Cambridgeshire 1 - the final countdown before getting on the road again

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Sometimes you cannot believe just how quickly times passes. It was 30 days to the trip and counting. That has now dropped down to 12 days. All of a sudden it is upon us. Suzy is stuck on the drive. Hemmed in by the laurel hedge and a full skip of rubbish. Until that moves she won't be going anywhere. Holiday insurance sorted. Having dumped our previous company as they had put the premium up to £175 for the two of us for a year we decided to use that lovely company LV much loved by civil servants who are lucky enough to get deductions off premiums if they are member of the Civil Service Motoring Association. I joined last year and we saved a large amount of money changing car insurances and house insurances plus our roadside recovery to them. This year the travel insurance has been moved and we have saved the equivalent of 3 reasonably priced meals or about 150 cups of espresso. Strange how savings now equate to the price of another campsite overnight stop, a cup of coffee or a meal out. Suzy still needs LPG and a tank of fuel . This should be done this week as I have a voucher for 16 pence a litre off fuel from Tesco and plan to gain the most savings from filling the motorhome rather than a car. Bags are packed or more precisely cupboards are starting to be filled with all manner of clothes and we have started checking the long distance weather forecasts for Southern France and Spain. Hopefully it will feel warmer and more comfortable than the temperatures of 18 and 19 degrees suggest . Will we care though if it rains or is cold? Not really we will be on the road again.

This will be our fourth European trip and we are still as excited about it as we were for the first trip two years ago. Motorhoming is one of those experiences that can either leave you truly excited , hauled in hook, line and sinker or leave you feeling as if covered by cold custard. We have been more of the former than the latter realising what a wonderful experience it could provide us year on year. Our own home on wheels which can move at a whim or stay put as long as we need. We have seen places we had only dreamed about , we have learned to adapt. Sometimes places defeat you as the roads prove too narrow for Suzy or motorhome parking is non existent but you move on and try something different. There is always something new around the corner. We have travelled by taxi, bus and train to get to distant towns and cities. Our trips always fit in with the philosophy that we are always at the beginning of things and always at the morning of the world.

Plan A as usual as changed. We decided that we didnt fancy the idea of manoevering Suzy off our drive in the darkness of the Sunday morning. At 4. 00 we would be half asleep, the job is tedious as we no longer have a straight and level drive. Instead it slopes and getting Suzy off is difficult in daylight let alone at such an early hour of the morning. I have the job of checking the road is clear, running up one side of the van to tuck the mirrors in before racing to the other to tuck the other side in. A bit of shuffling back and to and it is round to both sides to pull out the mirrors. A tedious task at the best of times but positively dangerous in the ink black of the early hours. So we made the decision to set out on the Saturday afternoon and head down the M1 to find a campsite en route to the Channel Tunnel . Not as easy as you might think. Particularly as the weekend in question is the Spring Bank Holiday weekend and many campsites are already booked up and some ask you book a minimum of two days stay with them. In the end we found one at Peterborough. Probably not exactly where we wished to be but at least we would be half way to the Tunnel and would be able to drive down the remainder of the trip on a quiet Sunday morning.

Our first stop in France would no longer be Neufchatel en Bray but a touch further south which will mean less driving the following day. Neufchatel is one of those places where its name gets lost in translation. Newcastle in the mud - a name that doesnt quite drip off the tongue. We had looked forward to staying there again in the twin town with Whitchurch in Shropshire both towns famed for cheese production but setting out earlier means we can get further into France and stay at Bresles. We have taken out Gibraltar possibly from the trip due to the ongoing problems regarding sovereignty of the Rock with Spain. Having read about the delays on border crossings we may not make Africa but what the heck we have added Zaragoza on the way back and plan to visit Heulva with its replica caravelles and see the windmills of Don Quixote in La Mancha. One mans disappointment can be turned into anothers pleasure. On the way back a visit to Albi has been pencilled in as we have read about the Cathars and their history and have always wanted to visit the area. Which together with a stay around the bastide towns of southern France, a visit to Poitiers (which we missed last trip due to the campsite being closed) by bus from Futuroscope and we should round the trip off with Tours. Thats Plan B ......................mmmm how about Plan C? I am sure things will change as we find places we enjoy and want to spend longer time in and places that whilst not disappoint us don't perhaps turn out as we would have wished. The beauty of Suzy is that you unhitch the ambilical cord, switch off the gas and get in and ride.

The first blog is going to be a hard one to write as I will be writing it with mixed emotions. We met some friends through Travel Blog and Sion our travelling sheep companion met his bestest bestest friend Woolly Mammoth. They shared many adventures over the course of a year and a half and compared and contrasted trips, roof patterns, latrines and manhole covers. Our paths crossed a few times last year. Having moved to Turkey we kept in touch and planned how we could at some point take the time to visit both Greece and Turkey in Suzy. Sadly Ian passed away suddenly after a very short illness and writing this blog I feel saddened that their adventures in Georgie and Ollie came to an abrupt end. Our paths on this trip will cross as we find ourselves treading the same paths they trod last year. As I write our thoughts go out to Joy as she embarks on a different life in Turkey.

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Photos

Peterborough
On my way

Comments

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Tears
That's made Woolly and I both cry xxxx