I'm not sure you did but as you know, we've shared many a joke about France and Veggies.

You say Spain is good but one of our sons and his wife have just returned from the Canary Islands and almost starved as they are veggies.

Randa x

Thanks Islay

Red Pennant Travel Insurance.

Here's some useful information for others who, like us, were worried about taken out the cover too early for fear of having to cancel due to Covid, Putin etc.

Mrs R phoned up Red Pennant this morning to take out cover for our impending trip and she was told that it was sensible booking it within 14 days of leaving as there is a 14 day cooling off period where you can get a full refund.

Don't do it too close to the departure date though as they need to post a Camping Key Card to you before departure.

Randa

After the year we've had so far I don't know if I'm looking for complications but we found out yesterday and confirmed today that DFDS offices are no longer open on the weekends.
So, what happens and who do we contact if we find ourselves just outside Newhaven in a 2 hour queue with a valid ticket for a sailing in 90 minutes time?
I understand that there's only one day boat and one night boat leaving Newhaven daily so the port shouldn't be busy. Anyone know?
Randa

Roger,
I have this number for DFDS if it is of any use,:- T:+33 (0)809 541 890
Or is this the one you say is not manned [or womanned] over weekends.

Colin

Hi Colin. Yes, that's the old number which re-directs you to this one:- 0330 5878787

Never mind. "Worse things happen at sea."......................................................................................................

R

Update on my post no 54.
I've started fine tuning the sites on my long lists for our trip through NL and they very soon became short lists, in fact near non existent lists. If you want to stay anywhere for more than a week during June or July in NL then it would appear you have to book. So that is what I'm having to do.
In the process of this I contacted the C&MC to add a few extra days onto a site I'd gone through them with as I got a price better than ACSI. They wanted a £20 admin fee, so I went direct, got a better daily rate and a Euro 4.50 booking fee.
All I can assume is the Dutch spend early and late summer in there home country and as such French site availability is pretty good and nothing like NL.

Colin

Hitched up and loaded [early] ready to go. I had to move a few things to under the bed to get my preferred nose-weight. I couldn't understand why and then realised Mrs eriabMotters has packed less clothes than usual. Happy days.

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Colin

Well, we are the 04:25 from Dover to Calais with P&O, so I thought I'd do a little review of the boat, sorry ship.
Back in 2020 when we first re-booked, or it might have been 2021, I cannot remember, I mentioned to the nice lady how prices have gone up. I explained a single crossing was now nearly as much as a return, so she upgraded us to "Priority Boarding", which I don't think means anything and "Club Lounge" which does.
I've had a decent fresh orange, a reasonable coffee and food. That means a fruit salad, a heavily laden bacon roll that was a little dry and a pastry that was also dry. The Internet is decent, hence the report at this stupid time of the morning.
They have tried to make the place a bit posh by removing door handles and replacing them with a touch pad on the wall to the side of the door. Unfortunately the brain is not working as it should and I'm looking at where the door handle was and the remnants of it still are trying to figure out how to get to the loo.
When I got in it all came back to me. Why are the toilets bolted so far up the wall. My feet do not touch the floor. Back to being posh, they had a little pull cord to call for assistance, but I decided that was getting to personal.
The sea is calm outside and lulling me into a false sense of security as the forecast is still lousy. On a good note, nobody checked the caravan fridge for dead animal products and the freezer full of said stuff in the car boot seems to have gone unnoticed as well. I'm not sure if they spot check when you come off the ship, but I'm hoping we are in the clear.
Back to being posh, or a bit common to be honest, we could if not driving get totally plastered as we are surrounded by free booze.

Colin

You obviously know something we don't. Over the next month we will be calling into as many Eriba and Hobby dealers as we can find.

Edit

We are currently at the bottom end of NL, at Gulpen between Maastricht and Aachen at Terrassen Camping Osebos. It is a lovely terraced site overlooking a wide green valley. We are the only Brits on site and the first in possibly 5 years as long as reception can remember and definitely since Covid. Why is beyond me as the site is a lovely place to start looking at NL. A quick scan around shows only 2 or 3 empty pitches. The Dutch love the place.

Colin

We headed north today to near Emst, about 120 miles of fine flat roads and 40 mpg, so not so painful when you see 95 E10 petrol is 2.30 to 2.50 Euro per litre. We called in at Witoma on the way. A fantastic dealership and we looked at Eriba and Knaus. No official word on 2023 models as the dealership are waiting to visit Hymer for 2023 briefing.
On that 120mile trip we did not see a single UK vehicle and are the only Brits on our present campsite again.
We cannot be the only Brits in NL.

Colin