On the Road Again!

With only three 240v sockets in the van that run off the EHU or from the Victron Inverter, this three 240v and the USB socket Cube seemed a good idea. It has a fused plug and and on/off switch. The USB sockets are two USB-A and one USB-C. Although most of the equipment we have nowadays is USB-C  we have very few C to C cables. Most still have the USB-A at one end. At least the option is there. Another job was to charge up as many devices as possible. Although the van has 230W of solar so-called "free electricity" I am old school and like to have things charged before I go. The Cube worked well with charging a few of the Canon camera batteries.  I have a few in my bag. Whilst I was getting the camera ready the batteries were charging.

In an effort to get out for a walk, we took a short walk along the Royal Military Canal. It was quite a nice day and I took the Canon EOS 1100D out for an outing.   It's hard to believe that I bought it back in around 2014. It was as a direct replacement for my earlier Canon EOS 300D. The 300D was an eBay purchase and was quite cheap.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a camera that I might not use. It did a great job until a little spring that helped operate the mirror broke. Amazingly, that was enough to render the camera useless. I took it to a professional camera repairers in London and they were unable to source the part. So I bought another beginner level Canon.  For what I use the camera for it would have been madness to have bought a more expensive camera.  It seems with Canon the lower the number, the more expensive it went. Today, I took a few along the canal. Reggie's Favourite Bench. If only I had had the 300mm lens mounted... A bit later I wa...

With two nights to get from Cayeux-sur-Mer to Sandaya Côte de Nacre I began looking at options. In the end I had already rejoined France Passion and was determined to see if at least one of them would have a vacancy for one night. It's a Friday. So i contacted them early.  The book says call before arriving.... The two I liked the most in Seine-Maritime were contacted.  Only one has replied. It's actually my first choice. The Auberge du Val au Cesne  ( https://www.valaucesne.com/ ). It's between Neufchâtel en Bray and Dieppe. It's "free" to stay but we will have dinner in the Auberge.  The second night? I think we will need to  stay somewhere really free to even out the costs!! I have somewhere in mind but we'll need a "fly past" to see what it's like... I can only say "Cabourg" at the moment. ...

As well as the France Passion book and app on my phone, there are more apps available. I use Search4Sites and Park4Night apps to look for overnight park ups. They do differ a bit and although they often have the same places, there are many unique to each. Another good app and one we use is the Camping-Car Park app. It shows all the sites they manage and you can book online to reserve a pitch. For FR26 I have been looking at France Passion for stops in the Seine Maritime (76) department.  One is a cider (or cidre) producer and the other an auberge. I have emailed to see if they have a pitch. I have yet to get a reply.  Failing that, there are plenty of Camping-Car Park aires we can use.  I like the idea of France Passion as you stay on farms etc, and then buy products or produce from the hosts. Less impersonal that municipal aires and Camping-Car Park aires. To find places to visit, I have invested in another Rough Guide. This one is "Brittany and Normandy". Ho...

Apart from the possibility of some Champions League or FA Cup games for Arsenal, I have around eight weeks from mid February to plan a trip away. To somewhere warm. That looks like it would be Spain.  As we currently don't have full winter or all season tyres and so any routes taken and any destinations chosen will need to be planned well. I think that Spain would be an ideal destination. But where? Roses?  Or Benidorm??? Let's wait and see when we come back from France and the FR26 tour.

It seems a little early to be booking trips away in 2027 but sometimes there are limited tickets and so you have to book early. Vans in the Valley It seems this is the case with this van life festival. So I booked it. It's around £30 a night for three nights with entertainment etc.  No leccy. And you can stay over until Monday before you have to leave.

We arrive in Calais at the Eurotunnel Terminal at around 9.20am and then head to Cayeux-sur-Mer and the Camping-Car Park aire for one night. One night at the moment.  We have two nights after this before we book into the Sandaya Campsite at Côte de Nacre.  Where to stay? We could stay at Cayeux for two nights. There are places to see along the way that we can build into the roughly 127 miles between the two. I have been hitting Search4Sites to look for places en route.  I have earmarked a visit to the Merville Gun Battery to look around the museum. I emailed and they have spaces for larger vehicles. I'll have to see if I can find a stopover nearby. For either before or after the visit.