Day 3 - Holland to France & WW1 – 10th April 2014

We said goodbye to Gaasper Camping and set off driving down through Holland. Dutch drivers all seemed to obey the speed limits and drove respectfully using all the lanes properly rather than hogging the middle lane as they do in the UK. The sun was shining and soon we passed into Belgium and then on into France. The journey was thankfully uneventful. We were heading for Amiens but wanted to stop at Thiepval. The route I had planned to take was closed so I followed the diverted route and we saw a sign for  Pozieres British Cemetery.

And there it was at the side of the road, shining almost white in the sun. It was a very moving, humbling experience. So many lives lost. Row upon row of headstones. All the graves are beautifully tended and it is a serene place to pay your respects to all those brave men.

 

We then drove onto to Thiepval. This is a huge monument dedicated to over 72,000 men who died in the Somme but who have no known grave. Again the sheer scale of loss is enormous. All the names are carved on the monument. Line after line of familiar British surnames. It is so peaceful in the countryside setting which sits at odds with the horror those poor men suffered. Again it was a very moving experience.

 

Car park                                           Thiepval village

There is a good sized car park and an informative visitors centre.

Nearby we visited the Ulster memorial. This is a turrett like building which is a copy of Helen's Tower which stands in the grounds of the Clandeboye Estate, near Bangor, County Down.

 

After an emotional afternoon we continued to Amiens to stay at Parc de Cygnes. This is quite a quiet site at this time of year – very peaceful  (Caravan Club and Camping and Caravan Club listed.) It has friendly , English speaking reception staff. Bread and croissants can be ordered for morning collection.

Approach to the site

360 view of the site

 

There is free wifi if you are near the reception building otherwise wi fi cards can be bought. There is also a small aire here. Toilets are clean and the showers are powerful. There is a bar and small shop but these are closed at the moment.
With hindsight we should have stayed nearer to the Memorial area as we are heading back that way tomorrow. The sun was still shining so we enjoyed a barbecue tea.

Day 2 - Amsterdam - 9th April

 

The Royal Palace, Dam Square

 

Having breakfasted  on fresh croissants from the on site shop we took the Metro into Amsterdam again. We walked around the 9 street area which had unique gift shops and boutiques. Then we checked out the more commercial area. Besides the big name stores there were lots of cheese shops with tasty samples which made choosing easier from the wide and varied types on offer. Many shops offered the same range of tempting pastries and waffles.There were plenty of souvenir shops. Every now and then you would catch a pungent whiff and there were lots of shops selling “magic truffles”, seeds and grinders etc. We stumbled upon Dam Square where there was the beautiful Royal Palace. Madame Tussauds was here as well.

 

Amsterdam was clean and litter free but lacking in toilets. I’m sure lots of people pop in for a drink in a cafe  or bar but with one of our party having a bladder the size of a mouse, drinking more defeats the object. We saw a McDonalds and popped in there for lunch and to use their facilities. There was a charge and even a toilet attendant down there but it was 50C well spent.

After lunch we went and wandered through the red light district. There were little glass fronted rooms with an office chair in. Most were empty but a few had women in dressed in their underwear, standing around looking bored. I don’t know what I expected, and it’s probably more exotic on a night time when it’s all lit up but it was all a bit underwhelming.

My only small criticism is that for such a large, touristy city there are very few signposts. After a while lots of the roads, canals and bridges look similar and you find places more by luck than judgement. At least with the hop on and off tram system you can go on a magical mystery tour safe in the knowledge that you can easily hop back on and get back to Centraal Station.

Day 1 - Rotterdam to Amsterdam - 8th April 2014

 

Having put my route into Sygic satnav we left the ferry port. It was very busy as our arrival coincided with morning rush hour. The roads were excellent – very smooth. We had a little moment where we got a bit lost (satnavs fault obviously!) but soon we were on our way to Amsterdam via the motorway. The country side was fairly flat with plenty of windmills – mainly of the new turbine variety with a few traditional old windmills spotted here and there.

After approx 1hr 45 mins we arrived at Camping Amsterdam Gaasper. The staff were very friendly, welcoming and spoke excellent English. We were shown to our grass pitch. The pitches are decent sized, arranged in little avenues. The toilet block was basic but clean. If you want to shower or have hot water to wash, then you need to buy tokens 80C for 5 mins. There is a small shop on site with all the essentials. it also has fresh bakery goods each morning. There is a restaurant here as well. This site is very handy as there is a metro station a 5 minute walk away. The reception sells travel cards which allow you to hop on and off the metro and the trams in Amsterdam for 24 or 48 hours. You can also buy museum tickets and canal trips. We opted to buy a 48 hour travel pass and a 1 hour canal tour.

Armed with our tickets we set off for the metro station. The metro is clean, fast, efficient and regular and within 10- 15 mins we arrived in Centraal Station, Amsterdam.

 

The canal cruise departure point was over the road from the station so we hopped onto our boat. The tour commentary was in many languages and pointed out all the places of interest as we passed them. it was a good way to get an overview of the city and its history. The old, tall, narrow houses were lovely with most having their original architectural features and decorated gables. Lots of

them still had their hooks for lifting bulky items. Apparently the narrow, windy stairs inside mean that the hooks are still utilised today when moving house.Some of the houses are a little slanted and leaning as the water has damaged the pilings. We passed beautiful churches and the largest floating Chinese restaurant. Some of the bridges that we went under had very little head room left as the boat squeezed through! There were also lots of houseboats on the canal ranging from traditional barge types to the very modern types as featured on Grand Design type shows. Although we had seen plenty of people pedalling about on their bikes it was amazing to see how many thousands of them were parked, locked to railings everywhere up and down the canals. The canal tour passed Anne Frank’s house. We had heard horror stories about horrendous queues to get in but from the canal tour the queue didn’t look too bad so we decided that we would go there next. We joined the queue at 3pm and only queued for one hour.

The Anne Frank house is a very moving experience. It is very well laid out and you flow through the house almost in queue formation and this gives everyone the chance to see everything as you pass.

After the museum we caught a tram back to Centraal Station and returned back to the campsite via the Metro.

That night we ate at the restaurant on site run by an English lady and her partner who also run the shop. Very nice meal and good portions. If it had been warmer there was a very nice terrace area outside if you  prefer to dine alfresco (blankets and soft cushions provided). Wish we had checked our paperwork more carefully as we had been given a 10% off voucher for the restaurant but didn’t discover it until later that night.

I will post more video footage & pictures when we return home

Hull to Rotterdam

7th & 8th April 2014

We arrived at Terminal 1 at Hull nice and early ready for sailing on the “Pride of Rotterdam” P & O Ferries. Check in didn’t open until 3pm although the website had said 2pm. We were the first in line and after checking in we were directed through for a little detour via a security and customs inspection! We then continued to line up for loading.

The cars entered the ship on deck 7 by a gangway halfway up the side of the ship near where the foot passengers boarded. The motorhomes were loaded with the lorries through the back of the ship onto deck 3. We said goodbye to Monty and made our way upstairs.

The ship had the usual duty free shop, 2 cinemas, children’s play area, coffee shop, lounge bar & 2 restaurants.

We headed for our cabin. It was a good size with a window and everything was clean. It had a tv, fridge and tea/coffee making facilities.The bathroom had nice White Company toiletries. Another nice touch was a little box of Belgian Chocs on the table in the room. After dumping our bags we headed out in search of food.

At the time of booking our crossing we opted to pay for inclusive meals. At check in, along with our cabin key we had been given cards to access our food on the crossing. We went to the buffet restaurant which offered soups, salads, cold meats, curry, rice and naan etc., hot meats, roast potatoes, vegetables and chips – something for everyone! For desserts there was cheesecake, icecream, chocolate cake and cheese and biscuits. This was a nice restaurant. Although it was self service you were seated at your table (there’s nothing worse than having a plate of food in your hand and turning round to find all the tables occupied). There were many attentive waiters whisking away plates and providing new cutlery. After a lovely meal we went back up to the cabin for an early night. The crossing was beautifully smooth and uneventful.

We were due to dock in Rotterdam at 8.30 so we rose early and breakfasted at the buffet. Again there was something for all tastes – continental and full English. After we had docked, we made our way back to Monty and were soon off the ship.

 

Rawcliffe Manor caravan site , York

14th & 15th February 2014

 

Trying to book a site at the start of the February school holidays was bound to be a problem, especially when quite a few sites don’t open until March/April.  We tried a few hoping that the weather may have caused some last minute cancellations, but no joy.  I remembered I had seen  a site hidden away near Clifton Moor shopping park.  Looking on ukcampsite.co.uk I did a search on their google map radius search. There it was, Rawcliffe Manor caravan park.  Handily situated next to a pub but also a 5 min walk to Clifton Moor shopping centre which has a 10 screen multiplex cinema, bowling, Tesco’s and fuel station, various shops and eating places.  A bus service from Clifton Moor runs in to York every 10 or 15 mins.  Or walk 5 minutes in the opposite direction  to a Park & Ride service which operates every 10 minutes passing by the York Railway Museum before it reaches its destination at York city centre. There is also a cycle track and footpath from the site along side the River Ouse to the centre of York.
Attractions within a short distance include York Minster, Yorvic Centre, Castle Museum, Castle Howard, Yorkshire Dales, Shambles, Site seeing and Ghost walks, Boat trip on the River Ouse & Yorkshire Moors.

The site – Adults only - has 13 pitches which are classed as super pitches – electric, rubbish bin, water tap, grey waste, and toilet waste – Some care is needed in emptying the toilet cassette.

 

Pitches are hard standing for the motorhome or caravan with a grass section next to it.  Most pitches are separated by a hedge.  The pitches are small but ample but larger outfits may struggle.

The site also has a small toilet block containing 1 toilet and shower plus 2 sinks for male and female. There is a disabled toilet but this also incorporates washing up sink, washing machine and tumble dryer. These facilities were clean & modern.

Cost per night is £25 which is more than we would normally like to pay but as we had struggled to find a site and this was very handy we went for it.

On arrival we were met with a friendly welcome and told our pitch number.  As we pulled on to the pitch we were advised of a better pitch but we struggled as the overhanging branches on the row of conifers were hitting the roof.  We asked if we could park on another pitch so we didn’t have the branches banging on the roof and this was fine..

We didn’t try the pub but it did look very enticing. You can get a takeaway from the pub to your van if you prefer. You can also vacate your pitch later on a Sunday if you would like to stay for the carvery. The pub also has free wi-fi.

You can see  the site here on google maps.

Rawcliffe Manor caravan site @ York. Adults only site

In the Bag.

 

We decided that the two lounger chairs that we carry in Monty needed a bag.  As Monty does not have any external storage lockers, a slight downside, this means we have to carry them inside the motorhome.  Not a good idea if they are wet or muddy.  The last thing you want is mud or wet inside.  We searched around but couldn’t find any suitably sized bags until we came across Bags4Everything on the internet.  Based in West Yorkshire they make bags and covers to your measurements for most uses – from padded LCD TV bags to aquaroll bags, steps to BBQ’s, awnings to A frames. They come in an assortment of colours, fastenings & padding.

If they don’t have something in the right size from over 100 bags in their range then you can get it made to measure at a reasonable price.

We emailed the company and after a very prompt email reply I placed an order for a made to measure cover in blue.

14 days later the cover has arrived and appear to be very well made  and to the size specified.

First trip of 2014

17th-19th January 2014

 

I was itching to get away for the weekend, A because I wanted to keep the batteries topped up on Monty and B, because I wanted a rest!

A quick look on the caravan club sites late availabilty showed York Rowntree, yes another trip to the site, had one space left.  So 9am, on  the Thursday before, the booking was made.

Forecast was a wet weekend but that didn’t matter as we had season 4 of Breaking Bad to watch in readiness for season 5.  Friday night we got an Indian takeaway from the same indian restaurant we went to last time – Lal Quilla on Bishopthorpe Road. 

Saturday morning after a great nights sleep we decided to go back up to the high street and visit some of the local shops where we bought fresh croissants from the Pig N Pastry – next time we shall try their breakfast.  There was even a queue at 9am waiting to get in!  We browsed some of the other shops then retired back to Monty for breakfast and Breaking Bad.  Tea time soon came round and we opted to be naughty again and get fish & chips again from Bishopthorpe Road.  They too were delicious. Okay so the diet was on hold for the weekend!

We didn’t visit York centre but we had a very enjoyable and relaxing time.