France is Magnifique

Toward the end of March 2023, Margaret and I embarked on a 10-week road trip to the Balkans in our motorhome Sheldon. Our plan was to have a longer trip than it turned out to be (we didn’t expect to return until August 2023). This didn’t happen due to a number of personal and circumstantial reasons which will be explained in later blogs. Our road trip proved to be both enjoyable and memorable.

Over the next few blogs, I want to take you with us on our memories of what was a fabulous few weeks as we drove and stayed in numerous places across Europe. As the trip was long, I intend to recount the journey country by country. The first phase will therefore be our journey into and across France.

We set off from Ipswich on the 22 March 2023. Our chosen crossing for this trip was with Eurotunnel and our ‘train’ was booked for early in the afternoon. The journey to Folkestone was thankfully uneventful and we arrived in good time. We had hoped that by arriving early, we’d get on an earlier crossing (if available), as often happens. However, this wasn’t to be as crossings had been reduced for a reason unknown to us. The reality was that despite being early and having a straightforward check-in, we sat in a queue for some considerable time and actually crossed 30 minutes later than our due crossing time. But that was OK, as we didn’t have far to travel when we eventually arrived in France. The crossing went well and we were soon getting off the train and driving on the road north towards Belgium.

Our first night of the trip was spent on the French/Belgium border at a place called Bray Dunes. This was a site run by an organisation called ‘Camping Car Parks’. We used a number of their sites last year when we toured France. They are generally basic, safe, clean and have the necessary facilities available - they are also an economic alternative to campsites. (I’ll tell you more about these in another blog).

Bray-Dunes

Bray-Dunes is a pleasant seaside resort, with a splendid beach that stretches for miles. As we were at the site in late March, the remnants of the winter storms were evident with large amounts of sand on the promenade adjacent to the beach. Our stay was for just 1 night, but it proved to be windswept and a little damp! Nevertheless, we quickly settled down. We were warm, comfortable, and slept well.

The next day arrived and we prepared to set off for our second night's stay. Again in a Camping Car Park site, but this time in a village called Felleries in the French Ardennes. Our journey was very pleasant. In order to keep our costs down and also to see some of the delightful French scenery, we’d decided to avoid the toll roads in France and enjoy some ‘slow travel’. The roads were generally quiet and well-maintained. Travelling this way did mean that you constantly had to adjust your speed as you travelled through towns and villages (there are numerous speed cameras on these roads). But the benefits of seeing the real France more than compensated for this. The journey took us around the city of Lille, which has a Low Emission Zone (LEZ). As Sheldon is quite elderly and despite having a French Crit Air registration and sticker (Crit Air theoretically enables you to enter these zones if you have a relatively low emission vehicle). Sadly, due to his age, Sheldon’s emissions are relatively high and his Crit Air registration is basically useless, as you still cannot enter many of the low-emission zones. I had researched the journey extensively and was assured that the road would take us around Lille and keep us outside the LEZ. However, I wasn’t convinced and remained quite concerned about getting around Lille. Thankfully the research proved to be correct. The road kept us just outside the LEZ and my concerns proved to be unnecessary.

Felleries is a pleasant site with just basic facilities open when we visited, (it has toilets and showers in the high season). The site is adjacent to a former railway line with the station itself having been converted into a community centre for the local population. The village has a lot of history and just a few shops which sell essentials. A river runs through Felleries and the former mill has been converted into a museum. We had a walk to explore the locality and get some exercise. It was very nice and what you would expect of a typical French village or town. Our stay proved to be very enjoyable and we slept well.

The next day we moved again onto Sedan. This was a short journey of just over 70 miles, which took us briefly into Belgium, which caused me more worries about road regulations. We drove down the back roads and these brought us into Belgium. As we crossed the border I noticed a sign which said vehicles over 3.5 tonnes needed a toll pass. I hadn’t heard about this previously and have passed through Belgium on numerous occasions. As Sheldon’s permitted kerb weight is well over 3.5 tonnes, I became a little nervous. My concern increased as we passed a number of overhead cameras, which I felt sure would bring us a fine. The journey continued well and we eventually arrived at Sedan, which is a very historic town situated by the River Meuse. Upon arrival, I quickly web searched the Belgium over 3.5-tonne toll rules. I was relieved to discover that the toll was relevant to lorries and other HGVs, but not leisure vehicles like Sheldon.

With this reassurance, we had something to eat and walked into the town, which was both photogenic and interesting. Time will not permit me to go into detail about Sedan, but this link gives you some information about its past. http://www.sedan.fr/en/en/the_history_of_sedan.html

The afternoon was pleasant and we sat down to eat and catch up on TV. As we did this, the heavens quite literally opened, giving us thunder and lightning, hail, wind, and heavy rain. The night was noisy and not particularly pleasant, but this was no reflection on the Camping Car Park where we were staying, which like the others we’d stayed at was most acceptable and centrally located for the town.

Sedan

After a weather eventful night, it was time to move on. Once again the journey was short (about 50 miles), but it took us through some delightful French scenery. The roads continued to be quiet but had now become a little more hilly adding to the picturesque journey. We followed the course of the River Meuse and arrived at our destination of Charny-Sur-Meuse. This is very near Verdun and many of the battlefields of the First World War. Whilst we didn’t look for the memorials and the cemeteries which highlight the terrible loss of life which resulted from this conflict, we passed many as we drove to our destination. Whilst being a delightful journey, we also found it to be very humbling. Once again we stayed at a Camping Car Park site, which was more rural and convenient for walks into the small town or along the River Meuse. It was a good spot for bird and wildlife watching and I saw a Great Crested Grebe amongst other wildlife. It proved to be a damp stay with regular showers, although thankfully nothing like the previous night at Sedan.

Charny-Sur-Meuse

It was now Sunday and we moved on again to Obernai, which is south of Strasbourg. The drive was longer, but our route took us through some glorious scenery, over hills and mountains, through valleys, and by rivers. The architecture was becoming more Germanic with some Alpine-style houses. Our campsite was on the outskirts of Obernai and was part of the ACSi scheme. ACSi is an excellent service which offers out-of-season discounts on a large number of sites across Europe - a scheme which would save us a great deal of money on the trip. Obernai is another delightful historic and walled town. We spent 2 nights at this site. The weather was drier, but the nighttime temperatures dipped below zero and we were grateful for our electric hook-up and heating. On our second day (Monday), we walked into the town. It has a good number of shops, some of which were specifically for tourists.

Obernai

Unfortunately, as we were still out of season and it was Monday, many shops and amenities were closed. But there was sufficient for us to have an enjoyable few hours exploring the town. The rest of the day was spent doing chores and we were able to take the opportunity to get some washing done.

We’d been on the road for 5 days and had travelled across northern France. The next day we would move into Germany, but more about that in the next instalment.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog. I hope you’ve found it enjoyable.

Stephen