"On the Border"

Northumberland, 14 to 17 June

We have just spent a long weekend in Northumberland.  For a lunch stop on Friday, we detoured off to a National Trust property, Nostell Priory, which is well worth a visit.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/nostell-priory/

Apart from the house and gardens, which we didn't have time to see, there is a lovely walk around two lakes and the vista from the  house is most impressive.  And we can recommend the cafe!  The weather was a bit mixed in the short time we were there, but that didn't dampen our enthusiasm for a return visit sometime.

We stayed at the Camping and Caravanning site in Bellingham, which is situated about ten miles from Kielder Water, having rejected the idea of using the Caravan Club site on the edge of the reservoir, to avoid the midges.  The site at Bellingham is superb, nestling among the surrounding hills.  There are 70 pitches, mostly fairly level, with plenty of hardstandings and the facilities are first class.  It seems that a lot of people use it to break their journey to Scotland, but it is certainly worth a visit in its own right as there is plenty to do in the vicinity including Kielder Water, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham.  There is also a bus service from outside the site.

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/siteseekerlite/aspx/details.aspx?id=9025

On Saturday morning we walked into the village of Bellingham (pronounced Bellingjam), about 1 mile away, on the road for part of the way, and then along a footpath beside the river.  The village has just about everything you need: newsagent/PO, butchers, bakers, Co-op, chemist, garage with some caravan and camping supplies and a second hand bookshop.  No Penguins, John N, sorry.  At the far end of the village the old railway station has become the Heritage Centre, which houses an exhibition about the area and the Tourist Information Office, and adjacent to which is Carriages, a coffee shop converted from a railway carriage.

Having purchased the Saturday Times, for the crossword more than for the news, we got back to the 'van just before Louise arrived, for a day visit.  We headed off to Kielder Water and while having lunch in the cafe overlooking the reservoir, the weather took a turn for the worse, with heavy rain, wind and poor visibility, but it passed quite quickly and we were able to walk along part of the shoreline.

Dotted around the reservoir are various “installations” and on our walk we came across the Wave Chamber.  This could best be described as a brick igloo.  Once inside with the door closed, it was very dark and really focussed your sense of hearing on the noise of the water lapping the banks outside.

From Bellingham there is a mile and half walk to a waterfall, Hareshaw Linn, which we decided to do on Sunday.  It was a very pleasant, gradual climb through the woodland by the river and the waterfall provided a photographic opportunity.  Then back to the site for a relaxing afternoon and evening before returning home on Monday.

The green, green grass of home (ie the lawn needs mowing!)

John exchanged a few words with another motor-homer this morning and apparently the UK is having good weather with more to come this week. We look forward to it. It was a bit indifferent here - we could just make out the White Cliffs of Dover on the other side of the Channel. 

As predicted the site owner made an appearance in his reception shed to collect his dues.

There was time for a final coffee and croissant at Le Shuttle prior to boarding and then we were really on the way home.

The journey was straightforward, calling at Ashford to visit Jane and family and Mum. We really knew we were back in the UK when we hit the mile and a half queue at the Dartford Tunnel, the only major hold up we had had during the whole holiday. It's been a busy afternoon with all the post holiday chores, tempered with restocking Theodora ready for the next trip away.

Homeward Bound

We were away by 10:00 this morning on our route northwards, aiming for a lunch stop in St Valerie-sur-Somme, as recommended by the Scots couple we met yesterday. This was our first attempt at parking in a town centre and we had unfortunately passed the entrance to one carpark, before realising it would have been suitable for us. We found a spot on the roadside, which appeared to be allowed at no charge, but checked with one of the locals to be sure.

After lunch we moved on and found directions to the local “aire du camping car” which was not just an overnight stop, but also allowed daytime parking at reasonable cost. The “aire” was spacious with lots of level hardstandings so we parked there for a couple of hours and noted it for future reference. It was a good 15 to 20 minute walk back into St Valerie, which comprises the port area, town centre and medieval town. We didn't have time to see much, but the old town looked very interesting.

Time was getting on, so we decided to speed up the journey to Escalles by using the toll motorway.

Memo to selves: at the payment area, always check which booths have height barriers! We noticed our mistake in good time, but then had to worm our way back into the queue. Despite a longer journey than last time, the toll was a little more, so we have no idea how the charge is calculated.

We are now pitched on our last site, which is only 8 miles from the Channel Tunnel, and overlooks the English Channel. I was a bit dubious about the “barn” which houses the facilities, but, in fact, they are some of the best we have encountered. We have seen no sign of the owner as yet – another couple who arrived just behind us and had been here before said it was the done thing to pitch anywhere and the owner would turn up sometime to collect payment. As has happened several days in a row, the evening has turned out to be the best part of the day.

Monet, Monet, Monet

Another fine day and just a short drive to Monet's garden at Giverny, so our pre-booked tickets were not wasted after all. Despite arriving very soon after opening time, there were already many cars, motor caravans and coaches in the car park. Having made a cup of coffee, I realised John had disappeared and found him chatting to a Scots couple a few motor caravans down the line. In a very short space of time we had established that we both had daughters living in Leith! They recommended a visit to St Valerie sur Somme, so we shall probably have a lunch stop there tomorrow on the way to Calais. Anyway, I digress ….

I think I had been expecting something on the scale of a National Trust garden, but it is smaller yet nonetheless beautiful. It is divided into two parts, a massive cottage garden, with beds overflowing with colourful plants, lots of which I recognised, but few of which I could name. (Where were you Jane N when you were needed? You would have loved it here.)

Then there was the famous water garden, with Japanese bridge and water lilies about to burst into life. But what caught everyone's interest was the sound of the bullfrogs, a laughing-duck sort of noise, and you could see one or two on or near the lily pads. John and I had a field day with the cameras; here are just a few of the photos.

We are now having to accept that the holiday is nearly over, so opted for a bit of relaxation this afternoon, that is until I dragged John off for a walk up to the castle overlooking Les Andelys, Chateau Gaillard, originally built by Richard the Lionheart and subsequently fought over for a number of years before the French took control in the early 13^th century.

View of Les Andelys from Castle

And having read this, John has now dashed off to take a photo of the castle from the site, as it is a lovely evening.

What a difference two weeks makes!

Can't quite believe it – we woke to a blue sky and it's been dry and reasonably warm all day. After a trouble-free journey, we are now back at Les Andelys (where we were two weeks ago) and everything looks very different in the sunshine. We decided to walk into the old town this afternoon along the banks of the Seine at first. Quite a few large cargo-carrying barges went past and there was one huge river cruising boat moored at the quayside. From the river we cut through into the old town, which is very pretty (Norman half-timbered style) and has plenty of facilities, including, to my delight, a creperie, so we had dessert ahead of our main course. The town, and the area, probably deserve greater investigation; we (like many others) are only using it as a stopover to and from destinations further south.