10 days in...Praise for French Passion sites (1 Viewer)

[arto stu]

Sue and I are on our first journey abroad in the van... So far we have done 10 days ( we are away for 6 weeks )... so far so good... so what have we learned so far....

1/ We we started with great plans of going to France, Italy, Austria and Germany... now after 10 days we are only at Bordeaux... sod it.... 1 1/2 hrs drive a day is fine... France is more than fine... relaxxxxxx

2/ Electric Bikes are great... how did we manage without them!!

3/ 1Kw solar panel and 200ah house batteries will not charge up 2 flat bike batteries unless we are travelling.... .... never mind we have a nice genny ( wait for the hate mail ... its ticking over as I write this, and contrary to popular discussion.. no complaints or nasty looks from anyone (mainly because we are in the middle of the country on a vineyard with no one around).

4/ French passion sites are great!!... so far we have done a mix of Aire and Passion... both are great.. but for us the Passion sites are a bit nicer.... 10 days and we have spend 6 Euros on one aire... costs for Passion are a bit harder to work out... all basically free... but so far we have brought wine, pate... we are currently on a farm a short ride from the canal Garonne Lateral... we asked to stay for a couple of nights... no problem... we are the only van on site

All in all so far as every one on here says... it seems that France is built for Camping Cars and the locals are more than warm in welcoming us to their country.

Stu

 

[chaser]

fp is brilliant, especialy if you havnt traveled france before, and now with the co ords in the book they are a lot easier to find , they used to be so secret we have give up when trying to find one many times, but this year we have not joined as we have been to loads and now we are that used to just going somewhere then finding an aire that fp has become redundant and as you say if you get carried away with what they are selling it can get a bit expensive.

 

[arto stu]

Yep get what u say.... maybe we have been a bit unlucky with Aires.. the ones we have used are bit more "industrial" than the FP sites ... or maybe we have been lucky with the ones we chose ... all good both ways

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[hilldweller]

3/ 1Kw solar panel
Stu

Possibly a world record for MH solar and it should charge your batteries. Unless you never stop pedalling while the sun shines.

 

[DBK]

If it is 1Kw it should be enough unless they are using a 12v charger - they are very puny by all accounts and a 240v version through an inverter is better.

 

[John.]

Never tried a FP site but think we might give it a try.
As we only go through the tunnel mid October would you think this is a bit late in the year for making the most of FP ?

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[chaser]

Never tried a FP site but think we might give it a try.
As we only go through the tunnel mid October would you think this is a bit late in the year for making the most of FP ?

not really , as , if you havnt been before this year you wouldnt have used it yet anyway

 

[arto stu]

If it is 1Kw it should be enough unless they are using a 12v charger - they are very puny by all accounts and a 240v version through an inverter is better.

Well im sure your much more of an expert than me... but I know I have a 1Kw panel and I know i have a pair of 100ah house batts.... I also know I use a 1Kw inverter and a pair of 48V chargers to charge the bike batts... both are 10AH units... i also know if you leave em to charge from flat it takes 6-8 hrs i know after 4 hrs or so the low voltage alarm goes off ... I also know that using the trusty honda ticking over charges em fine... AND i get to use the lectric kettle for a cup of tea at the same time ... costs me a cup full of unleaded though... maybe my house batts are a bit old...

On a separate note... would be cool if u could get regenerative power into the bike batts on the down hill bits... maybe u can on high end models... mine are only a pair of Freego folders we seem to get about 20ish miles on a charge

 

[arto stu]

Never tried a FP site but think we might give it a try.
As we only go through the tunnel mid October would you think this is a bit late in the year for making the most of FP ?

I would think so... its not millions of pounds.... really about where u plan to go... if citys are your thing then prob not so good... if u like the country then i would say defo... like most things ... horses for courses

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[John.]

Thanks @chaser we only travel through France at the back end of the year then again when returning to U.K. about April.
What dates do the books start/stop please ?

 

[chaser]

think its about febuary

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

If your around Bordeux try the chateau aire at Blaye-its in a vineyard and with free EHU, water etc,. Blaye also has a nice citadel /fort that is an interesting visit

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[chaser]

If your around Bordeux try the chateau aire at Blaye-its in a vineyard and with free EHU, water etc,. Blaye also has a nice citadel /fort that is an interesting visit

dont know how this sprung up in this thread as its niether france passion or an aire but yeah must agree its a place well worth having a look at

 

[klaatu]

What dates do the books start/stop please ?

The current FP runs until 21st April 2019.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

dont know how this sprung up in this thread as its niether france passion or an aire but yeah must agree its a place well worth having a look at

?

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[Dorwyn]

The FP at Cadillac near Bordeaux (Chateau Clarens) is very good, lovely owners, nice wine, reasonably priced. Also agree about the Citadel campsite at Blaye, it was only 9e50, but didn't know about the FP (or not FP) at Blaye, though I did look for one. The aires at Blaye was just too hot and dusty when we were there, the campsite was much cooler, leccy and showers too. Toilets mostly squats though, just one throne. Lovely location too.

 

[Reallyretired]

I'm intrigued by this 1Kw solar. Obviously I have seen it for a house as either 4x250w panels or 10x 100w panels. The four 250w, though heavy are just about feasible for a motorhome roof at about 2mx3m if mounted with no gaps though would be difficult to fit on a roof that also had vents etc.
Could you post further details. I have 400w on my MH and thats as much as I could fit on (4x100w panels).

 

[arto stu]

The FP at Cadillac near Bordeaux (Chateau Clarens) is very good, lovely owners, nice wine, reasonably priced. Also agree about the Citadel campsite at Blaye, it was only 9e50, but didn't know about the FP (or not FP) at Blaye, though I did look for one. The aires at Blaye was just too hot and dusty when we were there, the campsite was much cooler, leccy and showers too. Toilets mostly squats though, just one throne. Lovely location too.

Well blow me down... guess where we are off too tomorrow chateau Clarens!! ... good to here good things about the Chateau Clarens.. we where recommended by another couple we met along the way... small world

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[arto stu]

I'm intrigued by this 1Kw solar. Obviously I have seen it for a house as either 4x250w panels or 10x 100w panels. The four 250w, though heavy are just about feasible for a motorhome roof at about 2mx3m if mounted with no gaps though would be difficult to fit on a roof that also had vents etc.
Could you post further details. I have 400w on my MH and thats as much as I could fit on (4x100w panels).

Ah sorry I am am old fool... out by a factor of 10... I have 100 w panel ... sorry for any confusion caused!!! praps thats why i cant get enough power in from it to charge the bike batts! still the trusty Honda makes light work of it

 

[G-RMPS]

FPs are a mixed bag. Didn’t enjoy parking in a back yard watching, listening to, and smelling geese being force fed.

Invariably we spend a small fortune on wine, pate, cheese so FP obviously works for the owners.

 

[suavecarve]

We liked clarens at Blaye but next up was chateau saint ahon at blanquefort north of bordeaux.
Probably the best fp we stayed at.
Tram into bordeaux is 1 km away and well worthy of a visit up the river.
Now I am very much a wine drinker. Only I like to pay between 1 and 2 euros a litre.
The wine at ahon was 15 euros a bottle and it was a merlot. Not my favourite grape. It was a truly stunning wine. 60 quid a bottle in the UK and you get to drink it sitting in the vineyard from whence it came and watch the sun drop down.
I wouldn't think twice about doing the same thing again.
I think they are closed on sundays

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[Pia]

On a separate note... would be cool if u could get regenerative power into the bike batts on the down hill bits... maybe u can on high end models... mine are only a pair of Freego folders we seem to get about 20ish miles on a charge

We asked about this when we bought our Freego e bikes...not possible at the moment we are told.