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Stranded in Spain


htrevor

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Hi

Hope that this is the right place to post this but I am rather desperate at the moment and would be thankful for any advise.

I am in a campsite in Torredembarra Spain between Barcelona and Valencia. I arrived last Friday and the day after they shut all campsites in Spain to new arrivals. I was quite happy to stay there for as long as possible and self isolate as there were only 3 campers there after everybody left. Now I have been told that the campsite must close completely in 2 days time. There is a complete lockdown in Spain I was stopped by two policemen walking along the huge beach with no other people on it. So it will be difficult to travel around and if wild camping will probably be hounded by the police. Cannot understand why they are turfing everyone out , surely it would have been better to keep all the campers within the sites and avoid unnecessary travel. Even if I managed to successfully make it to England I do not have a home to go to as it is being let at the moment. I have seen that there are camper sites open in the Uk but that might change anytime like it has here. Also should mention that I am full time campervaning for the next 8 months, or hoped to be.

 

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as i have told all my other mates who are on the way back, you are expected to come home that is the foreign office directive, you have to book the ferry or tunnel from calais those are the only ones open, you have to have proof of ticket if stopped by the police, you need a self filled in form per person for travel through France (the site can help you with this) fill your water stock up with food the aires through spain and france are shutting so pot luck in finding the open ones, some people are just bedding down in side streets, you will be allowed to travel through spain and france because you are coming back to the UK as long as you have proof of travel eg the forms your passport and your ferry/tunnel ticket

after the date of the 24th and still not travelling home who knows!!!? Jail? fines? I don't know,

when you get back you are required to self isolate for 14 days no contact with anyone physically

some camping sites are still open but no facilities

have you got relatives with a drive perhaps

some people on social media are offering help for pull ins on fields etc

houses are still around to rent to isolate yourself/s

just one question I cant think for the life of me why you set off?

regards

jonathan

 

 

 

ps look on the foriegn office websites, of both countries, and the uk gov site it is all on there

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just one more thing do not get out of your van and be in contact with people unless for diesel etc you have to social distance yourself from them of at least 2 meters, the death toll in Spain as of now is 1003 cases are 20000, after italy it is the worst place in europe France is getting as bad. here in the uk 177 dead at this point and i reckon the middle of next week total lockdown like there

hope this helps

Jonathan

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silverback - 2020-03-20 8:03 PM

 

as i have told all my other mates who are on the way back, you are expected to come home that is the foreign office directive, you have to book the ferry or tunnel from calais those are the only ones open, you have to have proof of ticket if stopped by the police, you need a self filled in form per person for travel through France (the site can help you with this) fill your water stock up with food the aires through spain and france are shutting so pot luck in finding the open ones, some people are just bedding down in side streets, you will be allowed to travel through spain and france because you are coming back to the UK as long as you have proof of travel eg the forms your passport and your ferry/tunnel ticket

after the date of the 24th and still not travelling home who knows!!!? Jail? fines? I don't know,

when you get back you are required to self isolate for 14 days no contact with anyone physically

some camping sites are still open but no facilities

have you got relatives with a drive perhaps

some people on social media are offering help for pull ins on fields etc

 

 

houses are still around to rent to isolate yourself/s

just one question I cant think for the life of me why you set off?

regards

jonathan

 

 

 

ps look on the foriegn office websites, of both countries, and the uk gov site it is all on there

 

Many thanks for the info. I didn’t just set off, I have been travelling in Europe for 1.5 years. Fed up with the bad weather in Belgium and France so decided to head to a campsite I knew in Spain and that would be a good place to self isolate for a while with hopefully some good weather,. I definitely wasn’t thinking of going back to the Uk , but everything changes so quickly with this virus, I did not think Spain would be closing restaurants, bars, shops and definitely not campsites . When I arrived the staff were greeting me with handshakes and kisses and laughing about one of the suppliers wearing a mask that day. Within a week everything had changed, everyone wearing masks and gloves in the supermarkets, panic buying , police at the end of roads asking what reason people had for leaving their house and as I said policemen stopping me walking along an empty beach.

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If it's any help, the Camping and Caravan Club has just sent a message to members that their sites will stay open, albeit with no facility blocks.

Suggest buy as many loo rolls as you can on your way back, can make a fortune when you get here as shops are empty!!

Good luck, enjoy the scenery on the way - every cloud.....

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htrevor please accept my apologies, I had read it as if you had just set off from the UK my mistake sorry, you must look on the government websites for info it is all there, you will be able to travel if you have the right documents, if you decide to come back you will have options like i said fields, drives and stuff like that people are being very kind in that way, and like i said after the 24th i do not know what the wild camp situation might be, i would head into the mountains as remote as possible with a supply of water, chemical dump, and food there might even be a site that is taking people I don't know, hope you get sorted quickly either way

stay safe and well

Jonathan

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Conrad - 2020-03-20 9:10 PM

 

If it's any help, the Camping and Caravan Club has just sent a message to members that their sites will stay open, albeit with no facility blocks.

Suggest buy as many loo rolls as you can on your way back, can make a fortune when you get here as shops are empty!!

Good luck, enjoy the scenery on the way - every cloud.....

 

Shops are not empty and there are more toilet rolls available than sausage rolls.

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I’ve copied below a posting of mine in this earlier discussion

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Travelling-through-France/54658/

 

The French government has ordered campsites in that country to close. There are specific exceptions (eg. people who live permanently on the campsite) but ’touring’ motorcaravanners will be forbidden entry.

 

For Trevor, the important thing is - as soon as possible - to get out of Spain into France, then get out of France into the UK. I think Spanish or French authorities won’t be too concerned with a singleton male UK resifdent in a small UK-registered campervan making every effort to get back home, but that’s just a guess and the longer Trevor is in Continental Europe the harder it’s going to be for him to get back to the UK.

 

...........................................................................................................................................

 

It’s perhaps worth mentioning that the French form’s 5 choices (image of form attached below) do not cover a UK resident travelling through France to return home to the UK.

 

This link

 

https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Britons-returning-to-UK-from-France-also-need-Covid-19-travel-form

 

advises such people to amend the form appropriately as follows

 

Je rentre au Royaume-Uni en voiture / par avion (aéroport de…) / par train [i am returning to the UK by car / by plane (from …. airport) / by train].

 

If you are heading back to the UK in a motorhome, write on the form

 

Je rentre au Royaume-Uni en camping-car.

 

 

See also

 

https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Covid-19-in-France-Your-questions-on-declaration-form-needed-to-leave-the-house

751099452_Frenchform.thumb.png.890f1e95bc820ffc40e54e99964592aa.png

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Conrad - 2020-03-20 9:10 PM

 

If it's any help, the Camping and Caravan Club has just sent a message to members that their sites will stay open, albeit with no facility blocks.

Suggest buy as many loo rolls as you can on your way back, can make a fortune when you get here as shops are empty!!

Good luck, enjoy the scenery on the way - every cloud.....

 

Thanks Conrad

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I didn't realise that you had to have 1 form for each day of travel, can't you just use the same form for the (in my case 3 days travel)?

 

 

Billggski - 2020-03-20 9:38 PM

 

It's a fast moving situation, I'd get back but options are short. You need a travel form.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/french-personal-travel-waiver-certificate

 

To get back through France, one for each day of travel. You can write it out by hand.

 

In the UK some sites are still open at the moment, best wishes.

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silverback - 2020-03-20 9:28 PM

 

htrevor please accept my apologies, I had read it as if you had just set off from the UK my mistake sorry, you must look on the government websites for info it is all there, you will be able to travel if you have the right documents, if you decide to come back you will have options like i said fields, drives and stuff like that people are being very kind in that way, and like i said after the 24th i do not know what the wild camp situation might be, i would head into the mountains as remote as possible with a supply of water, chemical dump, and food there might even be a site that is taking people I don't know, hope you get sorted quickly either way

stay safe and well

Jonathan

 

Hi Jonathan

No need to apologise. I had added the last sentence shortly after my initial post as I thought that people might have the wrong impression and you obviously posted in between. So my fault entirely. I am just about to look at the government websites as you suggest and if I have no option other than to come back to the Uk on Monday I will book the tunnel and ask the campsite to print me out the travel form. I will still research any possible way though of staying in Spain because as far as I concerned any isolation is possible if I can sit outside the van in the sun and ride my bike once a day, which is still allowed to food shop. I haven’t read the other posts yet but maybe there are some other ideas.

Many thanks again.

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Billggski - 2020-03-20 9:38 PM

 

It's a fast moving situation, I'd get back but options are short. You need a travel form.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/french-personal-travel-waiver-certificate

 

To get back through France, one for each day of travel. You can write it out by hand.

 

In the UK some sites are still open at the moment, best wishes.

.

 

 

Many thanks Billggski. Thanks for the website, if I come back I will ask the campsite if they can print me out some forms.

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Derek Uzzell - 2020-03-21 7:56 AM

 

I’ve copied below a posting of mine in this earlier discussion

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Travelling-through-France/54658/

 

The French government has ordered campsites in that country to close. There are specific exceptions (eg. people who live permanently on the campsite) but ’touring’ motorcaravanners will be forbidden entry.

 

For Trevor, the important thing is - as soon as possible - to get out of Spain into France, then get out of France into the UK. I think Spanish or French authorities won’t be too concerned with a singleton male UK resifdent in a small UK-registered campervan making every effort to get back home, but that’s just a guess and the longer Trevor is in Continental Europe the harder it’s going to be for him to get back to the UK.

 

...........................................................................................................................................

 

It’s perhaps worth mentioning that the French form’s 5 choices (image of form attached below) do not cover a UK resident travelling through France to return home to the UK.

 

This link

 

https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Britons-returning-to-UK-from-France-also-need-Covid-19-travel-form

 

advises such people to amend the form appropriately as follows

 

Je rentre au Royaume-Uni en voiture / par avion (aéroport de…) / par train [i am returning to the UK by car / by plane (from …. airport) / by train].

 

If you are heading back to the UK in a motorhome, write on the form

 

Je rentre au Royaume-Uni en camping-car.

 

 

See also

 

https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Covid-19-in-France-Your-questions-on-declaration-form-needed-to-leave-the-house

 

Thanks Derek, that’s great.

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htrevor - 2020-03-21 10:07 AM

 

silverback - 2020-03-20 9:28 PM

 

htrevor please accept my apologies, I had read it as if you had just set off from the UK my mistake sorry, you must look on the government websites for info it is all there, you will be able to travel if you have the right documents, if you decide to come back you will have options like i said fields, drives and stuff like that people are being very kind in that way, and like i said after the 24th i do not know what the wild camp situation might be, i would head into the mountains as remote as possible with a supply of water, chemical dump, and food there might even be a site that is taking people I don't know, hope you get sorted quickly either way

stay safe and well

Jonathan

 

Hi Jonathan

No need to apologise. I had added the last sentence shortly after my initial post as I thought that people might have the wrong impression and you obviously posted in between. So my fault entirely. I am just about to look at the government websites as you suggest and if I have no option other than to come back to the Uk on Monday I will book the tunnel and ask the campsite to print me out the travel form. I will still research any possible way though of staying in Spain because as far as I concerned any isolation is possible if I can sit outside the van in the sun and ride my bike once a day, which is still allowed to food shop. I haven’t read the other posts yet but maybe there are some other ideas.

Many thanks again.

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Deffheads - 2020-03-21 9:36 AM

 

QUOTE: when you get back you are required to self isolate for 14 days no contact with anyone physically

 

 

I believe this advise for people with symptoms of the virus, not a given command for UK residents returning from abroad.

 

Thanks Deffheads

 

 

 

 

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just explaing to a friend who left a couple of weeks ago about the french form and he replied that somebody leaving spain next monday had to also get a form to leave spain.

true or not?

 

just had more info from mate, people leaving next Monday are in their 80s and not qiute with it so I think the french form is what they might have been on about

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Thanks everyone for your help. I know that the general consensus is to go back to the Uk as soon as possible but I have not been back to the Uk since end of November, do not have a home to go to and had no plans to return for the next 8 months , so don’t moan at me but what would happen if I stayed in the country? I know the campsites are closing but when I get back to England they might decide to close theirs. Is it official that I have to go home? Sorry.
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If all Spanish campsites will be closing in a few days and the same is true for French campsites, your options must be very limited. At least if you can make it to the UK virus-free, as a UK resident you'll have the NHS to fall back on if you become ill.

 

The Spanish and French won't want you in their country potentially tying up medical resources, so the best thing - like it or not or whether you MUST leave Spain - should be to head back to the UK. Once there you can explore what to do next.

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htrevor - 2020-03-21 10:41 AM

 

Thanks everyone for your help. I know that the general consensus is to go back to the Uk as soon as possible but I have not been back to the Uk since end of November, do not have a home to go to and had no plans to return for the next 8 months , so don’t moan at me but what would happen if I stayed in the country? I know the campsites are closing but when I get back to England they might decide to close theirs. Is it official that I have to go home? Sorry.

 

I think another issue you might have if you decide to stick it out is finding somewhere to stay and you may not be that welcome as it gets worse turning up in villages or towns. I would suspect if you could find a small private aire, farm site or something similar out in the boonies and do a deal you might be ok but the situation is fluid. Not sure what I would do in your situation. If you do stay and find somewhere tucked away I would be tempted to stay there as long as possible.

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