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Brian and Kathryn
We are a self funded retirees and are very active hikers, although we have dropped the large backpacks and now limit ourselves mainly to day hikes. When the weather turns chilly we sometimes hit the slopes for some downhill and cross country skiing. We also have an interest in bird watching and more recently geocaching and these hobbies fit easily with our walking. I was born in the UK but emigrated to Australia as a child. Brian was born and bred in South Australia. We are now based in the UK and have commenced motorhoming over here again. We spent nearly five years here from 2003 whilst we worked and travelled in the UK and especially Europe. We then completed our own van conversion in Australia and over two years completed 45000Km of travel there. We expect to be here several years and aim to see a lot more of the UK and Europe in our Hymer Van 572.Rasbro
Travel Blog Posts
May 4th 2013
April brought a mixed bag of weather with lots of rain, very cold sometimes and even snow! We have seen little sunshine and when we do, it is on with the boots and off for a hike. Monday 1 April saw us camped at a France Passion site producing olives, almonds and stone fruits after doing a 10km hike in stony countryside around Coury. Lucky we got there early as 4 other vans rolled in as the afternoon progressed. The poor farmer had barely enough room to turn his tractor around as the small patch of gravel in front of his barn was the only place to put us all given the normal site was too boggy. However we bought produce from the small shop the next morning so they did okay by having us all ... read more
March 25th 2013
March has brought a mixed bag weather as well as walks. The month kicked off with snow, snow, snow so read on... We ended up staying 3 nights at Vernet les Bains as by late Thursday the rain turned to snow and did not stop falling for nearly 24 hours. We spent Friday periodically clearing snow from Hamish whilst enjoying the beauty of fresh falling snow on the surrounding cliffs, rivers and trees. On Saturday the sun came out so we were able to use the snow chains to get out of the aire and on to the cleared road. It was only a matter of about 300mt but we could not do it without the chains. We drove to Thuir for the antiques fair which had some nice stuff but we only ended up buying ... read more
March 1st 2013
February 2013 After farewelling Uncle Bernard we went to pick up our laptop from the second service place to have looked at it in as many weeks and unfortunately they could not find the problem, only referring to it as a “software” problem – duh, we could have told them that! At least they did not charge us for it. Brian has since narrowed the problem down to when we connect to the internet but it still is not fixed. We motored up the coast to Santa Pola where we stopped for lunch near the lighthouse then drove on to Altea where we parked up behind the local police station. We had a quiet night and the next morning we drove inland to Fonts de Alguar where we hiked up 700mt and 13km to Fort Bernia ... read more
February 6th 2013
January started quietly with our scenic camp spot overlooking the Rio Guadiana barely disturbed but for some fireworks in the distance around midnight. Our first town for 2013 was the pretty whitewashed (aren’t they all) Alcoutin which was fairly quiet on New Years Day which may be attributed to the signs for the previous night’s party all over town. As has been our habit this winter we spent the next couple of days pootling through the river region which is cork oak and olives dotted with a few flocks of sheep and goats. We wild camped in the car park of an ancient menhir (large chunk of carved stone) and by the banks of the river again at Pomerau for our last night in Portugal. On 3 January we crossed the border back into Spain and ... read more
December 13th 2012
December has flown by despite the fact we have travelled more slowly around south west Portugal than any other place we have visited in the past 10 years (yes, we have been larking around in motorhomes for nearly that long!) It is easy to linger in quiet coves, beautiful beaches, serene estuaries and on craggy cliffs where people are few and far between, the bird life is fascinating and the weather is mostly kind. But here is what we have been up to... Friday 30 November, we drove into Aljezur to get some groceries and found the local market in full swing – 2 fishmongers and 2 vegie stalls. However, they had lovely fresh, local produce so we bought up. Dinner that night was a fresh baked sea bass which was delicious. There were lots of ... read more
December 1st 2012
The first week of November brought more rain, wind and some sunshine. The temperature has dropped slightly but is still pleasant enough for walking and sightseeing. We visited Toledo on Saturday and enjoyed touring around the massive old cathedral with beautiful arched spaces and stained glass windows. The audio guide that came with the 8 Euro ticket made the visit very interesting and we managed to get in before the worst of the crowds – this is a very popular tour group destination. Following a bit more of a walk around the old hilltop town we found a nice spot for lunch, opting for the “menu del dia” which for 10 Euro each was excellent value – tapas, aperitif, wine and 3 courses! This helped offset the cost of Camping El Greco which was a rip ... read more
October 29th 2012
On Tuesday 9 October we crossed back under the Channel to France to begin another sojourn in Europe. Just like the birds, we are heading South for the winter. We had an easy drive down the A16 motorway to Mesnieres en Bray and our first aire for the night. Over the next few days we pootled through the Loire Valley stopping to stroll around quaint villages, shop at local markets, browse antique fairs and walk the undulating countryside. Our night time stopovers consisted of a mixture of village aires which were mostly free and in quiet, scenic locations next to rivers or forests, and wineries or farms listed in our France Passion guide. We took easy walks through the verdant countryside of the Dordogne and the Dronne rivers (including a 17km rain soaked ramble which produced ... read more
October 2nd 2012
Tuesday 4 September Back to England this morning via the Chunnel after a night at Oye Plage parking area with 2 other vans and quite a few early morning fishermen. The run up to London Colney via the Dartford Tunnel was amazingly fast and easyand after a quick catch up with Hazel and Eleanor we headed to Gate Lodge for a couple of days with David and Janice before heading North. When we got to Bradford on Friday afternoon, it was to find Auntie Freda in remarkably good form and eating well since she came home from the hospice. Uncle Bernard is so devoted, he does a fab job of looking after her and everyone else around them. Saturday Brian and I walked down to town via Bolling Hall which is an interesting old ... read more
September 6th 2012
And so we were into our last month of this European sojourn and after four lovely days at Biberwier it was time to move just 15km into the next valley to camping Wank at Garmisch-Partenkirken. This was a little more frenetic with nearly 100 motorhomes on the stellplatz however we managed to have 2 nights in relative peace and enjoyed wandering around the twin towns which both have lots of lovely wall paintings on the houses and a laid back feel to everything. We also had fabulous views of the northern face of the Zugzpitz in the late afternoon light. Thursday 2 August saw us pootling around a very scenic road past Plansee to Reutte then around to Heiterwang where we found ourselves a pleasant spot at Guasthouse Sonnenwirt for 10 euro a night and it ... read more
July 21st 2012
On Monday 3 July we shifted a bit further West to Dresden where we spent 3 nights on the Shaffer-Mobil Campingplatz and rode our bikes along the Elbe to the city. Dresden has been rebuilt since the obliterating bombing of 1945 and the rebuilding has been very effective at blending old with new. We spent almost a whole day in the Swinger Palace with its various delightful museums for armour, porcelain and old masters paintings. We also got our fix of outdoor shops as Dresden has several including one that is more like a department store (a bit pricey mind). From Thursday 6 July we spent 4 days exploring Saxon Switzerland which is a lovely area between Dresden and the Czech border. We had very warm and humid weather but it did not stop us enjoying ... read more
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