A bit of a dull day for our return via the Eurotunnel to the UK – all was very straight forward – a bit of queueing here and there but nothing major and by 2.30, having stocked up in Sainsbury’s we were set up on our grass only pitch at Canterbury Camping and Caravan Site for the week, as we plan to explore the Kent coastline.

Apart from the obvious difference of keeping to the left we instantly noticed the potholes and volumes of traffic – why do we have actual ‘holes’ in our roads whereas in Europe if the road is in poor condition it tends to be cracks in the surface which may be bumpy going but not likely to cause actual damage?

Statistics and my thoughts of our journey:

• Miles driven – 3625
  • Not as many as I anticipated at the start of the journey and mostly in nice unhurried journeys of around 150-180 mile trips or significantly less if just mooching from place to place
  • The roads are all considerably better to drive on than most of the UK roads both quality wise and the fact that they are generally wider with better visibility – if it is a single track road it is usually one way or is quite clearly signed as unsuitable.
  • The road systems, speed limits etc are pretty standard through out with reminders as you enter a new country of their national restrictions.
  • Also I didn’t ever feel pressure from other drivers to speed up or get out of the way. Note I’m sure that would have been very different if I had entered any of the major cities.
• Miles walked – tba
  • Generally we were able to use the superb cycle path network to walk safely and comfortably and really enjoyed the lovely seaside promenades
  • Most routes either had a cycle path to use or adequate pavements though we did come unstuck in the more mountainous regions inland
• Beaches – 171
  • Yes we have added to our tally of new beaches visited and enjoyed lots of quality beach time
  • Beach dog bans were a bit of an issue on the south coast of France and along the Ligurian coast in Italy but there was always a dog friendly promenade of board walk that meant we were still able to enjoy them
  • I was surprised to find that the Ligurian sea is not very tidal so long stretches of low tide firm sand was only an option in Normandy and Belgium.
• Overnight stays – 88 nights – total cost £TBA av pn £TBA
  • We mostly stuck to authorised and generally paid secure Aires or campsites from choice – with the Aire system in France being significantly more widely available than in any of the other countries.
  • We bought an ACSI Camping Card and this was very useful in Italy, Switzerland and Austria
• Grocery shopping
  • This was straight forward with only Italy appearing to have fewer out of town supermarkets where parking was not an issue
• Toll roads
  • Generally we have tried to avoid toll roads not just because of the additional cost but because the non toll route is much more interesting to drive but also because we were not in a hurry
  • The south of France turned out to be the exception to the above as sometimes the non toll route was a significant detour through the mountains adding 50 to 100 additional miles and quite a few hours
• Countries – 8
  • Belgium – I feel like we only touched the surface of this small country and were very pleasantly surprised by the endless beaches of it’s coastline. Bruges was easily the nicest city we visited – clean and busy without being overcrowded. The interior as we drove through was green and lush with lots of opportunity for further exploration.
  • Luxembourg – very clean, green and wealthy and fuel was 20p cheaper
  • Germany – only really touched this vast country and though the cities do not appeal I would like to return someday and do the Romantic Road to see all the castles – we did try to weave this into our journey but it just didn’t fit.
  • France – Not keen on the busy south coast and was actually surprised at how few sandy beaches there were but we did enjoy our little foray into the mountain areas in the south and have pegged quite a few place for future visits. This trip also made me appreciate even more the excellent network for campervanners.
  • Italy – Wow – blown away by the crumbling little villages both in the mountains and coastal areas – just so charming and unassuming and in the main very quiet – Italy appears to have a very short season – mid June to the end of August and it would be a pleasure to travel further south outside of those times and explore further.
  • Austria – Beautiful – clean and lush and the driving experiences were amazing but to stop and stay – I’m not sure.
  • Lichtenstein – pretty, clean and tiny – 24 hours was probably enough
  • Switzerland – as with Austria but frustratingly difficult to find somewhere that wasn’t ridiculously (IMO) expensive to stay and many of the excursions you would like to do were likewise eye wateringly expensive. Also was a little frustrated that a number of the smaller passes that I wanted to traverse were still closed until June (understandable but just frustrating)

Trip highlights:

Beaches:

Westerpunt on De Panne Beach, Middelkerke in Belgium – Plage du Veillat, St Raphael in France and Spiaggia Spotorno, Spotorno in Italy…

Villages:

St Tropez in France, Manarola in Italy and Murren in Switzerland….

Cities:

Bruges in Belgium, Nice in France and Venice in Italy:

Lakes:

Lac Serre Poncon, French Alps, Lake Garda, Sirmione in Italy and Thunersee in Switzerland….

Driving routes:

Black Forest in Germany, SS1 Coastal Road in Italy and Grossglocken High Alpine Road….

Walks:

Walk to Sirmione on Lake Garda in Italy, Rosengarten Trail from Imst in Austria and Lauterbrunnen walk, Switzerland

To say we have had an amazing journey does not do it justice but what I am certain it has done is inspired us to venture back out to Europe as often as we are able and keep on finding beautiful places to be – if this is what retirement is all about well bring it on….

Today’s stats:

• Miles driven – 34
• Miles walked – 2
• Groceries –
• O/N – £9.92 (no EHU)