Thanks, plus one (or two) last questions! (1 Viewer)

Dave and Ginny

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By this time next week we should be in Northern France heading southish towards some sun, hopefully!

This is our first time in the motorhome and we can hardly wait for the off!

We have no itinery; except that we're heading south on a sort of Orlean, Limoges, Toulouse and then Narbonne route, then following coast into Spain. Using Aires and Camperstops on the way down but then stoping for longer periods on ACSI sites. My little concern is the Easter period and knowing what it's like in the UK, should I take the pre-caution of booking somewhere? Or, would I be ok to wait until a few days or a week or so beforehand and then look at an ACSI site which remains at off peak rates over the period; I notice there seems to be quite a large number that remain off peak right through to late June or July.

Lastly, joining this group was one of the best moves I ever made; :thumb: the help and advice has been simply brilliant! Our van now proudly displays our 'Funsters' sticker and it would be nice to pull into the occasional site with some likeminded 'Funsters' and share a glass or two whilst swapping stories! So any site recommendations would be most welcome.

Dave and Ginny
 
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Wildman

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If you have a copy of "all the aires of France" you will be fine there are so many free aires you only maybe need a site occasionally for washing clothes etc if you are on an extended trip.
Order online or collect on the way from Vicarious books.
http://www.vicariousbooks.co.uk/
 
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Apr 29, 2009
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If you are taking that route (ISH) when you get south of Orleans try Salbris for some shopping...groceries that i... a couple of nice Lidls and Aldis and it's a nice small town with a real French Feel..
Just slightly further south down the A71 west along the D2076 in Mery sur Cher a smashing little aire very nice and secure and 100 metres away in the village on the main road is a lovely boulangerie for the fresh baguettes..they open at 8am..
Then follow the A20 via Chateroux..Limoges..a nice aire at Uzerche never used it personally but a lot say it's nice..then via Toulouse across towards Carcassone there is a good campsite at Alet les Bain Val d'Aleth link http://www.valdaleth.com run by an English couple very nice very friendly..and good supermarkets in Limoux just down the road..Carcassone is a very nice place to visit and near Narbonne there are a few ACSI sites..hope this all helps..

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hilldweller

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knowing what it's like in the UK
Dave and Ginny

The UK is absolutely nothing like France. The place is huge, bigger than a big thing. There more aires and sites than you can imagine.

Don't panic, go for it. It's not like you'd have to sleep in a doorway if your first choice failed.

The sheer size can catch you out, what might look a short hop on the map can be a hard day's drive in reality, even on uncrowded French roads.

Be warned, their tolls can cost you as much as fuel, best avoided if you have time.
 
May 12, 2011
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As Hilldweller says, there is a lot of room in France - most village centres have somewhere for you to stop. If you are sticking to the motorway's it can get a bit boring and costly. Move off to one side onto an N road and a whole new world will open up.

Central France is still a bit chilly at this time of year, friends south of Limoges had a bit of snow yesterday.

If you are looking for inspiration, have a look at http://www.ourtour.co.uk, Jason and Julie set off from Nottingham in a 1993 B544 and are still wandering, currently in Tunisia!

Have fun
 

magicsurfbus

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Easter in France - they don't have the day off on Good Friday, so if you want to be somewhere for the Easter weekend, bag your spot on Good Friday. Popular Aires tend to fill up steadily on Easter Saturday, so the earlier you get there the better. For obvious reasons a lot of the locals head for home towards the end of Easter Monday.

We've been one of only half a dozen campers on a large popular aire on Good Friday, only to see it fill up by late afternoon the next day.

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Oct 12, 2008
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Hi Dave and Ginny!

You can stop for free at my place (on your way from Albi to Toulouse, just before Toulouse is Balma).

You can either stop in front of my house which is hard standing or stay in the garden depending on the weather.

You can have free water and free electricity from the stadium I'm living at.

And if you manage to come on a week-end, you can even have a nice meal waiting for you.
During the week I can only manage a drink as I end my work quite late in the evening.

I'm very small and harmless (eg: i don't use gasing to rob you, and promiss not to make you eat frogs legs or snails even ::bigsmile:::bigsmile:) ... but I do bark loud.... I guess my size has something to do with it:RollEyes::Blush:


Anyway ....

You are welcome except from 27 march to 7 April as I 'll be away and a couple of bank holidays for the same reason in first half of May .

Let me know if you're interested .....

Amicalement

Frankie:Smile::Smile:
 
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Dave and Ginny

Dave and Ginny

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Dave and Ginny

Hi Dave and Ginny!

You can stop for free at my place (on your way from Albi to Toulouse, just before Toulouse is Balma).

You can either stop in front of my house which is hard standing or stay in the garden depending on the weather.

You can have free water and free electricity from the stadium I'm living at.

And if you manage to come on a week-end, you can even have a nice meal waiting for you.
During the week I can only manage a drink as I end my work quite late in the evening.

I'm very small and harmless (eg: i don't use gasing to rob you, and promiss not to make you eat frogs legs or snails even ::bigsmile:::bigsmile:) ... but I do bark loud.... I guess my size has something to do with it:RollEyes::Blush:


Anyway ....

You are welcome except from 27 march to 7 April as I 'll be away and a couple of bank holidays for the same reason in first half of May .

Let me know if you're interested .....

Amicalement

Frankie:Smile::Smile:
Hi Frankie,
What a wonderful offer!
We have no plans set in stone but our intention is to to head south to Spain for warmer weather ASAP. Having read the recent comments on the 'coldest winter for 20 years' and 'freezing in France, snow in northern Spain'
etc., we may change our minds. Travelling back we want to meander through France (when the weather should have improved); again no set itinary.
We will definitely send you a message when we are in your area.
Thank you for your lovely, friendly e mail. We may well take you up on your offer.
All good wishes and kind regards,
Ginny
 
Apr 12, 2010
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Gruissan near Narbonne has 2 aires, one on the Marina, one on the "Plage" a great little town as well. We turned up there last bank holiday, no problem at all. Get there early so more choice of pitches.

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Carol

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One thing we found in France no problem Easter, but Spain at Easter a different matter, if you could get into a camp site expect lots of noise, children running all over your pitch even playing jumping on and off your step.

We stayed on our way to Morocco, thankfully Ray from Desert Detours took pity on us, and we took the motorhome to his peaceful retreat in the mountains, bliss.

If you have the choice I would think about staying in France over Easter then making your way to Spain after peace returns to the camp sites. Just my opinion. :Smile:


 

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