Below are a series of slide shows that require media player for .mp4 file
to view. The early tour were pre VW days and after that we aquired VWs's
1980's to 2000 +
The
Early days: around the UK 1980's to 2000+
1987
Journey through Europe in our Volvo estate car
2005
Travelled with our Bay window around Southern France
Monte Carlo or Bust
After
writing my book, Inshallah, Odyssey to the Middle East, about my VW journey
there in 1978, I thought it about time to acquire another VW Type 2 to travel
in, as the days of camping are not looking so attractive these days.
We bought our current left hand drive, orange Westy, from a charming, slightly
eccentric, American couple and after the usual running in period where front
axle, engine, tyres and so on were replaced, of this well used but otherwise
good condition specimen which included an invaluable gas heater unit, we decided
to take it for its maiden European voyage to France.
We started on the Dover to Boulogne
speed ferry link and found a very wet and thundery evening, which fortunately
proof tested the rubber seals to their extreme.
We met one of Han, my partner’s, relatives under the Eiffel tower where we
parked up for the night, finding a cheap café nearby for our first meal out.
We negotiated the heavy Parisian traffic the next morning, to make our way
towards Lyon and the Parc-du-Livradois. Passing through this volcanic area we
decided to camp wild the whole time and in this respect the French are so
helpful. They actually encourage picnic stopovers by camper vans, unlike
this country where security or nosy individuals wake you up or move you on. The
delight of waking up to a fresh new day and being the only camper around
unspoiled countryside is just wonderful.
Our journey then took us down through the highlands of the massif to Avignon
where the month-long cultural festival had just begun. We journeyed to Nice
(very yuppyish), Monte Carlo then Monaco where think I completed a circuit of
the race track before finding a gravel lay-by in the hills that rainy night.
We returned through Nice to Aix en Provence via the lovely port of
Cavalair-sur-Mere near the popular but depressingly over touristic town of St
Tropez, then on down through the blisteringly hot Camargue and onto Montpellier
with its stone pillar colonnades and impressive University.
Cap d’Age naturist beach was next, for a bit of skinny-dipping in a
surprisingly cold yet refreshing swim in the sea that night.
So on we journeyed to Carcassonne and the Pyrenees to take in the mountain views
of the Pic du Midi, sad to discover that the rough, dirt road to the
observatory; the highest point is now closed to vehicles.
We started our return journey through Bagneres de Luchon where the spectacular
mountain views made the slow crawl to the ski center above the town all the more
rewarding. On then to Tarbes, Agen then Montignac in the Dordogne and a visit to
the Neolithic caves before our return to Boulogne and home on the 21st
July.
One heck of an interesting trip, not a single problem, and a taste of what we
intend to do over the next few years!
2007
Journey
to Greece then later on to the North Cape in Norway
Vehicle: 1986 VW Syncro camper
2015
Normandy
to Berlin slide show
Vehicle: VW Syncro camper
