The Barbers

Barbertravels

The Barbers

So.....................'Just do it' - we did.

If you keep saying 'one day' or 'when we can afford it' .....you never will or it'll be too late. What are you waiting for? It's so do-able and doesn't have to be expensive.

Back in 2008, having done a fair amount of research on motorhomes, we narrowed our choice down to one model! The criteria were:

* Not too long - so's we could negotiate small villages and park in town centres and car parks.
* A drop-down over cab bed - so living space wasn't wasted with a fixed bedroom and we didn't have to make the bed up every night.
* A rear lounge with side and rear windows - so's we could both stretch out and have a good view.
* Left hand drive - since the main aim is to use it abroad.

It seemed the only model to fit the bill was a Hymer 534 (hence Hymie), purchased in October 2008. Since then we've done three European trips - 6 months in 2009, 3 months in 2010 and another 3 months in 2011. We're setting off again in April 2012 for 3 months - destination central and southern Spain.

It's a great life!

We love truckin' & we love to truck!
Visited Countries Map

The Last Little Bit

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Northamptonshire July 22nd 2012

Barbertravels

BLOG 14.....LAST ONE! Monday 16 July – so hello for the last time to all our faithful blog followers. To recap we left our Aires site in Hondschoote and travelled the short distance to Tobacco Alley, Adinkirke, Belgium. Mild panic ensued as none of the dozen or so tobacco shops had our preferred brand – but the substitute, Flandrig, seems perfectly acceptable. From there we drove to McDonalds in Dunkirk to check emails and do the blog. It was with great sadness we read that Barry’s mum had died the day before.....so a few phone calls later established that B would fly out to Sydney in time for the funeral next Wednesday, 25 July. So the rest of our day was understandably affected by our dampened spirits. We did however have a pleasant meal and a ... read more

Wet, wet, wet

Europe » France » Nord-Pas de Calais » Dunkerque July 16th 2012

1 Saint Loup-Lamaire

Barbertravels

BLOG 13 Monday 9 July – So there we were, parked next to the river at Parthenay (the place with the Games festival going on and the hidden, charming but empty old village down by the river.) Anyway, one of us was awoken by a 6am text from Tom in Kashgar, China – a fuddled brain took 15 mins to text back that we’d planned to Skype/phone him from about 9am....China is 7 hours later than France. We seemed to have a lot to do this morning, including phoning Tom – who couldn’t talk as he was on a 3 hour drive and also, we had paid for hot, roomy showers at the nearby campsite. By the time we got there the hot water had run out! – it certainly wakes you up – very invigorating. ... read more

On Our Bikes

Europe » France » Poitou-Charentes » Parthenay July 8th 2012

1 Near Bree-les-Bains

Barbertravels

BLOG 12 Monday 2 July – So there we were still on the island of Oleron – northern end, at St Denis. It was a cool overcast morning, so we slobbed it in the van ‘til after lunch. Off on the bikes again in the increasing bright weather cross-county on a round trip to Les Huttes, where we had an ice-cream and watched the surfers, back across the island to La Bree-les-Bains again to see if we’d missed anything the first time......we hadn’t – then finally back to St Denis for refreshments and in search of wi-fi. Discovered a harbour-front bar with free connection, so B cycled back for the laptop and we enjoyed a demi-picheur of white as we checked emails and blogged in the sunshine. Tuesday 3 July – Happy Birthday to brother Jeremy! ... read more

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside

Europe » France » Poitou-Charentes » Marennes July 2nd 2012

1 Villefranche-du-Perigord

Barbertravels

BLOG 11 Monday 25 June – Happy Birthday Viv, my older (by 2 days) longest known friend! Well we left you in Cahors where we’d had a couple of nights at very acceptable campsite. It took us a while to get going...packing up outdoor furniture/awning, filling/emptying water, showers, then finally just checking emails while we can. Absolutely thrilled to get one from Tom in Kyrgyzstan, with an attached photo of him holding up a sign saying Happy Brithday....he’s a good chap. So - today we’ve made a bit more progress towards the coast, about 100k’s. Our route wasn’t shown as scenic on the map but nevertheless, was very pretty – rural with numerous hamlets and villages to drive through. We stopped for a looky-see at Villefrance-du-Perigord, where, being a Monday (closing day) was extremely quiet.......basically a ... read more

We've seen The Lot

Europe » France » Midi-Pyrénées » Cahors June 24th 2012

1 Castelnou

Barbertravels

BLOG 10 Monday 18 June – Happy Birthday Paul McCartney! We last blogged having a lazy Sunday at Elne – an afternoon by the pool and an early evening game of boules – too hot for a cycle into Elne. Anyway, after chores we checked out (rude French woman at reception) and set off in a north-easterly direction, inland. This means we’ve left the Med and now won’t get beaches ‘til the Atlantic coast of Brittany. To start – another boring shopping trip in an Intermarche that sold just about everything. Then driving out through the pretty town of Elne, we drove through Bages – also very pleasant and having skirted the edges of Thuir, we saw a brown tourist type sign to Castelnou, which turned out to be one of the ‘Plus Belle Villages’ topped ... read more

Costa Barba

Europe » France » Languedoc-Roussillon » Argeles-sur-Mer June 17th 2012

1 L'Escala

Barbertravels

BLOG 9 Monday 11 June – OK – here we are again..........still at the super-efficient German –run campsite at Sant Pere Pescador on the Bay of Roses surrounded by Dutch & Deutsch all with their multi-accessorised motorhomes/caravans.....if a gadget has been invented, they’ve got it. Each pitch is immaculate, lots of sweeping/cleaning, duvets are aired every morning and all meals are eaten at cloth-clad tables with flowers and candles. By contrast the pommy slobs (well one pommy and one Ozzie slob) go at our own pace. The morning was cooler with mixed cloud/sunshine. We got on the bikes and cycled into the slightly inland town – 3 k’s – mainly along a sandy beach-side cycle path. After a tootle around this small Spanish town , we found a bar....for coffee and very local white wine (reminders ... read more

Penis cola or bust!

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » L'Estartit June 10th 2012

1 Valencia

Barbertravels

BLOG 8 Monday 4 June – We left you at the campsite at Platja d’Oliva, where we overdosed on paella. We are unaware of any celebrations around here re the Jubilee – but we guess it’s all happening over there, and we’re sadly reading about all the forecasted rain.........very disappointing. So today we thought we’d put a jiffy on but actually haven’t gone very far. There were further places up the coast to possibly check out – Oliva itself and Gandia. Both have supposed sights to see but driving through them was enough. The road was obviously quite a spot for the local pros!!!! Every half mile or so would be a gorgeous looking, VERY scantily clad girl touting for business – some with their own white plastic chair (some people couldn’t resist tooting as we ... read more

Costa Crawl - slow progress

Europe » Spain » Valencian Community » Oliva June 4th 2012

1 Bolnuevo camp site amenities block

Barbertravels

BLOG 7 Monday 28 May – Still at the campsite at Bolnueva. A morning of domesticity – loads of washing, cleaning, shopping etc. The facilities here are fantastic, the best we’ve ever come across....the shower/loo/washing up/laundry block is a work of art....all beautifully planted with ferns, bougainvillea, oleander, geraniums etc and the central area downstairs has a pool with fountains – shades of the Alhambra! And all this with lovely views of the mountains. With its position ON the beach one side and village the other and an amazing array of other facilities (including a dog shower, should you need one), it’s a bargain for us with our ACSI card at only 16 Euros a night inc electricity. With our bikes just there, it’s a doddle to cycle to the facilities block, reception or pool – ... read more

Southern Spain - it's very Moorish

Europe » Spain » Region of Murcia » Mazarron May 28th 2012

1 Orgiva

Barbertravels

BLOG 6 Sunday 20 May – continued from last time when we’d freecamped at Villaneuva de Algaidas with the two other GB vans............what a boring lot they were. In the morning we watched one of them empty their loo cassette then drive away (thrilling) and there were no signs of life in the other van, apart from a blind been opened then closed.........perhaps he’d dun ‘er in?! Anyway it was an off day – more showers than sunshine and some downright downpours. After several miles of pretty winding and totally empty roads, we did a long motorway stint (about 130 miles) east towards Granada , then southeast to the Sierra Nevada mountain range, to Lanjaron on ‘the threshold of Las Alpujarras, a scenic upland area of dramatic landscapes, where steep terraced hillsides and deep-cut ... read more

The Barbers of Seville

Europe » Spain » Andalusia » Dos Hermanas May 20th 2012

1 Seville

Barbertravels

BLOG 5 We are currently in a McD’s just outside of Granada. Although we’ve just published a blog – here’s another one Tuesday 15 May – We left you at the campsite just out of Seville (Dos Hermanos) where we’d had some drinks with the ghastly, boring Pommies. We were up early for us, 9am and enjoyed our breakfast people watching – the French & Germans were clearing their breakfasts away from their tabled-clothed tables (with a vase of flowers on) and then they begin cleaning........sweeping vans, washing windscreens etc. We watched the boring twosome pack-up/dismantle their 4x4 and waited ‘til they’d driven away before emerging. A shortish walk to the bus stop and by 10.30 we were hurtling round roundabouts on the local bus (they drive fast). We disembarked at the Plaza Espana and went ... read more

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