Spain 2022 (Week Twelve)

Sunday saw the start of the 1,000 miles journey home and we left Roses, Spain and the sunshine with some sadness for the first leg of about 200 miles to La Carnourge, high in the Occitanie region and about 30 minutes north of the Millau viaduct up the toll free A71. We stayed over on the Sunday evening at a convenient site we'd used before just outside this pretty alpine village, known as the Little Venice of the Lozere, bugger all open being a Sunday but we had a pleasant stroll round admiring the historic streets and streams. Next morning, we enjoyed a coffee in the autumnal sunshine before setting off to Marvejols and a visit to the helpful Veterinary Clinic of Gevaudan in the town, bizarrely twinned with Cockermouth and

proudly displaying a red phone box on its main island at the town's entrance.

On the Monday night and All Saints Eve (Halloween, and the eve of a national holiday) we used the slightly odd paying Aire at De Ebreuil for the princely cost of E13. Despite the location of the night stop between 2 roads, and close to a riverside park which attracted youths on quad bikes and noisy motorbikes who delighted to buzz past us waving as we sat in the van, plus the threat of trick or treat visits we had a very peaceful night. The heavy rain helped I think as everyone seemed to go home. It was nice to see how seriously the French seem take Halloween, many houses leave sweets outside and the tradition of French Christians observing the Feast of All Saints, visiting cemeteries and bringing chrysanthemums to their loved ones which resulted in florists having lovely displays and sweets being sold out. This stage was another 140 ish miles.

Tuesday, after a 160 mile drive, we stayed at Camping Car Aire Lailly en Val for a very reasonable €10, at 07:00 we found out why; the fecking neighbouring church bells wake up the locals with a rousing, lengthy round going beyond a gentle 7 "bongs" which would have sufficed. That said, it was fine, adjacent a park and lake; surrounding villages very nice but Lailly itself just a bit dull and not much there. From there we decided to do a wine shop for Xmas and headed to a supermarket just outside Orleans, I had got cocky with my navigation and used a road to avoid a toll. This came back to bite though as I missed my turn and had to go 20km back down the toll road and 20km back to where I started; cost me twice as much.

On Wednesday, and slightly out of line with the previous 12 weeks I had an interview and subsequent job offer, sat on a “Teams” call in motorway service station during this roughly 200-mile stage. All a bit weird, tentatively accepting the role, which did appeal, before realising they in reality are wanting someone present in the office at 7:30 each day "we do finish early on a Friday" they said as offering me a compromise. We're a fun bunch, they said, you'll want to come into the office every day. I don't get up until 09:00 and wanting flexible, part-time so clearly that's a bit of an issue to start with, not quite what I was after, having not worked for 18 months our concepts of fun may not align. Our journey continued with an Aire at Neufchâtel en Bray our fallback destination in case just looking for something on the way failed, which it did. We left the main road around Rouen and took to the country lanes, through sleepy villages looking for a traditional free Aire, using an App. We wound up in a Marie carpark, neither of us felt so happy despite it being very quiet; apart from a menacing looking youth on a

motorbike being towed along the road by clinging onto his mate in a car, before parking in our chosen spot and staring at us. The Aire at Camping Claire in Neufchatel was perfect though, 14 manicured pitches c/w excellent services and next to a greenway cycle track, where next morning a mad Frenchman shouted at me waving a plastic bag. No idea what he was trying to tell me, so I just waved a poo bag back at him to join in.

This then left us just 100 miles up to the tunnel for our 16:20 train, the majority of which was pretty miserable with heavy rain and wind to welcome us home. After checking in, eventful for the pouring rain and a confused French woman trying to buy a ticket for a crossing for herself at the Pet Check in. The bemused assistant asked her if she had a dog, and equally bemused the French lady replied no; but she does have a cat at home. We went on to board an earlier train, the vet earlier in the week coming good with no problem with the paperwork.

Our introduction back to the UK started with the Caravan Club App not accepting a same day booking at the handy Folkestone site, telling us it was closed. Ringing the warden, it was clearly very much open, and we booked in, with him agreeing with our view the new system is not great - 3 months we've had of trouble free just turning up, and the UK cocks up on day one. After a pleasant meal at the now open again pub opposite the site, and quiet night we began our final leg after the traditional double fat bastard sausage McMuffin breakfast, setting off up the M20 hoping the misguided moronic idiots have not yet glued themselves to the motorway. They hadn't as yet, but it was still a horrible busy route, more queues, roadworks and mad drivers than we encountered in the prior 3 months and 3,000 miles.

The end...

.....onto planning our next trip.