Katrina
Guest
Hi Guys, not been on for a while due to one thing and another mainly cos me arthritis is being its usual wonderful self, anyways, i just thought I would let ya know about our foreign trip in ol' Ruby(the 20yr old Talbot Highwayman).It was just the two of us this trip ime afraid the trusty canine co pilot (Molly Mole)was banished to bricks and mortar much to her disgust.Our friends Neil and Carol have two houses in France, one is renovated already, the second is in the infant stages of renovation.They invited Mick and I to visit them on the second week of their 2weeks working/holiday.I have to say i held many reservations about travelling all those miles in Rubes but i need'nt have worried!The ol' girl was marvellous!!We took the 5am ferry to Calais(after having a 5 hr trip to Dover)then from Calais we drove a further 7hrs to St Aignon Sur Roe near the Loire Valley, which is a beautiful little village, it was one hell of a trek tho i have to say but we did stop off for a couple of hrs wildcamping kip in France as we were beginning to flag, plus my travel sickness meds were kicking in bigtime haha!(me and water just dont mix)The countyside is absolutely stunning over there and the roads put me in mind of what i imagined route 66 to be like, just stretching for miles and miles in a straight line.When we arrived at Neil and Carols, we parked Ruby up on their driveway and we camped in her for the week.We had a fab week all in all, till the final night when we had made our way back towards Bologne area so we wudnt be far away for the ferry the next day, we were unable to find anywhere in the dark easily to camp where we felt safe.(we did end up at one point on what looked like a gypsy caravan site, we stayed bout just long enough to turn Ruby rond and scarper as quick as u like lol)In the end we found our way to Berck, on the side of the road in between an ancient camper and a car containing two guys snoring theyre heads off, with only a towel on the windscreen for privacy!There were other motoromes there aswell, by this stage we were so tired we wud have slept anywhere,just in case we had to move quickly tho we slept in shorts and tops.We need'nt have worried tho, we were next to a beautiful beach when we awoke next morning, something we hadnt seen in the dark,and the people around us were up and about, having breakfast and going to the beach.We set off for Calais and did see a few gentlemen walking along the side of the motorway, who didnt look french at all to put it the best way i can think of to explain.We got our ferry home and drove back the last 5 hrs without a hitch.All in all we did over 1300 miles in the ol' girl and she never put a wheel wrong bless her.Anyone who is thinking about buying an older motorhome as opposed to a newer one should obviously check the basics but I can say from the heart I wouldnt change our Ruby for a new un for all the tea in China!Sometimesthe old uns are the best xx