Author: Catherine Anderson

Catherine loves painting and photography as well as the great outdoors. Cycling, kayaking, pack-rafting and hiking are favourite activities as well as scuba diving when the location permits. A self confessed geek, she’s the reason details are included in our stories!
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17 May: Benvenuto in Italia!

Author: Mrs A

Location: Ventimiglia, Italy

As we packed up to depart this morning we met two sets of interesting fellow campers. The first a British couple, fellow Hymer owners (also members of the owner’s group), Steve and Kathy, permanent travellers who offered many great tips for our foray into Italy. Secondly the German couple parked beside us who were travelling with their gorgeous camping cat, a friendly 12 year old tabby. It was almost enough to make us stop a second night.

We moved on regardless, onto the toll-road that was to take us along the coast into Italy. We filled up with diesel and then had the daunting task of filling with LPG gas. No two filling stations seem to be the same, and on this occasion I had to pre-authorise an amount in the shop before anything would start. Sensing confusion, an attendant came out to help Mark connect the French/Italian adapter and we purchased our €12 of gas – no nightmare fill up like our last experience in the UK, thankfully!

On we drove, the temperature dropping down to 15 degrees centigrade as we climbed into cloud. Before long we were back down by the coast and passing through the border in to Italy – no passports checked, but a few military vehicles around.

Crossing the border into Italy
The coastline winding along

We wound our way along the coast, spectacular views in front of us, and before long we were arriving at our campground in Ventimiglia.

It always amazes us how you can cross a border and instantly the culture and look of an area changes. Although there has been much Italian influence in the French Côte d’Azur it is nothing compared with the real Italy.

More than one in ten people in Italy is unemployed (compare this with 5% in Australia and just under 4% in the UK and USA) and it was immediately obvious with young men hanging around and our first sight of people begging for money. Reading the forums, it seems that Italy is also the location where many motorhomes are broken into. We felt safer leaving our Truffy parked up at a campground with good reviews on the outskirts of town and taking the shuttle bus in for a look around.

Friday is the day for the big market in Ventimiglia, and we had great hopes for picking up some fresh fruit and vegetables. Unfortunately there were few food stalls, mostly selling cheese, sausage, fresh pasta, sun dried tomatoes and pasta sauces. We bought some pecorino and sausage, Mr A trying out his Italian.

“Grazie signor!”
So much for the arts, crafts and flowers here…

The rest of the stalls were a repetitive mix of cheap clothing, shoes, handbags and homewares. Nothing unique or artistic…while this was on the scale of the market at Edmundi in Queensland, Australia, it was nowhere near the quality or variety.

After a good look around, we wandered over the river, deciding to explore the old town. It is high up above the water and dates back many centuries.

Looking dramatic against an alpine backdrop

It would have been great to have taken a tour, there are dozens of interesting doorways and clues to past building uses but for now those stories remain hidden.

Walls gradually dismantling their own history…

We were dying to know the story behind this hidden archway…
A gate worthy of Game of Thrones

When you can’t make it, fake it – spot the real balustrade…
Is there a rule on making your washing picturesque?
Few painted buildings, but when they are they stand out
Fabulous views from the top of the village

All this climbing makes you warm up!
Love the use of colour
Blackbird on a fig tree
No post complete without a colour coordinated cat

After a good explore, we called our campground shuttle bus and they were there in 5 minutes to collect us and take us back to Truffy for the evening.

Of course our first meal in Italy was pasta, together with pesto, vegetables and some of the delicious spicy sausage we’d purchased. But no wine. No, we are still recovering after the excesses of France!

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14 – 15 May: Endless gorgeous villages

Author: Mrs A

Location: Bagnols-en-Forêt, Saint-Paul de Vence, Fayence & Tourettes, France

Tuesday: Curious about the joys of riding an e-bike, we took our friends out for a cycle along some of the forest paths where we were staying…we can safely say they approve!

David & Mr A head off down a woodland path on a ride
Jenny admiring the view down to the coast

It was just a short ride in the morning before we headed back to wind our way by car across the mountain villages, past Fayaence, Tourettes and Grasse across to the small walled town of Saint-Paul de Vence.

Nestled among the olive trees and overlooking Nice
Cat sculptures

Approaching the walled village

Saint-Paul de Vence is a perched village located about 12km north east of Nice. It was originally settled in about 400 bcd and then was renamed in the year 120 when the Romans called it Castrum Sancti Pauli (interpreted as St Paul’s Fortress). In the late 1800s and 1900s the village was discovered by impressionist artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Marc Chagall (who is buried in the little cemetery there). The poor artists enjoyed the clean light and spectacular views – to the coast in one direction and the snow capped Alps in the other.

The Colombe d’Or restaurant and inn started life in the village in the 1920s and had a great reputation for good food and dancing on its terraces. It became a popular place amongst the artists, who often exchanged a painting or two in return for food or accomodation.

Today the whole village remains full of artists and galleries selling everything from today’s modern art to older Chagall and Picasso paintings and prints.

The Colombe d’Or restaurant – we didn’t lunch here
Entering into the village

Lunch was our first port of call, having forgone breakfast for a ride. We found a little terraced cafe with a fabulous view. It was a little tourist trap really with overpriced average food and wine from a sack, but the views made up for it!

Lunch with a fine view

We continued our exploration of the village, visiting Marc Chagall’s grave, covered in stones in the Jewish tradition and admired the views down to Nice and across the mountains. We wandered around the little lanes, admiring paintings with high price tags (€65,000 for an original Picasso artist’s print thank you very much – that’s around AU$106,000 /£57,000 /US$73,000 for our international readers).

A cemetery with a view
Exploring the village…So much to look at here…oh for an endless bank account!
The Alps in the background

Perched with a view

Beautiful multi-toned roses blooming
Front row seat at this hotel with a view down to the Mediterranean

Every alleyway entices you down
Di admires an artwork from a prize winning Macedonian artist

An Apéro Spritz on the terrace concluded our afternoon before returning back to Colin’s feast of fish and prawn gumbo – delicious!

Cheers…though I think Di is sad we’re all leaving

Wednesday: Our final day with our friends in France – it was time to give Colin and Di back their peace, serenity and healthy livers and Chris, Karen, Jenny and David were to be off back to Australia. The weather greeted us with appropriate sadness with a fine rain falling, and the morning was spent sharing stories, photos and doing the final packing and washing.

Di then took us up to the little village of Fayence, which had overlooked us on our Monday night farm meal. Mark and I visited here with Diane three years ago – then it had been sundress weather and the streets were bustling with the Saturday market. This time, it was jacket weather and other than the odd cat, the streets were largely abandoned.

“I might have fleas but I’d still like you to rub my tummy s’il vous plait.”
Cheese!

The cats rule the streets here
Closed today…looks like this cat had a run in with a slamming door

We walked across to the next village of Tourettes, enjoying the unique doorways and artworks on the walls, and admiring the views down across the valley towards the coast.

The evening saw us get suited and booted for our final meal together.

Our final glass of champagne from Epernay

Dinner was held at Moulin de la Camandoule an old olive mill with a history that dates back to Roman times.

The old Roman aqueduct – tiles have been found suggesting a villa was located here too

It was a delicious meal and a fitting end to our time together in Provence. Many thanks to Di and Colin for putting us up for the past few days and being such fabulous hosts.

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12-13 May: Spring on the Côte d’Azur

Author: Mrs A

Location: Bagnols-en-Forêt, Provence-Alps-Côte, France

Our wonderful hosts have lived within the community of Bagnols-en-Forêt for about four years now. It’s tucked up on the hinterland behind the sparkling Mediterranean, on land which traditionally has been used to grow olives and grapes, but these days is more profitable being subdivided to house terracotta tiled villas with swimming pools.

Sunday: We joined them for a walk around the neighbourhood with Genie, their little poodle-cross rescue dog, and got a good feel for the area. Many of the houses are on half acre plots with lovely gardens. Just 100 metres from the back of Diane and Colin’s property the forest stretches on for miles with views out to the foothills of the Alps.

Genie enjoying her neighbourhood stroll
View out north over the forest to the foothills of the Alps
Wildflowers blooming in the meadows
A spray of purple flowers
Insect feeding on the nectar
Ruby poppies are everywhere
A perfect poppy
The delicate mauve flowers on the wild garlic

Later, we drove on down to the village for a lazy Sunday lunch, enjoying salads and a glass or two of local Rosé.

Colin and I awaiting our lunch

Diane brought along her lap warmer
Miss Genie wondering why we’re taking away her attention!

Towards the end of the afternoon a rental car arrived bringing Jenny, David, Chris and Karen to the house, here to enjoy their final four days in Europe before flying back to Australia. Colin cooked us all up a delicious feast and we had a good catch up.

Monday: We awoke to a beautiful morning and so Mr A and I decided to jump on our bikes and see a little more of the area. We rode up into the area behind Colin and Di’s house and explored some of the tracks leading into the forest. It’s great fun riding our little e-bikes and we were grateful for them on the steep uphills back out of the valley.

The area is stunning, and as we rode through the area full of wildflowers we marvelled at how parklike the area was. We reached a clearing along the road and with views that took our breath away – looking south towards the Mediterranean, Saint-Raphael gleaming in the distance, and north up into the beginning of an alpine environment.

Looking south across the Esterel Mountains (Massif de l’Estérel) to the French Riviera
Our little Tinker e-bikes

Looking inland towards the Pré-Alpes
Gorgeous wisened old trees admiring the views too

Our kind of pathway – we could ride forever on here

Bees collecting pollen on the wildflowers
Yellow, white, pink and purple the prevalent colours

We clocked up 20km and returned to get ready to head out with the group. We piled into two cars and headed south towards the coast. Our first stop was the little town of Fréjus.

The town is on the site of an ancient naval base founded by Julius Caesar in about 50 bce and known originally as Forum Julii. Its Roman ruins include a late 1st-century amphitheatre, an aqueduct, and ancient fortifications.

As we arrived in town we saw a parade starting – it turned out it was the saint day for saint François de Paule, the Italian monk who arrived on the day the plague ended in the town – and henceforth was praised for being the town’s saviour.

Parade about to commence

We ambled through the little streets, checking out the architecture, arriving at the main square and the cathedral.

Wandering along the streets
Quiet laneways in this off peak period
A couple of new hats for Chris

David and Mr A chilling out on the steps

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame et Saint-Étienne (13th century) has a 5th-century baptistery, gradually being excavated. 

Heading into the cathedral
Many artworks on the walls
Exploring the interior
Baptistery
Spot all the new hats!

After lunch in the square we drove a short way along the coast to Saint-Raphaël. A €4 ferris wheel ride gave us the perfect opportunity to enjoy views along the coast and get our bearings in this resort town.

Looking along the coast – Diane’s favourite sandy beach below
Up and away – Karen, Chris, Jenny & David in the other capsule
A windy view

We explored the streets before ice creams and returning back for the evening. Di and Colin had booked us a unique experience, a private dinner prepared and served at a local farmhouse, La ferme Constantin in nearby Fayance.

It was a fabulous rustic setting, as we enjoyed wine and appetisers outside overlooking the fields, before heading in for food as the sun set.

Arriving at the farm
Miss Genie had to join us of course
Appetisers with a view
A fine glass of rosé

Our private dining room

Every dish is beautifully presented
Our fabulous main course
A dairy-free dessert

It was a great experience, one we will never forget.

The village of Fayance up in the hills behind us
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7 – 8 May: Castles, Champagne and Churches

Author: Mrs A

Location: Château-Thierry & Reims, France

Tuesday was the day Mr A and I had planned for the household, taking us to the small town of Chateaux-Thierry, about a 25 minute drive from our gîte. We parked up outside the town hall, a grand building in the centre of town, and climbed up the stairway to the castle above.

Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall)

A magnificent view awaited us at the top of many stone steps, looking out over the town to the Marne River and south to the farmland beyond.

View over the town from the first set of stairs
Jenny enjoying the sunshine and view
Thank goodness for breathing!
Mates. Mr A and David
Mr A proceeding along an avenue of trees along the castle wall
Ancient varieties of roses grow here, with incredible aromas
Jenny climbing the tower steps up to the next level
More great town views as we walk around the castle
Jenny and Karen

The walls and tower

The castle has a varied history dating back to Roman times, starting with a wooden fortification and gradually being added to and amended by subsequent inhabitants. There is evidence of the biggest castle kitchen in Europe within this shell, once employing in excess of a hundred workers in meal preparation.

We all had an explore around the town before meeting for a delicious plat du jour served at L’adresse Rive Droit, a superb recommendation from our next destination.

Wandering along the pedestrianised streets
This feels a very authentic and alive town, many local residents and lives lived here
Pretty streets
Pretty dogs 🙂

After lunch we drove a short distance to Champagne Pannier, a champagne cooperative sourcing grapes from 400 small producers across the region. Our guide, Elina, took us into their caves, a combination of natural and man-made caverns originally discovered in the middle-ages.

The Middle Ages carving found on the walls which inspired the archer on Champagne Pannier’s logo
Champagne is laid down for a minimum of three years before bottling
The caves

We learnt a lot more about the making and bottling of champagne, giving us an appreciation of why champagne is so expensive. We finished off with a tasting of two champagnes, one a 2014 vintage. Delicious.

Champagne and Ratafia Champenois (made from the skins of grapes pressed for champagne) were purchased.

Happy times. L-R: Ann, Jenny, Peter, Penny, Karen, Chris, Steve, Mr A, David and Mrs A

After this we returned to the castle in the hope of witnessing a falconry show – sadly after climbing up to the entrance we were advised they did not do it on a Tuesday any longer (despite the sign saying they did), and so we did a little shopping for the evening’s dinner and moved on.

Our final destination for the day was the American War Memorial, a magnificent monument overlooking the town in recognition of the relationship between the American and French armed forces during World War II. It was quite sobering after a jovial day, and reminded us how fortunate we are to live in peaceful times and to be able to do what we are doing.

‘This monument has been erected by the United States of America to commemorate the services of her troops and those of France who fought in this region during the World War. It stands as a lasting symbol of the friendship and cooperation between the French and American Armies’

Mark and Karen reading the inscription – horrified at the sheer numbers of lives lost (67,000 American soldiers alone)

We returned home to consume our goodies of the day – delicious food from the bakery, deli and greengrocers, accompanied by some fine French white and red wines.

Wednesday morning began with rain, which continued on as we piled into the minibus and Chris drove us all for an hour to the nearby town of Reims.

Our plan had been to split into two groups, five members heading to a car museum, and the rest of us heading to a large market in the city centre. Mr A and I were in the market crowd. On arriving at the market we found it was closed. What we hadn’t realised is that today is a national holiday in recognition of V-E Day, the day in 1945 the Germans surrendered in Reims following World War II. The wet weather didn’t discourage several people from attending a ceremony close by, and we immediately forgave them for closing the market.

I decided to break from the rest of the group and go to see the cathedral. Mr A and I leave this region tomorrow, so we wouldn’t have a chance otherwise.

The city of Reims was very quiet, with most of the shops closed and the rain keeping people at home. It has some fabulous classic French architecture and the cathedral itself is hard to miss as you wind your way through town.

Shining empty cobbled streets of Reims
Beautiful architecture in empty squares, the cathedral towering over in the background
Need a hand knocking on the door?

Strangely it was great to see the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Reims in wet weather, as the water poured from the roof and out through the mouths of gothic wolves.

Gothic wild beasts foam at the mouth, drainpipes channeling the rain down to the street

The more than 800 year old cathedral has been listed by UNESCO since 1991, and is has been the location of the coronation of many of France’s kings. It’s quite incredible to stand inside and imagine centuries of kings and courtiers looking at the same or very similar view.

It was built between 1211 and 1516 and during its time has been damaged by revolutions, attacked by peasants, and bombed during World War I. But the cathedral within told of a progressive view, with beautiful stained glass windows telling stories from the old and New Testament as well as more recent additions which are there for the pure art of colour and form. There is a fabulous window dedicated to the local peasants, recognising their part in the congregation and work in the champagne industry.

One of the newer stained glass windows
Dedicated to the wine growers, harvesters and makers in the area

I returned to meet the others, who were sipping coffee in a local bistro, and together we went up to the local war memorial to watch the ceremony, observe a minute’s silence and spend a moment or two in recognition of the significance of the day.

The local gendarmes in short sleeves despite the chilly wet day…their dogs ensure we observe the minute’s silence

We returned to the house for a fine three course dinner prepared by Penny and Steve, starting at 3pm and concluding around 8pm. Much fun, very delicious and a fine end to our visit with our friends in this area.

About to start course 2 – delicious roast chicken, potatoes and vegetables. L-R: Mrs A, Jenny, Ann, Mr A, Chris, David, Karen, Peter, Steve and Penny.
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2 – 4 May: And off to France we go!

Author: Mrs A

Location: Newhaven Ferry Port, Dieppe, Grandvilliers, Saint- Quentin, Longpont, France

Thursday: The day had finally arrived to board our ferry across to France. We originally booked our tickets while visiting my dad in New Zealand, and it seemed so far away. We had sat there wondering what would have happened to us in the intervening five months…an awful lot as it turned out!

We had not had the best night’s sleep. While sleeping at the port seemed like a good idea (and we were not the only motorhome to do so), the night was punctuated by the arrival of multiple heavy goods vehicles running their engines and freight trains moving to and from the port.

Nevertheless, a crisp clear morning greeted us, blue skies and light winds seeing us off from England.

Truffy all ready to board
Passports checked and tickets in hand…
Into the belly of the ‘Seven Sisters’ we drive

The three hour journey went without incidence, and we pulled off the boat in Dieppe reminding ourselves to drive on the right and give way to the left on roundabouts. Finally our left hand drive truck was coming into its own.

Both tired, we decided not to drive too far on our first evening. Those of you unfamiliar with travelling by motorhome in France will probably not have noticed the ‘Aires de camping car’ in many of the small towns and villages. These are designated areas for motor homes with often four or five parking spots. Sometimes there is the option for a couple of hours of electricity (around €2) and drinking water, which is often free. Generally there will be a drain to dump your grey water (showers/dishwashing) and a dump-point for your black water (toilet).

We selected a random one from an app which had good reviews and drove over.

The village of Grandvilliers sits on the far northern outskirts of Paris, and is fairly unremarkable. We had a stroll around the village and bought some bread from an artisan bakery before retiring for the night.

Hotel de France

Wonky old house along the road from where we parked up

Loving the tulips
A beautiful array of tulips on the entrance to a mechanic’s workshop
Monsieur A very proud of his ‘Je voudrais du pain s’il vous plaît’

Friday: A bit of research of the area revealed nothing too exciting for us to aim for, so we picked another location in the general direction of the Champagne region we’re heading to. Either there are no towns of note here, or nobody is writing about them (probably the latter!)!

We drove through relatively flat countryside, mostly growing rape seed for canola oil and various other vegetables, and ended up at another small town, Saint-Quentin.

Picturesque patchwork of fields on our drive
Driving along a straight Roman road

Saint-Quentin has a long history and was originally founded by the Romans in around the 4th century. Many of the roads we drove to get there were dead straight, a clue to this history. Apparently many Roman artifects and coins are still found in the surrounding fields and properties. This town has a bit of a tragic story, with more than half of its population killed during the great plague and during World War II 80% of the town was destroyed or severely damaged as it was part of the German Hindenburg Line.

Today it is a peaceful centre, with a train line into Paris taking just under two hours, and the Canal du Nord taking water borne traffic through town. Our aires for the night was right beside the canal, so we decided to jump on the bikes for an explore.

Despite the grey day, a picturesque cycle
Potential to go a long way…we stuck to 20km

Other than a few rowers, there was little traffic on the water, perhaps a bit early in the season for barges. We were interested to see that the canal near here heads underground for a few kilometres. In the early days, it took hours to travel through the 5 or so kilometres but today it is traversed using a chain boat. We didn’t make it up as far as the tunnel.

Saturday: The temperature plunged to 3 degrees centigrade overnight which made for a slow emergence from bed. We really miss the warm bedspread we left with my mum in Hastings, but are hoping that nights this cold will be few and far between as we head south.

We drove to the town of Soissons where there was a choice of large supermarkets to choose from. There we did a huge shop for 10 people – tomorrow is Sunday and French shops will be closed, and we are joining a group of friends who are staying nearby in a house. Somehow we managed to make a whole trolley load of purchases disappear into Truffy, and set off for our night’s destination.

It was not too far to drive to the little village of Longpont. The village is very pretty and dominated by the ruins of an old abbey which was active between 1131 and 1793. It was open to be visited, but with looming black clouds and no roof on the abbey we retreated to a nearby pub instead. Are you surprised?

Abbaye de Longpont – ancient ruined monastery
Can almost imagine the stained glass in this grand window
The old entranceway, several hundred years old
Mr A already half way to the pub
One pastis and one vin rouge, merci boucoup
Un chien noir
Fairytale French village…

The Forest of Retz is close by to here, an ancient woodland which has been under protection since 1672, quite rare for Europe where forest was seen as something to cut down and use for fuel or clear for agriculture. Hopefully the rain will hold off so we can go for a stroll tomorrow before we head to Priez, our home for the next few days.

As for tonight, we’re sheltering from the showers (currently marble sized hail!) and are going to enjoy an Italian red (yes, I know, blasphemy in France) with a home made Pad Thai. Bon soir!

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24-27 April: Heading back down the country

Author: Mrs A

Location: Ivinghoe, Bucks, Little Gaddesden, Herts & London UK

Tuesday: Leaving Milton Keynes we headed south, travelling just half an hour to reach our next destination. We settled for the night at a farm in the hamlet of Ivinghoe Aston, close to the rolling hills of the Chilterns. The evenings here are light until about 8.30pm, allowing us a chance to go for a stroll.

Ten kilometres (about 6 miles) later we had crossed beautiful countryside via a bridleway and had explored the village of Ivinghoe. We even managed to pop into the local pub for a quick drink before heading back for dinner.

A bee swarm in the apple orchard at our farm-stay
Many workers surrounding their queen
Quiet lanes in Ivinghoe Aston

Dandelions line our pathway as we walk
Hard to resist a pub with a good reputation
Old cottages in Ivinghoe – few with parking
Mr A strolling through the village of Ivinghoe

Mr A swears a half pint goes down much faster than half-a-pint within a pint
Truffy, outstanding in his field…

Wednesday: The following morning we departed and drove up to Ivinghoe Beacon. Ivinghoe Beacon is a hill standing 233 metres above sea level. It sits within the Ashridge Estate and is managed by the National Trust, but it has great significance historically. In the past, this location was used to send signals from and was also a fort during the Iron Age (around 800 BCE). More recently it has appeared in Harry Potter and Star Wars movies… For us though, it was a spot to enjoy lunch and a few cups of tea as we sheltered from the blustery cold wind and showers. A good day to be behind glass, as we say!

Fabulous views from the beacon
A couple of long distance walks/cycles start from this point
Truffy with dramatic skies

Eventually there was a break in the weather and we drove a short way down the hill towards Dockey Wood. This woodland is famous for its incredible display of bluebells, and my cousin Karen had let me know they were in full bloom after the warm Easter weekend.

We had only driven a few minutes and we spotted a carpet of purple by the side of the road. We quickly pulled over and went in for an explore. It was incredible, and unbeknownst to us, we were in the quieter less visited woodland area – the main display (and crowds) we found were just down the road where the official car park was.

Mr A wanders through the sea of blue
Just breathtaking – set off by the bright green new leaves
A mass of purple

Dizzy with the delicate perfume of the bluebells, we headed on down to our home for the next three nights, parked up on a farm track close to my cousin and her family in Little Gaddesden.

Before long a taxi arrived to take Mr A, my cousin Karen, her husband Iain and I into nearby Berkhamstead. There we caught up with my old school friend Jo and her husband Stuart for a beverage at a local wine bar, The Berkeley. From there we enjoyed a fabulous Thai meal at The Giggling Squid – delicious food and probably the best Thai we have tried in the UK so far.

The years flash on by with nearly 30 years of friendship
Much laughter – L-R: Stuart, Karen and Iain
Mr A finds himself beside a nude….

Thursday: After a relaxing night’s sleep, Iain gave Mr A and I a lift up to the cafe in Ashridge Estate so we could catch up with an old friend of mine from way back, Amanda. We last met up when she was visiting her sister in Sydney Australia, more than 15 years ago. It was great to see her, and we had a stroll through the woodlands, admiring yet more bluebells.

Footpath windings through the wild flowers
Amanda caught between two Andersons
Old friends reunited
Mr & Mrs A – (incidentally, I left my lens cap on this tree trunk, in case you find it!)
Walking back to Karen & Iain’s house via Ashridge House

Mr A and I walked back to Karen’s house through the estate, spotting many deer and enjoying the sunshine as we went.

We’d been back a few moments and I was back in the car with Karen off to visit my aunt while Karen took my uncle to the doctors. It was just enough time for a cup of tea and a tour of the house and garden before heading back for the evening.

Mrs A with auntie Pam and uncle Brian

Friday: Mr A and I hitched a lift into Berkhamsted when Karen was dropping off her daughters, Hannah and Ella to school. From there, we caught a train into London – Mr A heading off to do some shopping, while I went to Hammersmith and Charing Cross Hospital to take part in a focus group about the major airway surgery I had there back in 2014.

After the group I caught up for an hour with Jacky, a lovely lady with iSGS I have met through the support group I run, before heading back across town to meet up with Mr A, and some more friends at a pub near Warren Street.

L-R: Karen, Mrs A, Mr A, Martin, Karen’s sister, Chris

It was a fun catch up, with Martin (who was best man at our wedding 17 years ago) plus friends from Australia, Karen and Chris, who are staying with Karen’s sister near Greenwich.

It wasn’t a late night though, we were back on the train to Berkhamsted by 6.30pm and back tucked up in Truffy for the night by 9.30pm. A great end to the week.

Saturday: It was time to say goodbye to Karen and Iain and the girls, and continue our journey south. We really appreciate the hospitality we’ve been shown by the whole family.

L-R: Ella, Ryan, Merryn, Karen, Iain, Hannah, Mrs A

Mr A and I are both are loving rekindling old friendships and making new friends on our travels, and particularly cherish the time such as this with family who are also good friends. I hope we are leaving each time with stronger relationships and a better understanding of one another and look forward to spending more time together when we’re back from our European travels.

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15-17 April: A brief dalliance with Derbyshire

Author: Mrs A

Location: Dronfield and Newhaven, Derbyshire, UK

After leaving Fuller Leisure on Monday afternoon we headed north, hoping to find a spot for the night not far from where we were to have Truffy’s eye-mask (see previous post!) fitted. We’re pretty new to the travel apps for motorhoming, but both Search for Sites and CamperContact showed a pub 8 miles away which allowed free stopovers.

We headed on up there, just an hour’s drive from Gunthorpe. It was an ‘interesting’ drive with Miss Google Maps directing us down little single track lanes with blind bends…but we made it without incident. We even managed to do our first LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) fill up on the way, meaning we’re all set again for off the grid heating, hot water and cooking.

Our stop for the night was the Hyde Park Inn, a cosy pub opposite playing fields in the village of Dronfield. We called in for a drink before we settled down for the night, welcomed by the publican and locals alike.

A nice quiet stopover

We were joined by another Hymer during the night
Mr A enjoyed a local brew

On Tuesday afternoon (after getting Truffy’s thermal eye-mask fitted) we headed off on the road, leaving South Yorkshire and the surrounds of Sheffield, and heading into the Derbyshire Peak District. Despite working in Derby back in the early 1990s, other than one weekend trip, I have never fully explored this area. Mr A’s previous experience hails back to when the world was black and white and he was in the Boy Scouts.

Our first impressions were very positive – quiet winding lanes lined with dancing daffodils, stone walled paddocks full of skipping lambs.

Truffy heading off down towards his next adventure
Monyash area marker

We called into the village of Monyash for lunch, opting for delicious baked potatoes before we moved on.

Little village of Monyash
Mr A checking out the local pub

We continued on from here to our little farm stay parking spot for the night.

Wednesday morning we awoke to perfect blue skies, an ideal day for a cycle. We had selected our campsite based on its proximity to two of the Peak District’s best rail trails – the High Peak and the Tissington. Our home for two nights was Brundcliffe Farm, a working dairy farm alongside the High Peak trail.

It was a fresh start to the ride as we headed up the trail towards Parsley Hay, before moving onto the Tissington Rail Trail south. These old rail routes were turned into traffic-free walking and cycling routes back in 1971.

Heading north along the High Peak trail
Wrapped up warm as we reach the junction of the High Peak and Tissington trails
Stripping off layers as the temperatures climb from 6-16 degrees centigrade
Beautiful scenery as we ride along
Newborn lambs skipping across the fields
Continuing our ride to Ashbourne

We reached Ashbourne around midday and so set about finding somewhere for lunch. Ashbourne is a pretty market town, its roots dating back to Anglo-Saxon times (around the years 500-1000, before King Harold met his death near Hastings in 1066). Today it looks like a prosperous settlement, with classy boutiques and lovely cafes and shops.

We ate lunch in a sunny courtyard at a Mediterranean restaurant called Jack Rabbits. Mark enjoyed melted Brie on toast with a fig chutney, while I went for the home made sweet potato and tomato soup. Delicious.

Did I forget to mention the sweet potato fries? Naughty but oh so nice!
A very good soup. My only criticism is their menu is a bit heavy on the dairy products!

After a good feed we jumped back on the bikes and headed back on the trail. As it was uphill on the way back we had to make use of the motors on our eBikes – but still had to do plenty of work. It’s a pedal assist motor, so unless your legs are moving, it will not work.

Mr A passing a perfectly mowed field
Endless possibilities for walking here, with public footpaths criss-crossing the dales
Flowers galore along the path – daffodils, celandine, violets, daisies and more
I swear the buds on the trees were bursting with new leaves as we rode

This is definitely one of the loveliest cycles we have done. The scenery was spectacular and the Peak District National Park carefully manages the land through clearing to ensure there is a year round corridor of wildflowers.

The temperature climbed to 16 degrees centigrade – the warmest we’ve been in about three weeks, and we saw our first bees and butterflies along the track.

Bright yellow buttercups light up the side of this cutting
Plenty of old bridges to cycle under, built in the 1800s
Reaching Parsley Hay we saw the track continued north…we could go on and on forever!

We continued on past Parsley Hay to the next ‘station’ where we went to a local pub garden for a refreshing drink.

Our legs were aching by the time we reached Truffy, having clocked up 56km in the saddles (35 miles), and we were pleased to say we had plenty of battery left on the bikes.

This was a fabulous taster of the Derbyshire Peak District and we definitely would like to come back. There is so much to do here. Big tick from us!

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12-14 April: A weekend with the HOGs in the pork pie capital

Author: Mrs A

Location: Melton Mobray and Eye Kettleby, Leicestershire, UK

When we first purchased our Hymer motorhome – back in mid November last year – we joined the Facebook group – the Hymer Owner’s Group. Our experience with the Zone (our caravan in Australia) owner’s Facebook group has been so positive, we hoped the Hymer group would be similar. We haven’t been disappointed.

We hadn’t long signed up to the group before we saw a weekend away advertised with fellow Hymer Owners Group members (or HOGs!). Knowing we would have only picked up our truck just over a week before, we thought it would be a great opportunity to get some tips and meet some other motorhome owners. We booked in.

We arrived on Friday afternoon to Eye Kettleby Lakes, an adults only caravan and motorhome park on the outskirts of Melton Mobray. Our first impression on checking in to reception was that this is no ordinary campground…it was more like a ski resort with warm log cabins decorated with modern artwork and furnishings.

We settled onto our site, with a view across fields of sheep and a lake with a large fountain…the only thing missing was the weather! With a top of 7 degrees centigrade and a bitterly cold wind, we were not encouraged to hang around outside.

The Truff-mobile looking small amongst the giants

At 6pm there was a meeting of the HOGs to welcome us all to the weekend. We chatted to a few people but didn’t join them at the pub. After the past few weeks of dinners, lunches and drinks out we decided to stop in for the evening and cook our first meal in Truffy. We felt bad being unsociable but figured we had done our social quota for the time being.

Wooly hats the order of the day at the evening catch up

Saturday morning dawned cold and we were treated to our first sight of frost in a long while. I think we were in the depths of central Australia at Uluru when we last had temperatures this low at night.

The blue sky looks far warmer than it is

We bravely decided to wrap up warm and jump on our bikes to ride into Melton Mobray. As we departed we bumped into the couple from the Hymer in the next site over, also riding their eBikes into town, so joined them for the ride.

By the time we had arrived in the town centre it felt like we had frostbite on our fingers, toes and noses, the windchill absolutely cutting. We decided to invest in a fan heater, having discovered one of our gas bottles had emptied already. A call to Fuller’s Leisure, where we purchased Truffy, advised us they hadn’t fully filled the gas tanks, something we hadn’t realised.

We had a quick look around Melton Mobray, a scoot through the market and brief explore, before heading back to camp.

Melton Mobray looking pictureque…
Melton Mobray is famous for pork pies and Stilton cheese

Most of the cycleway was via country lanes and an off road bridleway. We were not far from being back and I realised it was suddenly really hard to cycle….puncture!

Walking back pushing a heavy bike with a flat soon warmed me up, I can tell you! Mr A and our neighbours wasted no time in getting the tyre off and a new inner tube fitted, and I was back in action.

Mark’s daughter Hayley, son in law Phil and grandchildren Luke and James had also come to Melton Mobray for the weekend. They brought their huge caravan and were parked up in a brand new campground on the other side of town. Hayley and the kids came over and joined us for a hot chocolate at our campground cafe, regaling us with stories of the alpacas, donkeys and sheep at their farmyard camping area.

A herd of Hymers?
Sunset over the fishing lakes

We had an early dinner in Truffy and headed up to the pub to join other HOGs for an evening beverage and socialise. Lots of tips were shared and travel stories recounted. A lovely bunch of people.

Mr A very excited about his first pint of Old Speckled Hen in a long while
Enjoying a drop of Argentinian Malbec
Some of the HOGs we met

Sunday was another cold blustery day, so we spent the morning going through our instruction manuals before joining Hayley, Phil and the kids for a BBQ at their caravan.

All in all a great weekend – though we are feeling the novelty of cold weather starting to wear off…we wish it could have been warmer so we could have socialised more, but as it was we really enjoyed our time. We hope to meet more HOGs on the road as we travel.

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2-5 April: Sun, rain, wind, hail, sleet and snow – welcome to the UK in springtime!

Author: Mrs A

Location: Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire & Hastings, East Sussex, UK

Tuesday morning started wet and cold, a shock after our first couple of days with brilliant sunshine, but it was a good day for driving. We farewelled John and Catriona and headed south, aiming for a little village in Hertfordshire, Little Gaddeston, where my cousin lives.

It was not as smooth a journey as it could have been. We did not yet have SIM cards or any internet data, so we were reliant on our in-car sat nav rather than our more trusted friend, Miss Google. Our lack of trust was justified when it kept directing us off the main roads and onto winding country lanes. I eventually found that ‘motorways’ were turned off in settings! The software was quite out of date too, with several roads missing. I managed to get onto a free wifi signal at a service centre and set up the route via Google Maps on my phone. Much easier!

Other than that, the journey was fabulous. Truffy-the-truck (our newly named motorhome) is so comfortable to drive and with fabulous visibility. We were soon parking up and joining Karen and Iain for a cup of tea before Hannah and Ella came home from school.

Half Burmese kitten Loki shining

Young Loki spying over the stairwell

Wednesday all too soon our visit was over, and after a morning debating storage solutions with Iain, drinking endless cups of herbal tea and watching Karen try out my ebike on their local hill (it got the tick of approval!), we pulled away and continued our journey south, heading to Hastings.

Iain and Mark whizz down first

Big smile on Karen’s face as she rides back down the lane
Cousins reunited

As we travelled through Kent and into East Sussex the temperature gauge dropped from 9 through to 4 degrees centigrade, and the brown looking clouds soon revealed their contents to be sleet and snow. Not far from our destination we found ourselves driving through snow slushy roads lined with white roofed houses – amazing! It’s been a long time since we have seen scenery like this.

Dramatic skies accompanying dramatic weather

Welcome to Kent!

We made it without incident to my mum’s house and parked up outside.

We had a great couple of days there, getting our first lot of kit shopping done for Truffy (we have to completely set up our new home!) as well as joining up with a local doctor. Marmalade, their young ginger cat, got lots of attention and cuddles, particularly from Mr A in the early hours of the morning (jet lag o’clock!).

On the Thursday evening we treated mum and Barry to dinner at a restaurant in Hastings as a thank you for all their help with our return…taking receipt of many parcels, sharing letters and even receiving nuisance calls in the early hours of the morning from Vodafone robots…

Mr & Mrs C

Mr & Mrs A

L’Instant Truffier Malbec – had to be our choice of wine and it was delicious too!

Friday morning we packed up Truffy again and headed off towards Brighton, with a slight diversion to catch up with a lovely lady, Karen, who has idiopathic subglottic stenosis and lives just a mile from home. I spent a good hour chatting with her – she’s a GP and is really keen to raise awareness of the disease. There will potentially be a presentation for me to do when we come back from travelling in Europe…I’ll be keeping in touch to hopefully organise that.

We were excited to finally be spending a night in our new home!

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25-30 March: Ticking off our final days in Australia

Author: Mrs A

Location: Sydney, Australia

We’ve had a busy week getting our final tasks completed in Sydney and saying a few farewells to our lovely friends.

Monday night saw us treated to an absolute gastronomic feast, delicious wine and food prepared by friends Cathy and Scott and hosted by Donna and Andy – we were incredibly spoilt, and it was so great to see them.

Tuesday was a little dusty after the excesses of the night before, but I headed off early to see my Gastroenterologist in St Leonards to hopefully be signed off to continue travelling. Thankfully I got the tick of approval, and Dr Smith also organised for all my notes to be sent across for me to take to the UK, should anything go awry.

In the afternoon, I had a bouncy blow dry to add that little bit of glamour before we headed to drinks with friends at King Street Wharf. Despite it being a Tuesday night we had a great turnout with about 17 friends joining us.

A little bit of bounce….

Wednesday was a great day to pack – we both are currently Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver – probably for the last time ever, so have plenty of luggage allowance – 42kg each! Still it was a good practice to get it organised and bags weighed in advance to settle any nerves.

In the evening we met up with more friends, Clive, Aisha, John and Eveliene for dinner and drinks in Circular Quay.

Thursday was the birthday of one of our kind hosts, Jenny, who is currently working her socks off closing down one of her framing shops, and upgrading another. She came home to a well deserved glass of champagne before we all jumped in an Uber and headed to a fabulous Asian restaurant in Coogee Beach, Sugarcane. Highly recommended if you’re looking for somewhere new to eat and are in the area.

After a crazy week, Friday was much quieter. Mr A and I went into the city for a few final tasks (Mark’s shaver broke, but thankfully within warranty and exchanged swiftly) and I had my final medical procedure – steroid injections into my airway. They’ve been working really well, and my Otolaryngologist (ENT, head and neck surgeon) showed me he was delighted with how the scar tissue is drawing back and opening out my trachea. We just hope it keeps on working. Again, he has given me notes and videos to take with me to the UK.

We had a quiet night with Jenny and David, all of us exhausted for our own reasons after a busy week.

Saturday morning finally arrived, and after a walk around the neighbourhood we packed up for real and did a final weigh in – thankfully all within our allowance still, despite a total of eleven bags.

Our Uber XL arrived on time and we loaded up the boot….

All piled up outside Jenny and David’s apartment block

We are finally off!

Enjoying the final breaths of Sydney air for a while

We have checked in seven bags, and are hoping we will see seven again at the other end. We have a kind friend who is driving through the early hours of Sunday morning in the UK to pick us up…not sure we are prepared for the 2 degrees centigrade forecast for our arrival though!

This will be the first time in 20 years we will spend more time in Europe than here!

Farewell Australia!

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