Leaving the UK

So our story, the “Haz Beanz on the Road” picks up now as we depart UK, shakedown all done.

His bit:

We had to get from Trowbridge Wiltshire to a ferry for France, we were new to planning trips in Monty so we planned on the cautious side. We made sure Monty was full of LPG, half tank of petrol, no water (keep the weight down), with Black (sewage) and grey (sink and shower waste) tanks drained. We planned to remain on “A” roads as much as possible and google earth street view was used to reconnoitre junctions and turnings. Day one was A350 down to Hunters Moon campsite near Bournemouth. The A350 turned out to be very challenging, it was bumpy, full of blind bends and ridiculously narrow, the bushes were constantly hitting my inside mirror. But we made it, if a little stressed and tired by this journey. Hunters Moon was a beautiful site with an excellent pitch space and power, though I used my Hook-up leads full length to the nearest power point. Everyone was very friendly and the staff very helpful.

Hunters moon pitch

The next morning, we planned to refill LPG then go to the Ferry terminal. We left Hunters Moon and one mile down the road I see a car across the road and a motorcyclist laying hurt. I pulled over and ran to assist (I am a St John first aider) He was bleeding from his mouth, a nurse was supporting his neck and keeping his spine still with his helmet still on, aid was on its way, my help was not needed. So back to Monty, a huge jam had formed. People were not thinking or behaving safely and it was making manoeuvring Monty very stressful, there was little the boss could do to help in this situation. A kind Motor home driver held up the traffic while I turned my RV (Monty) around on the small road from the campsite. We were now off route and trying to find a way to the main road, things were suddenly highly stressful, tree overhangs, bridge heights, bridge weight loadings, road width, cables overhead, all now not known for clearance and we had to get to the Ferry. We made it to the main road and had to pull out crossing traffic, we were saved by an “oh so sensible” lady car driver who waved us out. We went straight to the LPG garage, but a refuel lorry pulled in before us and blocked access to the LPG pump, the Kiosk bound pump attendant then started ordering us off the forecourt as we were in the way, another size related issue. So without LPG top up we went to the ferry, had I stayed at the petrol station, one forecourt attendant was likely to get hurt. All went well and we were put in a lane especially for big vehicles and then waited and were last to be called forward to load. Customs were really nice, I was body searched, and had some of Monty’s storage bays checked, showed the gas was turned off, they were doing their job and very politely at that. Then we were directed not up the ramp like other mortals, but under the ramp and down in to the depths of the Hull, right to the front. We locked up and went up to the passenger lounge. It was a beautiful sunny day and a mill pond sea. The stress of the morning started to fade away.

Seated on the Barfluer Ferry

Lunch at a mere £10 each, a read then a photo-call with the boss on deck and back in to the bowls of the ship to Monty at Cherbourg. The doors opened and sunlight flooded the hold (It felt like the opening scene in the Blues Brothers) and to my surprise we were first off, out the port and on to roads where I was in the correct driving position and had plenty of road to drive on. My love affair with French roads started here. The travel plan was very conservative, drive for 1 hour to a campsite at Carentan and spend a few days admiring Normandy and indulging my passion for modern history. The Carentan campsite ( https://www.camping-lehautdick.com/ ) is right next to the aire (motor home overnight park https://campingcarpark.com/shop/sejour/normandie/50-manche/carentan-aire-carentan-port/ ), which was interesting and gave us a chance to see how it works using an aire in France. Our campsite was excellent, indoor pool which was lovely and warm, almost in the centre of town, definitely within walking distance, though we cycled.

Carentan Pitch

Normandy was sunny and warm and so very interesting, seeing the D-Day history was a real joy and sobering at the same time, I was moved by the pictures of the soldiers on all the lamp posts, truly not forgotten. I highly recommend this site for RV’s, good access, plenty of space and nice facilities. Be aware, a Grande Chocolat Chaude gets you a cup of tepid milky chocolate containing 3 sips!

Saint mere Isigny

Battery Maisy

River Douvre near Carentan

Pont Du Hoc

River Douvre near Carentan

Her Bit:

Forward Plans.


Deciding to leave the UK in September and return next May (MOT for Monty), meant choosing clothes, shoes, tools, kitchen equipment & medical and toiletries-for 9 months & changing seasons. This took some juggling for space and taking what was really necessary. We may not have this right and only time will tell, but I think I probably have too much 😉

The hardest thing was leaving the family behind for so long. It all sounds very easy as we are not far away, but I was used to seeing my daughter and my sister several times a week, and seeing my two sons and granddaughters/grandson very often-so it was a real wrench going away and knowing I would probably not see them for such a long time. It is fine keeping in touch by e mail, What’s App/Facetime, but not the same at all as just being able to drop in and see them in person. It is early days now-so I do not know how difficult this is going to be, but it is a decision we have made so at the moment, we have to stick to it. We had to do our traveling whilst we were both fit.

Family Group

Two Sons and Daughter in law

Four Grand children, obviously the best in the world

There is a lot to learn with driving such a large vehicle, so although it was not legally necessary, Steve took his LGV test (5 days intensive £1500). Steve was really glad he did and learned a lot of useful tips whilst driving 18-ton trucks around Bristol! He also did his Certificate of Professional Certification (CPC) which would allow him to drive for financial gain having got his HGV license. So, we upgraded the RV which was 7.5 ton to the original 8.1 ton-just to be sure we would not be overweight, this was just a paperwork exercise to change the registration document to match the permitted weight loading of the vehicle.


Learning Curve


Steve has ridden a motor bike since a teenager, in fact, he has raced motorbikes and done moto cross, so buying a scooter was a very hard thing for him to do. He had to completely change his style of riding to get used to the scooter, and even worse, to me being on the back! When we are out on the road and another motor bike or scooter goes past-I can feel the tension as he has to hold himself back from opening the throttle and racing past them. The increased pressure of my knees into his buttocks reminds him I am on the back-so keep the speed down so we can look around at the scenery.

Biker dudes

 Marshalling.


 Part of my job, amongst others, was to learn to marshal Steve & Monty into spaces when required. Although Monty has side cameras, they are not very clear and distort the view somewhat. We practised at home with Steve holding a mop under his arm with the handle behind, to denote the length of the vehicle. If I marshalled him into a wall or doorway, it was, “that’s another scratch” or “£100 for re painting “ or ‘that is definitely a serious dent!’ I found it quite difficult so we also got 2 way radios so I could actually direct him by voice. We have had a few mistakes in the house 😉


Some good buys.


Like most people, deciding what you ‘need’ to have with you and ned to buy can be challenging. I had most kitchen stuff but one of the items I bought was a flat toaster. Basically, it is a metal plate with a top one with holes in and a handle. You put the toaster on the gas ring and turn it on with the bread on the top-and just toast as usual.

I also bought from Amazon a cutlery roll-just like a jewellery roll really. It is black strong twill material with different size pockets in for cutlery and you can roll it up and tie it with the ties on the side. This stops a drawer full of noisy cutlery bouncing around and is easy to see what you want.

We also found the big plastic tubs that have protein shake in were ideal for cereals and I also used one for washing powder- they stop the packets spilling out and any insects getting in.

Lining the fridge and freezer shelves and door with non-slip matting was also a good idea

and we got some nylon slip on bottle mesh for wine or any glass jars.







My sister bought me a lovely whistling kettle (one of the things our would-be thief had stacked up to take away), and it is really lovely to hear that whistling ready for a nice cup of British tea!

Now.


So, this is how I find myself sat behind a German family on a ferry to France, and them serving out a lunch of prepared salad in bowls followed by a dessert of yoghurt- impressively very organised.

Have we had any disasters so far? At the time we considered them as such. The width of the vehicle presents some problems on the UK roads, especially as it is left hand drive. Sometimes the mirrors (which do not fold in), are passing through bushes/trees either side of the road. Once a branch from a hedge got caught in the awning arm mounting point and broke the catch, which had to be replaced (£20). One camp site we stayed in UK had the sewage water too far away for our hose to reach so we had to lift up the manhole cover to eject the water, Luckily, Steve had packed a jemmy!. To do this we were stretching the hose somewhat and toward the end (mercifully) the hose parted company at the neck, Steve was delighted to be doused in the smelly fluid as you can imagine, fortunately he always wears arm length rubber gloves when doing this task. It did take some time to wash out the Grey and Black water bay. That made us decide to order an extension to the hose and we have used it several times since.

Another time this amazing sat nav could not find the wi fi in the vehicle and switched off instead of using the GPS signal, so we ended up on a narrow country road, and on turning to back track, broke the drivers mirror on a protruding twig-that cost us over £200 but it was a second hand one instead of the £1000 for a new one. Ouch!

After a problem with Aguri, we also bought a Snooper sat nav and we use them both to check routes and plan the best place to re fuel or stop overnight or longer.

Aguri

Snooper

Snooper

When we bought Monty our one concern was whether it would go up our driveway so we could park by the house to permit loading and configuration. We lived in a cul de sac and the residents, who we had little contact with the 2 years we were there-were fascinated to see this huge vehicle arrive and then me marshalling it up the driveway. We did get it there with a lot of shuffling and encouragement from the neighbours. They said they had not had such excitement in two years 😉 We loved having an audience on our first challenge as I am sure you can imagine.

A tight squeeze

Porch still there!

Check lists.

We have a check list before setting off now, which gets added to if something happens, which we have not thought of-
 Shut all the roof vents and windows.
Make sure the glass shower door is latched back so it cannot slide around and smash.
The curtains either side of the cab seats must be tied back not only with the looped cord (which once came undone on a roundabout and slid round blocking Steve’s view with perfect timing and positioning!), but also with a strip of Velcro round.
All the drawers and cupboards must be clicked shut and kitchen towel put between all the crockery to stop them rattling and moving about.
All the outside lockers to be locked and the bikes and scooter well secured.
Drink, snacks, money to hand in the passenger area to hand out when required.
All pumps and gas to be switched off.
If leaving a site, make sure the electric hook up is disconnected and put away.
Sat nav plugged in to power and route set before we start off.
Road atlas open at the page we are traveling in case sat nav packs up.
Levelling legs are up, lights and tyres checked and OK.

Last Campsite Before the Ferry.

We had an interesting drive down the A350 until we got to our last campsite before the ferry-Hunter’s Moon in Poole. Excellent site and they had kept a large corner pitch for us. Hot baguette & croissants In the morning, nice showers and toilets, level site and well lit.
We enjoyed staying here for a couple of days.

Hunters Moon Pitch

To Learn takes practise

Filling up with LPG, fuel, emptying water, taking on new water.
 This is important and takes time to learn how to do it, which side which tank is on etc.
We stopped at a fuel station in Poole, before getting on the ferry-the only LPG garage for many miles, only to be told to come back in 1.5 hours as a tanker was parked at the side with the driver having a break, and our vehicle would block other vehicles coming in. The man in the kiosk actually said over the tanoy, please move your vehicle off our forecourt-so we had to leave without getting any LPG. Luckily we did have enough but have learned it is best to top up with LPG when you see a service station in the UK selling LPG as there are not that many!

Arriving in France.

We had a great ferry crossing to Cherbourg, arriving in the evening. We were the first vehicle off the ferry and onto excellent roads-wider and with a perfect surface. We headed towards Carentan which was about 1.5 hours away and went to Flower Camping Le Haut Dick. We were given an excellent pitch-very large corner plot with water & electric. Lovely heated swimming pool.

The first problem was with the Internet-it just would not connect. We had the sim card through Vodafone-which was especially for roaming in Europe and the router was connected through Huawei. After many hours and over two days, talking to various ‘experts’ who told us our router was only for UK etc-Steve was able to sort it out and we actually have full Internet again! Very frustrating though and the experts were wrong, the router was fine and perfect for roaming. It makes such a difference being able to listen to World News, chat to the children and grandchildren and watch any film or use the computers.
Once parked up at the campsite, we walked into the local town and along the marina and had lunch at the harbour café. The coffee and hot chocolate drinks are very small, about three sips-we learned to order ‘grande’ which even then wasn’t that big 😉

Visits to the World War II sites.

We went to the D Day experience at the Carentan Historical Centre, which was very well presented with some excellent exhibits and a very informative film. Great on the scooter on the D roads, very well signposted and great weather. When we got back to the campsite, we had a nice swim in the heated pool, the only people in it. We did this each day and never saw anyone else in the pool.
The following day, again on the scooter, we went to the village of Saint Marie Eglise where the 101^st Airborne division fought so heroically. We went into the museum there and walked all around the town. We were impressed at the number of memorials to the soldiers and on every lamp post for miles around they had a picture of a soldier and information about him. Really nice to see that these brave young men and women are not forgotten.

D Day experience Purple heart lane, very worth a visit

Saint mer Eglise

D Day exhibition Purple Heart Lane

We then did a river cruise along the River Douve in beautiful weather and lovely scenery. Very relaxing but also informative about the area and what wildlife was in the river. This was by the Road Purple Heart Lane .

River Douvre

River Douvre Purple Heart lane bridge

The following day, on the scooter, we went to Pont du Hoc and spent some time walking around and seeing the huge craters left by the bombs and shells, and stood on the cliffs and saw where the American Rangers had to come up the coast in their small craft being shot at by the German defenders on the top of the cliffs.

Steve on Pont Du Hoc

Pont du hoc gun position

On to Maisy Batteries, much bigger than we expected-very well laid out, notices at each different place explaining what it was and what happened there. Well worth a visit.

Maisy batterie 75mm Gun

Higgins landing craft

Steve viewing 20mm Flak gun

We saw the famous church of Saint Marie Eglise-with a model of the paratrooper hanging from the church steeple, and the whole story of the assault on that town.

Saint mer eglise church

Steve really felt for this guy as a former sky diver himself

A memorial window in the church

Our last full day at the camp site we spent there and planned the route for the next few days and working out LPG stops on the way. We did actually cycle into the town so I could take pictures of the Church to show my sister, and stopped at a café for chocolate crepes and coffee 😊

Carantan Steeple

Carentan flying buttresses

What we have also found interesting is that each petrol station is different. Initially we would go to the fuel section for lorries rather than cars, as our RV is very high-but then found the LGP pump is in the car section-so Steve had to reverse out and go to the car section. This has a height barrier with plastic hanging red and white tubes-so you have to drive under them very slowly. Some of the garages have pumps where you can put in your credit card and pay for the fuel. Others you had to go into the petrol station, pay a preauthorisation payment, fill up with gas, and then go back and pay what you actual used. Our LPG tank is on the passenger side but the petrol tank is on the driver’s side so Steve had to go round the whole system to come back in to get fuel as there is not enough space to turn Monty on the forecourt. Each station seems to be different and we worked out that the best thing was to drive in and stop at the side of the area-I get out and walk around to see where the LPG pump is concealed, then marshal Steve to that pump-all good fun!