Up at the crack of dawn and got to Dover in double quick time. So much so that we were offered the earlier boat to Dunkirk. It saved sitting around so we agreed. As it turned out a little further north than Calais but not disastrous.
On the boat we found out that there's a card you can buy that allows you to buy spaces in secure parking lots especially for camper's. Unfortunately we should have ordered it before we left . However upon further research we believe that we could purchase 1 from the machine at one of these locations.
So off we set to a seaside town on the border with Belgium. After about an hour of swearing and cursing we managed to purchase a card and load it with 50 euros approximately 4 nights stay. It will enable us to book ahead plan the journey and have peace of mind.
The place was a beach resort with great beaches but out of season everything was closed.
Massive sand dunes from which the town is named.
So slightly delayed we started south. It rained practically all the way and as it's an hour forward here it got dark. Luckily we had the foresight to put on the headlight deflecting device.
To add the drama we couldn't get the new card to work. In desperation we went native and called into this unique bistro to steal some Wi-Fi. In the end we had to call the help desk who luckily could speak English and it was sorted. We had to pay an extra 25 euros for the premium card so we could book ahead. So not such a bargain. By this time the thought of driving 300 miles in the rain, the dark and on the wrong side of the road to find we had nowhere to stay wasn't an option. So we paid! I don't trust my shite school boy French to get us out of a sticky situation!
The beach was great.
We found the site bang in the middle of a town called Evreux after battling through rush hour traffic in Rouen. A medieval town surprisingly big. We went for a de stress walk and admired the lights.
Another couple of hundred miles tomorrow takes us towards the Loire Valley and it does look beautiful. It's not supposed to be raining tomorrow so we will try to get an early start and have a wander around the chateaus.
Comments