Another winter, another escape…

Week 1. 14th – 21st of December 2024. Home to Lloret de Mar, Spain – 913 miles

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Saturday the 14th of December 2024 (East Cowes to Dieppe – 154 miles)

We have never been big fans of winter in the UK, the light, the damp and the cold. This winter seems to be a bit more depressing than normal. It has been sometimes difficult recently to be really “cheery” about stuff. There was always a plan to escape winter in a big style this year with lots of trips planned, and today we are off on the first of many. Jess will cheer us up and take us away somewhere with bright light and maybe a bit of a warmer climate.

We are up early today to finish off some of Jess’s packing; we did most of it yesterday. Last week, Del was away working while H was left to organise the trip. Unfortunately, she was floored by a really bad cold, which meant she was not able to do any of her usual prep. She likes a list. She has a nice spreadsheet with check boxes and categorised sections to check it all off. It’s lovely, but sadly, the pen didn’t touch the paper. Most of the prep and packing was done on Thursday and Friday and in a rush.

Del has also been feeling a bit under the weather, but nowhere near as bad as H. Poor thing. 

With all the packing done, we will be off to catch the 11:00 am ferry from Fishbourne to Portsmouth followed by a drive to Newhaven and the 4-hour ferry crossing to Dieppe.

So what are our plans for this trip?

We are planning to be away for 7 weeks. The plan is to get to Spain as quickly as possible, the south of Spain in particular. The first bit of the trip, through France, we will just make it up as we go along. Most, if not all, of the campsites in France are closed now for the winter, so we think that we will be over the French/Spanish border in 4 days. Fingers crossed.

It’s quite a nice day today, for a change. It’s an easy drive. We do one stop to check the tyre pressures and to fill up with diesel. We arrive at Newhaven Port very early. You just can’t trust the ferries on the Island anymore, and we have to build in extra time in case they decide that the water is too watery and can’t sail…

Time to kill in Newhaven. A nice cup of tea with some German stolen cake on Jess, getting Christmas off to a good start. Very nice. We are flagged through to the waiting area at 3:30 and placed, ready for our 5:30 ferry.

We are eventually loaded into the belly of the ship and given our keys to our cabin. We like the cabin. It’s only a four-hour crossing but it has a shower and a comfy bed. We drop our bags in the room and head for the ship’s restaurant and have an early dinner, after that, it’s a shower and a lie down for an hour or two. Nice.

The crossing is calm and very pleasant and before we know it we are back in Jess and being loaded off. Hello Dieppe! We are stopping at a paid-for ‘camping carpark’ spot, which is just a 1-minute drive from the ferry. Once settled in, the kettle is on and we are quite content.

It starts to rain.

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Sunday the 15th of December 2024 (Dieppe to Riom – 360 miles)

We did have some very light rain this morning. It’s very grey, very dull in Dieppe this morning, nothing like our last time here in October when it was cool but bright and sunny.

We want to get through France as quickly as we can so we have a simple, quick breakfast and we are off and away by 10:30 after a quick van service. We need to do a shop so we stop at a supermarket to stock up. In France, it’s the law that supermarkets can open on a Sunday, but they have to close at 12:30, so it’s quite busy. 80 euros later we have a good collection of goodies including a freshly roasted chicken and potatoes! That’s lunch sorted out.

Hayley is at the wheel, after 30 minutes she gets bored and there is a swapover. We push through France and different types of weather from a bit of sun to rain to fog, everything except snow. That may yet come in the next day or two. We stop on the way at a layby and get stuck into the chicken and spuds. They are fantastic! Very tasty.

We decide to just keep going and going. After 360 miles we arrive and settle in the French town of Riom. 360 miles is like going from London to Manchester and back. With all the stops it comes to about 8 hours. Remember we are in a motorhome where we do an average of 60 miles an hour! We could go faster but we would use up a lot of fuel pulling our 3.5t van and it would be very noisy!

In Riom, we stay at a very nice spot and decided to do some exercise and take a walk in the town. It’s dead, empty, but very pretty. They have some lovely Christmas decs up, all very clean and tidy, but closed!

Having done a long day driving, and had a bit of exercise we are back at Jess and settle in with a light snack and a witter before bed.

A good day. We are two-thirds of the way through France. It’s a big country.

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Monday the 16th of December 2024 (Riom to Portiragnes – 223 miles)

It’s a beautiful bright cold morning this morning. clear blue skies, 4 degrees. After breakfast, we do a full van service. It’s the usual thing, empty the grey water from the shower and the washing up etc. Fill up with fresh water and, the best bit, empty, clean and freshen up the chemical toilet. Nice.

We fill up with diesel, again, and set off south. We are confident that we will cross the border today and into Spain…

Hayley will do most of the driving today. She does a good 2 and a half hours at the wheel taking us up and over the Massif Central which gets up to just over a kilometer in altitude. Jess works hard pulling us up the hill, which has recently had some snow.

Onwards towards the Millau Viaduct. Designed by Norman Foster, it’s the tallest bridge in the world and quite spectacular, more so today in the bright sunshine.

After a walk and a spot of lunch, we change our plan. We are ahead of time so instead of going over the border to Spain, we head for a ‘camping carpark’ in Portiragnes on the south coast of France. The camping spot is right next to the beach so when we get parked up we go for a walk and meet the Med. It’s a beautiful afternoon, not a cloud in the sky, no wind and the sea is flat and calm. Wow!

Dinner on board tonight. Steak and chips…

Tomorrow we will be in Spain.

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Tuesday the 17th of December 2024 (Portiragnes to Capmany – 91 miles)

We had a fantastic sleep last night. It was so quiet and peaceful. For a while, we have not slept the best, especially Hayley with her cold, but last night was great.

We woke up this morning to grey skies, chilly. We have a good protein-filled breakfast of scrambled eggs and salmon with toast. Today we will be in Spain. We are heading to a regular stop called Capmany, just over the border. The site is a bit rustic but it has everything you need, and it’s a short walk into the charming little town.

Hayley is at the wheel today for a very pleasant 1-and-a-half-hour drive. It’s a very nice day today. We arrive just before 1 and Del checks us in using his best Spanish. Not.

We can choose our own pitch and we get settled very quickly with a cup of tea outside on our chairs basking in the afternoon sun. It’s lovely.

Time for a walk so we get our coats on and set off for the small village of Capmany. It’s closed… We are the only people around. Everything is closed, the streets are empty. It all looks rather festive with the Christmas decs out though.

We make our way back to Jess and catch the last of the afternoon sun. It’s cool but nice. We sit and have a small beer.

After showers we have a rather nice dinner of turkey, potatoes with onions and roasted peppers. Lovely.

We are a day ahead of schedule. If we had one…

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Wednesday the 18th of December 2024 (Capmany to L’Estartit – 35 miles)

We are up before the sun rises over the hill where we are pitched. It’s a lovely bright sunny morning, with clear blue skies. We have breakfast, clean up, and set off by 10:15. We drive for only 20 minutes to a small town on the Costa Brava called Peralada. There is free overnight parking for up to 6 vans with free services.

The drive is fantastic. The countryside is beautiful. It’s 13 degrees, clear, and bright. We arrive at Peralada, hoping that there will be a space for us. We are lucky; there is. We park up, secure the van, and set off through the stone archway into the town.

There are lots of these types of towns and villages in this area. Once Roman settlements, some have expanded and have more modern buildings, but the centres have been restored and kept in tip-top condition.

This one is beautiful, well looked after, clean and tidy. We have a look at some of the restaurants but they’re very expensive. These towns are real tourist traps in the summer. Thousands flock to them causing mayhem with hundreds of people and cars. Today, however, out of season, it’s quiet. There is hardly anyone about and it’s a pleasure walking around this town, which we almost have to ourselves. It’s cool in the shade, but warm in the sun. Perfect.

Once we finish the walk we reconsider whether we should stay the night, once you’ve seen the town, you’ve seen it, so we set off for the large seaside town of L’Estartit.

We have fond memories of this place. When we were boat owners we used to sail around here going from France to Spain and back again. We stopped at a lot of the marinas along the Costa Brava and this was one of them. It’s a great place to hang around in. Before the boat came along we used to holiday in this area, staying at St. Pere Pescador, then driving around the coast and visiting all the towns here.

There is a newish camping stop here called Costa Brava Area. For 18 euros you get a nice secure pitch with electricity. Some services cost extra but are very cheap. It’s in a great location. Once settled in we set off to find lunch, in particular the good old ‘menu del dia’, menu of the day. The chap who checked us in tells us where we can get a good one. It’s called Don Quixote. It really is nothing special, just your average Spanish restaurant that all the locals go to, but it is fantastic. Old old-fashioned inside, a bit rustic, but the food is fabulous. A 3-course lunch with a drink is 14 euros each. Bargain, and it’s delicious.

Time to walk it all off. We walk the full length of the town. The weather is just fantastic. No wind, just clear blue skies with 13 to 14 degrees of temperature. What a fantastic walk we have, reminiscing about our days here on a boat and on holidays which is now 25 years ago!!!!

Back at the van we settle in after showers and have a quiet night in. We have had a lovely day today.

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Thursday the 20th of December 2024 (L’Estartit to Lloret de Mar – 49 miles)

There is no rush this morning. We have two nights booked in Lloret de Mar, our next stop. A big holiday place that started back in the ’60s, 70s, and 80s, it was one of the first to offer Brits the package holiday experience. There is a campsite in the centre of town so we are going to have a couple of nights there.

It’s a bit cloudy this morning but it promises to be a nice day as we go further south. It will be about an hour’s drive, but first Jess desperately needs a wash.

The rain coming through France was dirty and plentiful. She’s looking a bit sorry for herself.

It was a nice stay here in L’estartit, very nice. It’s a short drive to a van wash, and 8 euros later Jess is looking fabulous in the sunshine. The next stop is Hayley’s favourite supermarket in Spain, Mercadona. She loves it there. They are rather good, spacious, and bright and they sell all the best Spanish goodies. We do like it. Sad that in our lives we have a favourite supermarket! Well, you have to have a hobby.

While Hayley dives in with her trolley, Del does a few touch-ups on the van. Once Hayley is back with a full trolley and grin on her face, we set off once again.

45 minutes later we arrive at Lloret de Mar and we can drive in and choose our space at the Lloret Blau Campsite. The lady at the check-in is very friendly and helpful so we are off to a good start here.

Once we get parked we set off for a walk towards the beach. The weather is the best yet, in fact, the best we have seen in a long time. Bright clear skies and in the sun it’s more than enough warm. It is lovely. We stroll around the bay along the beach and find a bar right along the front with a fabulous view looking back along the bay. It’s fantastic. We just sit there and say nothing while we bask in the sunshine. Finally. At last…

Hayley has a medium cava, but when it arrives we are sure that it’s a third of a bottle, it’s massive, but it doesn’t stop her from finishing it, with a little help from Del who is sipping on a delicious cafe con leche.

We finish up and stroll back towards Jess. We watch a German motorhome getting towed as they have parked right in the motorbike parking spaces. Oh dear, they will have a nasty shock when they find their home on wheels gone. We walk to a hotel that Hayley visited with her mum and dad 42 years ago when she was 11! The hotel is still there and still looks the same…

Back at Jess we get showered and settle in as the late afternoon sun disappears and the air starts to cool.

Tomorrow we will explore some other parts of Lloret if we can find them. We shall see.

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Friday the 21st of December 2024 (Lloret de Mar – Day 2)

Our second day in Lloret de Mar. We had some wind blow through last night so it’s a bit cooler this morning but it’s dry and bright. Not much on today. We go for a walk to see what Lloret has to offer. It’s not much really, 80% of it is closed as it’s out of season, but we like the walk especially along the front again as we make our way to the same place on the other side of the small bay where we had a drink yesterday.

We have some calamari and patatas bravas, the usual staple of the visiting tourist. It’s just nice to sit in the warm sun and look out to sea.

The visibility today is amazing since the wind blew through. So clean and fresh.

We have a slow walk back to Jess, where we get some laundry done and just relax until dinnertime. We plan on going to bed early tonight, it was late last night. Tomorrow, we are setting off for Salou, a good 2-3 hour drive from here.

We have been out for 7 days now. It has gone very quickly and we have come so far.

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