Motorhome News from Spain I 19th December 2013 - 21st January 2014 Ruta de los Piratas - The Route of the Pirates Hola Sunshine! Christmas might be coming, but the very thought of another dark and cold British winter is making our feet itch. With dazzling blue skies and wall-to-wall sunshine almost guaranteed, we're beginning to think a couple of months in Spain might be a good idea. En route we'll pay a brief visit to Limoges in France to see daughter Sonia and grandson Frederick, now six and eleven twelfths, for Christmas. We've not done that before. Maybe we should take some mince pies and a Christmas pudding. We all know that Christmas is for kids and that's where the real fun begins, but we're all kids at heart and Janice and I both love ... read more

Motorhome News from Switzerland. Part I 29th August 2013 Dam, Dam, Dam! ........and we're jumping through hoops. As sunflowers droop their heads in sorrow at the passing of another summer and leaves of poplar turn to gold, and autumn sunshine lights fields of maize on rolling hills, the grey haired nomads dawdle the country lanes of France and Switzerland once more in search of memories and enlightenment. Memories of bright red geraniums in window boxes, snow-capped peaks and crystal air, rippling streams and bright green meadows teeming with wildflowers, brown cows and cream, cheese and chocolate, neatly stacked logs for winter comfort and alpine chalets with shingle roofs. That was ten years ago. That was Switzerland. Switzerland, a country much spared from the ravages of World War II. A country sworn to neutrality and still to ... read more

Motorhome News from France 19th December 2013 Time Where do the days go? Time passes as we breathe and habits fall like autumn leaves as new challenges take their toll on the things we hold so dear. But time befriends us for a while as we take our leave of Olde England once more and head for the sun, lengthy shadows cast their wintry spell on glistening dew and a pale moon graces a pastel morning sky. Now there might be time enough for me to put pen to paper once more, to bring a tale or two of our 2013 travels since India in January. Let's start back in France in April 2013, before taking a motorhome journey back to Wales in July and Switzerland in September - blogs to follow! France. 10th April 2013 ... read more

India 8 - 'Into thin Air' Mumbai-Udaipur-Ranakpur-Jodhpur-Nagaur-Roopangarh-Jaipur-Ranthambore-Keoladeo-Fatehpur Sikri-Chambal Agra-Delhi-Shimla-Dharamsala-Pong-Amritsar Shimla and Dharamsala 11th March 2013 'Into thin Air' I guess we don't talk about class these days. It's not considered politically correct to think of others as second class citizens or upper class snobs, is it? As it happens there's only one class; 'Chair Class', on the Himalayan Queen, the five-hour train journey north from Delhi to Kalka where we transfer to the narrow-guage 'Toy Train' on its way up to Shimla. The fertile plains of the lowlands give way to shallow hills, rising to sharp-sided mountains where green hillsides turn to brown as the train winds its way through a hundred dark ... read more

Ancient Cities & Life in the Wild - India - 6 Mumbai-Udaipur-Ranakpur-Jodhpur-Nagaur-Roopangarh-Jaipur-Ranthambore-Keoladeo-Fatehpur Sikri-Chambal-Agra-Delhi-Shimla-Dharamsala-Pong-Amritsar 'Fatehpur Sikri to Chambal' 2nd March 2013 Fatehpur Sikri, our next port of call, is on the route to our final wildlife experience, at Chambal. Mike insisted it should not be missed. Fatehpur Sikri was a 16th century Mughal walled city of palaces and pools in Indo-Islamic style, of considerable magnificence, abandoned after only fifteen years, through lack of water historians believe. Whilst much of its riches were plundered, the pink-stone buildings and stunning open squares remain in remarkable condition as if built in recent times. It would seem impossible not to stand and stare, awestruck, beneath the cloud... read more