keep those drives weed free ……we will be back.xxx

Although life in France is all about, life in France, I really wanted to share our UK Road Trip in the camper. We set off for a ferry crossing in Calais and to get the best price, a night crossing, only 2 hours to  cross the channel  and for that we are delighted as the thought of the 7 hour winter slow boat from Caen just leaves us cold and disinterested.  We took the opportunity to go and visit the place we started our life in France, where all our hopes and ambitions were moulded and dashed. During those  few months in Watten we battled with French bureaucracy and our naive belief that because we have been in business and we are bright and enthusiastic that we could manage a French business of gites, boat pontoons and a bar,  cook, clean and be nice to customers. It was not long before we identified our limitations and pulled out.  Needless to say, at the time, we felt we had failed and were destined, to, just be retired, but  8 years later no one has taken on this site or even tried. The wine glasses  I left in a row on the bar are still there and the curtains at the windows have not moved,  the ‘Private’ sign in my own hand writing is still stuck to the bar door. Sadly this place was never going to be a roaring success and we are glad we saw that early enough not to have thrown too much at it. I still love the place and would love to live there without the commitment of being in business and having sat in our camper and discussed the possibilities we drove out and I whispered to myself …..moving on…..

 

8 years ago my sister sent me bulbs saying that we will see the same flowers at the same time, we were missing each other so much and when we moved out I dug up the bulbs….I thought….because here they are after all those years still showing their miniature daffodil heads and I was touched and amazed to see them still flowering.

 

 

The Camper let us down on the way to catch the ferry and the back lights refused to function again, so we got on the ferry and drove all the way from Dover to Reading on intensity rear lights and as it is daylight at midnight in the UK with the amount of road lighting we made it with no one needing to flash us until he hit reading and the road lighting stopped. We pulled over and wild camped in the services until dawn then hit the road to Worcester to spend two nights on Gig and Neil’s drive, joined by Mim and Dick in their camper. We then set off to Bill and Linda Puffet’s drive for one night, down to our son Chris and Sam’s drive for a night and then to John and linda Hoadley on their drive, next was Ron and Pauline and lastly a night on Mim and Dick’s drive and every time we pulled up to use a drive we were welcomed, fed and watered and thoroughly entertained and cared for,  We spent one night in the car park of an Indian restaurant who were happy to have us stay as long as we  ate  in the Restaurant, and that was novel

 

 

 

 

 

We visited Canterbury, Salisbury Tewkesbury, Dover and just had a great 10 days on our home territory reminding us of its beauty and variety.

 

We parked our camper waiting for our ferry home looking over the ferry port and up to the castle. We made a visit to the castle for free using our John Lewis cards and for the first time since we have been retired have we taken advantage of the pro’s of being a jlp partner…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gig and Neil  in Hanley Swan

 

 

Bill in Bishopstone

 

Chris in Rownhams
 

John and Linda in Bracklesham bay

Mim and Dick in Bracknell

 

 

Sorry to Ron and Pauline in Porchester we forgot to take your picture so we will have to came back to you

Thank you for Lunch with Ian and Sandra in port Solent and a fab evening with Billy and Maxine in Bracknell  and coffee with Tina and Brian

 

 

In all the excitement….what of HOSS, who dutifully follows us around, and gets in and out of the camper when we ask him to, waits in the camper garage for us to return from our visits,  who waits  crossed legged because we have not been able to give him the runs he needs. Who eats lying down because he is on holiday as well …. he is just happy to be  with us and to join in or out as much as we need him to, but at the end of the trip  he is the most delighted to get home to his 3 acres of grass, he is happy to get away from the  tarmac and concrete and deep down, so are we glad to be home, with our acres of grass with only the noise of the birds and the cows and the sheep but it was good to get away and this trip has given us the energy to get up and get out more often so keep those drives weed free ……we will be back.xxx