Nether Poppleton - York

Thursday 26^th July

Hey ho, off to York on a working holiday. We stayed at this site last year and loved it. This year we’re babysitting the hens and generally looking after things while Martin and Karen are away on holiday.

Martin and Karen Reynolds

Cherry Tree Cottage

Millfield Lane

Nether Poppleton

York

YO26 6NX

0194 784306

www.cherrytreecottagecs.co.uk

cherrytreecottagecs@sky.com

It’s a fabulous little site, well kept, clean and tidy. Beautiful fresh eggs for sale. Handy for the bus into York (every half hour) and good pubs in the village within walking distance. Own sanitation essential as there’s no shower block. Only 6 pitches on a large level field. Some road noise but it’s not a nuisance. They do special offers for long stays.

I could bore for England on the joys of looking after the hens, collecting eggs and watering the garden but I’ll spare you. Suffice it to say, we had a fabulous couple of weeks: nothing went wrong, the campers were pleasant and chatty and the only deaths were two tomato plants, which were dodgy from the word go. I’d just like to mention the ancient cockerel. Martin and Karen warned us that he was on his last legs and we weren’t to worry if he pegged out. Well, I was watching him one morning as he ran after a hen and tried to have his way with her. She ran off squawking. (I would have, too, he’s well past his sell by date and decidedly tatty.) He thought about it for a couple of seconds then he sat down on the grass and gently keeled over onto his side. I watched with much anxiety and wondered what to do with the body but he recovered after a couple of minutes and rose to his feet. I wonder what would be the effect if he actually got around to having sex?

We ate out a couple of times in York (as a change from omelettes!) and would recommend:

Mr Chippy

37-39 Swinegate, York – excellent fish and chips and they have a licence if you fancy a glass of something to go with it and

Kapadokya Turkish restaurant, 24 George Hudson Street, York.

www.kapadokya-restaurants.co.uk

We had a very good lunch: 2 course and a drink for just less than a tenner.

Liques - Pas de Calais

Thursday 31^st May

To our final stop before home. We’ve stayed here before as it’s only an hour from the ferry or tunnel. It’s a nice friendly, family run site. Excellent clean facilities, small swimming pool and a bar/restaurant with a limited but adequate menu. The majority of campers are Brits, on the way out and fresh from the ferry, or stopping off on the way home. We met a couple who’d witnessed our shame last year when we got stuck in the mud and had to be towed out by the tractor! It’s relaxing to be able to converse fluently with people, but it really signifies the end of the hols.

Pommiers des Trois Pays

273 Rue du Breuil

Liques 62850

www.pommiers-3pays.com

There are lots of baby birds here: blackbirds, thrushes, chaffinches and sparrows. They’re very tame and some of them were coming into the awning after food.

Friday 1^st June

A huge motorhome moved off today. It was humungous – about the size of a double decker bus at least. It took much farting about to get it off the pitch and then they hitched up a little car to the back. I dread to think how much diesel it gobbles. Even Kim, champion of all things large, thought it was OTT! We were speculating about what they did/had done to afford such a thing. Drug runners? Porn stars? They certainly didn’t look like porn stars but you never know.

Managed to swap some books at Reception and picked up a couple I’d been after for a while. Great relief as I was running out of reading material.

Saturday 2^nd June

Last night in France. We spent the day sorting out the caravan and getting ready for departure. We had dinner in the little restaurant on site. It was fine and not expensive.

Sunday 3^rd June

Arrived early for the ferry so we had to sit around for a bit but it was OK, we had books to read. They lowered a ramp from an upper level – I couldn’t believe how steep it was and felt sure it would be for cars only, but no, they were sending caravans up. Shit a brick! Kim put his foot down and went but the car hated it and started flashing red lights. I don’t want to do that again. It was the ferry from Zeebrugge to Hull in case you want to avoid it. The one from Hull to Rotterdam was OK.

Monday 4^th June

Home with a car full of wine and dirty laundry.

Baie de Somme

Thursday 24^th May

Gloomy, humid and overcast this morning. M le Patron stood at the door of his office to wave us off with much smiling. He was probably glad to see the back of our tortured French but I bet he missed the amusement value.

There was patchy fog for a long way. It was hot in the car and the traffic was heavy near to Paris so it wasn’t a pleasant journey to Dourdan. The site was OK and clean but nothing special. Fine for an overnight stop and there’s a supermarket round the corner within walking distance. We bought strawberries and cream to compensate for the crappy journey.

Les Petits Pres

11 Avenue Mendes France

F-91410

camping@mairie-dourdan.fr

Friday 25^th May

We didn’t bother to unhitch last night so we had an easy getaway this morning. We were aiming for Le Crotoy on the Baie de Somme. It was a nasty long drive with one picnic stop. We arrived about 3pm and there were only 2 pitches left, so that was lucky. It’s a nice site. Pitches are not large but are cosy and private. We passed a glorious lake on the way here, full of swans and all sorts of water birds. There were  ponies roaming about on the far side of the lake. They
seem to be half wild, like Dartmoor ponies.

Camping les trois Sablieres

1850 Rue de la Maye

80550 St Firmin les Crotoy

www.camping-les-trois-sablieres.com

(Sabliere = sand quarry.)

Friday 26^th May

Woke up to clear blue sky and glorious sunshine. Cycled to Rue for the market, where we bought cheese, fruit and veg, including a wonderful bunch of fat asparagus, which was only 2 euros.

It’s very hot (at last!)

Staurday 27^th May

We walked to the beach. It was mad down there, with cars and campers all over the place. No fun at all. The beach is like Southport, with no sight of the sea whatsoever, but we saw some people miles out so it must be there somewhere. There was a girl trying to load a nervous horse into a trailer. She was making a right pig’s arse out of it, with much shouting and shoving. I was tempted to intervene but thought better of it as I wasn’t sure if the horse would understand English commands and decided I’d probably get a kick from the horse and French verbal abuse from the bad-tempered girl.

Monday 28^th May

Cycled to Crotoy. The cycle track runs alongside the lake/nature reserve and it was all very interesting. We saw an abandoned swan’s nest with 6 eggs on it so that was a shame. There were coots with chicks, hundreds of terns nesting on strips of land, ducks, pewits and a solitary black swan. The horses were there but too far away to be photographed. We saw a flying stork. Nerdy bird-watchers’ paradise!

Crotoy town was busy and there was a market on. We watched to tide come in at a rate of knots. Very dangerous looking, but they send out a loudspeaker warning when it’s due. We had a beer and cycled back.

A heavy sea mist came down in the evening.

Tuesday 29^th May

We walked to the beach to have a proper look without the bank holiday crowds. There was still no sign of any water but we could see a horse and cart a long way out – probably cockling. There were a few people camping in the dunes and there was a ladies’ art group with their folding chairs and sketch books.

More sea mist about 4.30pm.

Wednesday 20^th May

We drove to the supermarket at Rue. We came out of there into baking heat. It felt like the last day of the hols, although we still have a few days left.