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French Camping 2024, Day 2 Châlons-en-Champagne

Posted on August 23, 2024 by SteveOctober 3, 2024

23rd August 2024

Today was cooler and cloudy. We set off to the town centre, walking. Google says 40 minutes, but we were a little slower. Our first destination was a sewing machine museum. Disappointment on arrival, it was closed, and if you wanted to visit, you had to make a booking. Two Saturdays a month, the 1^st and the 3^rd it is opened without appointment, so sadly no use to us.

Next into the centre for a coffee. That was a disappointment, nobody around, all the restaurants were totally deserted.

Then walked to the park, Le Grand Jard, where an offshoot of the river Marne appears. A few people were here, the cafes were opening up, so we had a beer and a lunch.

Looked around the cathedral, and then walked home along the canal.

Back at the campsite, pretty well everyone had gone to be replaced by a new set of people. Looks very much like this campsite is a stopping off point.

Bought some cakes from the baker and patisserie outside the camp site. They were very good.

It warmed up during the day, the later afternoon and evening were quite warm. The honey man came around again to try to sell us some honey. He has been here every time we have visited.

French Camping 2024, Day 1 Châlons-en-Champagne

Posted on August 22, 2024 by SteveOctober 3, 2024

22nd August 2024

The alarms woke us at 5.30 and we were away before 6.00. There was a little precipitation as we drove off on relatively quiet road. We were early enough to miss the queues on the M25/A41 junction.

The M25 was fairly quiet, though there were large sections with speed limits of 50 mph. Huge, sections of improvement work with nothing happening. I know it was early in the morning, but how can such large sections be worked on at the same time.

Crossing the Elizabeth bridge and we were on our way. A little rain and grey sky followed us down the road

Heading down to the M20, I saw there were some ‘Road Works’ and we would be down to 2 lanes, travelling on the wrong side of the motorway. Rosemary shouted that the Channel Tunnel crossing route was on the left. So, I obeyed her, and then found we were in the truck queuing system, which had been resurrected. Only trucks in this lane, while all the cars on the other carriageway stormed past. This section of several miles had a slow speed limit. There was stoney silence in the car. I have no idea why the queueing system had been instigated; in any case it had been removed by the time we came home in September. I drove all the way down the 10-mile truck queue lane on the M20 to join all the other cars.

Still, we arrived well ahead of the schedule and moved up two departures at no extra cost.

In France there was a strong wind, but the day was cloud free. The further we drove the warmer it became, necessitating the aircon to be turned on.

Our destination was the town of Châlons-en-Champagne. We booked into the site, Camping de Chalons en Champagne, for three nights, expecting to tour the town (and R fusses over me doing “too much driving”). We have stayed here twice, but not looked around the area. Before arriving at the campsite, a quick visit to buy some food at the huge supermarket, Carrefour Chalons En Champagne. We drove into the campsite behind a California VW, which was also blackberry coloured. Picture taken of the two blackberry-coloured VWs by the woman from the other van. They were staying one night.

At the campsite, there were loads of Brits passing through for the night. Bikers camping across the way, the female doing a striptease. Some lads next to us, they were working during the day and staying at the campsite. This seems quite common practice in France. They went off fishing in the evening.

The pond was still in existence, and bats flying around. The bat detector suggested they were Pipistrelles.

Visit to Oxford to Listen to Isabella Tree

Posted on July 11, 2024 by SteveOctober 3, 2024

11th July 2024

A trip into Oxford for the day. Silly Steve forgot his bus pass and had to pay £2.00 each way from the Bicester P&R to Oxford. It was a lovely hot sunny day, and we spent our time walking around Oxford. First it was the shops, and then down to the Botanic Garden where we had our first glimpse of the sculpture commemorating Philip Pullman’s daemons and Lyra’s and Will’s bench.

Next, we had an early supper at a Japanese restaurant called Edamamé. An exceedingly small restaurant. Today, Thursday was ‘Sushi day’, it was serving ony Sushi. Despite arriving early, the restaurant was almost full. It was efficient; orders taken, the food soon arrived and we were on our way.

We walked along the Cherwell and University parks, visiting ‘The J.R.R Tolkein’ memorial seat before heading to the Natural History Museum to hear Isabella Tree talk to a few select BBOWT members. We were initially entertained with canapes and drinks before the talk started. Isabella Tree had on display signed copies of her latest book, The Book of Wilding: A Practical Guide to Rewilding, Big and Small (Bloomsbury, 2023). The talk introduced the contents in the book, how she and her husband set about rewilding 3,500 acres of terrible farmland at Knepp in West Sussex.

An interesting talk which makes one think about the changes we can make to our gardens and lifestyles. Thankfully her techniques do not require us to become total vegetarians, animals are a prime driver in the rehabilitation of the land. It does though require us to be more selective in the meat we eat. The rewilding has been a success, with many different breeding raptors, and ‘turtle doves’, almost extinct in the UK. Cattle, beavers and pigs manage the land. The pigs and cattle adding some income through the butchery.

After the talk we headed on home.

Vintage Sports-Car Club Meet

Posted on June 20, 2024 by SteveAugust 19, 2024

20th June 2024

The Vintage Sports-Car Club has been a fixture in the British automotive landscape for decades. Known for their monthly gatherings at pubs across the UK, they foster a sense of camaraderie among enthusiasts of classic vehicles. The club’s local chapter holds meet at the Canaletto pub on the third Thursday evening of the month.

Despite its modest size, the village of Kingswood in Buckinghamshire has become a hub for automotive enthusiasts. The Aylesbury VM club also meets regularly, gathering once a month on a Sunday morning at the Akeman for a special breakfast and car show.

It’s a testament to the enduring appeal of classic cars and the vibrant community spirit of this small village that it can host two such events. The sight of vintage vehicles and VWs gleaming in the sunlight is a delightful treat for locals and visitors alike.

Here is an ERA (Englis Racing Automobile) from the 1930’s being started.

Moorhens and Foxes

Posted on June 1, 2024 by SteveAugust 19, 2024

1st June 2024

The weeks before we went on our Outer Hebrides holiday, I had been monitoring a Moorhen nest in our wild garden pond. Interesting visits from a fox who came around several times but gave up trying to scavenge the eggs. Foxy didn’t like getting wet. As fate dictated the eggs hatched when we were away on holiday. Luckily, they started to hatch as we left, so I did get some video footage of a couple of chicks. The constant movement of the Moorhen, and vegetation caused the trail cams memory card to fill up in two days.

Unusual Sunset

Posted on May 31, 2024 by SteveAugust 20, 2024

31st May 2024

The sun was setting in an unusual way. As it descended, it turned red, The sky looked overcast, with no red hues, making the fiery globe particularly unusual. As the sun approached the horizon, it seemed to disappear into a hazy layer, its lower portion blending into the sky.

This was a rare opportunity to capture the sun’s beauty with a zoom lens. The images revealed four distinct sunspots, dark blemishes on the sun’s surface caused by intense magnetic activity. Additionally, the sun’s circumference appeared uneven, with various solar eruptions, or flares, creating a jagged edge. These flares are sudden bursts of energy released from the sun’s surface, often accompanied by intense radiation and charged particles.

Scotland – Moffat Scores Two Ticks

Posted on May 30, 2024 by SteveJuly 14, 2024

30th May 2024

On packing up for the next part of the trip, R felt there was “something” on the back of her neck. I had a look. It seemed to have already been de-bodied (hairbrush), with only its legs visible, and head buried in her neck. I tried to remove it with a tick remover, but the head remained buried in the neck. Walked to the pharmacy to see if they could help. No, can’t remove the head you will need a doctor. Found the doctor and made an appointment for 12.10

We walked around the town for the next couple of hours. Had coffee and cake at the gin restaurant. Viewed the cemetery, not seen a churchyard with so many huge tombstones. A few notable ones were there. One in memory of several Royal Mail postmen killed in a storm in the Highlands.

Looked through the windows of many rather bizarre shops. One was still selling filament bulbs, seems to have a huge stock of them.

Visted the GP where the doctor gave R a numbing injection, then set to work with a scalpel to remove the head. If there was any doughnut shaped rash later, he said to contact our local GP for antibiotics. Strongly suspect our local GPs would not have done that, but how far were we from A&E?? (Two ticks cos one for the tick itself and another tick for the Moffat GP.) Soon we were on are way home to Buckinghamshire on the M6, M5 and M42.

Scotland – Moffat

Posted on May 29, 2024 by SteveJuly 14, 2024

29th May 2024

Packed away the van, and we headed off to another CCC campsite, this time at Moffat.

The trip took us to Inverness, where we stopped at the Tesco which Steve was sure he knew where it was. No, it was somewhere else. Found it, used the loos and bought lunch.

Continued down the A9 and then the road down to England. Twenty plus miles from the border we left the motorway, and a short distance to the campsite in Moffat. A very large CCC site probably used as a stop on the way to and from England. Have no idea what this town was like, unfortunately the gin lounge closes early on a Wednesday, so we missed out there.

I had a short walk around in the evening and it turns out to be quaint. Very few national shops on the street, all independent.

Track

Electric Vehicles Festival

Posted on May 28, 2024 by SteveAugust 19, 2024

28th May 2024

On a particularly rainy day, I joined a group of Polestar 2 electric vehicle owners for the Electric Vehicles Festival at Stanford Hall. We met at the M6 service station to capture a photo of our vehicles charging before embarking on a convoy to the event.

However, upon our arrival, we were met with disappointment. The Stanford Hall event had been cancelled due to heavy flooding along the River Avon. Despite the organizer’s attempts to stop people from attending, many had already made the trip. With no mobile phone reception, it was difficult to communicate the cancellation.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances, we decided to make the best of the situation. We lined up for a group photo in front of the flooded Stanford Hall and then headed to the nearby Motor Museum for a tour and lunch. While I returned home, many of the other Polestar owners continued their day exploring the area.

The organizers have rescheduled the Electric Car Festival for September 8th, but unfortunately, I will be unable to attend due to prior commitments.

Scotland – Poolewe – Inverewe Gardens

Posted on May 28, 2024 by SteveJuly 12, 2024

28th May 2024

Rained in the early morning. It should not have done so. Weather forecasts can be unreliable.

First, we walked to the village hall. There was a bookshop there, plus a market. We bought four second handbooks, including one titled “Warm or very Warm – the Story of a Scottish Summer”, which we thought hilarious. In the main hall there were a number of stalls. Bought three 500ml bottles of beer. Two stout and a light citrus beer. Brewed in Poolewe.

Walked to the Inverewe Gardens where we spent several hours walking around. The flowers and trees were spectacular. Parts of the gardens featured plants from different places in the world, or plant types, such as New Zealand and a bamboo garden,

Unfortunately, the restaurant there was a bit crap, offering pies and soup, not much more.

Back to the campsite by four when it started to rain yet again. Didn’t look like a chance of a sunset tonight. What was that book called? Suddenly out to sea, there was a break in the sky, and the sun was setting. Think most of the campsite was looking out to sea and standing on the water’s edge to see the sun dip below the horizon. A drone joined us for the spectacle. Must purchase one of these, a useful tool for photographers.

It had been a nice stay in Poolewe. The campsite was lovely, right next to the sea front, well kept & well landscaped. Some of the hardstanding was concrete, the floors of army buildings from the war. The property is owned by the Scottish National Trust. Unfortunately, they only give the CCC three-year leases. The short lease means that the CCC won’t take the risk of investing in the shower block. with the result the block is rather antiquated and inadequate.