Possible change in travel plans, advice required

[kevandali]

Hi All

 

We are off to southern Brittany in less than two weeks time but one of my main concerns is the weather at the moment which seems to be pretty crap all over mid and northern France.

 

If we change our plans and decide to try and drive a bit further south and chase the sun where do I head for??

 

Any ideas of how far south is workable as we only have two weeks and have two kids 15 and 13 to try and keep happy, I am thinking of sticking to the west coast but have no real idea as yet as to where.

 

This post might actually become rapidly redunant, should the sun decide to come out and play (?)

Any ideas/help as always much appreciated

 

kevandali

[michele]

Hi Kev ,

well Me & the Judge have been following the weather there for over a month now...you have had it ...... :D Its down to the south where on Monday & tuesday it is forcasting 33 's ..for the whole time that we have followed it it has not changed everyday rain all over france except where it hit the French med from spain through to Italy...

 

So take your pick and ask Mel if you like she did not have the best of weather i believe she went there and on days had trouble getting O&A..we are off to Beziers SOF run to the sun :D

[John Keats]

The weather prediction this evening (Sunday) is that France is going to be deluged wth rain in a day or two, something similar to the Berkshire area today.

 

Which I was in and had to be moved from a river side site at Henley due to the river flow already being up to bank level, plus a prdeicted surge of water tonight. (now returned home)

 

Parts of Western France could cop similar conditions, be aware !

[michele]

Head for the South head for the south ..take heed young man :D

 

kev try meteofr for the weather over there it wont take you long to drive we only have two weeks also

[John H]

We went to France at the end of May/beginning of June. It rained at our first stop in Chartres and it was still raining when we got to Carcassonne. We headed back north and had a few decent days in the Loire Valley.

 

John.

 

If things don't change, they'll stay as they are.

[carioca]

hi kevandali

try the ille de re (i think thats how its spelt) we stayed on there for a few days at easter quite a bit to do mainly involving water but excellant to cycle round . or if you fancy south south try port grimaud near st tropez

cheers (lol) B-)

[michele]

kev,

Just incase don't think it went . Beziers is the city Valras plage is the place and the site is La Yole .

resturant horse riding two pools jacuzzi new this year a water slide massive site nice & clean plenty of shade OH JUST JINXED IT NOW.

Nice little town launderette Onsite shop boulangerie Charcuterie supermarket security guards beach gate cash point ...Fishing plenty to see and do but best of all you dont get to see the kids for the whole two weeks there is just so much for them to do . We are not usually the type for this Boring yawn yawn but friends said to us go you wont regret it and 9 years later they are right the kids ask each year and they are 21 18 & 16 Now I have my sister hooked on it . there is lots of site alongthat beach front Road all not bad very busy though

 

Good Luck anyway on what you decide

[Brian Kirby]

Kev

I think the best you can do is to keep monitoring on this website:  http://www.meteofrance.com/FR/index.jsp

Good, simple presentation and graphics.  If you experiment in the map you'll find you can "drill down" for more localised forecasts, and can get wind, temp, precipitation etc to order.

You'll have to decide, when the time comes, how far you try to travel each day, probably depending on whether it stays wet, or whether you find you're running into more reasonable weather as you go.  I'd be inclined to stay clear of the main mountain groups (Alps, Pyrenees) and the Massif Centrale, except for travelling.  I'd also be inclined to stay away from the Rhone corridor for travel, because the A6/7 is probably the busiest (looniest!) autoroute in France in summer.  It also suffers jams.  Head down to  Vierzon, and then take A20 or, preferably the A71/75 via Clermont Ferrand (added bonus, you get to cross the Millau viaduct [toll], and its free for miles!), and then loop east via Arles into Provence. 

The Southern slopes of the Southern Alps should be OK, but I'd stay clear of the coastal sites, because they charge top dollar (along with anyone who can spit to the sea!) and everyone else in Europe will have had the same idea this year, so they'll be heaving.  Look for something with a decent pool a bit further inland and, for peace of mind, keep away from anything in a river valley.  There are one or two quite good lakeside sites in the area.

I suspect the localised heatwave they're presently enjoying will break up with violent thunder storms, and when she goes, she really goes down there!  Any river valley will be at some risk of flash flooding under these conditions, and if the land is parched dry, mountain rivers surge with alarming speed because there is so little vegetation to hold back the water.  Not trying to alarm you or put you off, but if you choose with care you'll sleep untroubled.  Good luck: all you need to do now is research your "plan B" sites!

[kevandali]

Thanks for all the info, will start to look at different sites in the south of France, still 11 days to go so a change in the weather is still possible.

[derek500]

Don't go too far south, here in Valencia it's currently 30.7° at 10.10pm, it reached it reached 37.4° at 5.15pm this afternoon!!

 

We leave for our two month trip to the UK on wednesday, hope it stops raining for us.

[kevandali]

Rain, too hot, too cold, head south, not too far south, decisions decisions, bound to make the wrong one *-)

[flicka]

kevandali - 2007-07-23 9:16 PM

 

Rain, too hot, too cold, head south, not too far south, decisions decisions, bound to make the wrong one *-)

 

But that's the point of your M/H, Kevandri.

You have wheels and if it rains at your intended destination, it is easy to divert to the sun. Go and enjoy wherever you get too.

Have wheels, will travel. Just try to keep in touch with a Weather channel or gat a national newspaper. The weather is usually shown in graphics so language should not deter anyone.

[robin]

 

1. How far south - the nearest 'safe bet' seems to be the French med coast - anywhere north of that has been coder/wetter than normal all summer so far.

From my experience this will be extremely crowded in August with most decent campsites full to overflowing - and don't expect to find any wild camping or Aires - a relaxing holiday it will not be.

2. Is it feasible for two weeks - you could cover the distance from the chanel ports in one day, especially with two drivers - but two days would be better with a break around Burgundy. We did Avignon / Calais at a steady 70 mph in one day once - it was a long day. So four days travelling out of your two weeks,

 

We spent 10 days touring the Loire valley week before last - whilst the weather was 'dissappointing' it was a lot better than in the UK.

 

HTH

 

[BGD]

I know it's tempting to head for the sun, but just one thought -

 

Here where we live, in the Costa Blanca region of Spain, July and August are HOT. I don't just mean hot, I mean HOT!!!

 

It's mid-day here as I type this (from the safety of our air-conditioned cottage in our little Spanish village about 5 miles in from the coast), and it's 39 degrees in the shade. Later this afternoon it'll be 43 or above.

Last night, the LOWEST it got was 28 degrees.

And through the rest of July and August, it gets even hotter.

It's hard to get across really just how hot it does get here. Honestly, you CANNOT sit out in the sun at this time of year - you'd burn in 20 minutes.

All the locals (sensibly) just hibernate indoors through these two months, and most businesses - except those who serve the lillywhite-to-lobster-in one-day tourist masses - shut down though August.

Everyone goes nocturnal - all except the tourists eat at 10/11pm at night, then they go out to bars/to socialise etc around midnight

 

Trust me, even after 5 years of acclimatisation for us, it just ain't a lot of fun at all driving/working/trying to sleep in July and August down here - especially in a Motorhome without air-con.

Only mad dogs and Englishmen.......

 

My advice for anyone wanting to try the continent at this time of year would be to maybe tour around Northern Spain.

The Galicia region (Northwest, top left corner of Spain) is a simply FANTASTIC area to visit in the summer, easily accessible from France or even by direct ferry from the UK to Northern Spain.

Scenery is wonderful, roads are brilliant and uncrowded, costs are low, wine and food (especially the seafood) is just delicious, and the climate is hot and dry at this time of year, but not ovenlike.

 

Cheers,

 

Bruce.

[Mike Parke]

Try the Provence area. We were there in May, super places, lots of historic ruins, caves, views etc. Difficult I know with teenagers to keep occupied but should be something most days to entertain them in one way or another. My Bro-in -law was working in Avignon for the last 5 weeks and he said weather was brilliant. You have the advantage of being able to move to a new location daily if needs be, a definite of a M'home over an hotel!!

Where 'ere you go, enjoy! Mike & Cherry

[kevandali]

BGD - 2007-07-24 11:19 AM

My advice for anyone wanting to try the continent at this time of year would be to maybe tour around Northern Spain.

The Galicia region (Northwest, top left corner of Spain) is a simply FANTASTIC area to visit in the summer

 

Started to think about avoiding the med and looking at North West Spain?

 

Has anyone else experienced this region of Spain?

Do they have similar stopping places to the French Aires and can I actually just meander down there and still be able to get in somewhere without having to book.

 

As always, any help much appreciated because at the moment I have not a clue where we will end up but only know that if the weather is bad we will move south.

 

 

[Don Madge]

kevandali - 2007-07-24 6:09 PM

 

BGD - 2007-07-24 11:19 AM

My advice for anyone wanting to try the continent at this time of year would be to maybe tour around Northern Spain.

The Galicia region (Northwest, top left corner of Spain) is a simply FANTASTIC area to visit in the summer

 

Started to think about avoiding the med and looking at North West Spain?

 

Has anyone else experienced this region of Spain?

Do they have similar stopping places to the French Aires and can I actually just meander down there and still be able to get in somewhere without having to book.

 

As always, any help much appreciated because at the moment I have not a clue where we will end up but only know that if the weather is bad we will move south.

 

 

Kev,

 

You might find this useful.

 

 

FREE CAMPING SPOTS IN NORTH/NORTH WEST SPAIN

JUNE 2005

 

Here is a selection of free camping places that we found suitable for

overnight stops on our recent tour of the Iberian Peninsular. We either

night stopped or had lunch/siesta in all of these places. We did the trip in

the first three weeks in June 2005.

 

We were very surprised by the very few motorhomes that were about at this time of the year. The Spanish were out in force at the weekends but mid week it was very quiet. The one exception was Cape Finisterre where there were several vans and many visitors. Many nights we were camped by ourselves.

 

CAMPOSANCOS.

Parking at the ferry terminal. There is a very cheap (Euro 5.80) 15 minute

ferry from Caminna (Portugal) to Camposancos (Spain).

 

ALDAN HARBOUR.

Parking in harbour area.

 

CAPE CORRUBED.

Parking area around lighthouse.

 

PUNTA LOURA.

Parking by lighthouse, very remote area.

 

CAPE FINISTERRE.

Parking by lighthouse. Could be a problem in the wet. There is a large

tarmac car park on the right one kilometre before the lighthouse.

 

CAPE VILAN.

Parking in lighthouse car park, very remote.

 

CEDEIRA.

Parking in port car park.

 

SAN ANDRES DU TEIXIDO.

Parking in view point area over looking village.” Do not drive into village”

 

 

PORTO DE ESPASANTE.

Parking on harbour area.

 

PORTO DE BARES.

Free campsite (except July/August) on harbour area. Many static vans left on site. Water available.

 

PORTO DO BARQUEIRO.

Parking on harbour.

 

 

GONCHA DE ARTEDO.

Parking area behind beach.

 

EL PUNTAL.

Car parking bays on estuary road.

 

TAZONES.

Very picturesque village/harbour. Parking in car park on approach to village

 

 

SAN VICENTE DE LA BARQUERA.

Parking on “Playas” at eastern end of town. Can be very crowded/noisy at

weekends and in July/August.

 

PLAYA OYANBRE.

Parking in beach car park.

 

SAUNCES.

Punta del Dichoso, parking in car park area.

 

QUEJO.

Parking in harbour area/car park.

 

AJO.

Parking in beach and picnic area car park. Water available.

 

DUESO.

Parking on rough ground behind sand dunes. Beware of patches of soft sand.

 

All of the above places can be found on Michelin maps 441 & 442.

 

A8 MOTORWAY.

The Spanish are slowly extending westwards the A8 motorway from the

French/Spanish border to La Coruna. It has presently reached the town of

Gijon. There is a 22 kilometre break just west of San Vicente de la Barquera It’s “Peage/Toll” from the border to Bilbao then the remainder is toll free. Service areas are few and far between the further west you travel.

 

Safe travelling

 

Don