Tag Archives: campervan

Our Tour de France

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After our interesting detour to the wrong Saint Donat (!) we decided to take a slower and more scenic route to our next workaway. According to googlemaps, the trip from Saint Donat to Laborde should take 4 hours…so a 7 day window should be plenty to get us there ‘campervan style’! Here’s a little recount of our roady adventures

Monday: Saint Donat to Lac Pavin

On one of our days off at the hotel, our hosts suggested visiting a scenic nearby lake about 20 minutes away… so we headed off by foot in the sun, but after an hour of walking the lake was nowhere to be found! We detoured back through the woods, making it a beautiful walk nonetheless. Upon returning, our hosts asked if we were still going to drive to the lake…drive? We asked. They then explained it is 20 minutes by car; about 20 miles away! Glad we didn’t continue to look for it! So we thought it would be an ideal spot for the first stop of our road trip… but we still couldn’t find it! Unfortunately there was a detour in place around SuperBesse, the local and very steep mountain. So instead we continued on to a little town called Saint Gerome in search of milk and sugar, and also where we found a municipal camping site. The sign on the reception door informed us the charges for 1 night would be a whole 3€!! Since no-one was stationed there during our stay we camped for free, bonus! The facilities were fantastic and we were even joined by resident ponies. After a hot meal prepared lovingly by Ben, we took a walk into some nearby woods and stumbled across Lac de la Landie… so I finally got a piece of scenic lake, though it was cold and rainy so no chance of a swim. Fingers crossed for some summer sun soon!

Tuesday: Oil stop and onto Saint Flour

Nellie (the van) has had it hard recently trucking up to 1000 meters altitude and she’s smoking pretty badly at every hill… so we decided to top up the oil before attempting to continue – it’s still 40 miles to the nearest big motorway! After some very strange demonstrations of what we needed to a confused french mechanic we were soon back on the road with a happier van. Just as we hit the motorway, we saw signs to Gorge de la Truyere so decided to check it out. Wow! Just as we took the exit and turned the corner, we were faced with a full view of the Gorge! It is truly magnificent! A beautiful lake-like gorge cut into deep green hills of forest… breathtaking! And the Auvergne travel routes fail to surprise us again as we climb back up to 1100 meters, but the view is totally worth it. We stopped at the top, worried that we may not get back up again if we descended and Mr. Fix-it Ben located some giant rocks to keep us from rolling down – in case the handbrake should decide to give up! Our night at the Gorge was beautifully clear, we enjoyed the evening vista with a cuppa tea under the dazzling stars! And also found what we have named ‘Blug’ the blue-bum-light-bug! Ben spotted a tiny bright blue light on the floor – thinking it was an LED or laser! But on closer inspection found it to be a caterpillar type insect with a very bright light in its tail … maybe to attract late night lovers or guide any followers back home, who knows? A question for google me thinks.

 Wednesday: Beyond the Gorge

Hazar! My plan worked – yesterday, after having enough of the rain and cold, I decided to pack away all winter-related items… in hopes of giving the weather my own cold shoulder with some homemade stubbornness… and it worked! My call for the sun was heeded and we woke up to a gloriously sunny morning fit for any wednesday in June in the south of France, ahhh lovely! So we trekked down the A75 for 10 junctions in high spirits – finally out of the mountainous Auvergne and heading for the sunny south. Our third stop sprung into view when we stopped at the services de l’Aveyron. The official campervan parking wasn’t very pretty in amongst the cars and trucks but after walking Ellie a little way we found a secluded little carpark, complete with views of the castle ‘Severac-le-chateau’! Perfect. And for the first time ever… we got both mosquito nets out! And the milk went sour from heat! We enjoyed a 38°c afternoon lazing in the sun, and even in the evening the van took its time to cool down to 25° at 11pm. Hot and humid but a beautiful start to the summer, I hope! And getting the feeling of a relaxing little camping holiday – like the retired people we are now x

Thursday: Through Rodez

From l’Aveyron to Carmaux today… a whole 40 miles! Travelling through the diverse landscapes of France is a beautiful and highly recommended adventure; mountainous ranges, rock faces, rolling hills and sandy lakes; rain, snow, mist and sun… France has it all! I think old Nellie is glad to see the back of the altitude signs now and rather enjoying coasting down past 10% decline warnings! As if by magic, or the playful hand of fate, the ‘aires of service’ and camping signs suddenly disappeared as soon as we got within 10 miles of our destination. Fortunatley being the experienced campers we are now (hehehe) nothing can deter us! We found a convenient roadside spot with a view just a handful of turns off the main road… presto! We landed near Valderies with a view of endless sky, a sea of green hills and in the distance, St. Micheal’s church. The heat has been subdued by cloud today so I’ve been sitting outside the van admiring the vistas from lunch til dusk. It’s breathtaking and so grounding being able to see as far as your eyes can make out. I feel so small yet apart of so much too… I’m only 23 earth years old, how much life the earth has seen! The trees, the ground…the stars and beyond! Well, before this turns philosophical, here are a few of the views captured with some funky camera settings I had time to fiddle around with …

Friday: The Big City

Fridays are fantastic, the world is packing up and getting excited for the weekend… and we’ve already had a week-long weekend! mwhahaha! Just before the toll into Toulouse, we drove over the brow of a small(ish) hill and saw before us the vast spread of the bustling busy city below… wow, its pretty big! A little daunting as it is my turn behind the wheel today and I have a dislike for hectic drivers! But it’s exciting too; so many people all in one place, living in so many different worlds of their own. I definitely feel like a country gal already, people in busy towns seem so occupied and well, busy! The busyness is exciting nonetheless, just for a day… this is where its happening! toll = 2€. The satnav provided 0 results for a campsite search but luckily we stopped just outside a friendly caravan accessories store and they kindly gave us the address of the only campsite in Toulouse! 22€ for the night, pets allowed, and a few euros extra for wifi… happy days. Its sat next to a lovely little canal in a seemingly abandoned corner north of the city – right next to a gypsy caravan village (I think one of the local lads was trying to sell us his dog when it befriended Ellie!) Beautiful site though, good facilities – and a shower at last! A  mix of friendly campers too; more hippies, ancient couples in tents with pushbikes and french families on holiday. We spent the evening laying outside in the grass, playing card games and reading til the sun went down… bliss.

Saturday: Nearly there!

We took the A64 straight down from Toulouse and found a large service area set back from the motorway at Comminges. After stocking up on fuel and checking the oil again before more mountainous climbing tomorrow, we refueled ourselves on some tasty french food. A hearty meal of roast poulet and vegetables in sauce whilst watching small prop planes do their thing on a nearby runway… quiet and peaceful, just what we need to collect our thoughts before the new adventure!

Sunday: The Pyrenees in sight!

Following the wonderfully detailed instructions from our host, we found signs to Laborde in no time. Before climbing up and landing ourselves with nowhere to stop, we decided to back track a little and stay in the closest ‘big’ village: Lannemezan. Just as we turned into the town, we spotted a Mcdonalds and Carrefour, perfect! Milk for tea, a cheeky big Mac to fill us up and free wifi – what more could a traveler need? It was set in a little complex with a huge closed down InterSport so we tucked ourselves away down the side of the building (in the shade!) and enjoyed another sunny afternoon. The van is pretty well kitted out for cold England but in the heat she’s like a sauna – at least 5° warmer than outside. However with a little shade on the cab and, where possible, mounting the screen reflectors, it soon levels out. Having both doors open creates a nice breeze to air it out too… much appreciated after long periods in there! So off to our hosts in Laborde tomorrow morning, excitement and anticipation in the air! But now we’ll just sit back and enjoy the last leg of what has been a relaxing and beautiful ponder through south France.

Love and Peace Vicky x

The Campervan! Part 1: Beginnings

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So we have been just a tiny bit elevated recently because… we have bought a campervan!

Yep our great escape now has wheels and we are on the road to freedom! Houston we have lift off!

Ok so I am extremely excited, but can you blame us? Check out our new home…

Our new home! The VW LT35

Our new home! The VW LT35

So we bought a Volkswagen LT35, 1993 reg. She has a 2.4 diesel engine that was refurbished in 2007 (one of the big selling points!)

We bought it from a lovely family in Havant who had been using it for weekend camping as recently as August this year so we were very pleased with our find. As you can see in the gallery below it was fully kitted out:

  • a 5″8 double bed that folded back into a u-shaped seating bench
  • kitchen side with 2-ring hob
  • a foot pump tap and sink with 60l water tank
  • a wood burner!
  • and 2 extra seats

As soon as we got home, we packed up a duvet and some snacks and went down Southsea beach to test her out for the night! It was fantastic! Enough room to stand and walk about, toasty warm (without the wood burner on!) even in our icy winds. We awoke to no noticeable condensation and it was still warm… perfect! However, after some thought we decided the bed was a little on the short side – Ben is 5″9 so although its not a squeeze for him, it would become an annoyance in the long run! Also as we were planning to essentially live in the van we would need abit more storage than overhead space in the cab and the floor storage under the bed/seating. So with crow bar and screwdriver in hand… we ripped her out! :-0

It was a sad but riveting experience – hacking things apart was quite compelling 🙂 but it was a good job we did. As we tore back the layers, it was like peeling layers old wallpaper, each one an insight into its history and previous owners – which we had a been given a nice recount of from the sellers (thankyou). It was pretty cool but alot of extra weight so it needed to go – she can go nearly 5mph faster now too haha 🙂

Next job – to finalize the plans and start the makeover!

‘Til the next post!

Love, Vicky x

Our First Small Steps: Let’s Hit The Road!

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Well, it certainly has been some time since our first little venture to Matavenero and many ideas and plans have been considered since, but we are finally hitting the road! :)So here is a wee update of out thoughts and plans so far and what we are looking forward to until the end of the year!

Our visit to Matavenero really tested the water for us; it opened our eyes to the world of ecoliving and gave us a wealth of ideas and clarification on what we were looking for. The village was quiet when we visited it, but the experience showed us how connected we are, technologically speaking, to this western world and that that would be an important feature to incorporate into our new lives, like the internet, solar panels and generally using the technology has has been developed over the past few decades in greener ways. Also, as isolated as we desire to be from the hussle and bussle of city life, we realised that being too distant from civilisation or being somewhere with lack of community spirit would not be ideal either. These, among others are definatley factors to consider.

So we started looking into other villages with plans to visit them during our holidays from work. Damanhur in Italy and Auroville in India caught our interest because of their large size and diversity; they contain several small villages that work independently and together in a mini-society style environment with different areas of interest and development – sounds promising!

We also wanted to explore smaller villages that we had seen in the ‘New We’ film like Sieben Linden and Schloss Tonndorf in Germany and the peace research centre at Tamera in Portugal – and generally explore as many options as possible. But responsibilities at home were holding us back; difficulties getting the same period of time off work, money constraints and leaving Ellie our dog in the care of friends meant it was increasingly difficult to plan to spend enough time visiting places to get a real feel for them and experience village life. So here is where our new plan came to fruition…!

Over the next three months we plan to purchase a van to turn into a camper, along the lines of a VolksWagen T4 or T5, Mercedes Vito, or maybe a Ford Transit,

Crazy Custom VW

…and hit the road! We have been saving for almost a year now and have enough behind us to pack up our lives here in the city and travel around Europe for at least a year! We hope to see all the villages we have already researched and more, and meet people like us who are searching for alternative ways to live. Originally we were hoping to leave the UK in August 2013  but with our super saving skills we should be leaving at the beginning of next year – Jan/Feb 2013. And we cannot wait! We have been so excited for so long and now the final pieces are coming together, it really is exhilarating! I can’t image how we will feel once we have purchased the van, completed our DIY camper job and start our journey! We have yet to draw up a rough route plan but alongside visting villages and friends we plan to take the opportunity to get involved with the voluntary work offered on sites like www.workaway.info. This site contains posts from people around the world asking for help with a whole range of activities like farming, gardening, refurbishing and there was even one painting a boat. All with offers of accomodation, food and good company in return… sounds perfect! So we hope to fill our time, gain some much needed experience and meet new people through these opportunities. We just can’t wait to get out there and explore now!

Our pooch Ellie – she’s coming with us in the camper too!

Keep your eyes peeled for more developments soon,

Peace out,

Vicky x