Birmingham, Plymouth and New Forest, Autumn 2015.

October 2nd.

Left home 0900hrs bound for "Somerswood Caravan Park". A trip to combine our love of travelling in Eevie, and to source suppliers for our small business. "Teeny Weeny World". The site is only a 20 minute bus ride to the "NEC", perfect for us to visit "Miniatura". Took the southabout route of the M25 to avoid the Dartford Crossing, then M40 to Birmingham. The site is in Meridan (the geographical centre of England) and we arrived at 1300hrs. Checked in for 3 nights and set up.

Then took a walk to the village a mile up the road. Found the bus stop, checked the timetable ready for tomorrow. A nice looking hostelry, the "The Strawberry Bank Hotel" caught my eye, without further ado we entered. Much to my delight they had Sharps Doombar on tap.

A couple of these later and we headed back to the site. A quiet evening, and early night as it had been a long day.

October 3rd.

Up bright and early, breakfast then to the bus stop for the 0950hrs bus. Got off at the NEC, and walked via travellators what seemed a long way. Bought our tickets and entered the exhibition. I can only say we were disappointed, not nearly as big as we expected and a lot of little interest to us. However we did make contact with 3 small producers for supplies in the future. One made miniature metal products, 

We bought this one and arranged a trade account, for 12th scale the detail is amazing. 

We then found a fellow from near Edinburgh, he made 12th scale lighthouses and windmill Dollshouses. Couldn't give us trade but his prices were so good it didn't matter. We bought the Lighthouse kit.

As we're on the coast we thought it would be a winner once done up. Then retraced our steps to Meridan. Once off the bus decided to give the "Bulls Head" a visit.

Looked a nice place to dine, but we had dinner in the slow cooker. Just had to make do with liquid refreshments.

A couple of these later we returned to Eevie. After our meal we decided to leave tomorrow. No point going back to the NEC, so decided we'd go to Plymouth and the wholesalers.

October 4th.

Left site at 1000hrs, a boring drive M5 and A38 to Riverside Caravan Park. Arrived 1400hrs. Booked 2 nights and set up.

Not our favourite site, but ideal for the wholesalers. Did very little, dozing, tv, food and drink etc before bed.

October 5th. 

After breakfast, to Streets Ahead (our Wholesaler) arriving 1000hrs. Spent the usual 4 hours stocking our trolley. Then to Sainsburys for fuel and provisions. Back on site 1530hrs. Started pricing the stock before dinner. 

A nice "Toad in the Hole" done in the Remoska. Cleared up, an hours tv then bed.

October 6th.

Left "Riverside" 1000hrs. Headed for "Sandy Balls" in the New Forest. Arrived 1300hrs, and booked in for 2 nights. Did some more pricing then to the "Woodside Inn" for a beer. 

Back to Eevie and some more pricing. Usual relaxed evening.

October 7th.

After breakfast went to the pool for a dip. Then checked on the Lodge we'd booked for the family Christmas.

Looked ideal. Had a walk then to Eevie, spent the rest of the day relaxing.

October 8th.

Left at 1000hrs. Took the coast route, A27/A259 and after unloading and bedding Eevie down, home at 1500hrs. We'd done more than planned when we left, but we did enjoy it, and it was productive.

France Tour. September 2015. Final Part.

September 20th.

Awoke to a gloriously sunny day, breakfast and then off to the Brocante at 0900hrs. We were amazed, never seen such a big one, every road in the centre closed and full of stalls and people.

We very soon spotted a little dolls house, working lights and animation, like a large musical box.

After a bit of haggling we got it for a good price, perfect for Hazels little business Teeny Weeny World. So good in fact it was sold within a week after getting home. At this point we decided to take it back to Eevie. Collected a wheeled trolley and then back to the fray.

We wandered all over and not sure even now if we covered it all.

Hazel found a lovely Olive wood bowl.

Which we use for fruit at home, cost us the princely sum of 6 euros. We were still in the fray at lunchtime so adjourned to a cafe for food and a drink. We ate inside and watched their food stall outside.

They were working flat out, and I the kitchen was struggling to keep up the supply of frites. When we'd finished we went back into the fray.

 After about another hour we'd had enough and went back to Eevie for a rest. It had been a long (5 hours) day for a boot fair, but productive. A quiet evening and early night.

September 21st.

A dull but dry morning. We hit the road 0900hrs on the last leg to Calais. Heavy traffic for the first part, until we were well clear of Paris. Then pleasant and quiet. Decided to head for "Camping St Louis" near Ardres, about 14 miles from Calais. A nice site run by 2 young girls, a mix of touring and static but very friendly. Arrived at 1400hrs. Sadly the site was closing for the winter the following week and the bar and food were already closed. Never mind we just chilled out, played crib bit of tv and generally relaxed.

September 22nd.

A day of going nowhere today, sorting things out, tidying up etc. Ferry and home tomorrow. The weather was a mix of heavy showers and warm sunshine. I decided to make use of the rain and give Eevie a rinse.

Didn't take long to sort everything and the rest of the day was spent loafing.

September 23rd.

Left site 1030hrs. Into Cite Europe for our last bits then caught the 1325hrs P&O to Dover. Arrived back at storage 1520hrs. It had been a good trip, weather could have been better but all in all not too bad.

 This is a rough outline of the route we took.

France Tour. September 2015. Part 6.

September 17th.

It was dry for a change, Left site at 1000hrs headed for Chartres. Pleasant and easy drive, arrived "Les Bords de l'Eure" at 1220hrs. A lovely site near the river with lots of trees.

After setting up, we took a walk to town. At the gate we were a little confused as to what direction to take. Out with the mobile, opened Mapsme, and Bobs your uncle problem solved. A pleasant walk along the river,

then up the hill took us to the town centre, saw the Cathedral,

And decided to pay it a visit. It's quite stunning inside.

With many stained glass windows,

And some lovely and ornate altars.

Whiled away a good hour there then took a stroll round the town. Browsed a few shops but didn't buy anything. Naturally on the way back refreshments were in order.

No Pelforth but Leffe is a good substitute. 

Then retraced our walk back to Eevie. Having a cuppa we watched new arrivals seeking pitches, and some getting stuck on the waterlogged ones. Nothing serious though. Nice meal and a bit of tv before bed.

September 18th.

After a quiet and peaceful night we had breakfast, then on our way, left site at 0945hrs. Headed for "Maissons Laffite". Hit traffic at the latter part as it's almost in Paris, then a road closure, got ourselves around that only to hit another on the approach to the site, again sorted it and arrived 1215hrs. While checking in I spotted a poster for a Brocante taking place on Sunday in town. We'd planned on 2 nights but I made it 3 so we could visit it. Had a lazy afternoon just chilling out as we were going into Paris tomorrow, and that is always tiring.

The view from Eevie.

September 19th.

Up bright and early, and to the Station. Bought 2 Paris Visite tickets as they allowed use all day. Caught the RER train and got off at Chatelet les Halles. I'm usually quite familiar with the area, but there was massive redevelopment taking place which totally disorientated me. Once again Mapsme on the mobile sorted it and we set off for Notre Dame. Hazel had never been inside so we made that our first stop. There was a large queue, but moving steadily so we persevered. Took about 20 minutes then we were in. There was a mass taking place.

So we were confined to the wings, even so we were still able to see the beauty of the place. Again fantastic carvings.

Stained glass windows.

Altars.

 And so on. We had a good look round then down the other side of the nave.

And out. We then walked down to the Seine and along to St Michel. Took the Metro and made our way to the Sacre-Coeur.

Took a round inside but photography was not allowed. But it was very interesting anyway and we enjoyed it. From there to Montmartre and lunch. Decided on Pizza et Frites.

Very nice it was.

Then back down to the Pigalle, bit of window shopping at the sex shops and live shows before catching the metro to the Champs Elysee. Strolled up it, again window shopping, until the Arc de Triomphe. Then caught the RER from Charles de Gaulle Etoile back to Maisons Lafitte. Once there  enjoyed a couple of beers.

Pelforth naturally. Then back to Eevie for the evening. Brocante tomorrow.

France Tour. September 2015. Part 5.

September 15th.

Packed up and left site 0955hrs. Wet and windy drive to La Rochelle, arrived Camping Le Soleil at 1215hrs. Of course reception was shut, luckily he returned after about 10 minutes. Got a nice spot and set up.

Not large pitches but pleasant, and the weather had brightened up. Usual cuppa then took a walk into town, (20 minutes). The approach to town gives a good view of the impressive entrance to the port.

Certainly well defended in its day.  There was a large sailing vessel berthed.

Plus a myriad of wealthy people's toys. Had a good look round the Port then into town where we strolled for about an hour. Bought some of our favourite fish Pates, then had a beer on the way back to Eevie.

I do like like a Pelforth Brune. Back at the site we had our showers and relaxed before heading back into town to dine out. The rain had returned but not to heavy and little wind, so our brollies worked well. We both had seafood platters, and it was very good. Back to Eevie then settled down for the night.

September 16th.

Had a terrific storm during the night, and the morning was still very heavy rain. Decided to move on as the weather was so bad. Left at 1000hrs headed for Tours. 

 The rain never let up over the whole journey. Arrived at 1500hrs, first stop Carrefour for provisions. Then to Camping Du Bec de Cisse, Checked in for 1 night and settled down. The weather being so bad we decide to do some washing in the launderette. Got it all washed and dried, Hazel went back to Eevie and I went to the reception block to use the WiFi. After 15 minutes catching up online the sun came out.

Unbelievable Change in such a short space of time. But never mind we were heading For Chartres the next day. Few drinks and a nice meal compensated us for the awful day.