Departure Campsite: Hawthorn Farm, Martin Mill, Dover, England (N 51.16889 E 1.34667)
Destination Campsite: Campeole Le Brabois, Villers-les-Nancy, France (N 48.65735 E 6.13981)
Distance: 327 miles/526 km (today) 482 miles/776 km (total)
Ferry Crossing: P&O Ferries, one way ticket for two adults and two children, Dover to Calais, car height in excess of 1.8m, no trailer - £64.00 (including credit card surcharge).
Our concerns about the proximity of the railway line were unfounded, as the trains stopped running late in the evening until early in the morning. We had a good night's sleep. Woke early to catch a 09:40 P&O ferry from Dover to Calais. Latest check in time was 09:10, so I packed down the van while Ali went across to the cafe to get some hot breakfasts of sausage and bacon rolls to take away with us. It took a little longer for them to cook than we thought, but we still made it to the terminal in plenty of time for the ferry. Simon, Ellie and Matthew set off early from home and we met up with them in the queue to board the ferry. We were one of the first vehicles to board, and were lucky enough to park right up to the exit ramp, allowing us to get on the road quickly on arrival at the other end.
We docked in Calais around 12:10 local time (1.5 hour crossing) and made our way to a campsite near Nancy. The journey was pretty uneventful, but Simon had a little trouble staying awake toward the end of the journey (a late night coupled with an early start). We managed to lose each other as we reached Nancy, but used texting on our phones to meet up again. We picked a fairly random site in the area using the ACSI camping guide, and managed to get a couple of adjacent pitches without much trouble. In fact, as we left the reception several new arrivals were queuing behind us, so we timed it quite well.
The pitches on the site were a little muddy, and the area where we were was very shaded under trees. If we were staying for more than one night, I would probably have liked to move to a better pitch, but it was fine for the one night, and we would be happy to return to the site again in the future. We bought a couple of cans of beer and a bottle of wine from the site shop and went for a little walk around the campsite grounds. We were too tired to do much else.
Destination Campsite: Campeole Le Brabois, Villers-les-Nancy, France (N 48.65735 E 6.13981)
Distance: 327 miles/526 km (today) 482 miles/776 km (total)
Ferry Crossing: P&O Ferries, one way ticket for two adults and two children, Dover to Calais, car height in excess of 1.8m, no trailer - £64.00 (including credit card surcharge).
Our concerns about the proximity of the railway line were unfounded, as the trains stopped running late in the evening until early in the morning. We had a good night's sleep. Woke early to catch a 09:40 P&O ferry from Dover to Calais. Latest check in time was 09:10, so I packed down the van while Ali went across to the cafe to get some hot breakfasts of sausage and bacon rolls to take away with us. It took a little longer for them to cook than we thought, but we still made it to the terminal in plenty of time for the ferry. Simon, Ellie and Matthew set off early from home and we met up with them in the queue to board the ferry. We were one of the first vehicles to board, and were lucky enough to park right up to the exit ramp, allowing us to get on the road quickly on arrival at the other end.
We docked in Calais around 12:10 local time (1.5 hour crossing) and made our way to a campsite near Nancy. The journey was pretty uneventful, but Simon had a little trouble staying awake toward the end of the journey (a late night coupled with an early start). We managed to lose each other as we reached Nancy, but used texting on our phones to meet up again. We picked a fairly random site in the area using the ACSI camping guide, and managed to get a couple of adjacent pitches without much trouble. In fact, as we left the reception several new arrivals were queuing behind us, so we timed it quite well.
The pitches on the site were a little muddy, and the area where we were was very shaded under trees. If we were staying for more than one night, I would probably have liked to move to a better pitch, but it was fine for the one night, and we would be happy to return to the site again in the future. We bought a couple of cans of beer and a bottle of wine from the site shop and went for a little walk around the campsite grounds. We were too tired to do much else.
