Sunday 30 September 2023 Nido's parked up back at Ardres, which was our first night stop of this trip back on 20 August.  We've eaten, our passports and documents are at the ready and the alarm's set for 0430 tomorrow morning, ready for our Shuttle train back to Folkestone and the long drive home to Anglesey. We left our pitch by the river Seine, popping up to use the service point in nearby Yvetot, as the one at Mailleraye-sur-Seine was out of order.  Then it was on to the free aire in Clères, north of Rouen.  It's mainly double pitches, separated by high beech hedges, but the ..read more

Tuesday 26 September 2023 Nido's parked up overlooking the river Seine, with seagoing ships occasionally passing and creating a wake and waves that Salty can't see so doesn't like!  We've stayed on this aire in the village of Mailleraye-sur-Seine before, in July 2019.  It's been a hot day and it's still warm and humid this evening, although the mosquitoes drove us inside once the sun had set.  Our original plan was to stay at a different aire, but more of that later.  We left Saint Rémy and drove to our next stop, in the small village of Courtonne la Meurdrac.  We ..read more

Sunday 24 September 2023 Nido's parked up at a free aire with eight other vans in Saint Rémy, in the Suisse Normande area, which is in the middle section of Normandy.  It's an area we've not visited before.  The Suisse Normande starts about 25km south of Caen, along the gorge of the River Orne, between Thury-Harcourt and Putanges.  Whilst there aren't any 'swiss' mountains, the region is quite distinctive with cliffs, crags and wooded hills. It's a bit like Devon mixed with Yorkshire. We left Plestin les Grèves on Friday morning after a peaceful night.  This was the first ..read more

Thursday 21 September 2023 Nido's parked up on an 80 pitch aire in Plestin les Grèves.  It could get quite claustrophobic if all the pitches were taken, but today there's only about half a dozen vans here.  Although sunny and warm when I took Salty out for a walk this morning, the return leg of this afternoon's walk was in heavy rain and the showers continue to pulse through now. After Trégarvan, we stopped off at a Super U to do the laundry.  Next the outdoor laundrette was a motorhome service point, so the van was serviced after lunch, whilst waiting for the dryer to fin ..read more

Sunday 17 September 2023 Nido's parked up on the old quay side by the estuary in the tiny hamlet of Trégarvan.  It looks very much like similar estuaries found in Cornwall.  It must have been a port at one time given the many bollards along the jetty, but time and silt have clearly made it impossible to now moor alongside.  The parking area is noted as an official aire, but there are no facilities here except for a couple of bins.   We stayed another night in Kerhillio on Friday, mainly because the forecast was decent and we fancied another sea swim.  Salty h ..read more

Thursday 14 September 2023 Nido's parked up on an aire in Kerhillio at the northern end of the Quiberon peninsula.  We're on a grass pitch under the shade of a small tree.  There are about thirty pitches, although a few are still empty.  It's €15.30 per night, including services and electric hook up - that's about £13. The aire is just outside a huge municipal campsite, where vans, caravans and tents are spread all over the sandy areas, separated from the huge beach and sea by dunes. Just outside the aire is a square comprising surf shops, artist galleries and a couple of hipste ..read more

Tuesday 12 September 2023 Nido's parked up in the village of La Pommeraie-sur-Sevre in the Vendee region.  It's a lovely little village that's provided a free aire with free services. There's not much in the village; a hotel (not sure if it's still open, the obligatory huge church and marie's office and a baguette vending machine. The signposts here show how the village children helped put up the aire signs and plant a lovely herb garden.  The feeling of community is strong; it's now nearly 8pm and on the green next to the aire there seems to have been an after-school club going for ..read more

Sunday 10 September 2023 Nido's still parked up at the side of Lac de Vassivière.  We'll have been here six nights by the time we leave, longer than we've stayed anywhere for a continuous period.  All of it has been on a simple grass area, although we did move to a different spot yesterday to have a better view of the lake and to be a bit closer to 'our' swimming beach.  On and off there have been about 8 other vans here with us, although it's been very quiet with everyone just chilling out. It's been the ideal place during what's been an extended heatwave, not just in France bu ..read more

Tuesday 5 September 2023 Nido's parked up on a free aire on a large grass field, in the shade of huge oak trees and about 20m from the water's edge at Lac de Vassivière in the Limousin region.  There's about seven other vans here, but it's very quiet, no artificial lights around and the owls are hooting all around us.  I can just about see the reflection of the lake in the fading light. Given the current canicule (heatwave) here in France, we made the decision to head for the coast to try and get some respite.  We're a bit sad, as the whole Auvergne region is beautiful and ..read more

Nido's parked up at a very quiet free aire with views into the distance over fields and hills.  Cows are gathered around the oak trees, ready to settle down for the night.  The most birds we've seen anywhere so far on this trip (hunting season clearly hasn't started here yet) are making a noisy fuss as they settle down to roost in the trees. We're in the small village of Noyant d'Allier in the north of the Auvergne-Rhone Alps department.  We've eaten some delicious Vietnamese 'street' food for supper in this surreal little village... but more about that later.  It's very pe ..read more