FR26 - Days 19/20/21

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DAY 19

Luckily today was a day when Tomtom, their website and the Camper Max decided to play nicely.  Rare I know.

Yes. A route created in .gpx format was uploaded to plan.tomtom.com! It's true!!

Everything was going well. We were up bright and early in case someone came to get the €5 for the overnight fee. No one did. The chandler's shop remained closed. 

The fee would be worth it for the view. Even more so if the borne in the service area worked without a jeton then €5 would be great.

Even better €0 and take everything with you was great.


And here we had a very embarrassing moment or ten minutes...

Following the directions to the Camping-Car parking area we saw a sign "road closed 300m".

Hoping to park after it we found the spaces were available, but not large enough to park an original Fiat 500!

With the aid of a fellow British guy we made a twenty point turn and slunk back the way we can. Dinan can wait!

Then it was balls out for the Camping-Car Park aire at Beauvoir.  We left there two weeks ago heading east. 

We did all the wastes etc before looking for a pitch.  I had a migraine and took the pink pills and that pretty much ruined the rest of the day.

We did get a chance to walk over to the Ulite shop to get some "bits"....

For tomorrow we have decided to head further west. The idea to stop at "sights" on the way.

DAY 20

We decided on a popular Camping-Car Park aire at Lions-sur-Mer.

It's only a ten van aire and usually full so I booked it. One day, 1pm to 1pm. I didn't expect to be there that early as I programed in to the TomTom a stop at the Longues Battery. 

The route was straight forward up the A84 around Bayeux and to the coast road along the D-Day beaches....... But!!

Tomtom had other ideas. We came off the A84 earlier than planned and went along some country lanes and then right through the centre of Bayeux!!!  We eventually joined the ring road before another bout of directions that don't match the signposts directing you to the battery. 

Once there we parked up. We had been there in 2009 on the BMW R1150GS motorcycle. It was pretty much left to nature back then.  

Now it has a visitor centre, tarmac parking and information boards. 

Is it better? I guess it must be to have spent so much on the infrastructure. 

From there we fought with the Tomtom to get to Arromanches and onto the coast road.

What's really annoying is driving the same bit of road twice, in the same direction due to the mapping programme that TomTom has created. It's too slow at working out alternative routes on the move.

In the end, following road signs, we came up to where the D-Day 360° cinema is. There's motorhome parking here for €12.50 overnight. Although there are lesser charges on the machines for 1 hour etc. I checked the machine.

I didn't bother. What a rebel! 

Pulled out the Canon and went to take some pictures.  I even put the 300m zoom on for some of the mulberry harbour pontoons. 

We have one near where we live at Littlestone in Kent. It sank before it could be towed across the Channel.

From there we carried on along the coast even passing the entrance to the Côte de Nacre campsite where we stayed earlier in the holiday. 

Tomtom fixated on turning off or turning back to some imaginary point.... Finally, when entering Lions-sur-Mer it decided we were all on the same page!!!

On arrival at the aire I was a little underwhelmed. 

Small and gravelly just off the road. Decent sized pitches. A short walk to the beach. Nothing was open. The pizza restaurant nearby said only Friday/weekends. At least had we wanted it the Carrefour was open and a short walk.

We had a walk to the beach. Left and right nothing much other than houses. There was a lifeguard point though. The beach is dog friendly October to early June.

Claire took a couple of the seafront and the van...


So underwhelming I didn't take any photos!

So where tomorrow? It looks like we'll try the aire at St Valery-sur-Somme.

DAY 21

Up late but still away at 10.30am. The plan today is a three hour plus drive (no tolls) to Saint Valery-sur-Somme. No sidetrack stops.

How very wrong. Once again the route planned on MyRouteApp was to go to Caen and then to Rouen, around the western side to the toll free A28. That gpx file successfully uploaded to plan.tomtom.com. 

Tomtom messed around again. Why change the planned route? 

Why take the périphique when you can go straight across the centre and join it when it's too late. Then I cocked up on the A13, that we should have been on, when I went the wrong way. The sign "Paris" hidden behind a truck in the roadworks on the autoroute access. How blue was language?  🤬🤬🤬🤬

In the end after wasting two hours we stopped near Rouen on the A13. Had lunch at McDonald's and then set off. 

What terror could TomTom's brain come up with now? Instead of the planned route let's go via an autoroute towards le Havre, then another too Dieppe to the A29!!! The A29 Toll Road!

Remember the route was set to avoid tolls?

In the end as we eventually joined the FREE A28!!! 

Once going we decided that by the time we arrived in the aire at St Valery it would be nigh on 4.30pm before we could get out to walk into town. Too late!

Scratch St Valery!

We stopped for a coffee at the Baie de la Somme aire.


It is possible to overnight here but once St Valery was scratched we decided to do two nights at the Camping-Car Park aire at Calais. It gives us a full day to walk along the beach and hopefully de-stress from the TomTom!!!!! It's €15.25 a night (24 hours) with ehu and all the usual services.

One stop on the side of the motorway for an emergency stop for #2. It seems my IBS decided to join the party.  Of course, when I desperately needed an aire, the Aire de Bois de la Commanderie, was FERMÉ!!! I managed to get off the carriageway and right up against the cones. Hazard lights on.... and run.... okay it's not far....

Then another stop for fuel. We were down to around a quarter of a tank and we had to decide whether to fill up or just a splash. Total have capped diesel at €2.25 per litre. More incredibly Diesel Excellium was also €2.25. I filled with that!

We have used a few Total stations on this trip and none have had any Excellium.  The pump handle was always chained or padlocked. Maybe the others didn't want to sell it for the same as Relais Epitre.

When converted to UK £'s it was £1.909 per litre. At home when we left ordinary B7 diesel was £1.999!!!

And here we are.... Pitch 19. 

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