Our 2022 Tour

Our 2022 adventure started by driving to Dover early on the day of our Dover to Calais ferry crossing, just to make sure we were at the ferry port well in time for the crossing and there was no issues getting stuck in traffic. This also gave us plenty of extra time, which we spent exploring the white cliffs around the port and  St Margarets bay, a lovely spot that the James Bond author Ian Flemming once had a weekend home.

We caught a late ferry as this was a better price and the crossing the was smooth and there was no problems using the pet health certificates to get our two dogs across with us. We did get stoped briefly by boarder force officials with a quick inspection of the camper both nothing to hold us up. We then drove to a small search for sites spot just outside of Calais to park up for the night. Our first stop the following morning was to find a pet shop that sold our dogs dog food brand as you are no longer allowed to take food across with you, not even dry food so we drove back into Calais and found a Tom and Co pet shop as we knew they sold our brand. Then we went to the beach at Wissant, just south of Calais to give the dogs a run. Wissant has a stunning beach that stretches for quite a few miles and allows dogs even in the summer.

We then decided to drive up to Ypres as we wanted to see the Menin Gate daily act of remembrance. Again we found another search for site stop over, this was a charged site, Kampeerautoterrein Zillebekevijer, however the barrier was not working when we arrived so the attendant allowed us to stay for free, this should have been €9 per night. There was electric hookup included in the price and water available at €1 per 100 litres. we headed over to the Menin Gate where at 8:00pm daily the police stop the traffic and a small crown gathers to witness the ceremony, members of the Belgian Last Post Association play the last post in quite a moving ceremony to honour the of all the fallen soldiers of the former British Empire and its allies.

In the morning we drove over to the Tyne Cot cemetery and memorial to pay our respects. Tyne Cot is beautifully kept and the largest Commonwealth war graves cemetery in the world, located near the site of the battle of Passchendaele and holds the graves of nearly 12,000 British and Allied forces and a memorial to the missing, the soldiers that went to war, but never returned and their bodies never recovered.

We stayed the night at an aire in Nouvion-in-Thierache, this was a free site located next to a large paid camp site and right next to a large forested area which was perfect for walking the dogs. again there were services if required for a few Euros. We enjoyed a great walk through the forest on marked trails without meeting anyone else. We planned to visit Luxembourg so in the morning we gave the dogs another walk and then drove over to Koerich, a small village near the outskirts of Luxembourg City. This was another free to stay aire with services for a small fee, but close to the city so. We got up early and drove to one of the large car parking areas just outside the city so that we could catch the bus into the centre. All forms of public transport in Luxembourg are completely free so its a great way to get into the city and not worry about parking or prices. Luxembourg city is a lovely city, with some stunning architecture and all the designer shops you would expect, but as we are not really city people we spent a few hours having a look around and then caught the bus back to our camper and drove around 120 miles back into France where we stopped for the night on the car park for La Rocher de Dabo for free, parked right below the church.

Dabo is a small village in Northern France dominated by La Rocher De Dabo, a large rock formation with a chapel at the top and surrounding landscape that incorporates woodland and rocky outcrops that give great views across the surrounding area. After visiting the Chapel we followed a local route though the woods following some of the rocky outcrops for a great walk before moving returning to the chapel car park to stay another night. The following day we tried out another route as the area was so nice before driving on through Orbey where we stopped to have a look around this lovely little village and then on to Lac Noir, a lake in the Nationale Du Tanet-Gazon Du Faing nature reserve where we spent the night on the carpark overlooking the lake.

The next morning we took a good hike up into the nature reserve and up onto the top of the hills, through forested areas and open wild areas, giving some stunning views of the whole reserve. That afternoon we moved on to Nantua, quite a drive as it was around 250 miles, but we found a great campervan park up right by the Lac De Nantua, this was a paid park up for €10 per night, but it was right by the lakeside and just a few minutes walk out of the town. The town wasn’t much to shout about but the lake was lovely and we had a great swim the following morning, giving the dogs a much needed cooling off before moving on a further 90 miles to what was our original target destination, Chamonix

We found a great stopover spot just outside Chamonix on the car park for the Argentière glacier gondola. This is a large car park with both fresh and grey water points and is free of charge and very popular with campers and is far enough out of Chamonix itself be be quite quiet. The village of Argentière is also only a short walk away so handy for a bit of shopping. We stayed there for three nights, using the Plan Jordan gondola which also allows dogs in the day to take you up the mountain to the starting point for many hikes. The cable car was around €20pp for a return trip and free for the dogs. One of the times we went up we walked back down, but this was quite difficult as the route is extremely steep and hard on the knees. However once you were up to the top you could take many routes that were relatively flat or chose to climb higher in the mountains. The walks also give you direct access to the Argentière Glacier, one of the larger glaciers found within the Mont Blanc massif.

Whilst we were there I also used the opportunity to take the Aiguille du Midi cable car, when it was built in 1955 held the record for the worlds highest cable car, it still holds the recored for being the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world rising from 1,035m to 3,842 m. Tracey stayed in Chamonix as she didn’t fancy the last cable car section! It wasn’t cheap at around €75, but it wasn’t to be missed as we were there anyway. When you get to the top you get staggering views of Mont Blanc itself, Europes tallest mountain, but also the surrounding mountains and the Chamonix valley. There is a sack bar, cafe and restaurant at the top along with a panoramic viewing platform and a glass floor walk called “Step into the void” which of course I had to have a go. This ends in a glass box clinging to the side of the mountain that is 1000m above the Bossons Glacier.