Wet overnight and several hefty showers during the day but fortunately we managed to dodge the worst and have a good day.
After sitting out an heavy rain shower, we started our day with a walk along the promenade at Herne Bay, the beach here is shingle with some low tide sand just becoming visible so we were glad to be walking along the promenade….
The pier was a delight with lots of little artisan cabins (many of them still closed or probably just opening at weekends) selling lots of crafty bits, speciality coffees and homemade cakes with a small funfair at the end – not an amusement arcade to be seen which is quite refreshing and offering lovely views along the beach….
At the far end (east) of the town a pretty clocktower and just visible on the horizon out at sea the 6 remaining Maunsell Forts (one of the original seven was destroyed when hit by a ship in 1963), abandoned military anti-aircraft installations from WWII….
Retracing our steps and continuing further west we arrived in Hampton and enjoyed far reaching views of Hampton Beach where the sand was more exposed and more rain was on it’s way….
Moving a little further west we found parking along the sea front at Tankerton and after the shower had passed we made our way down onto the promenade above Tankerton beach….
From here we walked in a westerly direction to the small but lively village of Whitstable and it’s shingle working beach – oysters just about everywhere along the sea front being sold from cabins or in sheds – shucked or not, but with a pretty little high street running behind with lots of individual shops and cafes ….
Here the heavens really opened but fortunately we were able to take shelter under a shop awning until it had passed and strolled back to the van in brilliant sunshine!
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….
After a very windy night the rain seems to have moved on through, though still blustery and cloudy it was ideal for a walk along the expansive beach that is Plage de Calais and then runs on into Plage de Beriot and finally Plage de Sangatte before being punctuated by Cap Blanc Nez.
We join the beach at the beach hut lined start of Calais North – Plage de Bleriot…..
With Tilly keen to go off lead and enjoy some freedom….
To our right is Plage de Calais – the dog ban doesn’t actually come into effect until 15th June…
We enjoy a lovely walk, bracing as we are walking into the wind, for a mile or so until we stop for a while to enjoy life before heading back….
In the distance along the promenade we can see that the Dragon of Calais looks to be coming to life so we take a small detour to watch as it impressively trundles very slowly along the promenade towards us – wow….
A pretty wet and wild start to the day so we hung on until after lunch and were lucky to stay dry and even see some blue sky and sunshine in the couple of hours we were out and about.
Starting our walk with a stroll along the river to the vast and busy sea port….
With huge ferries seemingly leaving and arriving every few minutes and in between all the smaller craft rushing to get through the port and out of their way, if it wasn’t so windy you could easily while away the hours. Instead we turned our attention to the rather spectacular sandy beach – Plage de Calais which butts up to the Port on the west side…..
We spent a while watching this beauty of a smallish tall ship approach and enter the harbour….
Before skirting around the beach (dog ban) and wandering along the promenade to meet the Calais Dragon….
An incredible feat of engineering this 12m high and 25m long – 72 tonnes of mechanical structure offers rides along the promenade whilst breathing fire and smoke. We didn’t see it in action today as it was just too windy to hang around but maybe tomorrow?
From here we crossed the bridge to the town centre – not the most exciting, in fact without the colourful and very noisy in the wind bunting (Pride?) it was rather disappointing….
Though the Tour de Guet (13th C Watchtower) was pretty impressive and the church of Notre Dame likewise…..
A little less windy today with plenty of sun around so knowing we are not in any hurry to move on and the tide is out. we take a leisurely stroll down to Wissant.
This morning with all that amazing exposed firm sand it is the turn of the Wind Karts racing along the combined length of Strouanne and Wissant Beaches….
Crikey they can pretty much fly along the beach in this wind, there was of course the odd kite surfer out on the sea but they are either not as keen to carry all their kit down the beach or in reality as I suspect mostly at work.
Today it is clear enough for us to see the White Cliffs of Dover along the horizon – amazing at 21 miles away….
We could also see that Plage de Wissant does indeed extend to Plage de Cap Gris Nez that we visited at high tide yesterday….
How magical are these tree trunks for retaining the beach (I think?)…
Time to move on and on our way we attempted to call in on Cap Blanc Nez and the iconic Dover Patrol Monument a 23m high granite obelisk commemorating the French / English troops who patrolled these cliffs guarding the English Channel during WWI. However unlike its sister Cap Gris Nez where there was ample parking for all, here the parking was restricted to 2.1m in height – so not us!
Instead we continued and dropped down into the small coastal village of Sangatte where there was motorhome specific parking on the outskirts and took a lovely long walk along the raised promenade and back along the vast expanse of firm sand – just perfect…
It was then just a short hop to our Aire in Calais and time for us to walk into town for Tilly’s appointment at the vets for her tapeworm tablet a requirement of our return to the UK on Monday. The vet was a lovely Romanian chap with excellent English who happily got down on his hands and knees and hand fed Tilly from a tin of wet dog food whilst hiding the tablets within. I think that is the first time she has ever left a vets smiling!!
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