Hey Mark, good idea.
Here's my trip to France last Month. Will have another in the next couple of weeks as we're off to Wales in the old girl next.
Hey all,
Well as some of you know I have just completed my first trip across the Channel in the bus so I thought I'd share my experience with you.
Destination: Benodet France, 2 people, 2 dogs and one fully loaded bus!
Our trip started at home in Angmering, West Sussex. Bus all loaded we set off at 6am to travel to Portsmouth to catch the 9am high speed ferry to Cherbourg.
Quick stop at a park in Portsmouth to allow the dogs to have a good run before we headed off to the Ferry port.
At the ferry port waiting to board
The Ferry takes 3.5 hours and is a high speed catamaran. We were travelling with a couple of friends who took their 11 month old daughter in their Nissan Qashqi.
So my bus is low and I haven't had the steering box raised yet. We go to board the ferry and BANG! The bus stops dead on the first ramp. Steering box well and truly walloped! A slight adjustment to angle and speed and we're on with a slightly concerned look from the captain!
The ferry crossing was ROUGH! People being sick, passing out. Sea sky sea sky sea sky etc etc. The ferry company had to get ambulances to meet people at the other side it was that bad. Not normally that bad we were told. Lucky Kate and I have sea legs and were unaffected by the crossing. Our two friends and their baby however did feel rough so we assisted with the baby during the crossing.
We get to the other side, check on the dogs who seem to be unaffected of the whole crossing ordeal get off the ferry with no issues and stop briefly in Cherbourg to allow them to have a bit of a run before the next part of the journey.
So we start our journey from Cherbourg and head South for the 460km journey to Benodet. (no pics I'm afraid as I was driving)
The roads in France are fantastic and smooth. We didn't ground out on any of the roads between Cherbourg and Benodet However their are a lot of seriously long steep hills! With the bus fully loaded and the 1600cc struggling we were slowing to 35mph in 3rd gear on the longer hills.
I drove for a few hours then let Kate take the helm for a while from Rennes Whilst the dogs and I kicked back and relaxed. JZ-77 had made us a storage box for the dogs to sit on between the front seats and it worked brilliant! Cheers John
The only time the bus hit the steering box on the tarmac was on speed humps and the road just outside the campsite but nothing serious
We made it to the campsite in Benodet
http://www.campingduletty-benodet.com just as the office was closing at 9pm. We checked in very quickly, agreed with the owner Mark that we'd sort everything out properly the next day, grabbed some chicken and chips from the campsites takeaway and went and saw Kate's Dad who had checked in earlier that day with his Drascombe Coaster sail boat. Still loads of light to set up camp as it didn't get dark till 10:30pm.
We set up camp, cracked open a couple of beers and settled in for the night.
It started to ....... down with rain pretty much as soon as we went to bed. I have sound deadened the bus with some material and fitted cellotex insulation all round too but the rain still dinged off the tin roof. Not enough to stop us sleeping really well all night though.
We woke the next morning to a bit of a cloudy day. Took the dogs for a walk on the beach and had some croissants, pain au chocolats and fresh baguette and coffee for breakfast. NICE!
This was our set up for the week. Khyam driveaway awning used as our living room / kitchen. Best buy ever for us! 5 minutes to put up and has seen gale force winds, snow, ice, driving rain and still goes up like new!
We know the area fairly well. Concarneau, Benodet market on Mondays and lots of other local places are worth visiting but we just wanted to chill out for the week so here's what's on offer at the campsite and nearby areas
The campsite beach
Benodet at night
Trips to the local supermarket. Bus got loads of attention wherever it went which was great!
Out on the boat
Me with the Captain (Kate's Dad)
Had to take the dogs to the Vets as part of the passport scheme for them to have their wormer treatments to allow them back into the UK
Some killer beer on offer at the local shop. Wasted after a couple of these bad boys!
Dogs not allowed in the pool......
Then after a week that flew by it was time to set off again.
Due to the incredible weather and being aware of all the hills we gave ourselves plenty of time to get back to Cherbourg. Left the campsite by 10am to take it steady for a 9pm ferry.
Only problem we experienced on the journey was my hex linkage falling to pieces due to broken and worn parts. Nothing a quick fix with some cable ties couldn't fix!
Back at Cherbourg after a stop at a local supermarket to fill up with booze
On the ferry heading back to Portsmouth.
And back home. 1500kms (about 950 miles) Bus did well, no breakdowns. Only the hex linkage caused us any problems. Barely used any oil so I'm very happy with it all.
Cheers
Nick
but Rome wasn't built in a day I guess. 