The Big Trip - Amelia gets a dunking plus a site review of Airotel Pyrenees

We went rafting for our last day in the Pyrenees. It's advertised as white water rafting but the river levels are low at this time of year so it's not exactly a white knuckle ride.

As predicted, the kids were massively unimpressed at the 'early' start but after the obigatory arguing, pleading and sullking we made it to the top of the site for 9am for the pick up. We were then driven upstream for about 10km, where we were handed cold, damp wetsuits to put on. I've no idea why we didn't take our own - they've been all warm and dry in the trailer since we left home!

We were teamed up with another English family for the raft and soon set off down the river. It's a lovely, wide river and doesn't require much paddling and steering but has just enough fast bits to keep it interesting. It wasn't as exciting as we'd hoped but we were puzzled when they had us dragging the rafts out of the water and climbing up to a path that ran alongside the river. We were still confused when they hauled one of the rafts up the bank, turned it upside down and tied it to a tree but all was revealed when one of the guides jumped onto it and was catapulted into the river! I'd like to say I had a go but I bottled it at the last minute but Isaac loved it and had a couple of goes.

We set off back down the river for a while but were then told to drag the rafts out again, this time in a faster flowing part. We were then walked back upstream for a while and invited to go down the river without the boats. That was more like it for me and I was straight in. Lots of fun and the only tricky part was swimming back out of the current at the right point so I didn't carry on too far down the river! 

At the end of the trip there was a weir to navigate, although that's not quite as dangerous as it sounds as there was a chute to one side that we were able to slide down safely. At the bottom it only seemed right to have a water fight with the other rafters but Amelia came off worse than most because Isaac pushed her in. She did at least find it funny though.

The afternoon was spent mainly starting to pack things away, ready for the drive to our next stop in Avignon but we had a last walk back up to Luz in the evening. 

I'm going to miss the Pyrenees but the kids are happy to move on now. They've seen as many mountains and waterfalls as they can cope with for a while and are hoping for a bit more fun on the site.

The Site - Airotel Pyrenees
This site is in a valley in the French Pyrenees and is completely surrounded by mountains. As a result the scenery is absolutely stunning, although the weather is very changeable and rain and thunderstorms are frequent. There's a lot to see and do within an hour's drive so it's a great place to be based.

The staff at the site are very friendly and welcoming and most speak fluent English. Nothing seems too much trouble, they're happy to suggest good days out in the area and can even book some activities for you at a discounted rate.

The site itself is quite large and has a lot of Europcamp tents/chalets plus several statics for hire. Despite this though it still manages to feel like a smaller site, especially at the bottom end where we were. The tent pitches are all level and spacious and 10amp hook up is available, although you do need a euro adapter.

The facilities block is large and is kept very clean but it is unisex, which takes a bit of getting used to. As well as showers and toilets, this includes laundry facilities and the washing up sinks so expect to hear some interesting noises as you're washing up....

There are four swimming pools (speedos compulsory), one of which is indoor and another has two great waterslides. None of the pools seemed to get excessively busy and we never saw queues for the slides. In addition to the pools there is also a well equipped gym (adults only), multi-sport pitch, climbing wall (can only be used one evening a week), table tennis tables and a good sized playground with bouncy castle. There is also a spa, which can be used by adults for a few euros, although I didn't go in so can't really comment on it.

Wifi is free and the signal is strong throughout the site but the drawback is that you are only provided with one code per pitch and it's not possible to buy any more. It's obviously a good way of ensuring there's enough band width to go around but it causes lots of arguments when you're camping with two teenagers! 

There's a takeaway next to reception, which we didn't try, and you can also order bread and pastries for the following morning from the shop. The shop itself isn't really up to much and is limited to little more than drinks and ice creams but this isn't a problem as there's a good supermarket less than a mile up the road.

Luz Saint Sauveur is a lovely little town and is only a ten minute walk away. There are several very good restaurants and bars, plus the usual bakers, butchers and ski shops and a good tourist information.

An impressively well run site in beautiful surroundings. 10/10.

The Big Trip - Unisex facilities and not quite conquering fears

It's not unusual for French campsites to have unisex 'facilities' and this site is one of them. Everything's also in the same block - toilets, showers, washing up sink and laundry facilities and after a day or two you get used to listening to people on the loo while you're washing up. Not everyone takes it in their stride though and yesterday morning I was doing some ironing (dull but hear me out) when three young Spanish men came in. I couldn't understand everything they were saying but two of them were clearly laughing at the third and I guessed that he didn't just want a quick wee. The only free cubicle was right next to the ironing board and he kept looking from me, to the cubicle door and back again, obviously weighing up how desperately he needed to go. Very it seems as he eventually went in. Queue lots of coughing and flushing the toilet over and overand a very red face when he came back out. I don't think he saw me laughing because he was out of the door and gone in seconds!

We decided to go over to Pic du Midi, one of the higher mountains in the Pyrenees. The drive there took us up the Col du Tourmalet, a ridiculously high mountain pass, famous for the Tour de France and an absolutely terrifying drive when you're scared of heights. The poor kids got yelled at every time they spoke as I was too busy to listen to them. Busy alternating between not looking down and looking down to make sure we didn't fall off of the road! 

Up and over the pass, past hundreds of knackered cyclists, takes you to La Mongie, a small ski village from where you get the cable cars up to the top of the Pic du Midi. Again, not a great idea when you're scared of heights but the scenery was quite a distraction and I was rewarded with a great view of a bearded vulture, flying at the same level as the cable car (I didn't know it was a beareded vulture until we read the info sheets at the top but I knew I'd never seen one before).

Unfortunately it was very cloudy at the top so we only got glimpses of the views but we had a good look round the observatory up there and the English guide told us all about the history of the place. It's quite an eerie place, especially when it's in the clouds but the history and current projects being conducted there are really interesting.

I clearly secretly liked the cable car as today we went to Pont d'Espagne, which also included rides in chairlifts and cable cars. I'd seen pictures of this place and been told how stunning it is but words just don't do it justice. From the blue/green lake at the top (Lac de Gaube) down to the huge waterfall at the Pont d'Espagne it's all just breathtaking.

Anybody that tells you that chairlifts are safe are clearly lying though. These poor souls must have slipped out on their way down, leaving only their rucksacks behind.

Tomorrow is a relatively early start as we're going white water rafting. They're picking us up from the site at 9am, which according to the kids is an unreasonably early hour. Going back to school is going to be interesting....

The Big Trip - Deval Mountain and a bit of a storm

After a lazy first full day in France we decided to take a trip with Deval Mountain. This basically consists of them driving you to the top of a mountain from where you hurtle back down on a scooter. 

At the time of booking I thought it seemed like a fun, exciting thing to do but for the first half hour of clinging on for my life all I could think about was how I was going to manage to drive around Europe for the next 7 weeks with a broken arm/leg/neck! Some of the tracks were very narrow with steep drops at the side and there were huge rocks to dodge. Or not... When I dared to look up though the views of the mountains and valleys were stunning and the route took us through a couple of pretty mountain villages, which we would never have seen otherwise. 

One of them had a small stream running through an old mill and into a waterfall, where they'd installed a tap for drinking it. It's not the first time I've seen this but I still can't work out why they need a tap - why not just stick your head under the waterfall?

Anyway I'm glad we did the trip but never again!

Last night was an interesting one. We were woken up at 3:30am by a huge thunderstorm, right overhead. I love a good storm but because pitching under the huge tree no longer seemed like a great idea we decided to grab the sleeping bags and sit in the car. We stayed there for an hour watching the constant lightning before we decided the storm had moved far enough away for us to go back to bed. At 6:30 though it came back overhead, this time accompanied by hailstones the size of gobstoppers and lightning that would have done any Dracula film proud. The kids were too knackered to care anymore and decided to take their chances in their beds but I got up and grabbed the GoPro.

The tent inspection after the storm thankfully revealed no damage, just mud splattered up the sides. The tent opposite now has a torn window though so it seems we got off lightly!

Today's trip was a visit to Lourdes. I've never been particularly interested in the place but as we were only half an hour away it seemed silly not to go have a look. First impressions of the town were that it's just all a bit ridiculous. Isaac described it as a Frence version of Scarborough but where the tat shops are full of tacky statues of Saint Bernadette and empty plastic bottles for carrying the water home. He's not wrong.

On the way to the famous cave we got a bit lost (although I don't know why we didn't just follow the hundreds of people all heading in the same direction) and ended up at an attraction called Little Lourdes. It turned out to be a happy accident. It's a beatifully created model village of Lourdes 'back in the day' and you walk round with a CD player that tells the story of Bernadette. The kids were a bit underwhelmed (they couldn't be bothered to listen to the CD) so snapchatted their way round but I love the history stuff and it gave me some pointers of things to go looking for in the real town, most of which are hidden down little alleys off the pilgrim trail.

We eventually found the cathedral and cave and even the kids had to admit that it's quite a sight. The cathedral is enormous and elaborate and you can't help but be impressed. I found the cave quite depressing though. Hundreds of people in wheelchairs all queuing up for ages for their 10 seconds in the cave and just as many queuing up to fill their bottles from one of the twelve water taps. I wonder if any of them got their miracle. Probably not.

The Big Trip - Kit Review (Newgate/Regina/Creston/Dreamboat)

Just over a week into the trip seems like a good time to review some more stuff and think about whether our opinion of the tent has changed. 

The tent - Outwell Newgate 5

So far so good. No damage to report and only minor fading, despite the lovely weather we had last week.

The layout suits us well, especially now we have a bit more space than we did in Spain so we can sit outside to eat. We've lost a big corner to storage with the clothes rail but even so we still have plenty of room to move about without falling over each other, as long as we stay disciplined with tidying up. There lies the challenge!

The porch area at the front is probably my favourite feature. It fits two kitchen stands in very well so we don't have to cook inside or leave everything outside to get wet if it rains.

No doubt the tent will feel like it's shrinking as the weeks go on but so far we have no complaints.

The kitchen stands - Regina and Creston

I needed two kitchen stands that are small enough to fit in the porch, will provide enough storage and will also be weather proof if they do end up staying outside.

The Regina was the obvious choice for the bigger of the two. I've had one before and thought it was easy to erect and a great size. The problem with my old one was that the top wasn't waterproof and has been damaged by rain over the years but the new version has a bamboo top, which is far more weaterproof and looks good too. The built in cupboard is a good size and zips up to keep the critters out so is great for food storage.

It's a fraction too big to have two though so I went for a Creston for the other side. This is smaller and lighter than the Regina and sits very well either up against the front of the tent, or sideways as I've chosen to have it. It's a perfect size for the stove and comes with a windshield, plus a cupboard (smaller than the Regina) and a wire rack for the bottom. The cupboard is a bit fiddly to attach and is open at the top so it's not as useful for food storage but I found it good for storing plates, pans, etc. This week though I'm leaving the cupboard off as the kitchen storer bag fits well underneath so I'm going to see if that works better for me.

The beds - Dreamboat 12cm and 7.5cm

This was the most important thing to get right as we all know that a bad night's sleep leads to grumpy campers.

We got our first Dreamboats last year (7.5cm) and found them significantly better than any other SIM, airbed or camp bed we've ever tried. They provide good insulation, are ridiculously comfortable and pack away to a decent size so we thought we'd found the ultimate solution. Until I tried the 12cm version in February. I had to have one straight away but they're not cheap so I tried to con the kids into believing there was no real difference. I failed and after a few days of arguing relented and ordered another one for Amelia, meaning that Isaac now has two 7.5cms ones stacks and actually wins!

A week into the trip we have no complaints and the only thing that's prevented a good night's sleep is the heat. We're not craving real beds yet!

The Big Trip - a long drive on a stupidly hot day

We had planned on leaving Spain at 9am but decided instead to load and hitch up the trailer and then have a big, relaxed breakfast in the site restaurant. A good move as none os were stressed when we finally set off at 10:30. At home I always seem to be in a rush to do everything but 8 days in Spain has calmed me down and I was happy that we literally had al day to get to the next site. 

The thought of driving through Spain and France for 6 hours was initially quite daunting but it turned out to be an absolute pleasure. Drivers in Spain and France are courteous and obey the rules with no middle lane morons, nobody tearing past at the speed of sound and nobody tailgating. The scenery was breathtaking too with the Pyrenees in clear site for most of the trip. The best thing though is that in France you can tow your trailer at the national speed limit so we were up at 80mph on empty motorways as soon as we reached the border.

We arrived at the site in just over 6 hours but were a bit confused over what language we were supposed to be speaking. I spoke to the site owner in French, she answered in English and then I replied to her in Spanish. Once we add Italian and German into the mix over the next few weeks we could be in real trouble!

I normally love pitching my tent but for the first time ever I hated it. We'd chosen the hottest day to travel and by the time we reached the site it was 40 degrees. Too hot to function or even to speak to each other bt we still had to get the thing pitched. It was literally a case of hammer in a couple of pegs, drink a litre of water and rest in the shade from the car. Over and over again. We've pitched under a huge sycamore though so with any luck it will be a bit cooler in the tent in the mornings, although we were very tempted to abandon the pitching and just sleep on the grass!

I couldn't really complain though - the pitch and site are beautiful and the view of the mountains is fantastic.

Once pitched we had a walk up to the town, Luz Saint Sauveur, less than a mile from the site. Luz is a ski resort so it seemed very weird walking past all the ski shops when it was so hot and even more weird that some of them were open and selling Winter clothing. It's a beautiful little town though and it feels like a great place to be based. We were very lucky to (accidentally) choose a bar/restaurant where the owners are English - the first English voices we've heard in days and so nice not to have to practice our French after a long and tiring day!

The Big Trip - More sidra and a dunking (includes site review for Camping Ribadesella)

After the kid's late night at the fiesta (apparently they got back about 3am) we had a lazy day at the site but not before I'd been and bought sidra at the local supermarket. Drinking local sidra in the sun on a hot day is absolute heaven but first we had to work out how to pour it. Because it has very little fizz in it, it needs to be poured from a height. You only pour a couple of inches into the glass each time too so it's quite a lot of effort but it's definitely worth it. The locals make it look really easy, holding the bottle above their heads and the glass by their knees but I just ended up with cider all up my arm and down my leg. Isaac was surprisingly good at it though!

An added bonus for the day was that the neighbours on both sides had left so we had plenty of room to stretch out in the sun. The lack of space is my only real gripe with the site, even though I expected it, so being able to sit out and move about was lovely. It also meant a better night's sleep as the shouty family next door had gone, although they left very early and all five of them shouted at each other the whole time they were packing up....

We went paddle boarding on our last day, something that we've done a couple of times before and absolutely loved. We booked a tour with Escuela Asturiana de Surf and Hugo met us at the beach in Niembro. This is a small estuary with beautiful, clear water and would be a fantastic place to spend the day. It's also a great place to get back into your stride on paddle boards as it's perfectly calm water until you head out towards the sea. 

After paddling through the little harbour and under a bridge to see the waterfall and old mill we turned back to head round to the sea. Cue tormenting teen terrorising me and Amelia by chasing us to try and push us in. He succeeded.

He was less confident as we got to the sea though and I'm happy to say he fell off a few times but I still need revenge for the dunking he gave me!

Back at the site it was time to spend an hour packing away everything but the absolute essentials. The drive to the next site should take us around 6 hours so we don't want to be setting off at lunchtime and packing away at leisure the evening before is far less stressful than rushing in the morning.

Camping in Spain has been a fantastic experience. Everyone's really laid back (except the shouty family) and the area is absolutely stunning, with so much to see and do that we're leaving with a long list of reasons to return. Although it takes two days to get here it is absolutely worth it and we will definitely visit again, although I'm going to learn some more Spanish first as I think we'd have got even more out of it if we'd have been able to have real conversations with people.

Next stop France.



The site - Camping Ribadesella

I chose the site mainly due to the distance from Santander (far enough away from the tourist parts but close enough so the drive to France wouldn't be too intense) but also for the facilities. I normally like campsites that are little more than a field and a loo but for this trip there needs to be enough for the teens to do on site so we can spend time there without them getting bored. Camping Ribadesella manages to strike the balance between providing everything the big commercial sites do and still retaining that peaceful feel.

The management and staff are all very helpful and friendly but most of them speak no English at all so you need to make an effort to speak Spanish. With a few key words/phrases and plenty of sign language we managed to get by and everyone seemed happy to help us learn the language.

It's a big, terraced site and the pitches are much smaller than we find in the UK but there are slightly bigger ones dotted about and the owners are happy for you to pick your own pitch if you're struggling like we were. Most pitches have 10amp EHU with the usual three pin plugs and the trip switches are on the posts. 

Shower blocks are dotted around the site and all are spotless with an army of cleaners constantly doing the rounds. The 'facilities' are exactly as you'd expect to find on a UK site and there are additional family toilet/shower rooms.

The main draw of the site is the pool area, with a large, outdoor pool with two slides plus an indoor pool (swimming caps compulsory). In addition to this there's a great indoor gym plus table tennis, pool, crazy golf, tennis and a multi-sports area. 

The restaurant opens early for breakfast and stays open until midnight and gets very lively on an evening, especially if there's entertainment on (a couple of nights a week). The music can be heard all over the site so if you like to be in bed early the site probably isn't for you but otherwise I'd highly recommend it.

The Big Trip - Dinosaurs and a fiesta

"Mum, we're going out tonight and we're not going to get back until 6am."
"Ok. Wait, WHAT?!"

The kids have apparently reached the age where they don't need to ask permission and they'd arranged to go to the local fiesta with their Spanish friends. Queue minor meltdown from me. Through the course of the morning I went from "No bloody way" to "You can go to the parade and fireworks but I'm going too and it's back by 11" to "Ok, you can go but I'm going to be there, I'll just hide behind a tree so I don't cramp your style" to, finally and because having two teens nagging as a team is just too much, "Whatever."

They were decent enough to be shocked that I'd actually agreed (with a couple of conditions) so
I was in for an afternoon of dragging them around places I wanted to go without the usual complaining that 'it's not really our thing.' I chose the dinosaur footprint at Playa de la Griega, which sneakily took us through the fiesta village where I was reassured to see dozens of policemen, even at that early stage of the day.

If I'd researched it a bit better I would have known that Playa de la Griega is the beach where the entire population of Northern Spain goes on a weekend and would have gone midweek but we did eventually find somewhere to park. The beach itself is fabulous. It's split in two by the river, which widens to form a shallow(ish) calm area, great for swimming, before tipping out into the sea. Swimming in the sea would be a bit trickier as the waves are quite big and the water gets deep very quickly at high tide but bodyboarding would be fun there.

The dinosaur footprints are about half a mile along the cliff path and you don’t need any imagination to see them (unlike some places we’ve visited before). There were a few different footprints and an information board explains what they’re from but the large sauropod ones were the most impressive.

We also visited Llastres, a beautiful fishing village a bit further along the coast. It's a fascinating little place with steep alleys and small terraces, overlooking the little harbour. Unfortunately it was pretty much closed. We got there about 5pm, which is a dead time nearly everywhere we went, being both two hours after the afternoon and two hours before the evening! Luckily there were strategically placed vending machines so could at least get a drink before returning to the site.

The kids went off to the fiesta at about 11pm, with lots of instructions from me. "Don't split up from each other or your friends." "Speak to the police there if you have a problem." "Don't drink too much." "Don't stay any longer than 2am." "Keep in regular contact with me....."

00:53 text message from Isaac:

STILL ALIVE

Sh'rupp. Don't care. Sleeping. Zzzzzzzzzz

The Big Trip. It's all about the sidra.

Getting up in the morning is becoming harder and harder for the kids. They're getting on really well with their Spanish friends, despite the language barrier and they've found a picnic table outside the site, overlooking the estuary, where they sit and play cards until 2am every night. It's great for them and I'm really pleased they've thrown themselves into trying to speak Spanish but it would be nice if they could get up before 10am occasionally!

I much prefer being outside than in and when you're in such a beautiful, unspoilt area you're never short of somewhere to go or things to see. We went horse riding on Friday at Cuadra El Alisal, which is only a short drive from the site. It's a great little place where you don't need any experience - health and safety here is far less restrictive here than at home! The ride took us across farmland next to the river Sella for a while, before climbing up into the hills, through some tiny villages where they all hang corn from their balconies to dry it. It was a lovely insight into Asturian rural life. We rode for two hours, which was about 90 minutes too long for Isaac, who swore he'd never ride again. Something about the male anatomy and trotting apparently....

Before going back to the campsite we decided to try and found the local road cave. Several cars had passed us on the ride, only to turn back and Davide (our guide) told us they were probably looking for it so we figured it was probably worth a look. After driving up the wrong mountain twice we eventually found it and were glad we made the effort. La Cuevona de Cuevas del Agua has to be seen to be believed. It's a natural cave through the mountain where a road was laid to access the village of Cuevas del Agua. Although there are some dim lights inside, these are all pointing upwards to show stalactites and other interesting formations and don't provide any light on the road at all. You can't tell from the photos just how dark it is in there but on a sunny day you literally can't see anything for the first second or two, even with the headlights on. The novelty of driving through was great but we then parked up and walked through both ways, which was brilliant. There are small caves within the cave plus a stream and stalactites of all shapes and sizes to look at. We've paid to visit lesser caves in England but this is the only route home for the villagers.

By far the highlight of the trip so far was our visit to Casa Adolfo in the evening. I'd read about this tiny bar on Trip Advisor but the last review was well over a year ago so I wasn't sure it was still open. It's only a five minute walk from the site though so we wandered down for a look. It's accessed via a tiny alley (breathe in!) and from the outside it looks really run down and unloved. The group of Spanish men sitting in the sun, enjoying a cider after work suggested it was popular with the locals though so we gave it a go. They're clearly not used to strangers here as they went quiet as we approached (picture a Western saloon....) but then greeted us with smiles a and 'hola!' Phew! Inside was no less grotty than the outside but the owner was friendly and really patient with my crap Spanish as I asked if we could eat there. The kids ordered ham and chips but I was told I would be having calamares y sidra. Arguing in Spanish is well beyond my capabilities so that was that and off she went to cook for us. The food was excellent but it was my first taste of Asturian cider that made the night. It's nothing like the stuff we get at home and it looks really dubious. It comes in a 70cl green bottle and the contents look murky with bits floating in it. It's not really fizzy as it's literally just fermented apples so it's poured from a height to get some life in it. The first taste is very weird. It tastes of apple, obviously, but with a subtle hint of TCP... Don't let that put you off trying it if you ever get the chance though. Get past that first sip and it's one of the nicest drinks you'll find.

Immediately opposite the bar is a horreo, an old granary on stilts which are found all over the region. They were built to protect against rodents and some are several hundred years old. Very pretty and a photo stop was necessary before staggering back to the site.

The Big Trip. Stunning scenery and Spanish Disney. (Plus a Newgate 5 review).

So we've had a few days in Spain now and I'm starting to get my head round the language. The danger of insisting on staying away from the tourist centres as much as possible is that nobody understands a word you're saying and my Spanish is beyond crap. The Google Translate app is an absolute godsend (it pronounces everything for you!) and with a combination of that, lots of pointing and muttering random Spanish words we're just about getting by. I don't think I can eat much more chorizo though....

This area of Spain is absolutely stunning. We have the Picos mountains behind us, the stunning, rugged coast in front and everywhere else is a combination of tiny villages and unspoilt countryside. There's so much to do you can't possibly cram it all into a week but I always think it's good to leave a place with reasons to return.

We had a fantastic time the other day, managing to fit in three of our must sees in one day. We started at Covadonga, which is a bit of a bonkers place, absolutely teeming with history. There are a couple of beautiful lakes to visit but it was really the holy sanctuary we went to see. It's a tiny church built into a cave, high up in the mountain and is the burial place of two ancient kings. People queue to attend mass there but in between you can visit inside, as long as you don't talk or take photos. You can buy a postcard though....

From there we moved on to Cangas de Onis, the once capital of Asturias. It's now really just a tourist town full of restaurants and gift shops but the Roman bridge (Puente Romana) is stunning and well worth a visit, even if only to paddle in the crystal clear river underneath.

After a couple of days in Europe I consider myself an expert in driving on the right so plucked up the courage to take the mountain roads back to the site. 15km/h is acceptable, right? It wasn't actually too bad. Apart from the steep drops on the blind bends. It's a good job I'm not scared of heights or anything.... We were well rewarded though as we stopped off at Mirador del Fito, a lookout point at the top of a mountain. The views across the Picos mountains and out to the coast are jaw dropping and even the usually underwhelmed teens were impressed.

Back at the site everyone was starting to come to life and they were holding a karaoke night (apparently this is some kind of celebration week in Spain so they're all in a party mood, although I can't work out what they're celebrating). Diva daughter had a fantastic time and was a bit of a novelty. She sang a few times, including a duet with a young Spanish girl, but had to stop when they ran out of English songs. Unfortunately they had the Spanish version of 'Let it Go' so we had to sit through that several times. It's no less irritating in Spanish but I managed to order a bottle of rioja so soon stopped caring!

I'm still not quite getting this idea of lazy mornings and late nights but the kids definitely are. They've made friends with a group of Spanish teens and its apparently quite normal for them to come in at 2am, long after I've gone to bed.

The Tent - Outwell Newgate 5

I got a new tent for this trip because I knew how small some of the European pitches were likely to be. Honestly, it really wasn't just because I wanted one.

As we're living in it for 8 weeks it had to tick pretty much every box. It needed to be polycotton, 5 berth with a decent sized living space, poles rather than air beams (I'm far too lazy to be checking air pressure all the time in the changing temperature), and no longer than 6.5m. The Outwell Newgate 5 was the only way to go really and so far I think it's perfect, although I'll review it again in a few weeks when we've been living in it while.

There are two bedrooms, a 3 berth and a 2, although in practical terms that means a 2 berth and a 1. The bigger of the two rooms takes two single Outwell Dreamboat 12cm SIMs exactly. There's no room for anything around the edges and they're pushed together quite tightly (without pushing the inner tent against the outer, thankfully) so it makes a really good double bed. The smaller room takes a single SIM and allows a small amount of storage down the side. I'll post a review of the SIMs another day.

I'd only pitched the tent a couple of times before so was really pleased when it only took us about half an hour to get it pitched and pegged (after we'd worked out how to cope with the dip at the back of the pitch). With a bit more practice I think it will take about 20 minutes.

The living area is a great size, giving us plenty of space for three chairs, a table and clothes rail, while still allowing plenty of room to move about. Because we're away for a long time we've had to bring more clothes, etc than normal with us and there isn't really room to store everything without it getting cluttered but for a normal 2 week trip it would be fine. This time we're keeping the stuff we don't yet need in the trailer.

The best thing I think though is the built in canopy over the front, which gives us an outdoor but sheltered kitchen area, not that I'm doing much cooking on this trip... I've managed to get two small kitchen stands in it so we have somewhere to prep as well as cook, and plenty of storage. Alternatively it would also make a great place to sit.

We’ve only been here a few days so my view might change over the coming weeks but so far I think it was a great choice. It’s far, far cooler inside than out and the tinted windows give you some degree of privacy. There are only two minor gripes at this stage, both relating to the bedrooms. They’re mainly polyester so although the ventilation is very good they still get significantly warmer than the rest of the tent. It gets us out of bed in a morning though! The other thing is that the curtain and the mesh for the bedroom doors are now completely separate. You can still have one or both open/closed but I preferred it when the curtain zipped to the mesh, which avoided extra zipping. I know. I’m too fussy!

The Big Trip. 18th century ships, garlic pork and crossed guyropes.

So it finally arrived and here we are in Spain at the start of our 'Big Trip.' Three years planning and even longer saving but we now have a whole Summer of fun, adventures and exploring ahead of us.

I'm not going to dwell too much on the journey to Spain as it was pretty much two days of misery but we made it. We spent the night before the ferry crossing on a lovely campsite near Tavistock and there's a review at the end of this post for those that are interested.

One thing about the crossing was worth mentioning. We had a private balcony (I sold my soul to get a posh, Commodore cabin) so we got a great view of L'Hermione sailing past. It's a replica of the 1779 ship that carried General Lafayette to the US to take part in the American Revolutionary War. Just so you know. Anyway, it looked pretty cool from our balcony!

Everything else about the crossing needs to be forgotten - it was a bit on the rough side and my sea legs aren't what they used to be so moving on.....

First thoughts on camping in Spain are that the pitches are small. Very small. I'd read this in the vast amount of research I did but I was still surprised. We couldn't even fit on the first pitch they gave us but they let us find another one and we managed to fit on that with a bit of creativity and by leaving the car in the car park.
You also really have to love thy neighbour. Crossed guyropes are the norm and you can hear them breathing in the next tent, although that could have something to do with the fact that just about everyone smokes. I wonder if that's why I haven't seen many old Spanish people....

The other thing is that, on this site at least, quiet time is from midnight until 8am. Roughly translated that means that everyone, including young children stay up and lively until midnight but on the chime it's as if someone has flicked a switch and it goes silent. Evenings are definitely when they prefer to live around here.

We're pretty much the only Brits here (in the whole of Asturias it seems) and we're going to have to learn some Spanish pretty sharpish because we managed to come back from the supermarket with garlic pork instead of bacon and 200g of everything we could pronounce from the deli counter because the girl there taught us 'doscientos.' I also got put in my place by the site owner - I asked him if he speaks English. "No. We are Spanish." Oops! Serves me right!

Anyway, enough of the dull, getting to Spain post. More to follow when we've had chance to explore a bit.


The site
Woodovis Park near Tavistock was where we had our quick stopover but I wish we could have stayed longer. It's the kind of place where you can take teens who don't love camping for camping's sake and don't relish the thought of staying in a field with "nowt to do."

We were knackered and grumpy when we got there but the site owners are lovely and gave us a pitch where we could drive on/off without unhitching the trailer. They're the kind of people who remember your name and make you feel like you've known them forever.

There are two main areas for tents (plus statics to hire and some hard standings for the tin tenters). All pitches come with EHU as standard and there are some pitches that also have their own water supply and TV aerial socket, although I'm not sure whether that's just on the hard standings.

We were on the top field, which is opposite reception, the games room and the main shower block. You can also see the play area from all of the pitches up there and the swimming pool is just around the corner. Yes I did say swimming pool. Included in the pitch fees are full use of the pool, hot tub and infra red sauna. Absolutely the best thing ever after an eight hour drive of misery! There's also a covered boules area and a large playing field.

The top field is quite lively during the day just because of where it is but it's absolutely silent after 10pm - they even turn off the hand driers and ask you to use paper towels so you don't disturb everyone!

The bottom field is a bit more out of the way an a lot quieter but still has facilities close by.

There are two toilet/shower blocks on the site and these are immaculate. You control the water flow and temperature of the showers and you don't have to press a button every 15 seconds. They also supply shower gel! There is also a launderette plus indoor and outdoor washing up areas.

There's a touch screen tourist information board in the games room with lots to do in the local area and the Copper Penny Inn at the end of the (long) drive is a great place to go for food and a drink.

All in all this is a fantastic site with lots of facilities but still retaining a small, friendly site feel to it. It comes at a price of course and we paid £35 for one night, which increases in the high season. Is it worth it though? Absolutely!