FR26 - Sandaya Côte de Nacre Campsite

With all the health problems we have decided that France, Normandy and Brittany, is the limit. We also have to take into consideration that the heatwaves that have brought incredibly hot weather to parts of Europe, that travelling with a dog who will be 16yo by the time we depart is not enjoying spending too long in the van.

So I began to work my way across the English Channel coast from Calais where we will arrive towards Brittany. The idea is to keep the daily mileages quite low so that we arrive early enough to enjoy where we are.

The first booking is for a week. I decided to check out Sandaya Côte de Nacre. We have had a few stays with them and they have been okay. What's more importantly they are open!  It seems that France closes down, in the main, at the end of September! Saying that, they also close some of their sites!

Why a week?  This stay is around five days into the trip. I am looking for aires on the way down and a week means we have a base and a chance to chill out.  

I think that even as a planner of trips on the bike, I was over optimistic about distances and times at points of interest. It was even worse when there's a group. After four years of motorhoming I still think I haven't learned!!!  So this trip will be test to see if we can be less optimistic and more realistic on what is achievable every day. 

This site is close the the beach and promenade in the town. It's close to the Normandy D-Day beaches and places to visit. A bonus is that Reggie is allowed on the beach in the low season. Whether he will walk that far is another matter!!.

We can go out to see the sights and come back safe that our pitch will be there awaiting us. With the awning rolled in, we are pretty much able to drive straight off the pitch.

Packing light is a must. We got too many things wrong in June. The heatwave in the Picos de Europa and Spanish Pyrenees with temperatures over 35°C all day caught us out. We had expected much lower temperatures and came with jeans and hoodies!  None got worn!!!

Both France and Spain are being plagued by another heatwave with forest fires 🔥 spreading everywhere as I write this and so we are hoping that the September weather will be back to normal...