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France road trip

 
 
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Jimbee
Just got MTs


Joined: 04 Jan 2008
Odometer: 177
Location: Yorkshire


2002 Land Rover 110

PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:02 pm    Post subject: France road trip Reply with quote

We are going to France on Monday for 3 weeks. The middle week we are planning on staying at my parents house near poitiers. We have our first campsite booked 50 miles outside Calais for the first night. After that we have no firm plans.

We want to travel down the east side of France and then cut back to Poitiers which is about two thirds of the way down and 150 miles inland of Bordeaux.

Has anybody got any suggestions for a good campsite/region to aim for?

We are going in our td5 110 with roof tent and stuff, which brings me on to my second question. Does anybody have any suggestions for a tool box/useful emergency repair items? I am not planning on carrying out major repairs. If we breakdown then I can find a garage or use my euro breakdown cover if all else fails. My motor has just been serviced and mot'd and has only done 60k so fingers crossed should survive!

I am thinking things like cable ties, gaffa tape etc...

Tanks in advance



Jim
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4runner
Winch Assistant


Joined: 05 Jun 2007
Odometer: 63
Location: old rayne



PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 8:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We are just back from 2 week trip down to Alps and driving "greenlanes" in the alps. mostly solo, but joined by friends in a Hilux for a few days. amazing trip.









on way back north we stopped at a campsite Tournon-sur-Rhône in the Ardeche next to Tain L'Hermitage, so we could do some cycling and taste and buy lots of wine Smile

I cannot find the one we stayed at - but it was just a few hundred metres and across the valley from this one
http://www.campinglessables.fr/situation.html
there were about 5 campsites all in this nice valley

we didnt stay here: http://www.camping-tournon.fr/emplacements_en.html
it looked a bit grim - too central in town




we stopped the next night in Beaune - fantastic medival town, and lots of places to by burgundy! we stayed in the municipal campsite - which was fine for a night.
http://www.beaune.fr/spip.php?article78

and enjoyed mtb around the town and surrounding vineyards

as for spares, i carried a litre of engine oil and diff oil
lots of cable ties, gaffa tape, jubilee clips, spare wheel bearing, starter motor contacts repair kit, rad hoses, fuel hose/transmission hose, fan belts, a small tub of bolts, nuts & washers of many sizes. a few spare wheel nuts and wheel studs, socket set, spanners, stilson, screwdrivers, irwin stud removers etc etc
puncture repair kit, bit Tmax air compressor,
and other tools/parts I forget

used out RTT and foxwing awning
also had waffleboards, land anchor, tirfor handwinch.
and still managed to fit in 60 bottles of wine!

I had to replace a front wheel bearing and CV joint when we got home.
this trip was on back of 8 day greenlaning tour of UK...

we never stopped anywhere for more than one night and did about 50:50 mix of wildcamps and commercial camps

have a great trip - its a brilliant place to visit. the massif central and Dordogne, Auvergne, limousin regions look worth a visit too from what we have seen driving through there en-route to Pryenees ( last summer for offroading)

But the mountains are my favourite place!
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Jimbee
Just got MTs


Joined: 04 Jan 2008
Odometer: 177
Location: Yorkshire


2002 Land Rover 110

PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 10:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for that. We will definitely try to get down to Lyon and look at where you suggested. Our pace will be a little more sedate due to our 9 month old boy however!

How do you get on with wild camping in France? Do you need to ask permission etc.. Or is it just a case of finding somewhere on the road side and pitching up?

Those pictures are amazing. Where is the wild camping at?
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4runner
Winch Assistant


Joined: 05 Jun 2007
Odometer: 63
Location: old rayne



PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wildcamping is OK away from other buildings and not in national parks
in Italy we found it more restrictive.
we usually camped many km from the nearest tarred road though

but this spot by an old wartime fort near Susa enroute to Fort Jafferau
was excellent and again over 2000m up the mountain, my wife cycled down next day on mountain bike - over 1mile vertical to the nearest road!

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ll=45.0...&t=h&z=19





but had to do some rock gardening and use waffleboards to get round rockfall on very precipitous track


we did get told off by a shepherd at once spot in France, we were close to national park, but according to map still 2km from the boundary. but i think we were camped on his grazing land, in end he was ok if we stayed for one night.

the wild camp on previous post was on edge of Risoul ski centre at over 2000m.
here
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ll=44.5...&t=h&z=19

track was not tricky - but a good 30mins from the road, we approached from the North over the mountain col and returned same way
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Jimbee
Just got MTs


Joined: 04 Jan 2008
Odometer: 177
Location: Yorkshire


2002 Land Rover 110

PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What were the night time temperatures like at that altitude? We were just going to stick to campsites but you are really tempting us. After all, why have all the gear and not take advantage?!
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4runner
Winch Assistant


Joined: 05 Jun 2007
Odometer: 63
Location: old rayne



PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 6:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

night-time temps were 9-12 degC @2000-2300m (i checked thermeter each morning) and this was in late June/early July
so not too bad,

and upto 30degC during day
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CarpeDiem
Just got MTs


Joined: 11 Mar 2007
Odometer: 297




PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 6:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As above for places to visit.

In Poitiers there's a very good campsite, the town a nice place to visit and there's a massive theme park http://en.futuroscope.com/.

If your going to Bordeaux, you could get down to Bayonne (good LR garage there) and into the French Pyrenees, places like Saint jean pied de port, and the d’Holzarte et d’Olhadybia and de Kakouetta gorges, the whole area is spectacular.

In term of kit, as you've said, normal fuses, belts, bulbs etc etc and a few tools just in case.

Don't forget the mandatory stuff like V5/log book, insurance (both need to be original docs), plus the GB sticker, headlight deflectors, Hi viz for all (must be next to you), warning triangle and since the 1st of July - a breathalyser kit in fact 2 and must have a NF number, ferries and ports should be selling them, though not enforced until the 1st of November.

I apologise if you know the above, have a great trip, cheers Mark

__________________________________
"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." -- Robert Louis Stevenson
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Jimbee
Just got MTs


Joined: 04 Jan 2008
Odometer: 177
Location: Yorkshire


2002 Land Rover 110

PostPosted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 8:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Finally got round to posting as we got back nearly a month ago.

Thanks for all the advice and sharing pictures. We didn't do any wild camping unfortunately or off roading but it was a great road trip any way. Some of our campsites are marked as waypoints on this ipad screen shot and we followed the route anti clockwise, taking a week or so off touring by staying at my mum and dads house in the Charente region.





He loves land rovers already!!









[img:b5e364250b]http://forum.difflock.com/userpix/8338_phpWAjG0KPM_1.jpg[/img:b5e364250b]
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TheHeretic
Just got MTs


Joined: 10 Jun 2011
Odometer: 357
Location: Bulgaria! (Ex-Wirral)


1998 Suzuki Vitara

PostPosted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks like a fantastic trip.
__________________________________
Blog thingy - http://mingandmongoffroad.blogspot.com/
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