walk away. Very compact with a  whole collection of shops and restaurants. Of course we had chosen the day when most of the restaurants were shut. We did eventually find an open Thai restaurant where we had a lovely meal. Again, free entertainment deciphering the restaurants Thai menu with the help of the owner who spoke only a little English. Pictures on the menu helped! It was a lovely meal with great service. Another one to return to.

Fresnay Sur Sarthe, we will be back.

Another long drive the next day and we were back at Les Erables in Escalles just outside Calais. One of our favourite spots overlooking Le Manche. We will be back later in the year.

Review Bonterra Resort, Benicassim . Spain

 We had been reading reviews on the  Bonterra Resort in Spain for some time. It seemed a very popular site, especially for people doing "Winter Sun", stops. This year we thought we would give it a try. We decided to go in mid April with a promise of warmer weather.

Arriving on a Sunday with no booking could be tricky. As it was, it turned out to be the perfect arrival time 2.30pm. One factor worth considering though, pitches do not need to be vacated until 5pm, so there could be a long wait. On  the positive side there is ample parking if you are unfortunate enough to have to wait until the pitch you have chosen is free. This is a very popular site with loads of coming and goings!!

A nice easy site to get in and out off, although some of the smaller side roads could be on the tight side.

We were given various options of pitches, cheaper ACSI ones were on the small side. We went for the non ACSI deluxe pitch which was an additional 5 euros a night. Made for the larger RV's it was easy to get into, with a little shade at the top of the site near the children's play area. Some electric is included in the price the rest is metered, we were e -mailed a meter reading and invoice, but did not have to pay any deposit. 848 Euros for 28 nights, so not too bad for the position. 4 kw free electric per day and the rest on a meter, we only used about 2 kw a day.

Our pitch, not too much shade, so perfect at this time of the year, as not too much bird poo activity or tree sap. There was some mysterious alarm type noise, but more of that later.

Our first impressions, quiet but busy, lots of Brits, Dutch and Germans. It was obvious that many people had been coming for many years. Happy Hour in the restaurant was buzzing. Slight invasion at the weekends of the Spanish families mainly in the resort bungalows. Loads of facilities for the disabled including special disabled pitches nearer to the facilities, so quite a few scooters and Zimmer's zapping around.

Lots to do on site including Spanish lessons, Yoga and water aerobics. Lovely swimming pools, open air and heated. Pool aerobics in the morning seemed well attended and made for good viewing from the restaurant area. Watching the aerobics instructors was the entertainment. From our pitch we could hear the gentle sounds from the Yoga group as we relaxed with our morning coffee.

 

The site is beautifully placed between the old town of Benicassim and the new beach front, with the convenience of a very nice Mercadona supermarket right by the gate. For Lidl fans, there was one just up the road and for the desperate a McDonalds. There was also a very handy huge Chinese general store up the road which sold everything. A market was held every Thursday morning in the old town of Benicassim a short walk away, mainly fruit, veggies, clothes and shoes. Easy to buy the odd beach outfit!! . The old town was typically Spanish, bars, banks, restaurants and shops. 

The beaches were lovely, golden sands and again only a short walk away, extending for miles. Busy at weekends with Spanish families and quiet during the week.

We soon found our favourite beach bar. Great place for a morning coffee or afternoon drink.

We did have a brief paddle in the sea, May and a little chilly for us, but hardier souls were in the water.

The sea front had a promenade which extended for miles, perfect for people watching. We whiled away a few hours, strolling past the numerous beach villas. Money no object here. 

Some of the villa were being refurbished we watched gardening Spanish style as a huge olive tree was craned into a front garden.

 No biking on parts of the prom and strictly patrolled by the local police. The police stopped people on bikes and made them walk, obviously not a high crime spot, so they had plenty of time to harass the locals and tourists . No dogs on the beach was also strictly enforced.

The campsite was incredibly well kept with super clean toilets and hot showers. Staff were always on the go even sweeping the play areas and dusting the outdoor table tennis tables. Good laundry facilities but you needed to get up early. There was some building work going on, they were building a new Reception block. A bit noisy at times but it didn't bother us.

The restaurant on site was good with a selection of meals and very busy. We ate there a few times until we discovered the Spanish restaurants in the town. Typical resort entertainment on offer here too, Elvis one night and a very dodgy local singer another night. I guess after a few glasses of Spanish red, they all sounded great.

 

A  two minute walk to two great traditional restaurants. Paella had to be pre ordered in one and in the other we had a beautifully cooked huge steak. We noticed all the Spanish left the site and headed for these restaurants in the evenings, so we went for lunch which was very pleasant. Two courses and wine for about 50 Euros, so not bad we thought.

This year we took our new e bikes which worked really well. The area is well supplied with bike paths. One direction goes towards the harbour and the other on an old railway line hugging the coast to the next resort. An easy scenic ride through tunnels, some parts overlooking the sea, quiet during the week, busy with walkers at weekends.

Always a nice place to stop halfway for a bit of sustenance.

Seriously, this is a good place to come for biking with much more challenging rides for the more able.

All to soon a month had flown by. We had allowed a week to get home but reading about dreadful weather in France we extended our stay for a couple more days before venturing home. Would we return??

Update on the strange alarm noise mentioned earlier on. 

Our first night was rather noisy with a strange alarm type beeping in the middle of the night. This went on for a few nights, having checked all things electronic in the van we knew it wasn't us. It turned out to be bird activity, clap your hands outside said a neighbour and it stops! We must have got used to it or it was the end of the mating season, or someone shot the bird but it did eventually go quiet, thank goodness.

Yes, next year. Strange, we must be slow learners, it always takes a few visits before we feel we are beginning to know a place, so we will be back.