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.

Calais to Benicassim Spain

 This year a slight change of agenda. We decided to give Spain another go. Prompted by two new electric bikes and the promise of a good bit of biking on cycle paths, we opted to give Bonterra Resort in Benicassim a try. Checking the reviews all seemed well so Espania it was!

Leaving home on a bright Spring morning, we soon got to grips with Krystal and the A303 to Folkestone. A relatively easy journey for once with no major hold ups. Le Shuttle was a breeze, no checks, no one scrutinised the fridge, gas off passport stamped and we were off.

Once safely on the pitch at Les Erables Camping near Escalles we went in search of food. Our usual restaurant was shut. We eventually managed to get a table at another local restaurant L'Escale  and had our very first French meal, a medium steak (French rare) and local vin.

Our next stop enroute after an uneventful journey was at Tours. A smooth drive through Rouen, for some reason through the town centre, Madam SatNag was obviously having a bad day, as the tunnel was open!!

Only Camp Tours Open all year, though looking a bit run down. Not too sure what to make of this site. We stayed for two days last year and rode into Tours. A few strange reviews now, but we found it OK for a one nighter and quite secure. Strange loo emptying facilities in a bourne outside. You have 20 minutes we were told, not sure what happens then. It looks a bit like a dalek AI in motion perhaps.

Looks like they are developing a new motorhome aire by the gate, perhaps they are being taken over.

 No restaurants open and we didn't fancy a pizza, so resorted to home cooking.

Third stop a great little site at Irun on the Spanish border Larouletta Camping. Even better the sun was up. Nice meal in the restaurant which was open.

It's those weird trees again. Another pleasant evening and warm. As always the site was very busy but clean and tidy.

Last stop after a pretty boring drive through Spain and we were heading for the municipal site at Zaragoza. Right in the centre of town, big sprawling site with huts. Facilities dated but clean. The restaurant was open but we didn't fancy the menu with it's offerings of pizza and burgers. The Spanish really seem to have embraced the concept of rubbish food. We settled for a cold beer and home cooking again.

 

Tomorrow will bring the excitement of a new place Bonterra Resort in Benicassim. Let's hope it meets with expectations.

Ile D'Oleron Part 3. Homeward Bound

 Looking for the sun and finding it! This year we have been so lucky. Having found the sun in France we decided to call it a lucky day and head for home. Actually, we looked at the weather forecast and decided if we were heading home we would rather do it in the sunshine. As the end of September approached, we thought a gentle amble home was better than a frantic dash before of the rain. Being purely practical it is always better, we think, to unpack the van and get the washing and cleaning done in the dry.

We decided to do the journey home mid week and then hopefully tackle the M25 and A303 before the weekend rush. We quickly changed our tunnel booking. Easy to do online and it only cost us £25, which we thought was quite good!

First stop on the way home and back to Tours. 

Only Camp Val de Loire Tours

 I have to say this site is really growing on us. Clean, easy to find and open all year. The only downside is the outside loos, but the showers and water is always hot. I believe the heated block is open in the winter. Of course we arrived on a Monday when the lovely restaurant across the road is closed. Never mind, the wine was good and we made do with home cooking. On a positive note we got ACSI prices so only 22.22 Euros including electric.

We actually got a very nice pitch and could have spent a couple of days here.

The next day we had a relatively leisurely start as we were just going to Saint Nicolas south of Rouen.

Camping Saint Nicolas

An easy drive and we were soon happily settled. Table booked for a meal in the camp restaurant and all was right with the world. Incidentally, the pool looked very inviting and it was warm and empty! After a lovely meal and a bottle of red we were set up for the last leg of the journey.

Camping Les Erables

Our last stop Les Erables at Escalles. A favourite stop for us on the way back. Sadly the site had been closed on the way over.

This site has hugely improved over the years. The toilets and showers have had a massive face lift. The pitches are well laid out, terraced but big. There is a new Reception block where you can buy essentials and bread is available each morning. The barrier is open at 8.15am so an early crossing home can be made. The site is now very popular with Dutch and German visitors alike. A 10 minute drive to the tunnel and Calais port, a great place to start and end a holiday. Sabine the owner speaks good English and they now take ACSI cards off season. 18 euros a night, so we were well pleased. Open April to October.

Beautiful views of the channel, you can actually see the white cliffs. We got a sea view pitch and some sunshine.

Me, getting excited about our room with a sea view. Please note the cardigan, definitely getting chillier, though not time to put the heating on in Krystal yet.

We wandered down to the beach for a last wistful look at the sea and setting sun.

A perfect end to our holiday would have been a meal in our favourite restaurant.

 Sadly it was shut! So not the perfect end we hoped for. We will have to come back next year for seafood!!

Looking forward to next year.

Ile D' Oleron by Default. Part 2. Saint Denis D' Oleron

 We were toying with the idea of trying Ile d'Re again. All the sites we tried appeared to be full and generally very busy. New plan, North on Oleron! Ile D'Oleron is a much bigger island than the Ile de Re, busy but not completely rammed and the campsites seemed quieter. We headed North to Saint Denis Oleron ( there should have been a clue in the name!) Camping Les Lauriers. This site had a good write up in both Camper Contact and Searchforsites.

After a busy hours drive up to the top of the island, we found it. Loads of French wrinklies on the roads in campers and the odd caravan, no Brits!

We had soon set up our camp. Nice large pitch with a hedge, good toilets and showers with hot water. The village of Saint Denis was around the corner and the beach a five minute walk from the site. The site was family run and was a mixture of statics and touring pitches. Very busy and we actually stayed 2 weeks with the site very often full.

The village was a typically small French place, with a super market and a large daily market. There was a harbour with lots going on and loads of beach bars and restaurants. The beach was fine sand but a bit dirty in places. We did try the water but for us a bit on the chilly side, for the rest of the world probably fine!

The harbour just around the corner.

Two weeks here passed in a flash. We were very lucky with the weather with some days being almost too HOT.

Lots of interesting things happening here. We watched two weddings in the village. One on horseback!!

Bride and bridesmaids all made it to the church on horseback.

D ' Oleron is of course made for le velo. Bikes and bike paths everywhere. We road up to the Chassiron Lighthouse it was busy.

Built in 1836 it's the oldest lighthouse on the island. 224 steps up and 46m tall. It was too hot to climb to the top so we wandered around the grounds and had a beer in the shade.

Lots of places to visit on the island. We took another ride to La Bree les Bains, another beach down the coast.

We had a couple of meals in a very nice Brassiere around the corner. Very French indoors, outdoors.

Den found his own place 😊😊😊

All in all, we enjoyed our stay and would go back as there is loads more to explore.

The beaches on the West side of the island are the best but the villages all have something different to offer and the wine is good!!

Ile D'Oleron by Default. Part 1. Saint Trojan les Bains.

 We had decided to make our next stop on the Ile De Re. However a bit of research and a few searches online, threw up the information that most of the sites were full and the Ile De Re was packed.

Time for a rethink. We decided to give the Ile D'Oleron a go. A lot bigger, less crowded, more campsites and not quite as popular with holiday makers, but plenty and sea and sand. It sounded good.

A bit more communication with Google, Camper Contact and Searchforsites and we came up with a site.

Huttopia Oleron des Pins. Sounded good, an eco friendly site in the south of the island near the village of Saint Trojan les Bains. We arrived to find the campsite relatively empty. We were surprised Oleron was so big, a very impressive bridge announced it's arrival and it was toll free.

The trip over the bridge was interesting. Our first time on the island, so all was new.

Camping Les Pins was a very large family site with swimming pool, bar and all the facilities. The toilet block was clean and the showers were hot. Quite expensive at 40 euros a night. We booked in for 4 nights.

A very nice pitch under the pins with some shade. Sandy but not too sandy Krystal managed it OK.

The campsite was very family orientated with loads of small children enjoying themselves.

There was a bar and entertainment on our first night. Not much choice of food though and I guess that was the only downside to this site. We did try the bar food one night and got a very disappointing burnt pizza!

Lots to like here though. A fabulous beach up the road 10 mins on the bikes through the forest on a bike path.

Plage de Gatseau.

Further around the coast another massive fine sandy beach Grande Plage.

 Truly spectacular and very empty mid week. We were so lucky though as the temperature was well into the 30's.

The nearest village down the bike track in the opposite direction, or a 20 minute walk was the town of Trojan les Bains. A seaside resort surrounded by St Trojan les Bains national forest. The national forest was planted to protect villages from being blocked by sand.  There was a small collection of bars and restaurants with the  added attraction of a big market. There was also a night market. Shopping was tricker but there were a few large supermarkets. A little train ran from here up to the coast and we went for a run.

The Little Train of Oleron

Through the forest and up to the coast making stops on the way. Lots of people and families use it for a day out. We did the round trip which took around an hour and 40 minutes it was a very hot day, so we were pleased at the breeze. Another time we would take a picnic and stop off at one of the beaches on the way.

We really enjoyed our time on the island and decided to explore a bit more. Our next site would be further north, near Saint Denis D'Oleron, Les Lauriers. Ile de Re would have to wait for another day D'Oleron had obviously won this time.