Our First European Road Trip - Day 3 & 4

Day 3 & 4 - Pottering Around Manor Farm Camping

We spent the next two days familiarising ourselves with the campsite, stocking up on some food for the week to come, swimming in the lake, reading, messing around with the inflatable canoe and generally relaxing.

The first thing to say about Switzerland is that it is expensive! We knew this and were prepared for it but it still took us by surprise just how expensive everything was. A pizza in the on-site restaurant (and it was a very nice pizza) was around £18.00! A bottle of wine that might be £5.00 at home will cost you about £10.00. Don't let that put you off visiting this beautiful country but do go prepared for it. I took quite a lot of (non-perishable) food with me and for the first few nights we ate very simply but cheaply (and it gave me an excuse to do an M&S shop before we left!)

During our stay we did treat ourselves to a meal at the Landhaus Restaurant on the campsite. The restaurant is typically Swiss in appearance but the food was predominantly Italian. We just had pizzas and they were very good. In warm weather there is a lovely terrace to sit on and look out over the lake too.

When we arrived at the campsite we were told that the weather in the previous fortnight had been glorious - very high temperatures and not a hint of rain. With a wry smile the nice man in reception told us that was all about to change! The weather we experienced for the 7 days we were there was, we were told, much more typical of this mountainous region - warm sunny mornings followed by thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening. The advice we were given was to get up early and visit the sights in the morning - this went down well with the teenagers as you might imagine!

As part of the tourist tax that you pay when you stay in Switzerland (this is incorporated into your campsite or hotel price) you receive a free travel pass for the immediate area. For us, this meant that travel by bus or boat into Interlaken, the nearest town, was completely free. Before we left home we had read that most Swiss people use public transport and leave their cars at home because the transport system is so well integrated and this was our experience too. Unlike in the UK, the bus, boat, train, cable car and funicular railway timetables are coordinated to make your journey quicker and easier. We didn't need to move the van from our pitch during our stay which was great.

Manor Farm Camping provided us with everything we wanted for our first two days in Switzerland. We all enjoyed the crazy golf (especially as we had never seen a 37 hole version before) and we spent a lot of time either swimming in the lake or paddling around in our kayak. We had decided against trying to transport our sit-on-top kayaks so we took the inflatable Sevylor kayak instead to save space and weight. The Sevylor is only intended for two people but most of the time one of us straddled the back of the kayak while the fourth person was towed behind! Needless to say, progress was slow! This was the first time we had used the inflatable although we had blown it up at home to make sure we didn't look like idiots on the site. The kayak inflates very quickly and easily with a hand pump and is really very easy to paddle.

It was a shame we had rain on most days and I was very glad that we had a selection of campervan games to play. Our favourites are Grab a Pig (a ridiculously silly game that is even funnier if the adult players have been drinking!), Bananagrams (like Scrabble but without the tedium of waiting for someone else to go) and card games (we never go anywhere without a pack of cards).

Our favourite rainy day campervan games

After two days of relaxation we felt ready to see some sights. The one I had been looking forward to most (and the main reason we had chosen Switzerland as a destination in the first place) was the climb, by mountain railway to the top of the Jungfrau mountain, via a 4 mile tunnel through the north face of the Eiger, by mountain railway...........

Our First European Road Trip - Day 2

DAY 2 - Reims, France to Interlaken, Switzerland

The sun shone for us, a hot shower and breakfast set us up nicely for another day of driving, and we were ready to drive from the fairly flat countryside of this part of France into the alpine landscape of the Bernese Oberland.

We had roughly 380 miles to do but our reward was to be a lakeside pitch in the shadow of the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfrau mountains at Manor Farm Camping in Interlaken.

I stayed at this site as a seven-year-old (which was quite a long time ago!) so it was partly for sentimental reasons that I booked it this time. I remember thinking Switzerland was the most beautiful place I had ever seen (to be fair I didn't get out much as a seven year old) and I wanted my kids to experience it too.

We had a pretty good journey through the flat, Champagne producing areas of France, across the border into Switzerland. We had pre-purchased a Swiss vignette for 40 Swiss Francs (they don't have the Euro in Switzerland) which allowed us to drive straight through the border without stopping. The vignette is required for driving on all class 1 & 2 roads throughout Switzerland. It is valid for 1 year and has to be displayed on the windscreen of your vehicle. We were glad we had bought one in advance because all of the vehicles without one were directed into a very long queue to buy one!

We arrived at Manor Farm Camping around 4pm and were welcomed, in perfect English, by a very helpful member of the reception team who provided us with a lot of information and also 4 free passes for local public transport, by bus or boat, into Interlaken.

Manor Farm Camping is located on the shores of Lake Thunersee. One half of the campsite in on the lake side of the road that runs all around the lake. The other half of the site is located away from the lake but access can be gained to all of the facilities and the lake shore via an underpass, making it safe for children.

The beach & lake at Manor Farm Camping

The site has a very well run shop that remains open until 9pm every night. The toilet and shower facilities were superb and cleaned regularly and there is also a lovely restaurant, the Landhaus, specialising in Italian food, on-site. Their pizzas were to die for! There is also a lovely 37 hole (!) crazy golf on site.

Like a lot of continental campsites, the pitches can be a little on the small side and also fairly higgledy-piggledy. Having said that, our pitch was more than generous and we were very pleased with our choice. Booking some way in advance does mean that you have a choice of pitches. I did it all by email and was sent a map of the site and a list of available pitches. We chose one very close to the lake shore with a small inlet behind the pitch, allowing for easy launching of our inflatable canoe.

Our pitch and our own private canoe launch!

The situation on the lake is what really makes this campsite special in this area. The lake bed is gravel and the water was perfect for swimming. Many campers spent their whole holiday pottering about in or on the water. Quite a few campers had bought some very impressive looking inflatable dinghies with outboard motors with them to play with too.

So, we pitched-up, changed for swimming and went straight in to the water to cool down after our long drive.

Lake Thunersee

Cooling off after a long and very hot drive!

Later, as the sun went down, we opened a bottle of wine and sat on the lake shore before heading back to the van for supper and our first night in it on foreign soil, dreaming of adventures to come!

Masons Farm Campsite in North Yorkshire

A Post-GCSE Road Trip

I actually thought long and hard about whether to bother writing this review (and according to the man I married I rarely think like that about anything!) because there have been so many reviews about this particular site that yet another one might become a little tedious. However, since it was one of the nicest sites we have ever stayed on in a truly beautiful part of the country, I decided to go for it.

My son finished his GCSE's this summer and was rewarded with 10 weeks off school! As my daughter was still in school for 4 of these weeks, my son and I decided to take a little road trip up north, accompanied by the fat brown spaniel.

Masons Farm Campsite is situated in Appletreewick in the Yorkshire Dales. The nearest town of any significance is Grassington if you are struggling to find it on the map. It is also very close to the little village of Rylstone, where the original 'Calender Girls' stripped off for their famous alternative Women's Institute calender.

I had been aware of the campsite for quite some time because it has been so thoroughly reviewed by other well-published camping writers and on many camping websites. Thanks to all of these reviews, we knew we were in for a treat. What we weren't prepared for was just how much of a treat it would be.

Due to its' popularity you do have to book well in advance during the main season. I had left it rather late because I was watching the weather forecast and, as a result, was only able to book for two of the four nights we wanted. My forecast-watching did pay off though because we had glorious weather while we were there in late June.

The site is easy to find, my sat-nav took us straight there. It is located in the tiny hamlet of Appletreewick on the banks of the river Wharfe. The camping field is completely flat and surrounded by dry-stone walling. There are electric hook-ups available to those that want them. It is a simple site but this does not mean basic. The toilet and shower facilities are housed in a converted outbuilding and are warm, clean and more than adequate. You are even entertained throughout your ablutions by piped in birdsong (it took teenage boy the whole two days we were there to work out that it wasn't real birdsong - doesn't bode well for the GCSE results!!) The campsite Reception is housed in a converted Airstream caravan which is also home to a surprisingly well-stocked little shop.

 Masons Farm allow the use of firepits BUT, and it is a big but, you are not allowed to take your own! Apparently the Yorkshire Dales National Park authorities will only permit the use of firepits of a certain design so this means hiring one from the campsite. I only mention this so that you don't make the mistake I did and take up valuable packing space with an enormous firepit that you won't be allowed to use when you get there!

The site has branched out into the glamping business and they have a small number of yurts, a couple of vintage campervans and an Airstream caravan for hire. Sadly, but perhaps understandably, these units have been given the prime spots alongside the river. A minor detail though and not one to spoil your stay here.

A short walk away from the site are two very nice looking Yorkshire pubs that both serve food, the Craven Arms and The New Inn.  We didn't eat at either on this visit because we were too busy playing with our huge firepit that I was determined to get value for money from. Both pubs looked very inviting though and it is good to have another option if you don't want to cook or the weather turns and you fancy a roaring log fire and someone else's culinary efforts.

This section of the river Wharfe is lovely and relatively shallow, making it great fun for kids to play in safely. There is a little island they can wade out to too. It really is like something from an Enid Blyton story.

We walked from the campsite, along the river, into nearby Burnsall. This is a short walk that mainly follows the river with the occasional short deviation through some fields with livestock. Here you will find a lovely riverside pub, the Red Lion, a couple of tea rooms and a little shop. The walk continues into Grassington but we were distracted by the cheesy chips and home-pressed orange juice at the pub and stayed longer than we planned, meaning we only had time to waddle back to the campsite.

 As you approach the village the footpath widens out beside the river to a very large grassy picnic area. There are toilets and a wide shingle 'beach'. Children were playing in the river in inflatable dinghies and fishing with nets. On a nice day it would be a lovely place to spend time.

We really enjoyed our short stay in this part of Yorkshire and we will definitely return in the near future because there is so much to see and do here.

Our First European Road Trip - Day 1

DAY 1 - Gloucestershire to Reims, France

We have been planning our very first European road trip in Denzel for some time now and departure day finally dawned. Having spent a full two days packing and loading (and re-loading) the van we were ready to set off. There is no doubt about it, the prospect of 18 days away from home in a VW campervan with four people really does focus your mind on what is really essential equipment and what is not.

Our plan was to spend two days driving through France into Switzerland where we would be staying in the Bernese Oberland region, just outside Interlaken. We had 6 nights there before heading off back in to France to Lake Annecy for a further 3 nights. After this we were bound for St Simeon, a small village about 20 miles from Paris, where we were booked in to a cottage for 7 nights. This might sound like 'cheating', but we decided to treat ourselves to an extra level of comfort at the end of our holiday in case we weren't talking to each other by then.

With some sadness, we made the decision to leave Milly the chubby brown spaniel behind for this adventure. Throughout the holiday, however, we were surprised by the number of British campers who had taken their dogs with them. Certainly the regulations around pet passports were eased in 2014 so we might consider it another time.

Our total journey time from home to Reims was around 10 hours but not all of this was driving. We left home at 7.15am and made the Eurotunnel terminal by 11.00am having had one short stop for chocolate and toilets (not in that order!). We had hoped we might be able to board an earlier train as ours was not departing until 1.10pm but we were out of luck. My daughter was delighted as this gave her two hours of browsing time in the duty-free shop - my son showed considerable less enthusiasm for this unexpected development.

Passage through the tunnel was straightforward and very efficient. We had completed the advance check-in on-line so the whole process took under 5 minutes when we arrived at the terminal. As we were in the van we went into the carriages with all the other campervans, motorhomes and coaches. The journey time through the tunnel is 30 minutes during which you can get out and stretch your legs and use the toilet (although judging from my daughters description of the toilet you might prefer to use the ones in the terminal building before you leave).

If you have never driven in Europe before and are perhaps a little anxious about the prospect I would say don't be. The French motorways are quiet (probably due to the cost of the tolls) and well sign-posted. A sat-nav equipped for Europe really helps as does having a front seat passenger because the toll machines are on the 'wrong side' for right-hand drive vehicles. All of the French towns we drove through were quiet too so the driving really wasn't stressful at all (having said that I wouldn't want to drive through the middle of Paris!)

So, we arrived in Calais at 2.40pm French time and set off for Reims where we were booked into a Novotel for the night. We had given serious thought to a campsite for one night but decided against it as we did not want to completely unload the van just for one night.

The trip to Reims was very straightforward and uneventful. For the best part of 145 miles we were on one road, the A26, only turning off about 2 miles from our hotel. This section of our journey did cost us €32.50 in tolls though! So although it was a lovely fast road it came at a price. We stopped at one of the roadside 'Aires' to use the toilet and have a late picnic lunch. This is one aspect of driving in France that we really appreciate and wish that us Brits would replicate. Their roads are dotted with regular 'Aires'. Some are well equipped with a shop, cafe, petrol station and so on, but many are just parking areas with toilet facilities and picnic benches set amongst the trees. You might find a small children's play area too. They are free to use, the toilets are usually very clean and they are great for a quick pit stop.

We arrived at the Novotel outside Reims just before 6pm. I had found this hotel on TripAdvisor and it was apparent that it was used by a lot of Brits as a stop-over after a day of journeying from the channel ports. We paid €125 for four of us and this included a breakfast. I have to say that the hotel did not disappoint. It was easy to find, clean, bright and friendly. The rooms were a good size with nice en-suite facilities. The restaurant was excellent and fairly reasonably priced although there were several other eating options within easy walking distance to cater for all tastes and budgets. But the highlight was discovering a lovely terrace, positioned to catch the evening sun, complete with an outdoor swimming pool and surrounded by a vast grassy area with table tennis, two boules areas and a small play area for little ones - very unexpected. The rooms were comfortable and we slept like logs. Breakfast was buffet-style and was very good indeed. Overall, we felt ready for another long drive to reach our first campsite........

Marinated Rump Steak - Another BBQ spectacular

STEAK SLICE WITH GARLIC, LEMON AND THYME

 

This wonderful, straightforward recipe comes from Nigella Lawson. It is one I have used on many occasions, both at home and when camping, because it is incredibly simple, very quick to prepare and it always tastes amazing.

Unlike most other BBQ recipes that require you to marinate the meat in advance, this recipe calls for the just-cooked meat to be placed into a marinade while it rests. Somehow the hot meat seems to absorb more of the flavour this way.

If you make it away from home, the marinade can be made in advance and taken with you in a screw top jar to make it even easier. Having said that, it will only take about 5 minutes to put together wherever you are.

The only things you will need with you are a sharp knife, a chopping board and a BBQ or griddle pan.

The recipe serves 2-4 depending on how hungry/greedy you are, what else you are having with it and whether you own a rather demanding, fat brown spaniel!

INGREDIENTS

1 x 2.5cm thick piece of rump steak (about 600g)
5 stalks of thyme
2 cloves of garlic
80ml extra virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil
Zest and juice of half a lemon
1 tsp salt
Pepper

METHOD

Light your BBQ or pre-heat a ridged griddle pan over your camping stove (or your hob at home).

Remove the fat from around the edge of the steak and brush with oil to help prevent it from sticking.

Slap the steak on the BBQ/Griddle pan and cook it for 3 minutes on each side. If you want to be cheffy you can then rotate it through 90 degrees and give it another minute on each side to get  lovely criss-cross griddle marks. Try not to over-cook it because it will continue to cook as it rests in the marinade.

While the steak is cooking, mix the oil and lemon juice together. Bash up the garlic and the thyme a little with whatever you have to hand and add them to the oil and lemon mixture along with the salt and some pepper.

Put this marinade mix into a shallow dish that is large enough to fit the steak once it is cooked.

After cooking, add the steak to the marinade and leave it for 4 minutes before turning it over for another four.

Remove it from the marinade (by which time it will be beautifully rested) and slice it thinly on the diagonal.

We like to eat this as it is with new potatoes and salad or stuffed into a nice crusty baguette with anything else that takes your fancy (salad, fried onions, horseradish sauce etc) alongside a nice glass of wine.

In the photo below my steak was thinner than the recipe states. Unfortunately I had already consumed a couple of glasses of wine after a very hot day on the beach and I forgot to take that into account and cooked it for too long. Not surprisingly, it was overdone (although the rotund spaniel didn't seem to mind!)

Happy days!

 

 

A Day Trip to Brean Down

Our nearest bit of coastline that has anything even vaguely approaching a sandy beach is to be found on the North Somerset coast between Weston-Super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea. These towns both offer a fairly traditional British seaside experience of amusement arcades, donkey rides, candy floss and fish and chips by the sea (all of which my kids love!)

However, if we just fancy a day by the sea, a stretch of sandy beach on which to play cricket or boules, throw a frisbee, fly a kite or build sandcastles and a spot of walking with some amazing views, then we head for Brean Down.

Brean Down is a promontory off the coast of Somerset, standing 318 feet high and extending 1.5 miles into the Bristol Channel at the eastern end of Bridgwater Bay between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea. On the Burnham-on-Sea side of the promontory is Brean Down beach. It is owned and managed by the National Trust.

If you choose to make the climb to the top of Brean Down the path is an obvious set of zig-zagging steps all the way to the top. This is the quickest route but the steepest. If you have pushchairs, bikes or mobility scooters there is also a wide, fairly steep Tarmac path all the way to the top.

Once on the top, the path forms a loop all around the promontory and a full circuit will take about two hours at a leisurely speed.

There are examples of Brean’s military past all over the down. This gun platform is one example of the important part Brean Down has played in defending the Bristol Channel over the years.

Palmerston Fort was built at the far end of the down to defend the country against a possible Napoleonic invasion. The fort is now a ruin, but you can still wander around the buildings and imagine what life must have been like living and working on the down.

In the Second World War, bomber planes practised flying around Brean and the Somerset coast.
This large concrete arrow is on the top of the down. It used to be painted white and was used to direct planes to their practice ranges.

Soldiers trained on the six Lewis Guns mounted in gun emplacements here in the Second World War. They practised by shooting at targets in the bay at Weston-Super-Mare.

If military history isn't your thing you may be more interested in the flora and fauna on the down. The southern slopes of the down have three rare plants, they are the white rock rose, dwarf sedge and Somerset hair grass. In high summer, this almost unique vegetation community in Britain has an almost Mediterranean appearance.

In May, the north side of Brean Down is covered in a dazzling carpet of bluebells, which makes it a great time to visit and see this spectacular sight.

The slopes also play host to a herd of wild goats who seem quite at home on the steep cliffs, munching away on vegetation.

The down is also haven for bird watchers, so bring your binoculars. It's a sanctuary for breeding peregrine falcons. A link on the National Trust website will take you to an up-to-date list of bird sightings on the down.

The beach is mainly sand with some mud flats when the tide is right out. There are a few rock pools to investigate too. It is such a wide bay that it doesn't feel crowded at all and there is plenty of room for games.

There is ample parking here too. The National Trust have a car park that is free for members and operates a pay and display for non-members. There is also a private pay and display car park right at the far end of the road, adjacent to the cafes. However, one of the things we particularly like at Brean is that you can drive onto the beach and park right on the sand (for a fee). If you do this there is no need to lug vast amounts of picnic gear for what can seem like miles only to realise you have left the sandwiches behind!

There are two cafes, one National Trust and the other private, there are toilets and a National Trust gift shop that sells the usual beach toys and also some very nice ice cream!

DOG OWNERS PLEASE NOTE: According to a fairly small sign that you could easily miss they lose, on average, one dog a month over the cliffs - so please keep your dog on a lead if you make the climb to the top (the same goes for small children, obviously!)

Getting There

Address: Brean, North Somerset, TA8 2RS

OS Grid Ref: 182:ST290590

 

 

Cheat's Frittata

This recipe came about after we over-indulged one night at the mobile fish and chip van that came visiting a site we were staying on. I was left with some chips that non of us could finish and I didn't want them to go to the barrel-shaped brown spaniel so I wrapped them and popped them in the cool box for the next day, thinking I might try to make something delicious for dinner (I get brilliant ideas like that after several glasses of wine!!)

The following evening the challenge was on to make a whole new meal out of my cold and rather unpromising looking chips. All I could think of was to try a frittata and I am pleased to report that it worked a treat. We all felt it was tastier than one made either from scratch or from left over boiled potatoes.

I tend to make mine fairly plain because we often serve it alongside something from the BBQ. If you want it to be more of a main meal you can always add other ingredients such a ham, bacon, vegetables on so on.

I can confirm that the Frittata passes the fat brown spaniel taste test too!

CHEAT'S FRITTATA RECIPE - Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
400g left-over chips, chopped into bite-size pieces
4 eggs, beaten
4 spring onions, chopped fairly finely
25g Cheddar cheese, grated

Method

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat with the oil and add the chips. Cook for a few minutes, turning to heat the chips through.

Whisk the eggs and add the spring onions and some seasoning.

Lower the heat under the chips and pour in the egg mix. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and cook for around 8 minutes until the egg mix is almost set.

While this is happening, if you have a grill, light it and let it heat up. Pop the frittata under the grill to brown the top. This is more for appearance than taste so, if you don't have a grill, don't worry because it will still taste delicious.

Serve with tomato ketchup or brown sauce. Lovely with sausages for breakfast too!