Three Go Adventuring Again (2 Viewers)

[Lenny HB]

Looks like a great adventure - we're planning a trip to Croaitia in September so will be following your journey with interest. Not many Aires in Croatia, and I'm not a great fan of camp sites, in particular being fenced in on all sides. Maybe the coastal ones directly border the sea?
Enjoy yourselves !

We are going to have to stop following each other around.
Loose plan at the moment is Visit Caravan Salon last week of August and then troll down to Croaitia returning end of October.

Slovenia is the same I understand, no "wild camping". Of course people do in out of the way places.

We went to Slovenia first year we had a Motorhome, we were heading for the Baltic coast weather was so bad we turned right and ended up in Slovenia. Saw plenty of places you could wild without a problem well off the beaten track but we were a bit green so stuck to sites and Aires.

 

[Robert Clark]

We are going to have to stop following each other around.
Loose plan at the moment is Visit Caravan Salon last week of August and then troll down to Croaitia returning end of October.

You can't go then - we're going at the end of August. Tunnel is booked !

If you see us en route, don't park near us in your 'smashed up' van - people might think we mix in the wrong circles.

 

[DBK]

It is definitely prop problems , it broke down with them.

A problem with a propellor shaft according to BF on Twitter - and the Tuesday sailing is still only provisional apparently. So we are not safe yet!

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[StitchesnFluff]

A problem with a propellor shaft according to BF on Twitter - and the Tuesday sailing is still only provisional apparently. So we are not safe yet!

They are losing lots of money whilst it is laid up so hopefully they will get it sorted by then

 

[DBK]

They are losing lots of money whilst it is laid up so hopefully they will get it sorted by then

Fingers crossed - the marine traffic website is good, it shows it in Brest harbour at the moment - but it will need to leave there sometime tomorrow afternoon to be in Portsmouth for Tuesday. So I will be keeping a beady eye on it.

 

[yodeli]

Ah well..... no point in telling you I AM IN TOULOUSE too! As obviously you have it all planned. You go and see you cousin ...blahblahblah.... I can't fight , can I ?

Right , ok , in case you decide to either stay longer in Toulouse , or if your cousin doesn't want to see you, or any other option which could show up till then, Make sure I'm at home and able to rescue you, by making the best offer ever (so she says....) for an overnight stop . BTW , I'm an awful cook as I really dislike food and eating time, I hate wine, and really have to cope with having funsters at home, as it's is one of my pet hates... you're warned!

Oh ... and Happy Travels!!!

Amicalement

Frankie

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[DBK]

Ah well..... no point in telling you I AM IN TOULOUSE too! As obviously you have it all planned. You go and see you cousin ...blahblahblah.... I can't fight , can I ?

Right , ok , in case you decide to either stay longer in Toulouse , or if your cousin doesn't want to see you, or any other option which could show up till then, Make sure I'm at home and able to rescue you, by making the best offer ever (so she says....) for an overnight stop . BTW , I'm an awful cook as I really dislike food and eating time, I hate wine, and really have to cope with having funsters at home, as it's is one of my pet hates... you're warned!

Oh ... and Happy Travels!!!

Amicalement

Frankie

Everything is possible, my cousin lives near Montesquiou which is south west of Auch and we will be with her early next week. Another of my cousins is flying out to visit her at the same time so it will be a little family gathering. Not sure how long we will stay but will be heading past Toulouse afterwards so we could drop by and make you a cup of English tea!

 

[yodeli]

Everything is possible, my cousin lives near Montesquiou which is south west of Auch and we will be with her early next week. Another of my cousins is flying out to visit her at the same time so it will be a little family gathering. Not sure how long we will stay but will be heading past Toulouse afterwards so we could drop by and make you a cup of English tea!

Oh .... a Cup of Tea! You really know how to talk to me
Shall I buy some fresh milk for the occasion then? Tea is not Tea without proper milk surely!
Yeah I'm gonna have a cuppa , I'm gonna have a cuppa! (You might think I'm kidding , but NO! I love English tea!)

 

[DBK]

Oh .... a Cup of Tea! You really know how to talk to me
Shall I buy some fresh milk for the occasion then? Tea is not Tea without proper milk surely!
Yeah I'm gonna have a cuppa , I'm gonna have a cuppa! (You might think I'm kidding , but NO! I love English tea!)

I will send you a PM once we have an idea when we are coming past Toulouse. Do you have parking for a 6.0m vehicle, or somewhere close to you we could use?

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[yodeli]

No problem here! There's room in front of my house , and if not enough which I doubt, plenty on the stadium!

 

[gus-lopez]

@DBK , a bit of an update if you haven'y heard.
"According to the French press the ferry had to be towed into Brest where 1100 passangers were disembarked at 12.30 and advised to make their own arrangements
The ferry was sailing from Ireland.
They are carrying out a survey on Monday to assess the damage which is to the port propellor shaft.
The ship may have to go into dry dock to have the work carried out."
I'd start thinking of an alternative to be on the safe side.

 

[DBK]

@DBK , a bit of an update if you haven'y heard.
"According to the French press the ferry had to be towed into Brest where 1100 passangers were disembarked at 12.30 and advised to make their own arrangements
The ferry was sailing from Ireland.
They are carrying out a survey on Monday to assess the damage which is to the port propellor shaft.
The ship may have to go into dry dock to have the work carried out."
I'd start thinking of an alternative to be on the safe side.

That doesn't sound good but I was a bit alarmed to hear earlier the problem was with the propellor shaft - not something normally fixed with a squirt from an oil can.

Things should become clearer tomorrow, if it hasn't left Brest by the end of the day it isn't going to get to Portsmouth on time. We'll start looking for short crossings then!

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[Eeyore]

[QUOTE="DBK, post: 1857313, member: 24219sailing-updates

sound good but I was a bit alarmed to hear earlier the problem was with the propellor shaft - not something normally fixed with a squirt from an oil can.

Things should become clearer tomorrow, if it hasn't left Brest by the end of the day it isn't going to get to Portsmouth on time. We'll start looking for short crossings then![/QUOTE]

I think you ought to see this.....

http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/routes/sailing-updates

Looks like the 9 th May is off.

 

[DBK]

I think you ought to see this.....

http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/routes/sailing-updates

Looks like the 9 th May is off.

Yes, that's OK. It was supposed to be leaving Santander tomorrow to sail to Portsmouth but it won't be as it isn't there. The test is will it leave Brest for Portsmouth.

 

[Eeyore]

That's better news. Fingers X ed for you and the Pont Aven engineers.

The BF sailing info page is getting to be one of my regular reads as we use them regularly. . They've had a lot of problems this year with weather, strikes and mechanical problems and it must be a nightmare for their planners and customer relations people.

Good luck and bon voyage.

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[pyro]

Fingers crossed for all affected (and for myself, too). Last time I had to go via Plymouth instead of Portsmouth, Pont Aven had an engine out.

 

[DBK]

Just found out from Twitter the sailing from Portsmouth is cancelled. Now looking for a sailing to France. @pyro

 

[peterc10]

You can't go then - we're going at the end of August. Tunnel is booked !

If you see us en route, don't park near us in your 'smashed up' van - people might think we mix in the wrong circles.

Ignore him Lenny, he is used to parking next to motorhomes with smashed up fronts.

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[Robert Clark]

Ignore him Lenny, he is used to parking next to motorhomes with smashed up fronts.

No need Peter, I think @Lenny HB has had me on 'ignore' since he gave up wild camping and took to staying on camp sites for extended periods.

 

[DBK]

After some feverish Twittering we are now booked on the Plymouth/Roscoff sailing tonight. So the first part of the trip has changed from a gentle drive around a bit of the north coast of Spain to an umpteen hundred kilometre drive to south west France from Brittany. We need to be in the Toulouse area by Sunday so plenty of time. We will just have to find a few aires. Out with the atlas again!

 

[scousebird]

Well enjoy your new trip

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[Anthea M]

So glad you are finally on your way! Have a great time!

 

[StitchesnFluff]

Enjoy your trip!

 

[pyro]

@DBK Glad you got something sorted out. Extra journey is a pain, and poor notice for you, but at least you'll get to your destination now.

No consolation for you, I'm afraid, but my intention was to sail on the Pont Aven as we knew the ship, and when I told the other half that it looked like trouble ahead, she admitted that she couldn't get a booking on one of their sailings and instead booked on the Cap Finistere. So it looks like we'll get there (if I can manage not to blow any more fuses in the meantime - a long saga of my familiarisation with the new van, but if "knowledge is priceless", then whoever said that has not had to pay an auto electrician to sort out their mistakes)

Have a safe trip

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[DBK]

First attempt at a route, avoiding toll roads and the busy coastal roads looks like this. About 900 km, which works out at only 150 km a day but of course we might do more one day and less or even none at all all on the next. Where the 600 km mark is shown on the map is very close to @Parcverger so I guess we will have to do a swerve round there I think!

 

[andrewjw]

There is a nice site in St Emilion ( looks to be not far from your route) slightly NE of Bordeaux...

St Emilion is a picturesque small town in the heart of the wine producing area of the same name...we had a lovely day there a few years ago..as far as I can remember!

 

[DBK]

There is a nice site in St Emilion ( looks to be not far from your route) slightly NE of Bordeaux...

St Emilion is a picturesque small town in the heart of the wine producing area of the same name...we had a lovely day there a few years ago..as far as I can remember!

Thank you for that. About 25 years ago we stayed at a campsite near St Emilion when we had a caravan, possibly at the same place but my memory has faded somewhat - but I do remember we had a good time!

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[bellabee]

Yes, we liked St Emillion. A very interesting town. We stayed here http://www.chateau-gerbaud.com/en/index.php?page=gallery
and it was lovely.

 

[DBK]

Yes, we liked St Emillion. A very interesting town. We stayed here http://www.chateau-gerbaud.com/en/index.php?page=gallery
and it was lovely.

That looks great - somewhere to camp and a bit of "disgusting" or is it "digesting"? the wines from the chateau.

 

[DBK]

We are in the queue at Plymouth. Charlie wants to drive. Seconds after this shot, paws on the steering wheel he sounded the horn! Time for his cage I think.

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