Food, drink, travel and everything in-between

Month: June 2025

Norway. The furthest north we’ve all been.

Week 4 . 21st – 27th June 2025. Gothenburg to Briksdalsbreen, Norway – 496 miles

Gothenburg, Sweden to Briksdalsbreen, Norway – 496 miles

Saturday 21st June 2025 – Gothenburg day 4

The best and cheapest campsite washing facilities, ever!

After a couple of days of walking around and exploring Gothenburg, Hayley plans a quieter day today. First, there’s the mundane, yet necessary, task of doing the laundry. We take our washer at home for granted, and it can be a struggle on the road sometimes to find decent laundry facilities.

The laundry at this campsite is the best, £8 for 2 hours exclusive rental of the laundry room with washers, dryers and an iron. Hayley gets 4 loads done and ironed – result! The rest of the day, she sits in the sun and reads before setting off for a look at the forest and trails that are near the campsite.


Sunday 22nd June 2025 – Gothenburg day 5

Del is back today, woohoo! He’s not due until 4 pm, so Hayley tidies up the van and goes for another long walk. At last, he’s safely back, and it’s been a successful job that he has enjoyed. Hayley has also had a good few days in Gothenburg, but now we’re back together, we can resume our travels.

The logistics have worked out well. The campsite is excellent, in a good place near Sweden’s second biggest city, which just by chance has an amusement park with a world-class coaster in it. The airport was only 45 minutes away, with good flights back to London.

Tonight we celebrate with a rather expensive dinner in the city (Sweden is expensive, but nothing compared to Norway, so we hear).

Tomorrow we will move north towards the Swedish/Norwegian border.


Monday 23rd June 2025 – Gothenburg to Åmål – 110 miles

We slept well last night despite bursts of heavy rain drumming on the roof.

Automatic cassette toilet cleaning machine. Very fancy.

We pack up, check and refresh Jess for a 100-mile drive today to the small town of Åmål, which has a campsite called Örnäs camping, located right on the banks of Lake Vänern. The lake is not only the biggest in Sweden but the biggest in the EU, with a length of 140 kilometres (87 miles!!!) That’s a big lake… We have some heavy rain along the way.

We get a nice pitch right next to the lake. The sky is heavy with lots of grey clouds, but it’s nice and dramatic.

We manage a walk through the forest to a marina and back. There are some good walks here, but it’s a shame that the weather today is so unpredictable.


Tuesday 24th June 2025 – Åmål, Sweden to Gata, Norway 146 miles

It’s a bright, hot, sunny morning with coffee outside by the lake today. Strong gusts of wind are blowing across the lake, though.

After a large breakfast, using up some Swedish potatoes, which are banned in Norway, we set off. We have some Swedish kroner to get rid of, so we fill Jess up with diesel and buy some bits and pieces from a supermarket. There are a lot of motorhomes on our route today, mainly going in the opposite direction. Most people going to Norway take the ferry from Denmark, travelling clockwise, we are doing it differently as we went east first to have a look at Poland. Norway is very popular with motorhomes and can get extremely busy, we shall see. ​

During our picturesque drive to Norway, the weather changes. The rain showers are back, and the sky is grey. We have a good drive north and we cross the border into Norway at around 2 pm, stopping at a peace monument that straddles the border of Sweden and Norway.

The scenery in Norway, as expected, is wonderful and by all accounts it will only get better. We want to do some wild camping today, a free place in a forest. We try a few places, but they don’t really do it for us. Eventually, we find a spot, two miles down an unpaved road, 10 km south of the nearest town called Gata. We really are in the middle of nowhere.

In Norway, like Sweden, you can camp anywhere you like, so long as there is no sign expressly forbidding camping, and you are 150m from private property.

The place we have found is fantastic, no sounds, nothing. No moose either, although there are droppings nearby. We are right in the middle of a wood. We are off-grid tonight, relying on batteries and bottled gas. No problem for Jess as we settle into a fantastic dinner and watch the final episode of Clarkson’s Farm.


Wednesday 25th June 2025 – Gata to Ringebu – 84 miles

Last night was a fabulous stop, off-grid, wild camping in the middle of a Norwegian wood, fabulous. Today, we are planning on another wild camping spot,stopping at a secluded place by a river. We have a few things to do, though. Jess needs her grey water emptying, fresh water, diesel, LPG, a wash and we need some local currency!

After breakfast, we set off, heading north.

First stop, Diesel, a litre here is about £1.40 – £1.50 which is not as bad as we thought. Next, we are driving to a marina, en route to empty the grey water tank and fill up with fresh water. After ducking under a 3m bridge, we arrive at the marina. (Jess is 2.95m, we make it just). Norway is great for free motorhome service points, maybe even better than France.

Next, Jess needs a wash. The heavy rain and mud from yesterday have left her looking like a rally car. We have found the most expensive car wash in the world. £10 gets us about three minutes. To wash Jess to her normal standard, that we have achieved everywhere else, would have cost £50.00!!!! She looks worse than before she went in!

Finally we need LPG. We have two bottles, one is almost empty, and we like to keep them full. You never know… This was a bit of a challenge as the place was off road in the yard of a garage, very rustic, and very muddy, and we have just had the most expensive ‘non-wash’ of Jess.

We are all done, and finally, we are on our way to our river stop. The weather is glorious, the roads are lovely to drive on, winding along the lakes. The scenery is just breathtaking, the best.

We pass a campsite about 30 minutes from our proposed stop, which looks fabulous, and after a bit of a ‘shall we, shan’t we moment, we decide we shall. We turn around and head for it.

This is one of the best sites we have stayed in. Elstad Camping, near the town of Ringebu, is located right on a wide, long lake, you can pitch right on the edge. It costs us only 23 euros for the night, and it is just stunning. Across the lake, there are steep mountains covered in pine trees.

There is a Stave church here in Ringebu. A Stave church is a medieval wooden church which is a regular sight here in Norway. Once we get pitched up and comfortable, we head up the hill to the church. It’s a bit expensive to get in, £8.00, but inside it’s very cute and is worth the money. The surrounding grounds are spectacular and so beautifully maintained.

Back at the van, we share a beer and enjoy the rest of the afternoon and later dinner outside. It never seems to get dark here.

Outside Jess at just past 11:00 pm!!!

Thursday 26th June 2025 – Ringebu to Geiranger – 130 miles

It’s a fantastic sunny day today, and we slept really well last night. The view this morning is incredible—towering, tree-covered mountains with a slow-moving river winding through the landscape. It’s a wonderful sight to wake up to, especially with smoked salmon and poached eggs for breakfast. Fabulous.

After finishing our hearty breakfast, we clean up and set off, making sure everything is ready after a full service. Tonight, we’ll be off the grid, so we need to have everything stocked up.

We’re still on the lookout for an ATM, but they’re scarce here, and very few shops and outlets seem to use cash. The Scandinavian countries, in general, don’t seem to like using cash, but we do need to have some for showers at campsites and some service points.

It’s a fabulous drive today as we climb higher, above 1000m, and the snow-covered mountains flatten out. Our drive takes us along rivers and lakes. The scenery is something else here in Norway. They’ve got some good stuff here.

We find our chosen overnight stop and pull in after negotiating a rather interesting road, narrow, with deep rivulets carved by other vans. We’re a little concerned the raised middle might scrape the underside. We make it, but only just.

It is a spectacular spot—difficult to describe how stunning it is. The temperature has dropped as we’ve climbed higher, and the mountains are snow-covered. We get settled in. This will be the furthest north we’ll go; in fact, it’s the furthest north we’ve ever been on a van trip.

Hayley suddenly has an idea: while it’s lovely here, we really should be heading to Geiranger, with its spectacular fjord. She finds us a campsite, and off we go. So much for the off-grid night by the lake!

It’s a good drive, but the roads are getting narrower, twistier, and more perilous. Your wheels hug the outer marker line, and some drivers either don’t understand that or are so scared themselves that they drive far too much in the middle.

Twice we have our wing mirror clipped. It’s okay—our mirrors have sacrificial covers and are designed to fold inwards—but the noise of clipping is quite disconcerting. Comes with the hobby. As long as it’s just clipped mirrors!

Mirror drama aside, the drive is probably one of the best scenic routes we’ve ever done. Every corner reveals another jaw-dropper—huge mountains and aqua-coloured lakes. We get a fantastic view of the Geirangerfjord, which currently has two cruise liners docked.

We arrive at the Vinje Campsite in Geiranger, which is quite high up. We have a very nice pitch with a view of the fjord and a huge waterfall that runs right through the camp. Noisy!

Once settled in, we set off down the hill for a walk to the fjord and the town of Geiranger. There’s a large cruise liner in, AIDAprima, which we think we’ve seen in Southampton before.

The place is a massive tourist stop. It’s busy, full of buses and people from all over the world. A popular place for cruise ships to stop. We walk around, the town is nice, but nothing really to write home about—everything is overpriced and done up for tourists.

We take the steep walk back up the hill to Jess and our little campsite, where we have a fabulous (and simple) dinner: beans on toast with a poached egg. We don’t normally carry beans, but Hayley has ‘stocked up for the wilds of Norway’, thinking we could be stranded without shops for days…!

We are wiped out after the challenging drive and the walk down to Geiranger and back, so we turn in early. A good day.


Friday 27th June 2025 – Geiranger to Briksdalsbreen – 70 miles

Despite the waterfall outside the van, we slept well. Today we’re going to stay at a place near the Briksdalsbreen glacier. The drive is another challenging one, and today it’s Hayley’s turn.

We’re not sure why, but today there are so many coaches on the road—long ones—so the climb up the winding road is a difficult one. The traffic often comes to a standstill as coaches and motorhomes try to pass each other on hairpin bends. We are probably averaging 8 mph. The locals must be fed up with this chaos every day.

This is a normal drive out from Geiranger!

Once off the mountain road, Hayley thinks she is clear until she encounters a number of narrow tunnels of 4km each, which are not even wide enough for a centre dividing line, and have low rocky roofs. We swap over when we fill up with diesel, and Del has the next drive. The road leading up to the campsite we have reserved is even narrower, and Del is forced to reverse to let some traffic pass. It also has the creepiest tunnel ever.

Finally, finally, we arrive at the campsite: Melkevoll Bretun, which is surrounded by glaciers, mountains, and waterfalls.

Our very own waterfall!

The people here are lovely, and we get our pitch that Hayley had pre-booked. Again, to our right is a massive waterfall; to our left, a huge glacier; and straight ahead, another one. You can’t move for them!

We get dressed for a walk—boots, weatherproofs, etc.—and take a 4km hike along the Briksdal glacier trail. We get a few heavy showers of rain, but so what…

The glacier is in front of us the whole way and is quite an imposing sight. It’s hard to believe that these glaciers are moving forward down the mountain, while global warming is making them recede even faster.

We arrive at the base—or as close to the base of the glacier as we can get. Wow! is all we can say. We walk around, taking pictures for half an hour before heading back down to the campsite.

After a short break, we get changed and head for the on-site sauna. There’s a glacial stream next to it. You’re supposed to spend 20 minutes in a sauna, then take a dip in the stream before going back in. We do the sauna no problem, but the stream bit… that’s a bit harder. Hayley manages to get up to her knees before the pain of the icy water forces her out in a rather ungraceful fashion, losing her flip-flops and nearly falling over in the process. Ice-cold water, straight off the mountain… Hmmm.

After a shower, it’s back ‘home’ for a fantastic dinner of Swedish meatballs, asparagus, and crushed potatoes, washed down with a cold white wine.

A perfect end to a perfect day.


Midsummer in Sweden.

Week 3. 14th – 20th June 2025. Lundakrahamnen to Gothenburg – 146 miles

Lundakrahamnen to Gothenburg – 146 miles

Saturday 14th June 2025 – Landskrona to Annerstad – 89 miles

It’s a stunning morning today, with a gentle breeze and a bright blue summer sky. We have a quick breakfast since we want to try and get into a very popular campsite off the beaten path in a town called Annerstad, which might be full since it’s a lovely weekend.

We set off north on the E4 motorway. It’s a fantastic, scenic drive, especially in the sunshine.

Time for ‘Fika’

After about 45 minutes, we stopped for a Fika—a Swedish tradition of sharing coffee with a pastry. Hayley has managed to book us into the campsite; there are only two spots left, and we have secured one.

We continue our drive, passing some beautiful scenery. It’s a rather lovely place so far, Sweden. After about 40 minutes, we arrived at the charming farm of Prästgården in Annerstad with a lush green field to park in and where cows graze next to a barn full of chickens and pigs. The host is very friendly and tells us we’re free to do and go as we wish.

We choose a spot right next to the cow field, and we have two visitors already—some curious cows.

It’s lovely here. The barn is filled with pigs and chickens. An unusual thing about the pig area is that they have paintings on the walls and a chandelier, quite charming.

The weather is so gorgeous that we decide to take down the bikes and explore the area. Our cycle takes us to a large lake, one of many around here. It’s simply stunning. The scent of fresh pine trees is fabulous as we cycle along. The lake is clean, bright, and inviting, shining in the high afternoon sun. It’s genuinely a fantastic ride in a beautiful place.

After about 10 miles and feeling a bit sore, we return to Jess, and sit in the shade with a cold drink and some time to stretch out. It’s warm today, and tomorrow is expected to be even warmer.

The best pizza in the world…?

We have a reservation for tonight at the little restaurant on the camp that specialises in pizzas. By all accounts, and according to many websites, this place does the best pizza in Sweden. Every review gives them 5 stars, so we take a table outside in the evening sun and order 2 diavolo pizzas, beginning with a walnut and pear salad.

The pizzas are amazing and we both agree they are the best we have ever had, who would have thought it, in a tiny farm in the middle of Sweden?


Sunday 15th June 2025 – Annerstad to Bolmsö – 31 miles

Morning…

It’s a bright, hot, and sunny morning. We have coffee outside with the cows. Our road trip today will be about 45 minutes to our next stop by a lake in Bolmsö.

We find a lovely spot shaded by trees, with a beautiful view of the lake. It doesn’t take us very long to get level, (just about), plugged up and settled in. There is a free ferry—yes, free—that transports people and cars across the lake in about 10 minutes. So we shall have a look at that. Just below our pitch, there’s a small beach. Hayley tries to paddle, but decides the lake is way too cold, despite the 25-degree temperature and sunshine.

We board the small ferry without any fuss; people and cars board simultaneously. Everyone just looks out for each other—it’s a strange concept, but it works.

Liquorice ice cream, yum

Since the ferry ride is just a continuation of the road, there isn’t much to see along the way, except for a small hut at the other end when we get off that serves coffee and ice cream. We couldn’t resist the ice cream.

Hayley chooses a salty liquorice-flavoured one; this flavour is very popular in Sweden and is delicious. Simple pleasures, eh?

Afterwards, we take the ferry back to the camp and relax, read, and just sit in the warm, still air. It has now clouded over a bit, but it’s still humid and 26 degrees. Tonight we dine outside, with our view of the lake. Afterwards we get cleaned up and decide to sit outside again, this time with a few drinks and a game of chess that ends badly for Del… We are outside playing chess in daylight at 10:30pm…!


Monday 16th June 2025 – Bolmsö to Rydal – 93 miles

There were a few light rain showers last night here in Bolmsö. We’re moving on again today, taking a short drive to another camping spot by a different lake. We can’t get enough of these lakes. It’s a chilly, grey morning compared to yesterday, 12 degrees less—the sun never seems to last! We enjoy a hearty breakfast to cheer ourselves up before a quick Jess service, then we’re on our way, via the ferry to the other side of the lake.

We get the ferry to ourselves. It’s an earlyish Monday morning. The ferry is run by the equivalent of the highways agency; it’s a continuation of the road, so it’s free. Just drive on and off. No nonsense, no delays, it just bounces back and forth all day.

We stop by a Willys (stop it!), the Swedish equivalent of Tesco, and do a quick shopping trip filled with Swedish goodies—Dime bars, bread, smoked salmon and crackers.

A bit of a bumpy road to the reservoir.

After about an hour of driving through beautiful Swedish countryside, we arrive at Kvarnsjöns, but unfortunately, we’re a bit disappointed. There’s no real information available, everything is a bit spread out, and it just doesn’t quite hit the mark for us. Hayley then finds another spot, this time in Svenljunga. (Are you keeping up with these Swedish names?) This will be a free stop next to a small reservoir; there’s space for three vans.

When we arrive, we’re the only ones there. To get to it, you have to drive off-road along a rugged, uneven dirt road, but at the end, there’s this charming little hideout.

It’s very nice, but again, it doesn’t fully satisfy us. There’s no cycling or even walking paths nearby, and it’s only 2:30, so we fear we will get restless.

After a quick search, Hayley finds us a paid camping spot in the town of Rydal, just an hour southeast of Gothenburg. Rydal was historically big on textiles, similar to Bolton! There’s space for eight campervans right on the river, which the local boat club maintains. It also has a private sauna, which visitors are allowed to use; it looks good, let’s go.

Another 30-minute drive brings us here. It’s a beautiful spot—lots of trees, with a narrow river threading through. The van pitches are right by the river, and there’s also a small covered fire pit ideal for sitting while cooking your BBQ.

The sauna is available; to use it, you book a slot on their website, receive a code to open a key box that contains the sauna key. You get two hours, but if no one else is waiting, you can stay longer. The only catch is that you need to bring logs; it’s a traditional burner, not electric. We didn’t think of that…

The staff here are incredibly helpful. We email the owner about our situation, and he tells us to hang on—someone will bring logs soon. The logs cost ten quid, and the sauna itself is free to use. While Hayley prepares dinner on Jess, Del starts the fire in the sauna. We enjoy a delicious meal while it heats up to 80 degrees.

Later, we get changed into flip-flops and swimwear and head into the sauna. It’s perfect—hot! Inside, there’s a large window overlooking the river. Outside, a spacious decking area provides a refreshing cool-off. It’s a fantastic feature.

After an hour in the sauna with rests, we return to Jess for a shower, fresh clothes, and a cold drink . All in all, it’s been a great day. We plan to stay here again tomorrow, we have plenty of logs left over for another sauna and a BBQ.


Tuesday 17th June 2025 – Rydal day 2

It’s a lovely, bright, sunny day today. We like it here, so we decide to stay for another day. It’s such a lovely place, with lots to do and see, and already we have a full day lined up.

We start off by having morning coffee outside, followed by a nice hearty breakfast of lots of stuff! There are canoes here for hire, but there is nobody here to help us except for a telephone number and an email address. Hayley does a little research, and it turns out the owner is not in the country, but is happy to give us the key code for the garage where the oars and life preservers are kept. All we have to do is pay for the rental using PayPal. Amazing trust – we go the code to the garage before making the payment.

We drag a three-seater canoe into the river and set off. The Swedish countryside is just fantastic. We weave our way along the river, there is nothing to suggest “man” is here, no pylons, poles, wires or signs, just the river and bird song, with the odd ‘plop‘ of a fish surfacing.

We do a good two hours, drop all the stuff off and let the owner know what we have done. Yesterday we had a sauna, and we still have some logs left over, so we decide to use them up and have another one. Del gets the fire going, gets the room up to 60 degrees, throws some water on the stones, and it’s not long before the temperature is at a nice 80 degrees, lovely.

The day has just flown by. It’s now 6pm by the time we have cleaned up, showered, and reset ourselves. We meet the two men who look after this place and compliment them on their work; they are grateful for the feedback. We spend a few minutes chatting away about the Swedish countryside and Sweden in general. They have lots to say!

It’s time for dinner, which we have outside. It’s a very pleasant sunny evening, which is finished off by Hayley playing a few Loretta Lynn, Britney Spears and Eagles songs on her baby guitar (she has a very unusual repertoire shall we say).

All in all, a very nice day indeed here in Rydel. A place that we will remember for a long time, and that one day we will return.

Tomorrow, Del is off to London on business, back on Sunday.


Wednesday 18th June 2025 – Rydal to Gothenburg – 35 miles

We are sad to be leaving Rydal which has become one of our favourite little parking spots, but we must as Del has a flight leaving this evening from Gothenburg. He has a short job in London, so Jess and H are booked into a campsite in the city. This campsite just happens to be owned by Liseberg park, which has a world-famous roller coaster called Helix, so H certainly won’t be bored; however, Del won’t be to hand to hold the bag!

We arrive early afternoon, after a small stockup and full van service, we’re not used to the city feel and scenery, we prefer trees and lakes and nobody around, but cities can be interesting too, especially this one. This is Sweden’s second biggest city and a big draw for tourists. The campsite is huge (150 pitches) and fully booked as we are going into what the Swedes call the Midsummer Festival.

We take the short tram ride to the interchange in the centre for the airport bus, and soon, Del is away to work while Hayley will have some fun in the park!

As we are staying at the campsite, Hayley is able to get into the Liseberg amusement park for free this evening. It doesn’t include rides, but she pays to go on the standout coaster, the one she has been waiting for, the one that everyone talks about (in coaster circles anyway) – Helix. She gets a front row ride and loves it.

It’s not the best value to pay as you go on the rides tonight, so she will return tomorrow with a proper entrance and ride ticket and do the whole day, but for now, she is happy to walk around and see the lay of the land before tomorrow.

The Corrs are doing a concert tonight inside the park, and the ticket to get in is just £5 (what?!). Hayley has never really been a fan of the Corrs as such, but likes some of their songs, so she decides to stay and check them out.

The concert is fantastic, they are one of those bands that you know more songs than you think. Great musicians, catchy songs – a really enjoyable show (funny enough, their next stop on their tour is the Isle of Wight festival back home). Hayley gets back to Jess at 10:30 pm after a great day, it’s still daylight.


Thursday 19th June 2025 – Gothenburg day 2

It’s yet another lovely sunny day today, but not as warm as the UK. Del has reported back that the UK temperature is in the upper 20s and expected to be in the low 30s by the weekend! Today is a big day for Hayley as she is going to the Liseberg Park Amusement Park, so she has a relaxed start to the day as they open at 1 pm. 

Once in, she manages quite a few rides, as the queues are pretty small.

It’s a public holiday tomorrow for midsummer, so it looks like most people are waiting until then to come to the park. After 5 hours and 14 rides (including being turned upside down 27 times), Hayley has finally had enough. She’s not getting any younger and is already the oldest person in the queues! She’s not as able as she once was to be chucked upside down and thrown around for long periods.

She heads back to Jess for some quiet time and to just relax after what has been another great day.


Friday 20th June 2025 – Gothenburg day 3

Today, Hayley plans to explore the city, despite most things being shut for the Midsummer festival, which is the second most important holiday in Sweden.

Tram accident in the city centre

After a few transport issues, she makes it into the centre. She has found out what the issue is with the trams this morning by reading about it in the British press. A tram took a corner at high speed early this morning and derailed, travelled across the asphalt and wiped out a pizza restaurant. Luckily, no one was killed, but it has left quite a mess and a few injuries.

As predicted, the town is pretty quiet, with most of the places Hayley planned to visit locked up. Even Ikea is shut until Sunday! She hops on a tram to visit the city’s main park. They have Moose there, we hoped we would see some casually crossing the road (not too close) in the quiet forest areas, but have had no luck.

She gets to see a couple, some nice goats and chickens and then walks down into the main lawned area. This is where all of Gothenburg is; it’s crazy busy with people dressed up and wearing the traditional flowers in their hair.

She watches a few traditional dances and then heads back to Jess. It’s another quiet night in, giving her feet a rest.

Poland and the Baltic Sea. A first for Jess…!

The northern Polish coastline on the Baltic Sea

Week 2. 7th – 13th June 2025. Lieblingshof, Germany to Lundakrahamnen, Sweden– 375 miles

Lieblingshof, Germany to Lundakrahamnen, Sweden– 375 miles

Saturday 7th June 2025 – Lieblingshof, Germany to Dziwnow, Poland – 122 miles

We still have our poor kitten outside that we met yesterday. It’s been raining on and off all night and this morning. Today, we’re heading to Poland, where we have a two-night reservation at the Black Pearl Campsite. Just as we’re about to leave, the sun comes out!

A road to nowhere. Thanks Google…

The drive has been challenging. Hayley has to navigate narrow roads in Germany, with trees leaning into the road. We swap over before reaching the border, so Del has to handle very tight roads and heavy rain.

It isn’t long before Google sends us down a nasty, narrow cobbled road to…? No idea… There is a new motorway with maintenance being done once you cross the border into Poland. Speed limit 35mph…!

Hmmm. Not sure.

We’re in Poland! One of the first things we do is to stop at a border shop and try some Polish chocolate.

We are staying at a campsite for a couple of days. The journey has been nonstop since we left home—long days of driving. Once we’re settled, we do our weekly cleaning of Jess, which involves pulling everything apart to remove dust and dirt. It feels good to have her spotless inside. All surfaces are thoroughly wiped down. She now looks in showroom condition inside, although the outside is beginning to look a bit sad. The rain and motorway driving have made her filthy.

Very flashy, very not worky well

We encounter a power issue at the Dziwnow campsite. The pitch sockets are only outputting 180 volts, which isn’t enough to power the battery charger (it took us a while of pulling the van apart to test fuses before we managed to figure this out).

As a result, the fridge can’t run on mains power. Luckily, the fridge is a multi-power source unit—AC, battery, and gas.

After completing all the chores, we settle into a very clean and tidy van with a cold German beer. It has started to rain again.

For dinner tonight, we set out to a local restaurant. We eat too much again, but it’s very tasty. We try the local dish of Pierogi, which is very nice, a dumpling with meat inside.

We are so full of food, we decide to walk it off by heading to the beach to have a look at the Baltic Sea. The view is fantastic. We will be crossing it on Thursday to go to Sweden.


Sunday 8th June 2025 – Day 2 in Dziwnow, Poland

We have big plans today to go cycling around here; it’s nice and flat, and by the sea. No chance… there’s more rain today in Poland and, in fact, the whole of northern Europe. We are hoping to get a break in the weather to go for our bike ride later. It has rained on and off all morning.

There is finally a slight break, enough for us to go to the nearby model village, which is very popular here. 9 quid to get in, it’s very nice. Well tended to, clean and lots of working model trains. The main theme of this model village is Polish lighthouses. Well, why not…? There are 16 of them here.

We get into the flow of the park when suddenly… we have a massive thunderstorm with heavy rain, but really heavy. We take shelter in the model workshop thanks to a worker there. When the next break in the rain happens, the lady in the ticket office gives us a couple of umbrellas from a pile she has in the office, clearly a regular thing, this heavy rain thing. We are now the only two walking around in the not-so-heavy rain. Good though, we like it.

We make it back to the van for some hot tea and put the heating on. We cosy up with a good dinner in, and a couple of episodes of Clarkson’s Farm while the rain and now the strong winds batter the van. Nice.


Monday 9th June 2025 – Dziwnow to Wolin – 20 miles

The rain has stopped, and the wind has died down. We’re driving to a small town, slightly south of Dziwnow called Wolin. When we arrive, we find that the area is essentially a large, well-organised car park that accommodates campervans. Full services are available, though: you can empty your toilet, fill up with fresh water for a small fee, and dump grey water. It’s very convenient.

Once the rain clears, the weather improves, so we take a walk into the town of Wolin. On the way, we pass a new wooden structure—a viewpoint called Wieża widokowa w Wolinie. It offers spectacular views of the surrounding lakes.

We continue our walk into Wolin, which has a rustic charm. It reminds us a bit of Grimsby in the 1980s, but we enjoy the walk. To us, this is what it’s all about. Our trips are not just about fantastic views and spectacular drives, it’s about seeing where other people live and how they do it.

We stop for a cold beer before heading back to the van. Overall, we manage a 4-mile walk.

Dinner in tonight… A fantastic, juicy, thick steak done to perfection and fries…


Tuesday 10th June 2025 – Wolin to Marina Wicko, Zalesie – 11 miles

It’s a grey but calm day so far, no rain and no strong wind. We enjoy a fantastic breakfast in Jess this morning (aren’t they all?). Then, a short 11-mile drive to the town of Zalesie. The place we are going to is right at the end of a lake with kayaks for rent, so all being well, we will have a go at that. There is also a V3 museum here. The V3 was also known as the V3 London Cannon.

The campsite is fabulous—small, rustic. It’s looked after by a couple of guys who are very helpful and accommodating. They make us feel very welcome despite the language barrier. It’s charming and “handmade,” with kayak hire, a BBQ area, and a communal cooking space. We really like it. The V3 museum is just across the road, so what’s not to like?

Sadly, the bad weather has set in again, with rain and increasing wind. We decide to wait it out before heading to the museum. It looks like the kayak rental is off, which is a shame.

The next break in the rain, we go across to the road to the smallest museum in the world, a tiny room filled with various items, but very interesting. It doesn’t take us long to look around.

We are not able to climb up the launch area as they are replacing some steps to it, but we are shown where we can see some of the concrete mounts used to place the pipes and the barrel. We knew nothing about the V3, but we do now.

There’s also a model village nearby. They seem to be very popular in this part of Poland, so we set off for the short walk. It’s rather impressive, with famous buildings from many European countries.

For dinner, we have a lovely meal cooked in the van.

The rain and wind don’t dampen our spirits; we stay in and enjoy a movie.


Wednesday 11th June 2025 – Zalesie to Miedzyzdroje – 3 miles

It’s finally a sunny day, but still a bit windy. We are sad to leave our little, cute camping spot, but we must move on. Our next campsite is in the town of Miedzyzdroje. Forest Camp is a 10-minute walk to the front, where all the action is. There’s white fine sand for miles in either direction.

The town of Miedzyzdroje is one of the top 4 beach holiday destinations in Poland. It has a great feel to it. We visit the Polish Walk of Fame (we don’t know anyone there), and the Chopin Park (we know him), which has a statue in honour of the man.

We have ice cream and some currywurst, and chips – a lot of the town is set up for the large number of German tourists that they get here, as Germany is just next door. Back at Jess, we have a small beer in the sun. Dinner in tonight is a typical Polish feed.

Pierogi with meatballs, very nice. ​

Tomorrow we catch the ferry to Sweden.


Thursday 12th June 2025 – Międzyzdroje, Poland to Klagshamn, Sweden -140 miles

It’s warm today. We’re off on a ferry to Trelleborg in Sweden this afternoon, after a service at the campsite, we set off.

Jess finally gets a good wash—after a thorough scrub and wax, she looks showroom new.

We do a bit of last-minute shopping before making our way to the ferry port to join the line to board the ferry.

The ferry is excellent—very, very empty. We have a comfortable cabin at the front of the boat with a window for the 6-hour crossing, and enjoy a good dinner of Swedish meatballs in the restaurant before arriving into Trelleborg. We only need to do a 30-minute drive north to a free overnight parking area.

We arrive just before sunset and watch the sun go down behind the Öresund Bridge, which connects Sweden to Denmark.

It’s a fantastic welcome to Sweden. We head back to Jess for a celebratory glass of rosé.

Welcome to Sweden…!


Friday 13th June 2025 – Klagshamns to Landskrona – 37 miles

It gets dark here at 10:30 at night and light at 4:30 in the morning. It’s a beautiful day today, clear blue skies, bright and sunny, lovely. After a short breakfast, we set off, driving north to the town of Landskrona to Lundakrahamnen marina, which allows campervans. The roads here are excellent, clean and well made. Fabulous.

What…? It’s a supermarket!

We stop off at a supermarket. It might sound a bit sad, but we love checking out foreign supermarkets; they are all so very different.

We get a few things and set off for the short drive to the marina.

We find a space, it’s already busy as we are going into the weekend, so not only are the foreign van people out, like us, the Germans and Dutch, but the Swedes are also out in force as the weekend weather is promising to be very good.

After paying 295 SEK (£23), we find a space sandwiched between a Dutch couple and a German couple who are very friendly and chatty to us. We later get chatting to an elderly Swedish lady who lived in the UK, Salford of all places…!

We get settled in quite quickly and go for a short walk to see what’s what.

Del starts the laundry (they have a washer and dryer), it’s a thankless task, but one that needs to be done all the same. Hayley gets on her bike and sets off for the town to get some Swedish cash!

Hayley’s bike ride snaps…

Dinner tonight is outside. It’s a lovely evening and the place we are at is so peaceful and so relaxing, we could live here!

Dinner in the evening sun

Tomorrow we are moving onto a forest location, which sounds really good on the campsite finder app, but will we get in?

Summer is upon us, so it’s back on the road again…

Summer 2025 is upon us, so before it gets too busy, we are off on one of our van travels. A seven-and-a-half week outing. This time we are off to Norway and other parts of Scandinavia. We are planning to go from Calais, through Belgium, Holland, then northeast through Germany and across to Poland, where we will grab a ferry from the Polish port of Świnoujście, (yes, we can’t pronounce it either!), landing at Trelleborg in Sweden.

Norway is much bigger than you think. It fills the living room floor!!

From there, we plan to go up through Sweden, then cut west into Norway, down along the west coast, doing a bit of snaking as we go, whilst heading south, taking a ferry from Kristiansand to Hirtshals in Denmark, finally making our way home.

This is the third attempt to see Norway in Jess. Our first attempt was stopped by crazy COVID-19 rules between the different countries to get there. The second attempt was cancelled for family reasons.

This is a diary of our travels, for our friends and family. We like to share our trip with you all, and we are so happy to hear from you. If you have stumbled upon our site, then you may find some parts of our journey interesting, so please subscribe by clicking the button on the right to receive a weekly update, normally on a Saturday. You can easily unsubscribe at any time by hitting the unsubscribe link in the weekly mailshot.


Let the journey begin…

Week 1. 1st – 6th June 2025. Home to Lieblingshof, Germany – 764 miles

Home to Lieblingshof, Germany.

Sunday, 1st of June 2025. Home to Calais, France – 181 miles

It’s a bright, warm, and sunny day as we set off with a fully loaded van for a 7-week adventure on Jess. It’s a familiar route: taking the ferry from the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth, followed by a 6:05 pm crossing to Calais from Dover. The drive from Portsmouth feels like a bit of a long slog… it takes forever!

We arrive early for the ferry, so we begin with a comforting cup of tea while waiting to board.

The crossing is smooth and uneventful. It’s windy, but the sky is clear and blue, and the sun is shining. During the crossing, we enjoy dinner, and before long, we arrive in Calais. After disembarking, it’s just a quick 10-minute drive to a paid camping aire. Once we’ve settled in, we unwind with a glass of red wine before heading to bed.


Monday, 2nd of June 2025. Calais, France to Poperinge, Belgium – 50 miles

A smashing day today. We enjoy a very relaxing breakfast this morning. We’re leaving Calais and heading to a campsite, a regular one of ours, which was our first European stop when we started this motorhoming thing back in 2018. The site, Stal ‘t Bardehof, is located in the Vleteren area of Belgium. We have a lovely spot tucked away, and without much delay, we unload the bikes and set off on a short six-mile cycle.

Our first stop is at the Sixtus Abbey, where they brew the world’s best beer (according to ChatGPT). You can only get this beer here; it’s not available anywhere else in the world. Visitors can enjoy a glass in the garden, which we do, paired with some abbey cheese, or purchase boxes to take away.

It’s fantastic. Afterwards, we cycle back to the campsite via one of the many Commonwealth Military Cemeteries, very sobering, very peaceful places of which there are many in this area.

Back at the farm, enjoy one of our favourite beers, a St. Bernardus 12.

The weather is perfect—clear skies, warm and sunny. It’s so lovely that we shower early and then have a fantastic dinner outside.

After dinner, we clean up and settle down to watch a couple of episodes of Clarkson’s Farm 4. It’s 10 pm, and it’s still light outside…


Tuesday, 3rd of June 2025. Poperinge, Belgium to Hapert, Holland – 131 miles

Del collects our bread order from the office.

We have breakfast outside today. After a full service, we get on the road, northeast towards Germany. H finds a nice place near a small Dutch town called Hapert, which is not too far away from Eindhoven. The stop is perfect, and the surrounding area is beautiful, so it’s off on the bikes again.

Today we manage 13 miles, stopping at a holiday park (like a rather fancy Butlins in a forest) and the small town of Hapert. Very equine, lots of manicured fields and horses. The town is so smart, clean and tidy. ​Back at Jess, we get showered and H makes us a nice, simple, tasty dinner. ​A very nice but short day in Holland.

A good day today; a good long cycle and lovely dinner.


Wednesday, 4th of June 2025. Hapert, Holland to Bockholt, Germany- 147 miles

The rain… It just keeps falling in Germany

It’s a wet, drizzly start to the day. As we reach the German border, the weather begins to clear, but we’re warned that rain may return later and persist throughout the weekend as we head into Poland.

We stop at a marina on a canal, which is okay; the camping spots border the canal with a decent-looking restaurant nearby. However, the internet here is terrible, we are struggling to get any data.

Del falls asleep for a while, feeling a bit under the weather for some reason. Luckily, he soon starts to feel better, gets up, reads, and takes a shower. We have dinner at the local marina restaurant, which is okay, costing about 50 euros. Afterwards, we take a walk along the canal during the early evening, watching the setting sun.

It’s lovely and genuinely lifts Dels’ spirits. We enjoy these camping spots near rivers or canals; they’re so peaceful.


Thursday, 5th of June 2025. Bockholt, Germany to Horst, Germany – 155 miles

A late departure today, 10 am. We are heading north towards Hamburg. Another long drive today, 150 miles of German motorway. We fill up with diesel. It’s expensive. Depending on where you stop, for approximately half a tank, it is between 50 and 60 euros.

Germany is a big country. We arrive at the town of Horst, SE of Hamburg. We are here as there is supposed to be an excellent restaurant specialising in the food of the region. The Horstner Muhle is a restaurant that allows overnight parking if you eat at the restaurant, it’s located on a river with a working water wheel.

We have arrived early, at 2 pm. We settle in for the day until our reservation for dinner. There are heavy showers on and off for the rest of the day, so we stay in the van catching up on paperwork. Dinner out tonight is fantastic.

We have lots to eat, big portions and very tasty. We finish off with a gentle walk by the river with the sun setting. The birdsong is deafening, and there are a couple of deer near the van.

Sunset, and an end to a lovely day

Friday, 6th of June 2025. Horst, Germany to Lieblingshof, Germany – 126 miles

Some egg displays are better than others…!

It rained a little in the night. We are wild camping, so we are not connected to anything, so after a short breakfast, we set off in search of a supermarket. Supplies are low. We find an Edeka supermarket.

Very nice. Like Waitrose on steroids. Fantastically clean, fantastically expensive, so much so we put some stuff back, and leave in search of an Aldi. We know our place.

It’s another long drive today. We are passing Hamburg and taking a right to go east towards Poland, where we expect to be tomorrow. We arrive at a farm on the way at a place called Lieblingshof, where we will stay the night. The rain has been on and off all day.

Del has called him “little John”

We have befriended a little cat that has been dumped by some campers. Bad, very bad.

The rain is on and off all day, but we manage a walk across the barley fields to a small swimming pond that the farm has made available to people staying. Not sure we would go in it ourselves, but the idea is brilliant and the location is fantastic.

We get caught out in the rain and run back to the van to find our towels blowing away across the grass. These rainstorms come out of nowhere. It seems every time we come to Germany, it rains a lot.

It’s the season for asparagus (Spargel) here in Germany at the moment, especially white asparagus, which is referred to as ‘white gold’. It’s the same vegetable as the green variety, but it’s grown underneath the soil away from sunlight. Tonight we are having asparagus with Hollandaise sauce (a traditional combination) with ham, potato salad, sauerkraut and a good German Weiss beer (white beer).

Tomorrow we will be in Poland. All being well…

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