And onwards

Off tomorrow to Denmark, Sweden and Norway, via Harwich, Esberg and Stavanger.

Great weekend catching up with family and posing for a Four generation picture at Mum and Dads.

UK Update

Well we have now been back in the UK for three weeks, and to say the least it has been hectic. We are not used to being busy, except to please ourselves and so it comes as a shock to have to consider other people.

We have had Family and friend visits, Becca and Luke to move into their new home, Matt to get to his exams, Grandchildren to catch up with whilst they still remember us and other such lovely happenings.

All going well at the moment and just my Daughter and her family to see this weekend coupled with a Grand family photo shoot to complete this trip.

Next up, we depart on the 21st April for Norway for a seven or eight week visit. Really getting excited about it as it is our first time this far north and it looks amazing.

We plan on travelling from Harwich to Esbjerg and then from Hirtshal to Stavanger. From there across to Oslo and then up the border between Sweden and Norway to Nordcap. Then down the west coast of Norway for the last leg of the trip. Hoping the weather improves as it has been pretty awful since we arrived in the UK three weeks ago.

WATCH THIS SPACE ! 

This is just a selection of English Springtime pics.

Forgeres and Bayeux

Fougeres has an amazing castle and has a well signposted footpath that leads you through the towns most historical sites, ( a great place to visit with the grandchildren in years to come).  The rain stopped play and we made a hasty retreat back to the van.   We carried on along the Normady beaches to Honfleur, and the popular aire at the harbour.  

By the afternoon we had arrived in Bayeux to visit the famous tapestry which depicts the Norman Conquest.  The tapestry museum is very well laid out and the 1100 year old tapestry is in marvellous condition.  We took advantage of the double museum ticket to visit the Normandy Landings museum, again very well laid out and pictorially very informative, (just wished we had a little more time to spend here). 

Sherman Tank

Next day we continued onto Dunkerque and the aire at the ferry terminal ready for our early morning departure to the UK.

Carnac and Josselin

An early start took us to Carnac to see its standing stones, an impressive alignment of stones.  The 6000 year old megaliths stand close to the road and the whole pre-historic site covers an area of over 3km in length. 

In the afternoon we visited the medieval town of Josselin with its pretty half timbered houses and impressive chateau on the banks of the river.  We stayed that night at a camperstop near St Brice en Cogles close to the town of Fougeres.

On Route to Carnac

The next three days were spent travelling northwards along the west coast of France using the camping aires at night.  The first day took us as far as Biscarosse by the marina, the second to La Palmyre below Rochefort and the third day to Piriac sur Mer a delightful small aire looking directly over the sea.

Navarrenz & Terri and Eddy's place

Our journey continued past the Embalse de Yesa and up through Jaca towards the Somport Tunnel and back down into France arriving at Camping Beau Rivage at Navarrenz for a few days rest from travelling and to visit Eddie and Terri our pals who we met before Christmas in the Algarve.  

They have bought a house in a nearby village where they intend to run a B&B and possibly a camperstop in the future.  We also had a nice surprise as Shirley and Peter, who also were at the same campsite in the Algarve, called to say they were in the area and joined us the next day.  The four of us had a happy visit to Terri and Eddie’s new place where we were treated to dinner, and some lovely views of the Pyrennees.

Rio Arlanza & Sierra de la Demanda

This day took us over the flat plains below Burgos, long stretches of perfectly straight roads.  The area is intensely farmed and on the outskirts of the villages you can often see the distinctive mud built storage barns.  After Lerma the road follows the Rio Arlanza and we entered a magical gorge.  The 11^th century ruined monastery of San Pedro lies half way along the gorge and is well worth a visit, as are the pretty villages along the valley – we wished we could have stayed here longer.  

In the afternoon we were again surrounded by mountains in the Sierra de la Demanda and the Picos de Urbion.  Wonderfully snowcapped these 2000m+ mountains gave a fantastic backdrop to the reservoir at Villavelayo .

We stopped for the night at a campsite in  Bereceo.  The campsite was beautifully laid out with large grassed pitches with the mountains in the background.

Braganza

Travelling eastwards we carried on our journey towards Spain.  The first camper stopover was at the walled citadel of Braganza.  The camping aire is well situated under the walls of the fortress, and we had a short break in the rain to walk around the 15^th century centre before carrying on to the north to visit the village of Sanabria and then over the border into Spain to the camperstop at Palencia where we stayed two years ago.   This aire is very popular and would recommend early arrival, the aire is attached to a car park but this is still used in the evening by the local running clubs.

Braganza

Sanabria