Last day of the holiday

It's an age-old problem - what to do with the last day of your holiday. There are two approaches really. 
1. Stay as long as possible in your location and then bomb back to the ferry port in a mild state of panic.
2. Get back to the port really early and have half a day to kill.

Hardelot Plage

We've tried both and have come down on the side of number 2. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that we tend to use the P&O Dover-Calais crossing as it is such good value and very reliable. Depending on how busy they are, if you turn up early at the port, they will often let you on to an earlier crossing without having to pay extra. So if you are really not in the mood for killing time, try your luck!

The second reason, is that there are so many interesting places to visit that are within an hour or two of Calais, that you can happily spend half a day. We have ended up getting to know the coastline of northern France really well simply because we have the time to explore it on the last day of the holiday.

Le Touquet

Starting at the bay of the Somme and working your way north, there are dozens of coastal towns and fishing villages that are worth a visit. Obviously these get busy in the summer months and you will find that parking is restricted in the towns themselves. Out of season, it's fantastic! 

The following is a list of places that we have happily spent a few hours:

Cayeux sur Mer: Lovely little holiday town with long pebble beach and hundreds of beach huts.
Le Crotoy: Smack bang on the Somme Bay so ideal for walking on the sands, bird and seal watching.
Fort Mahon Plage: Large sandy beach and dunes.
Berck: Feels like an English Victorian seaside resort with massive nineteenth century houses and long sandy beach.
Le Touquet: the favoured coastal resort for rich Parisians in its heyday. Lots of expensive shops. Very popular and you will have to park out of town even in low season.

Calais Town Hall

Boulogne: Perhaps a little bit more pleasant than Calais now that the ferries have stopped running. UNESCO listed belfry and also a castle. Also has Nausicaa the national sea centre. 
Europe City: If you like duty-free shopping and want to do lots of it, then this is your best bet. It's basically a big out-of-town shopping centre. There is dedicated motorhome parking.
Calais: Often overlooked, there are actually some nice bits of Calais!The sea front is the main attraction but there are also some interesting museums. At the right time of year, the flowers at the town hall gardens are amazing.

France and Flanders - The Great War commemorations

The memorial at Amiens

Having just finished watching the excellent BBC1 series on the Great War with Jeremy Paxman, our thoughts turned to the touring we did late last year in Northern France and the Flanders region.

We have always found it quite difficult on our travels when we visit areas that have been the scene of serious fighting. On the one hand, there we are on our holidays enjoying ourselves, while at the same time we are treading the same ground as millions of people who lost their lives in battle. 

This is obviously the the case all over Northern France for both world wars and we have experienced similar unease travelling in the Balkans where the evidence of the fighting in the early 1990s is still evident from the bullet-strewn houses.

Reminders of more ancient history near Azincourt

The memorial at Grand Fort Phillipe

Our conclusion to this, particularly with the world war sites is that all those millions of people that fought and died are the reason that we are now free to wander around Europe. Without their sacrifice the shape of Europe would undoubtedly be completely different. In a sense, we should really celebrate the fact that we have these freedoms. We have also found that when you realise the hardship that our very young people went through in the wars, it really puts any problems you might have yourself into perspective.

It was in this spirit that we toured the areas that saw some of the heaviest fighting in the Great War. There are some fantastic commemorations to the war in this area. There is a lot to take in around this area and rather than try to list them all here, try: http://about-france.com/tourism/great-war-france.htm if you want some ideas of where to visit.

We found the museum at  Peronne to be particularly interesting and thought-provoking. Perhaps the most poignant places to visit though are the numerous war cemeteries, some dedicated to the British and others to specific allied countries. You will even find some German and Russian ones. You can get a map of all of these from any of the tourist information centres. 

Burstner 625T Harmony

In a slight deviation from the usual topics on the blog (i.e. travel), this week's installment is going to be purely about our new van, which we took delivery of this Friday.

We really like the low profile cab

Since we started motorhoming in 2009, we have had the same van, a left hand drive 1997 Hymer Camp, which we bought from Ikonik Campers near Hull. That van has been an absolute legend for us as we covered somewhere around 45,000 miles in it, rarely having to spend anything on it apart from the usual (tyres, batteries etc). We have only really changed vans now as we wanted something newer and with lower miles for the business.

Wendy actually cried as Jon and family (the new owners) took it off our drive last weekend. However, the tears were short-lived as we were only six days with a motorhome-shaped hole on our drive. We bought the new van privately off eBay from a lovely couple in Wakefield.

The van is a Burstner T625 Harmony. The best advice we were given when we started was to 'go German' and this seemed to have served us well. The build quality is on a par with the Hymer and we particularly like the layout of this one. It has captain's chairs up front, which we did not have before, which give you a lot more room and have the effect of moving the living area a metre forwards. In addition there are another four seats, two behind the table and two perpendicular.

Lots of space even with a fixed bed

Behind that you have the L-shaped kitchen that Burstner seem to have on most of their models. This gives lots of preparation area and means that whoever isn't cooking can move around the van without getting in the chef's way. This model also has a full-sized fridge and a proper oven. We made do with a microwave for four years, but are looking forward to being able to cook properly.

Behind that is a French fixed bed and a toilet with separate shower area. We are not sure about the bed yet as we will have to see how we get on with the cut-away at the end of it. The shower room will be a treat as it means we can both be in the bathroom at the same time.

On the mechanical and technical side, the van is fully loaded. It's a Fiat 2.8 diesel, which has an excellent reputation. We had done 115,000 miles on our old 2.5TDi and that still had tens of thousands of miles left in it. This engine is bigger and smoother and has only just done 50,000 miles.

Right hand drive might take some getting used to

It has had the Gaslow (refillable) system fitted, which we be a real benefit as we tend to stay away for long periods. It also has an up-rated Truman 6e boiler, which will work on electricity as well as gas. That will save us a considerable amount of gas when we are hooked up. There are also two solar panels which need re-instating. All in all, it will allow us to operate very effectively wherever we park the van. There is even a transformer that will give 240v even when we are not hooked up!

On the back we have a motorcycle rack in addition to the bike rack, so we are now in the market for a 125cc scooter, which will give us a bit more flexibility when we are on-site and don't fancy taking the van out or cycling.

Overall we are very happy with the van. Burstner do seem to put a bit more effort into the design, layout and styling of their vans compared to Hymers of a similar age. Obviously time will tell as to whether the Burstner proves to be as lovable a van as our old Hymer. First impressions though are really good and we just can't wait to get it across the channel.

Scandinavian Crime Drama in a Motorhome!

Ystad Train Station

There has been a bit of a trend over the last five years or so towards Scandinavian crime dramas. They are not for everyone, but we have found that people who do like them - really like them. We fall into this category as we have had an unhealthy obsession with two in particular: "The Bridge" and "Wallander".  

The Theatre in Ystad

You might wonder why this might be the topic for a motorhoming blog. Well the answer to that is that in the same way that many tourists want to visit Downton Abbey, we really wanted to go to the places where they filmed these two Swedish dramas.

"The Bridge" in fact is a Danish/Swedish production. The first series started with a dead body that was found  on the Oresund Bridge exactly half way between Denmark and Sweden. This necessitated the involvement therefore of detectives from both countries and lots of situations that played on the different national characteristics of the two countries. The second series started with a boat full of dead people crashing into the Oresund Bridge, so you get the idea.

It's dark stuff - sometimes referred to as Nordic Noir but if you get into it, it's completely absorbing. It's set mainly in the cities of Copenhagen and Malmo and as we watch it, we are able to pinpoint a few places we have been on our travels.

On "The Bridge".

Perhaps better for scene spotting is 'Wallander'. This is set mainly in the southern Swedish port of Ystad, but the story-lines also make use of an extensive area of neighbouring coast and countryside. There are three versions of Wallander - two Swedish and one English. The English one is our favourite with Wallander being played by Sir Kenny Branagh. They have only made a handful of these and (sadly) we watch them over and over again.

If you visit Ystad, you can get a tourist map highlighting many of the locations used in all three versions. Ystad even boasts its own film studio that you can tour around, where they film part of Wallander and other Swedish crime dramas.

If you are a real fan, you can go to Valdemarsvik, which is on the east coast south of Stockholm and take the post boat past the home of Wallander's creator, Henning Mankell. The man that drives the post boat actually went to school with him!

Valdemarsvik Harbour

So that's all a bit sad we realise but it does add a new dimension to our trips. There are a whole bunch of other thrillers that we haven't even got into yet including: The Killing, Borgen, Arne Dahl and the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. But in common with most of our motorhome trips, every one we go one leads to another three we'd like to do.

The Gulf of Bothnia

A real life mousse. The only one we saw on our trip, but a real treat.

Continuing the Scandinavian theme, we thought it was worth looking a little bit more at the Gulf of Bothnia. Looking at the map of Sweden and Finland, this is the large bay shaped part right at the top of the Baltic Sea. It's quite an unusual area as it doesn't have any stand-out tourist attractions. However, it does have it's very own charm and if you are doing either a Scandinavian or Baltic Tour, you are going to pass round it anyway!

We passed around the gulf late August, early September and the first thing we noticed was just how quiet it is in this part of the country. The northern parts of Sweden and Finland are less densely populated than the south and it seems that a lot of Swedes and Fins will gravitate south anyway for their holidays, leaving this area ghostly quiet.

Wendy on the beach on the Gulf of Bothnia.

Weather-wise it's not going to be spectacular in terms of the heat as you are quite a long way north here. You are not that far from the Arctic Circle. However, we were comfortable in jeans and jumpers, which is not bad for the time of the year.

The main attraction here is the gulf and the bay itself. The area is characterised by flat countryside and forest, interspersed with small towns. Many of the houses are wooden and there are lots of beach-type houses too.
The bay itself is flat with sandy beaches giving way to silty and muddy areas as you get nearer the sea. When we were there the water was very calm and we can't imagine it ever getting bad given its position right at the top of the Baltic Sea. Walking and cycling are the main attractions here and being Scandinavia, it is very geared up towards both with clearly marked walking and cycle paths.

Beautifully kept service lay-bys. Great for free overnight stops.

The main city on the Swedish side is Lulea. It is a university city so quite lively and is best described as typically Swedish. It is laid out in a grid system with plenty of modern architecture in amongst the more traditional buildings. It felt very much like a frontier town as it is the only bit of real urban civilisation for quite some distance.

Round on the Finnish side the largest conurbation is the city of Oulu, which in fact is the fifith largest in the country. It has all the sight you would expect of a large city including cathedral, city hall and a rnage of museums. It has embraced hi-tech and many people work in the industry.

A typcal wooden church in Finland

In terms of staying there are loads of campsites all the way round the gulf, including sites near the main cities. We used the ACSI CD for many of our sites but mainly just took our chances. This involved some excellent local sites, which we just found by chance. Many had saunas, some of which were included as part of the price.

Language can be more of a problem as fewer people speak English up north. Having said that, if you turn up at a campsite in a motorhome, it is pretty easy for them to understand what you are after!

Sweden and Finland have also embraced the free camping notion, with the 'right to roam'. This means that you are OK in service lay-bys (which are nothing like the ones in the UK), car parks, aires, harbours or any quiet spot away from houses. Many of the hotels and motels also had full camping facilities or parking areas with access to the facilities for only a few pounds a night.

A close encounter with Rudolph on a forest walk.

The Gulf of Bothnia is probably not a place you might head for in its own right, but it is well worth slowing down a bit as you pass round on your Scandinavian or Baltic Tour.

The Arctic Circle

One of our most exciting moments when motorhoming was getting to the Arctic Circle. While we were up there we made sure we criss-crossed it across all three Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden and Finland) and that we went to see one of its most famous residents. But more of that later.

Wendy at the Arctic Circle in Norway

When we did the biggest part of our grand trip over 2010/11, we always intended that our northern-most point would be the Arctic Circle. We did actually consider going all the way up to Nordkapp, Europe's most northerly point, but decided to save that for another trip (and probably another van!)

The Arctic Circle is one of the five circles of latitude around the Earth. This means that as well as being able to get to it in Scandinavia, it also runs through Russia, Canada, Greenland, America and Iceland. As the name suggests - it's cold!

We went there towards the end of August driving up the 2000-mile long E6 route. If you want to get up north in Norway, this is the road you will have to use. As you get further north, it gets more and more remote leaving you, a few locals, a few trucks and a few fellow motorhomers. Fill up with diesel when you can!

Man-made cairns on the lunar landscape of the Arctic Circle

The advantage of the remoteness is that there are loads of free places to park up overnight for free. We were on a bit of a mission and didn't arrive until 10pm. It got very dark and very cold and there was very little on the road by this time. We pulled into the free aire that is in the car park of the Arctic Circle visitor centre, put some extra layers on the bed and settled in until the morning.

The visitor centre was fantastic although the cafe was closed (rather disappointingly) as we fancied brekky. The photos give you an idea of just how cold and wintery it is up there. It's very much like a lunar landscape. We didn't fell confident enough going for anything more than a short walk as it was quite foggy and the weather was very changeable.

Wendy at Santa Land in Finland

Later in our trip we drove along the quietest road we have ever been on. We literally saw no-one for about 8 hours as we passed from Norway into Sweden. We passed in and out of the Arctic Circle again just for the hell of it, and to get another photo.

Later on still we went to Rovaniemi in Finland. There is a fantastic site in the town, right on the river, and just a few miles north you can get into the Arctic Circle again, this time with the added advantage of Santa. A massive sign announces that "Santa is Here" even though it was early September. So yes, we did go and see him and yes we did pay 25 euros to the world's tallest elf for a photograph of us with Santa that now takes pride of place on our bedroom wall.

Me, Wendy and Santa. Santa's the big guy in the middle.

Getting up to the Arctic Circle was one of our happiest memories from our trips and it's a great talking point. We are not big fans of souvenirs, but we did make a concession on this occasion and we still have our 'Polarsirkel' t-shirts and van stickers.

Motorhoming through Northern Germany

We have been to Northern Germany a few times. It might seem like an odd choice of destination but we were attracted to it by accident really. We usually pass through it en-route to and from Scandinavia and the Baltic States and always take the time to spend a few extra days here.

Cologne Cathedral

The first thing to say about Germany as a whole is that it is superb for motorhomers. The network of aires (called stellplatz) is better (we think) even than the French one. There is literally an aire every few miles, which means if you don't like the look of one, you simply drive for a few minutes to find the next one. Many of them are free or charge a small amount (5-10 euros) for the night. They are all in a book (more of a magazine really) called Reise Mobil Bord Atlas, which is available in book shops. It costs around 25 euros and is in German, but you can work it out and you make your money back in one or two nights compared to paying for sites.

Our definition of Northern Germany is very loose indeed here basically covers the route from Holland up to the port of Travemunde i.e. the way we went en route to Sweden. Consequently we are missing out some of the larger towns in the north. Regular readers of the blog will know that I can never do justice to lots of the places we have been to and this will be no exception!

So here's the list of places that we would recommend going (on and around this route) and why:

Hamburg: Germany's second largest city. A massive centre for history, business and tourism. Apparently it has 2300 bridges! Not particularly easy to drive in with busy motorways around it. We stayed 20km out and went in on the train.

Lubeck. Amazing architecture and marzipan!

Cologne (Koln): Germany's fourth largest city nestling on the Rhine. Rich in history with an amazing cathedral. There is a cheap aire here right on the river and only about a mile from the city. Great cycling paths down the river. We preferred Cologne to Hamburg actually. 

Rhine and Mosel valleys: Heading south from here is what some guidebooks think is the most beautiful part of the Rhine valley. Heading east will take you down the Mosel. Both provide many opportunities for wine drinking as you might expect.

Lubeck: University and port town on the Elbe. Beautiful old town with associated architecture and also famous for marzipan production.

Travemunde: We only went here as it's where you catch the ferry to Sweden, but it is actually a beautiful seaside town with large bays running at right angles to each other (if that makes sense). The sea front is lined with restaurants and cafes and it also has a large aire right on the harbour.

Nord-Ostee Canal: An amazing piece of engineering that runs for around 100km with Kiel at one end and the North Sea at the other. Along the route are numerous picturesque towns and loads of aires and wild camping. Much of the canal has walking/cycle paths and small ferries or tunnels making it easy to get along and over. 

Overnight spot right on the Nord-Ostee Canal

Flensburg and Celle: If you are driving up to or back from Denmark there are a couple of places that really are worth an overnight stop. We only found these by accident as they coincided with the need to find an aire for the night. Flensburg has a beautiful harbour and Celle boasts lots of half-timbered houses and a massive town hall.

For those of you who know this area, you will probably wonder why I have missed out so many places: Bremen, Hanover, Munster etc. It' simply because we didn't get to them en route. I've said it before, but one of the great things about motorhoming is that every time you go you come back with a list of places that you want to go back to. We'll there there next time!