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Cycling in the South

You’ve just got to love the South, Hampshire in particular, for its small and fairly quiet roads which can be great for cycling. Its terrain goes from the flat and fairly level Test Valley roads to the lumpy bits in the South Downs which can be quite challenging.

On the 20th May Fiona was booked on a Motorhome manoeuvring course at Sparsholt college near Winchester. I drove the ‘van to the college and then went cycling for the day while Fiona got trained.

My intention was to cover about 50 miles up the Test valley towards Whitchurch and so set off for Stockbridge. The weather was OK to start with but heavy rain was forecast.

It was cold when I set off for Stockbridge and I had a rough idea of the roads I would use. The scenery along the valley is spectacular, The Test river is fed by rainwater running off the chalk downs further north so is very clear and is bursting with fish.

I rode along the A3057 and then took its spur through Chilbolton, heading for Longparish, Whitchurch to Freefolk.

Here is a view along the Test river from the bridge at Wherwell

Still in Wherwell this lovely place overlooks the Test river. It has clearly been re-thatched recently and looks superb.

This nice place was off the main Whithurch to Overton road. I stopped here for a few minutes to watch the trout swimming in the river below

I stopped for a quick look at the 11th century St Nicholas church in Freefolk and had to cross this bridge to get to it. Lovely and tranquil, and again, the river is full of fish.

I turned back at Laverstoke which was about 26 miles from my start and shortly after leaving Whitchurch the heavens opened so I took refuge under a tree for about 20 minutes. I returned to Stockbridge via Longstock and had to shelter from the rain a couple more times. By now the temperature was dropping fast so by the time I got back to Winchester I was quite cold.

However, I managed to cycle 56 miles during the afternoon but unfortunately I managed to get a puncture right at the end of my ride. Once Fiona had finished her course I was able to take a warm shower in the van and be dressed up clean for the drive home.

Car crash TV and kittens galore

TV reception in the van is a bit hit and miss. We have a satellite receiver and TV so can receive heaps of rubbish channels from all over the place as long as we have a direct line of sight to the satellite orbiting overhead. Most of the campsites we have used have been well wooded to provide shelter from the heat of the sun. Consequently we have been unable to receive satellite TV or radio channels for a fair proportion of the time we have spent in the van.

We have been able to receive 3G mobile phone and mobile internet signals though and have seldom been outside of mobile network coverage.

The EU recently has forced mobile phone operators to remove roaming charges throughout the EU and most of Europe which means that internet data is now much cheaper to use while abroad in the EU.

I recently bought a ChromeCast device from Currys, where the price had been discounted from £30 to £19 for one day only, and connected the Chromecast to the AV input of the van’s satellite receiver.

The chromecast is a media streaming device which can be controlled from a mobile phone. Video and audio channels (Youtube, iPlayer) are streamed from the mobile internet to the phone then ‘cast’ to the Chromecast device which outputs video and audio to the TV.

The Chromecast has a HDMI output port to connect to a TV and uses a USB connection to provide its power. We have the HDMI plugged into the satellite receivers ‘pass through’ HDMI input to provide the video and audio signal, and use one of the satellite receivers two USB ports to provide power.

I also bought an unlocked 4G LTE mobile broadband modem to replace my ageing 3G MiFi, which is locked to Three.

The TP-Link 7350 can use a SIM from Three, Orange or others to provide network access at 4G speeds.

The idea is to use a French Orange prepay SIM when we go to France next and avoid the back-haul through the Three network to the internet. The TP-Link provides the local WiFi network in the van that allows our mobile phones, tablets and Mac to connect to the internet as normal as well as to control video and audio streams to the Chromecast.

We tried this set-up out on our recent camping expedition to East Sussex and were able to stream BBC TV programs using the iPlayer video, BBC radio channels as well as Youtube videos to the van’s TV.

Brilliant.

English wines? Why not?

For my 60th birthday Louise gave me a ‘Vineyard Tour and Tasting with lunch for two‘ voucher that I could use at any one of a number of vineyards in the south of England. We looked at the map and decided to use it at the Carr Taylor vineyard which is found a few miles north of Hastings in East Sussex. I booked the visit for the 12th July and then searched for a place to stay nearby for a couple of nights as we intended to stay in the ‘van and use our bikes to get to the vineyard. We chose the Meadow View campsite as it seemed to be closest to the vineyard, and we reserved our space for the 2 nights.

Our drive to East Sussex was uneventful; it was dual carriageway for most of the way. The last 12 miles or so to the campsite was not so easy; our satnav took us cross country along some very narrow and steep roads. Thankfully the oncoming traffic was fairly light and gave way to let us pass.

Parked up and ready for the tour of the vineyard

The weather had been scorching for the previous couple of weeks. A change was forecast. It started raining shortly after we arrived at the campsite and it rained very heavily all night. This was a worry for our cycle ride. Thankfully, the rain stopped by about 6am.

Hmmm…the bike ride was a little harder than anticipated. The terrain around Sedlescombe/Westfield is very hilly and not brilliantly signposted. One wrong turn and we ended up cycling about 4 miles further than intended. Somehow, we managed to arrive on time.

The tour of the Carr Taylor vineyard itself was well worth the visit. The tour group was about 20 strong, the guide was very knowledgeable, explaining how the vines were planted, which varieties were grown and why, and he had heaps of interesting information about how a vineyard and wine producer works throughout the seasons.

The wine tasting was an eye opener for me. I had only tasted English wine once, and that was enough. My experience was limited to tasting an English red wine from a local vineyard. Carr Taylor doesn’t produce red wines, the reason being that we don’t get enough sunshine in England to ripen the grapes, so they stick to white and rose wines, and to fruit wines including apples, elderberry and others.

The tour lasted for a couple of hours but the time passed quickly as our guide was very entertaining. It concluded with a wine tasting- then lunch with a glass of still white wine.The tasting comprised sparkling brut white and sparkling rose, followed by still white and still rose and then a selection of their fruit wines. Carr Taylor is planted with mostly German sounding grape varieties as well as some Pinot and Chardonnay Their white and rose wines, and the fruit wines, are really very good, so good in fact that we bought a bottle of rose and two bottles of apple.

Tucking into the buffet lunch complete with stilton, pate and local wine.

The cloud had disappeared by now and it was starting to warm up a bit. We had decided to buy a couple of bottles of the local produce and were discussing with the tour guide how to get it back to the ‘van when he mentioned that the vineyard operates a ‘BritStop’ camp site on the premises. So, we could have parked in their campsite/carpark just yards away from the tour start point! Oh, yes, and we discovered there had been a Groupon offer at the campsite…missed that, too! Oh well, at least the vineyard tour was a gift!

These three beauties will go into the wine fridge for a while, but they won’t have to wait too long before being opened.

So, we loaded 3 bottles into the pannier bag and attached it to my bike, then it was back to the van for an afternoon relaxing in what was left of the summer sunshine.

Very tasty home made chilli accompanied by French cider for dinner. The chilli had been in the van freezer since the beginning of June so was ready to be eaten.

Cbeebies at last

Well, on our first day at home I decided to investigate the broken satellite system. I pulled the covers off the cable trunking and using the volt meter measured the voltage on the power cable. While doing this I discovered that the live wire to the satellite receiver was disconnected. It looks like it had never been fully connected and had possibly rattled its way loose during our drive. I reconnected the cable properly and behold, we have Cbeebies and other assorted rubbish on the TV. What a simple fix.

Now where did I leave that damned water filler cap?

Update: a visit to Southdowns Motorhomes Centre this week solved our water filler problem, we bought a new filler cap complete with keys for the sum of £15.22. Sorted.

The journey home

The trek homewards towards the Caen ferry begins. Our fairly direct route from Nevers to Caen/Ouistreham is planned to be via Orleans where we have reserved a pitch for Monday night. We are now on first name terms at Olivet Camping! To fill the weekend gap, we try a site at Salbris, near the Sologne Forest. We’ve stayed in hotels in the area before, and the camping website looks good.

Our fuel light comes on about 10 miles from Salbris and I’m nervous, though, as Fiona is driving again, I will blame her if it runs out…sorted! As it happens, we find a garage, and fill up with (cheaper) French diesel..and find the campsite quite easily, after a quick trip to the local Supermarket for the usual supplies…mainly alcoholic!

The site is lovely, the owner is very welcoming, and she offers us a choice of pitch. We opt for a lakeside setting which turns out to be perfect with our awning protecting us from the heat of the sun.

There is, she tells us, a music festival in town this evening, so we decide to wander into town to investigate. Hmmm…after the music festival in Avallon a few nights earlier, this is very different. I describe the music as Oompah meets Sangria…but the locals obviously enjoy it. There is a lot of clapping and audience participation. After a while, our ears are hurting, so we return to the site. We can still hear the music…and the finale of the evening is a quite spectacular Firework finale..the French sure know how to put on a show, even in small towns!

Throughout the holiday I have been on the lookout for Swallowtail butterflies which must be one of the most beautiful butterflies around. Thus far I have not caught sight of any.

We decided to go cycling while at Salbris, after all, there’s not a lot else to do in France on a Sunday afternoon. We set off on a 30km cycle ride on small roads through woods and fields and with little or no traffic.

We stopped in a real hurry and grabbed the camera when I spied this beautiful creature fluttering over the meadow we were passing. The little sod didn’t stick around long enough for me to get a good shot though. But what a beauty (the butterfly not the fence post)!

We stayed at Salbris for 2 nights as it was very nice, then left on the Sunday morning heading for a stopover at Olivet before the long drive back to Caen.

The drive was long. 198 miles long. Thankfully Fiona drove the whole way so I arrived refreshed and relaxed. Heading north at Chartres we spied a Hen Harrier in a field, presumably there to end the short life of some furry mammal, anyway, it was the first one I’d ever seen.

We knew when we’d arrived in Normandy as the rain started. When I say rain, I mean the thunder, lightning and the deluge which started at just before Falaise and continued until we arrived home.

Can’t complain though, it was pretty much the only daytime rain we had in the 3 weeks we were away.

The van fuel light came on just before Caen, but then the ‘low fuel’ warning flashed soon after. This panicked us into a desperate search for a filling station.

The ferry journey home was ballsed up by Brittany Ferries. They had lowered the car deck by the time we boarded and so we had to wait until they had unloaded everyone else before we could get off. As we went through Passport control at Portsmouth, the officer aked “oh, you’re from the Mont St. Michel sailing, are you?”, as we were obviously way behind all the other passengers from the sailing. Grrrr….A real stinker will be fired off response to their ‘how did we do…’ email.

Nevers again?

Friday evening sees us parking on the south bank of the Loire at Nevers. Fiona has driven all the way from Avallon and has not been shouted at once- well, not by me, I can’t vouch for other drivers. Nevers is a lovely town, with a real buzz to it. We would happily spend more time there, but we are moving on.

The campsite is pretty much full but we get a pitch on the lower slopes without electric hook- up. No electricity is not a problem, but the site is rather crowded and the facilities really aren’t up to much.

The town is a short walk across the main bridge. There is a plaque in the cathedral blaming the RAF for accidentally dropping a 1000lb bomb on the church during the 1939-1945 nastiness.

In the early evening we head across the bridge and explore the town. We happen upon a concert rehearsal in the cathedral and find ourselves drawn to the music, spending almost an hour listening in to a variety of classical tunes including Adagio and Faure’s Requiem.

Then it’s off to the town bars for a couple of beers while ‘people watching’ and then back to the van for a salad as Fiona is not keen for me to get the BBQ out when we are so crowded in.

We drive off the campsite by about 10:30 the next morning but find that we are among the last to leave – the site is being deserted. Our travels continue….

Avallon – but not a round table in sight

It’s too hot for us in Auxerre so we pack up and head off in a SE direction towards the town of Avallon in Bourgogne (Burgundy). The temperature doesn’t get any more comfortable; it’s 39.5C as we approach the town where we find a nice quiet campsite within walking distance of the town centre. Fiona drove to this destination, including an amicable meeting with a French lady bus driver on a tight bend…Fiona practised her reversing downhill…no point in road rage!

Anyway, when I say walking distance, what I really mean is 3km of uphill, very uphill, walking; needless to say it’s very steep all the way to the town. Avallon is a very old town and was built on a granite spur between two ravines; we are camped in one of the ravines.

It’s the summer solstice today and in Avallon tonight there is a free festival of music with around a half a dozen bands performing at venues around the town. In the early evening we hike into town and thoroughly enjoy an evening of listening to live renditions of ‘Brown Sugar’, ‘Stairway…’, ‘Honky Tonk Woman’ and a whole load more classic hits from long ago. We also found a group of yoofs, who did a good version of Purple Rain..

The next day we cycle into town. The temperature is 37C so cycling up that hill was rather testing. We spend a few hours exploring the town, take a few photos and enjoy a couple of cold Monacos before a lovely downhill cycle ride back to the ‘van for dinner.

We spent 2 nights at Avallon and it’s still baking hot when we leave. Fiona is driving again. Andrew is a nervous passenger. A short distance from Avallon is Vezelay where we stop to visit the hilltop basilica. It’s really commercialised here – you have to PAY TO PARK ! Outrageous! After doing the basilica, we have lunch in a small creperie and then move on towards the town of Nevers. It’s white wine country around here, so nothing much of interest, but we do find a delicious and ironically named ‘Grand Ordinaire ‘ in the local supermarket for €3.80.

Where to next?

We decided to return to Olivet camping at Orleans for the weekend as it is spacious, quiet and has very friendly staff. On Sunday we used the extensive cycle paths to cycle into Orleans and then further alongside the canal for a picnic lunch.

It is so hot here now; the temperature is in the mid-30’s without a cloud in the sky, so thankfully there was a lovely breeze to cool things a bit. Despite the SF50 we both get sunburnt. Wearing sandals results in sunburnt toes.

Where to next?. Well, we had planned to loop SW, via Blois, Tours, Saumur and Angers to visit a few vineyards and stock up our rather empty wine fridge at home. However, on Monday morning only a couple of hours from moving on , we changed our minds. Rather than visit places we have been before we thought we’d use the final week of our holiday to go somewhere we’ve not yet seen and so we headed SE instead, to Auxerre, in the Burgundy region.

The temperature is 34C as we drive into Auxerre; there is no wind and it’s really stifling; the fresh products section in the local supermarket gives us some respite for an hour or so then its back out into the oven.

Camping at Auxerre is less than a mile from the town so when we’ve parked we unload the bikes and head off to town for a visit. It’s still scorching as we wander around the old town, sightseeing and looking for a shaded place to have a cold drink.

Auxerre is a compact old city overlooking the river Yonne and has nice riverside walks and cycleways, but after an hour or so’s sightseeing we head back to the campsite and into the showers in the hope of cooling off.

Here is a gallery of photos taken in Auxerre

Homebrew 49r on his holidays

Relaxing in the evening

Homebrew 49er is enjoying his holidays too. Here he is looking cool but not chilled (there’s no room for him in the fridge). He has travelled well, and his only problem is loss of weight. He started off at just over 5kg, but is now down to about 750g and will soon be all gone.

I must take a pair of them next time, so they don’t get lonely.

Sancerre

After spending 2 days at Gien we move on in the direction of Sancerre and aim for the riverside camping site at Saint Satur, arriving at the campsite during the long French lunch hour. We wander around the site and choose a pitch, then book in, once the office is open.

It’s getting very hot here, the daytime temperature is well into the 30’s and there’s no wind to cool things down. We wait until the heat abates before venturing into Saint Satur on a shopping run as we’re running short of food. Steak with onions in a baguette, delicious.

We are camped about 3km from Sancerre so decide to cycle there on the Friday. It’s very hot and Sancerre is actually 3 miles away, but it’s all up hill. Thankfully there is very little traffic to bother us.

Sancerre turns out to be a very nice place with some superb panoramas of the surrounding countryside with views over the extensive vineyards. The town itself is very old and perched on top of a steep hill. There are many vignerons in the town, and many outlets selling wines but the steep and narrow roads discourage us from even thinking about bringing the ‘van in for a shopping spree.

Fiona enjoying a lunchtime salad, cider and Monaco in the shade in the centre of Sancerre. We later enjoyed a chilled bottle of the local produce.

After a good lunch we had a further look around the town and visited the ‘World of Sancerre’ wine museum which was well worth the visit, especially the 4D wine production simulator. That was so good, we did it twice! The views of the surrounding countryside are truly spectacular, as shown below.

The ascent to Sancerre is around 260metres over a distance of about 3km, so its uphill all the way and was hard going. Our descent, however, was great fun, as the roads were pretty much traffic free. The Garmin recorded speeds of up to 24mph on the way down…woohooo! Payback for the upward climb.