France blog …
So this is the first in our series of blogs per country that we travel through! Let’s see if we can keep that up 😉 So this is the France blog … remember, we’ve also got lots of info on all countries, including France, that you may find helpful!
So far on this road trip we’ve travelled from the UK via the Shuttle into Calais … and, despite all the planning, there were some minor mishaps, and some calamitous errors! See our other blog for more on that!
We stayed over in a very convenient little campsite near the border of UK, France and Belgium. Ordinarily we’d stay in Lille, as it’s definitely one of our favourite places to stay. But we thought we’d try something new and try to keep costs down, as this could (hopefully) end up being quite a mammoth trip! There are quite a number of these little campsites in that area, and this one seamed decent from reviews.
These are some views on the way:
Camping – our North Face Nebula tent
It was great getting back into camping again! It’s been a while, and considering just how long it’s been since we were last wild camping, or camping on the side of mountains…well now you’re talking. So it’s good to be back. This is our tent btw … its a North face Nebula tent that I bought 26 years ago … yeah probs older than some of you that are reading this … lol! AND its still going strong – I mean there is literally nothing wrong with it! I bought it so long ago North Face were still an expedition company, rather than a more trendy brand! So it was def built to last. Not only that, but it has a lifetime guarantee on it – you don’t get that any more! I emailed them and they said that they’d honour that commitment btw!
The couple running the campsite in France are super friendly btw and go well out of their way for you, including bringing you breakfast in bed. No, not like that … no special favours! They hand deliver bagettes, pastries etc to your tent at 8am! Sound as a pound! I must say though that these guys work long hours though – like 07:30 – 22:00 long! Wow! And this was at a small campsite! Maybe running a campsite is not for me!
This is the site btw, in case you’re interested. It’s very organised, but clean and very friendly. That said there was a guy who trimmed his hedge one morning – well I guess that those permanent stay guys have to do that!
Oh, and the campsite owner, when I told him what we were doing, he said he was jealous – lol! Maybe he thinks he works too long hours as well!
St Omer and surroundings
These are some pics of the surrounding towns as we were passing through. It’s funny as we’ve been to many, many of these towns in Northern France, and so few are inspirational, and so many are run down or abandoned. However Renescure and St Omer are definitely being cared for at present, so perhaps in the future …
Driving on the right is right!
Oh, and another thing – I think that driving on the right hand side of the road feels more correct – I know, I know, controversial! But for me, I get used to it instantly. Whenever I return to the UK I have to think about driving on the left again!
Right, so next is lovely Belgium. This time we’ll be avoiding all motorways and toll roads. In fact we’re hoping to do this from now on – time permitting!
We’ll be travelling back through the South of France from Switzerland to Monaco, and again on the route to Andorra. Hopefully we’ll continue to meet interesting people on our travels.
Anyway, we’ve got more on France on its dedicated page … go look if you’re interested 🙂