It was market day in St-Jean so we had a walk around and bought cheese and vegetables from some of the local farmers’ stalls. Then we headed into the Pyrenees and the van crossed its first mountain pass, the Ibaneta at 1045m into Spain. Following which we drove west via Pampona and stopped for the night at Burgos, which we plan to explore tomorrow. ... read more

We had a lovely sunny drive south from l’Etang on D roads to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. On arrival, we parked at the local municipal camp site and had a pleasant walk around the town including a visit to the citadel which played its part in defending France against the attacks of the Spanish. St-Jean has also been the traditional start of the crossing of the Pyrenees for the Pilgrims on their way to Santiago.... read more

The day started driving south on the French Motorways to Poitiers followed by a detour to visit Orador -sur-Glane. On 10 June 1944, 642 residents of this village were massacred by the S.S. and all the buildings set alight. This place is now a memorial to all those who died and the buildings have been left exactly as they were after the massacre. The visit was a very moving experience. We then headed through deepest French countryside and sleepy villages for Gary and Linda Carey’s wonderful house in St Saverin for a two night stopover. ... read more

Some friends of ours, Wal and Daph Pearce, were spending the week at the Caravan Club site situated on the Blenheim Palace Estate. Knowing that they were very interested in seeing what we had chosen and needing a short familiarisation trip, we joined them and had a delightful couple of days seeing an area of England that I had driven by many times but never visited. The weather continued to be fine, so we didn’t test the weatherproofness of the van. Blenheim Palace and the surrounding park are most impressive and well the visit. We also walked to Winston Churchill’s grave at Bladon church. The Morello worked well and after a few hours reading instruction manuals, I was able to operate most of the facilities. We christened it with a bottle of champagne kindly donated by ... read more