On the Road Again!

Another day of extreme heat despite us being 1135m above sea level at Canfranc Estancion.  The weather was around 35°C most of the day. There's very little shade for us or for Reggie. So we have done nothing. Save sitting about. To keep Reggie cool we have wrapped him in a wet towel. When we were at the vet's on Friday they said that their part of Spain was supposed to be the coolest, weather wise! As I write it's: Earlier today I booked us in for another night here. As we have 24 hours from around 8pm Saturday I expected simply to book again from 8pm again. It wouldn't accept that, so I booked again, but from 7pm! Tonight we'll start to tidy away a lot of the gear to save rushing tomorrow. There will be a bit of grey waste to dump as we have used it quite a bit, showers etc. Tomorrow? We head south to Jaca, then  east again along the N260 all the way to France near Puigcerda an...

Saturday Morning broke a little too early for us. After the thud-thud of the music until 5am we hadn't slept well. Still, our next stop was planned to be along the N240 towards Jaca. With the heat already touching 25°C by 10.30am, we decided to get on the road. Frias can wait for another day.  First stop was at Tobera. We had oast it on the way in and now we were retracing our steps to the south along the BU-504. https://www.wikiburgos.es/wiki/Tobera A quick stop. The route us east and north east to Vitoria-Gasteiz and Pamplona. Bypassing both. As we had plenty of autovias to use we stopped near Gasteiz for a coffee. Claire then bought a couple of rolls for lunch. Then decided to carry on.  The TomTom seemed reluctant to amend the route. It's a failure of Plan dot tomtom dot com that deleting waypoints seems impossible.  Eventually the aire at Jaca was set a...

Well, what can I say about Day 7? Not a lot.  With Potes and the Picos de Europa being scorched under 36°C temperatures and then rinsed every evening in thunderstorms, we were pretty much doing nothing other than sit and read.  Day 8. Where to go? My original plan was to take a turn around the Picos and then eastwards calling into a few "sights" and "beau villages" that had aires. But with an ageing dog we were looking for somewhere cooler.   It looks as though El Niño from the Pacific is causing the weather we are getting. So we decided to cut a few places out and today head for Frias.   The village is called the smallest city in Spain.  There's a Camping-Car Park aire there and for €6 a night there's plenty of spaces and services but no EHU. Loos and showers as well.  On the way from Potes we found ourselves taking in a few passes and lots of winding ...

The appointment with the vet in San Vicente was at 1100. We were up in good time and on the road around 1015. As it happens we made the appointment dead on 1100. Why? The trip down the road and across the bridge into the town was easy enough. The vet's surgery is a street back from the main road not far from the bus station. There's parking all along the sea/river front. Not a single space to be found. In the end we followed signs, over another bridge on the N634 to the parking. It was an underground car park. Further on was a small surface level free car park. Some spaces free. The walk back wasn't too far but enough for and old dog. The rabies vax cost €40 and his Belgian Pet Passport updated. Three more years. Rather than walk all the way back we decided to have a coffee and then I would get the van and pick them up. The walk back was okay. It didn't seem as far... ...

With the BBC weather forecasting drizzle, we rolled the awning in and put awayvthe chairs. The new ones are much easier to deploy and take down. The seat cover simply slides off the frame.  The morning arrived when Reggie wanted his morning pee and poo trip out. Today it was just after 7am. The day looked to be warmer than forecast and so we rolled out the awning and pegged it out, deploying the storm straps as well.  Jobs today included doing some washing. The machines here cost €6 per wash and take card or coins. No tokens or jetons needed. I put the new whirlygig up and pegged that down. It looks as though that was a successful purchase. It's quite light and packs down relatively small. Apart from checking in and a visit to the shop we've done very little. Tonight's dinner will be the tortilla and salad we bought at the supermarket yesterday. We ...

 I have to give a plug for my brother's blog as it's the brotherly thing to do .. https://whirl2026.blogspot.com

We were right at the rear left on Deck 3 on the ferry and so we were probably the last off that deck. Due to some jiggery pokery the deck has to be cleared before Deck 4 could be cleared. I think it has a ramp at each end that needs lowering. There was some holdup as a couple in a UK registered Porsche took their time coming down and vans and cars had had to squeeze past them. Most of the vehicles stuck behind them had to be eased around them.  They took their time putting their bags in, then just forced their way into the column a few vans in front of us. Ignorant or arrogant? The queue for passports and EES was quite quick. Claire's Irish passport was checked and returned.  I had to do my fingerprints and have my photo taken. The next was pet check. They had the pre-registration details and checked his pet passport and waved us through. It looks as though the AHC we paid for was a waste of money. It was a much different ...

Day 1 We planned to set off at around 1030 for the drive across to Wyndham Farm in Gillingham in Dorset.  In the end we were away at 1029? It was relatively easy going with the first stop at Cobham Services for Reggie to stretch his legs and us to get a McCafe. As usual the approach is four lanes of solid traffic. The millions they spent on the A3 job action, "to speed up journey times" was wasted on the M25, in both directions. Hopefully some benefit, for someone. Whoever they are. Wherever they are. As we were heading to the South West we took the M3 to the A303. The duel carriageway sections are a doddle. Then the eff up at Stonehenge where the road is reduced from 2 lanes to 1. The dawdle past the stones and through villages. It all adds to the stress for drivers...

Who thought that winding 25m of heavy duty cable onto a reel would be easier than coiling it in the hands? Yes. Me. It's not. It's still bloody heavy and winding it isn't as simple. The cable goes where it wants!!

🚐 Overview of your route Total distance: ~520–560 miles (840–900 km) Driving time (no tolls): ~12–14 hours total Suggested duration: 3–4 days (comfortable touring pace) Countries: France → Belgium → Luxembourg → Germany Tolls: ❌ None (Germany has no tolls <3.5t; route avoids French autoroutes) � IDS Camping and Leisure You’ll head via Belgium & Luxembourg (fuel stop), then into the Rhine valley before entering the Black Forest and driving the B500 scenic ridge road. 🗺️ Day 1 – Calais → Luxembourg area (~280 miles / 4.5–5 hrs) Route Calais → Dunkirk → Bruges → Ghent → Brussels → Namur → Luxembourg This avoids French toll roads by using Belgium’s free motorway network. Stop suggestion (first overnight) Camping Fuussekaul ✔ Large, quiet, very motorhome-friendly ✔ Good for seniors (flat pitches, facilities) ✔ Dog-friendly walking trails nearby 📍 Why here: ...

To give my brain a bit of a rest as I sat in the conservatory listening to the rain pelting down on the roof, and for two days when I should be packing stuff in the van, I have been looking at the autumn trip we have already booked. The plan was basically to go to Germany and to visit the Cathargo factory and showroom in Aulendorf in Schwabia. But where afterwards? I have looked at Austria and there's a possibility. More fancifully at Hungary? At the moment I have rough idea plotted in MyRouteApp to do the B500,  Schwarzwaldhochstraße (Black Forest High Road) first then turn eastwards to Aulendorf. Returning along the Romantic Road from South to North. It's a way off and so we have time to work on that but in August.

The first stop after Oyambre has always been Potes in the Picos de Europa on the plan. Now that we are on Plan G it's still there. We have been before, twice in fact,  but not for very long each time. The first time was way back in August 2014 when we were heading back from a long week trip to Spain. Our destination was Santander. The night before we had stayed in the Parador at Cervera la Pisuerga.  We stopped again in May 2024. A quick stop on the sloping dirt car park behind the supermarket, and then further up the road at the bus station.  Again we had a short walk into the town.   This time I planned to overnight two nights at the Vanventure Campervan Park . Checking on the aire's website shows that out of 19 bookable pitches there were none last night and again tonight. It also looks like people are pre-booking ahead of time. So I have. It'...

DogsTrust - National Dog Survey 2026. National Dog Survey 2026

Probably a mistake to have ordered this from some Chinese factory. It seemed like a gamble rather than simply a scam! 从中国工厂订购这个东西可能是个错误。这与其说是骗局，不如说是一场赌博

Grrrrr. After all these months it has now been reported that any EU Pet Passport issued before April 22nd 2026 is still usable! Why didn't they say this before thousands of travellers had been forced the buy an expensive Animal Health Certificate???? It's cost us £99 for nothing as Reggie already has his pet passport. Brittany Ferries website Thanks.

Today's jobs in between rain showers was to get down to Dover and fill the LPG tanks before we start the holiday.   Dover BP by the entrance to the Western Docks, where the cruise ships dock, was £1.199 per litre. Luckily they had plenty but I had phoned up before we made the trip. I took photos of both gauges before we went. Right bottle Left bottle We tend to use the right side bottle more than the left as it is easier to access the tap to turn the gas on. When we got home I filled the AdBlue up from the containers in the garage. It used all of the 4 litre Redex branded AdBlue, plus another 1½ to 2 litres from the huge 10 litre bottle from Aldi.  For good measure I emptied in a full bottle of Wynn's Crystal Clear and Protect anti crystallisation liquid in with the new fill.  This should see us through the entire holiday trip. If there's any on the pump in Spain I might top up there as it is much cheaper than here. That's another pre-trip job dealt with. Whilst I wa...

What the absolute f***! In the last couple of years there hasn't been much of risk to these shysters as I have been doing more miles in the campervan. A £56 increase. In fact 50% for what? A reduced risk and they do this?