Traveller Issue 2

Welcome to Issue Two of Traveller

The articles have been provided by members of Auto Sleeper Owners’ Club, which we hope will inspire others to explore with their motorhomes. If you have any travel stories you would like to send us, we are more than happy to receive them.

In this issue

Let’s Visit Bruges

Bruges remains one of my favourite destinations. About an hour away from Calais there are a number of sites to choose from such as Camping Memling but my firm favourite is the barrier controlled aire at the coach station next to a marina on the very edge of the city walls. It is a tad expensive but the sheer convenience makes it worthwhile.

Whilst Bruges is quite small, there is plenty to do and, being a World Heritage Site of UNESCO, it is beautiful and very well looked after.

For me it is a great two-night stopover and then if I am looking for somewhere a little less touristic, I will invariable stay a couple of nights in nearby Ypres at the excellent Sport Stadium site within a few hundred metres of the Menin Gate.

Bruges rightly is centre of attention and makes a wonderful and uncomplicated weekend break.

https://www.visitbruges.be/en

Visit Skipton

Above: Entrance to Skipton Castle from the inside.
Inset: Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Belmont Bridge, Skipton

Above: Holy Trinity Church adjacent to the castle.
Below: Skipton Market behind the War Memorial.

https://www.welcometoskipton.com

Photos: © Peter Brown

Mojacar, Spain

Mojacar Pueblo, Spain Mojácar is a town in southeast Spain. It’s known for its whitewashed Moorish old town and Mediterranean beaches like Palmeral and Cueva del Lobo. The hilltop Plaza Nueva has views of the Valley of the Pyramids.
https://www.andalucia.com/villages/mojacar/home.htm

Le Blockhaus d’Eperleques

62910 Eperleques, Pas-de-Calais. Off D300, NW St-Omer
www.leblockhaus.com
Photo: John Geeson

Road to Braveria, Western Austria, Italy and more

Peter Brown

Many club members like to drift slowly around Europe moving on when and to where they feel the inclination, taking many weeks for the trip. For others though, work or family commitments require them to travel swiftly to and from their chosen destination to maximise the time there.

I’m going to describe a route and some optional additions that Chris and I have used several times both outbound and on the return for visits to Bavaria, Austria and Italy.

We live near Stoke-on-Trent but for several reasons, the Channel Tunnel is our preferred crossing. If you live towards the south east of England this will not be an issue but for us we like to travel the 240 miles in daylight without stress. After trying camping at various locations north of the Thames, as well as driving straight to the tunnel and being frustrated by traffic problems, for several years now we have camped on the C&MC site at Blackhorse Farm on the night before crossing, usually being booked on a train around 0830. After emerging from the tunnel in France we follow the route highlighted on this map below. To keep things simple, I’ll just talk about an outbound trip. These are good toll free roads.

On the day we traversed the tunnel we travelled 286 miles to Schweich map coordinates 49.815738,6.749486
off the motorway is a campsite https://www.kreusch-wassersport.de/camping/ The site accepts the ACSI discount card, has a stellplatz (Wohnmobilplatz) just outside the gate as well as a site restaurant.
The next day we did 317 miles to Fussen map coordinates 47.582185,10.701131
https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/marker.php?id=11444

This Stellplatz is less like an aire but rather a facilities site for motorhomes. As you turn the corner into the road the Stellplatz is on, there is another Stellplatz adjacent to a caravan accessory shop but that Stellplatz does not have the facilities and is often used for car parking at the leisure centre across the road. There are Aldi, Lidl and Edeka supermarkets very close and it’s a 20 minute walk to either the lake or the town.

This is where the options start.

Fussen is just 3 miles from Schloss Hohenschwangau and Schloss Neuschwanstein that are top tourist attractions for the whole of Germany and it is the southern town on the Romantic Road

https://www.romanticroadgermany.com/ so is ideally located as the start or end of a trip to Bavaria. Fussen is also an excellent point for access to western Austria and/or Italy

Firstly though a word about motorways in Austria. The motorways in Austria are all toll roads, they are easily avoided if not in a rush but if you do want to use them, the means of payment must be enabled. Before joining the motorway. For vehicle of 3500kg or less, the toll payment is based on time and a vignette must be purchased, since 2018 this can be done electronically. There is an exemption in that the Brenner motorway from the Innsbruck Sud junction to the Italian border can be used without a vignette as a toll is collected at a booth half way up. For a vehicle of over 3500kg, the toll payment is calculated by distance travelled and an electronic Gobox must be rented and installed for this purpose, in this case the gobox must be installed and in-service before entering the Brenner motorway and a special bypass gate used at the booth.

Because of the mountainous nature of the terrain in Austria, the motorways almost entirely follow the same route as the older A roads so are easily avoided for a small time penalty.

The quickest way to Italy via Austria is over the Brenner Pass using the motorway but to avoid paying expensive Gobox tolls there is an alternative, the Reschenpass mountain pass. It is very similar in distance but will take about an hour longer. It is a lovely route and I would recommend it even if under 3500kg unless you are in a particular rush.

This route also works for Slovenia, Croatia, Southern Italy, Greece and Sicilly.

London’s Sky Garden

An attraction worth a visit is the Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street. Entry is free, but you need to book your ticket and time slot online https://skygarden.london website gives full information. A lift will whisk you up to the thirty-fifth floor in seconds, and there is a cafe and restaurant. The views are spectacular, and you can see the Shard opposite. It can get very busy, and I guess you would need to book the restaurant if you were feeling flush. It is a very short walk from Bank or Monument underground stations.

Millau Bridge

If, like us, you travel to the Mediterranean, we normally use the old N roads as they are much more scenic than the auto-routes and, of course, are free.
One exception for us is the A75 which is free and runs from Clermont-Ferrand to Beziers in the south. It is one of the most spectacular journeys through the middle of France with ever-changing scenery through the mountains, valleys and flatlands with numerous aires, also with splendid views. One in particular, the aire between J30 & J31 has views of the railway arch, Viaduct de Garabit, built by Gustave Eiffel, it spans the Truyère, near Ruynes-en-Margeride in the Massif Central region, built between 1883 & 1884.

Continue on this journey, which then takes you over the Millau viaduct, which spans the Tarn gorges. The viaduct does incur a toll, but well worth the fee to observe the splendid architecture and superb views.

There is an aire, on the north end of the viaduct, with a visitor centre explaining the construction of the bridge and an excellent place for taking a break and viewing the bridge.

Want to experience travelling over the bridge? Check out the video.

Some facts:

  • The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the gorge valley of the Tarn near Millau in southern France. In a Franco-British partnership, it was designed by the English architect Lord Norman Foster, (little mentioned) and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux. As of November 2018, it is the tallest bridge in the world, having a structural height of 343 metres.
  • Opened: 16 December 2004
  • Length: 8,071 feet
  • Width: 105.15 feet
  • Longest span: 1,122 feet
  • Clearance below: 885.83 feet

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