Final thoughts

This has not been one of our most successful trips, although we have enjoyed it and have actually achieved a great deal. To be fair it didn't start off well, with health issues and our normal pre-trip preparation out of the window together with problems with Bertie which dogged us throughout the trip. Then having reached our objective, Nordkap, it was so disappointing that the weather refused to cooperate and indeed spoiled almost all of our time in Norway itself. Yes we bought the videos and books but it's not the same.

But that's life, so some general observations. First of all it was, as expected, a long long drive – just short of 6000 miles in total which in five and a bit weeks is a lot. Limiting ourselves to around 200 miles per day and no more than four hours driving helped, as did the few “days off” we took along the way. There are few motorways in Scandinavia athough the main roads are generally well maintained and traffic free. We would certainly recommend that you need six weeks minimum.

The advice to drive north through Sweden then return through Norway was spot on. We'd just add that if you are intending to return south without touring the fjord areas, come back into Sweden; the roads are much better and it is somewhat cheaper. The E6 through Norway was an awful drive. Norway, in particular, is very good at springing tolls on you unexpectedly and we're waiting to see how many we used – they send you the bill at home if you haven't made other arrangements.

There's no getting away from it, Scandinavia can be expensive. We do not have any extravagant habits, such as regular meals and drinks out, but even so we felt that things were still just that bit more expensive than the UK. Food shopping can be economised by using the chain supermarkets; we found Coop (not Co-op) to be quite reasonable. Fuel was about on a par with UK prices and didn't seem to vary much although maybe it was a little more the further north we went. Forget buying alcohol, even if you can find the shops! Souvenir shopping is, as everywhere a rip-off but sometimes you have to – stuffed fluffy reindeer anybody?

Despite all we've read about being able to stop anywhere, it turned out not to be as simple as that, especially on the main roads. In Norway rest areas and dump stations were frequent and well marked but we encountered several places which had notices discouraging overnight parking. Campsites, however, were everywhere with usually superb facilities and free wifi but at around £20 per night which did not always include electricity. To be fair due to our problems we did not get far off the main roads so things may well be different in quieter areas. Do get the Keycard, a camping carnet card which almost all campsites want. You can buy it at your first campsite but it is easier to order before you go and the first site will validate it for you. It also offers discounts on a wide range of things – we saved 10% off the ferry fare from Germany to Denmark, which alone paid the cost of the card itself.

Without exception we found the people everywhere to be friendly and helpful, but not pushy. The best part, though, was that everybody speaks English naturally, as a second language. Just as well because thankyou (tak) was about the best we could do otherwise!

So would we go back? Yes, but probably only to south west Norway, the area we really wanted to see and didn't. Sweden was fine if you like trees for scenery, as was Finland, and probably has more to offer than we encountered but we don't feel the urge to return, except maybe to concentrate on a particular area. Visiting Father Christmas, of course, is every kids dream.........

Next blog -  Winter Trip to Southern Europe and Morocco.

Friday 8 July 2016 - Wissant homeward

Early start so that we can get Jamie checked in with the Pet Passport then get our Scandinavian cash changed - don't like using port-based Bureaux de Change 'cos they're a right rip-off but we've little alternative so we just grin and accept it. Allocated a slightly earlier than booked train which meant it all worked out very well and we enjoyed an uneventful crossing.

Can't really say the same about the drive north though; UK roads are so much more crowded and everybody is rushing all the time so by the time we arrived at Mums we were exhausted. Much prefer to drive abroad!

A pleasant afternoon and evening, a last night in the van (saves work for Mum) then an uneventful drive home on Saturday. Mountains of post of course and the lawn grass was two feet high; you sometimes wonder if it's worth going away.............

Thursday 7 July - Wissant

Last day of our trip as such as we're booked onto the 0950 Chunnel tomorrow and from there will make our way up to Lincolnshire to stopover with Terrys Mum for one night, returning home all being well on Saturday.

Another warm dry and sunny day, the solar panel having recharged the batteries before we got up, the morning was spent quietly with the occasional foray when Jamie started complaining - he doesn't like sitting doing nothing and in fairness this isn't an ideal place for an inquisitive pup. Took the opportunity of reviewing the photographs we've taken (over 400) and ready them for a slideshow for Mum tomorrow and realised that, despite the negatives, we've actually had a good time with some fine pictures bringing back good memories.

After lunch we thought we'd take Jamie down to the beach for a run around, but of course had forgotten that French schools are now on holiday and Wissant is a favourite spot. Also with the tide being in there wasn't a lot of beach and what there was was absolutely jam packed with young French families; we couldn't even let the lead out as apart from into the sea there was nowhere to go. So we walked up into the town proper and had an ice-cream before returning to Bertie, taking the chance whilst it was still quiet to empty the waste tanks to save time in the morning.

So that's about it - we'll post a note to complete our journey once we get home. Hope you've enjoyed reading this rubbish.

Wednesday 6 July – Gravelines to Wissant

The weather has finally decided to buck up and the day started, and remained, warm sunny and dry. After a chat with a solo Brit parked next to us we had breakfast and walked into the town to see if we could find the vet mentioned in our database.

We were delighted to find a very nice, typical French town with lots of bars and restaurants, although not much of anything else, including the vet we were looking for. However there was a Tourist Information office so we called in and the lady found a vet, just on the outskirts of town. Just a tad too far to walk we made our way back to the van and drove round – but of course typically for us it had just closed however they checked and said come back after 2.00 pm. It turned out that it happened to be the vets morning off so we would have had to come back anyway.

Returned to the parking to relax and have lunch before returning. We were met by a very nice lady vet who spoke good English (although we did of course speak French to her; it's only polite but she was better at it than us....) A thorough checkup followed by administration of a tablet – Jamie doesn't like tablets and was having none of it... until Madame La Docteur sorted him out; must remember how to do that. Paperwork completed and we were relieved of €43; bit of a rip-off really but it would probably cost the same at home.

With Jamie sorted, our next task was to refuel and get some final shopping in, so headed off to our usual haunt of Auchan in west Calais to get that completed. We now have to wait a minimum of 24 hours before we can take Jamie back to the UK so we headed off south to a favourite aire at Wissant, which turned out to be almost full but we found a nice pitch. Then on the phone to Eurotunnel to rearrange the return crossing for Friday which of course cost us a surcharge being so close to the departure time.

So now we've nothing left to do for a day or so except enjoy whatever nice weather we get.

Tuesday 5 July – Neukirchen Vluyn to Gravelines

Dull, breezy start but at least it'sn not raining (yet) so after the usual back on the road, stopping temporarily when the fruitbowl, which hasn't moved in the last five weeks, decided to jump onto the floor! That cleared up we headed for Holland, only around 45km away on the motorways, stopping again to refill the LPG bottles and the fuel tank.

The roads were very busy as we crossed Holland, only a short distance as we are quite close to where Germany, Holland, Belgium and France are close together. Then into Belgium where it was busier still, especially around Antwerp but at least it moved relatively quickly and we had no holdups.

Finally turning onto the Ostende road, we took a lunch break just after Ghent, deciding we would head to Gravelines, get settled and plan our next moves from there. So that is what we did, discovering a vet within a few minutes walk of the aire de camping-car who we'll go and visit tomorrow. After that we'll rebook the Chunnel and maybe head into Calais for some shopping while waiting the required 24 hours before we can take Jamie back into the UK..

Monday 4 July - Neukirchen Vluyn

With the sun shining brightly on a warm sunny morning, we decided to stay another day so a lazy morning. Bren had a bit of a cleanup in the van whilst Terry had another look at the engine problem.

We're pretty sure now what it is but fixing it is another thing; for the most part the engine behaves normally but under certain conditions it misfires. For the technically minded, we think the turbocharger wastegate valve is sticking partially open. It's going to have to wait for a garage to fix, meanwhile we'll just take it easy.

After lunch we took Jamie for a walk into town, looking to change our Scandinavian currency but the only bank wouldn't do it (not a customer) neither would the DHL Postbank. So we'll have to find a proper Bureau de Change. So back to the van for more relaxation and get ready to move on tomorrow.

Sunday 3 July – Sittensen to Neukirchen Vluyn

Sunday morning, no rush and bacon & eggs! Nice morning so after breakfast serviced Bertie and gave him a bit of a wash, well got the worst off anyway. We know it will inevitably rain but it's a start. Last off this pleasant little spot – there were 14 vans parked overnight – and back onto the autobahns which were very busy, not with trucks which were all parked up in the rest areas, but it seemed everybody else was out rushing around the countryside.

Held up once or twice by roadworks and surprisingly often when three lanes became two. Saw one monumental traffic jam going the other way, caused by a breakdown being recovered right at the start of roadworks and nobody could get past the breakdown truck. As predicted we also suffered some very heavy rain showers but generally it was a nice run.

A comfort stop turned into a lunch break just west of Osnabruck, then we carried on back on the route we used coming out. Around 5-ish near Essen we decided we'd had enough for the day so stopped to get our bearings and spotted a stellplatze only a few minutes away. We thought the name was vaguely familiar but it was only as we approached it we realised it had been our first stop in Germany outbound. So with the sun shining brilliantly out of a clear blue sky, got the chairs out, cracked a bottle of something cool and relaxed. Dependant upon the weather we might stop a couple of nights.

We are effectively now only one (long) days drive from Calais and about a week ahead of schedule. However our feelings are that we do not mind going home early, with all the problems we've had, so we'll probably change our Chunnel booking. But before that, of course, we have to take Jamie to a vet for his worming treatment and Pet Passport signature which will mean a couple of days delay. We'll take it one day at a time now.

Saturday 2 July – Ribe to Sittensen

For a change an earlier start for no particular reason to a bright and breezy day after quite heavy rain overnight. We're only 45km from the border so reasoning that things are cheaper in Germany we delayed our shopping stop until we found a Lidl. A bit necessary as we discovered the bottled water we'd bought was fizzy and the milk, err, wasn't milk – but it goes okay on cereal; have to get the dictionary out but we think it's soya.

Shortly after we topped up with fuel and also bought a German map, another of those items that got forgotten – remember our early posts? Then continue, first of all on straight and fast ordinary roads and after lunch onto the autobahn to Hamburg. No speed limit on this one which meant we were constantly being passed by cars doing well over 100 mph and not all of them modern high power types; an original Mini-Cooper was doing his best too! My Mum used to have one of those!

Roundabout Art

Unfortunately the weather deterorated until we were going from heavy shower, through sunshine to more rain. Hamburg was very wet but turning westbound towards Bremen, and incidentally rejoining our outbound route, we could see blue ahead of us so started planning our stop. Bren espied a likely looking place at Sittensen so navigated us to, basically, a car park on the edge of the town next to a watermill and museum. Joining several other vans already parked up, we noticed there were basic water ad waste facilities as well as excellent public loos close by and a lovely park across the road; a nice place to stop. And free!

A walk after a cuppa showed once again the town didn't have a lot going for it, but the exercise did us good and we returned for tea, now having been joined by several more motorhomes of varying nationality – the place is getting quite full. But the weather is still very changeable and we had further rain showers to come.

Parking at Sittensen

Friday 1 July – Frederiksvaerke to Ribe

An earlier start to a nice bright dry and warm day, although showers did develop later. However despite our intentions we still can't manage getaways until after 11.00! Never mind we're in no rush; our plan today is to head west to the coast then south down to Germany, stopping off wherever takes our fancy.

Initially a little bit of backtracking but then cross-country on excellent roads until we picked up the motorway to Odense. This part of Denmark is proud of its agricultural heritage, evident from the many farms and smallholdings along the way. It is also relatively flat. Odense is on another “island” and is reached by another very long bridge, this one getting on for 10 miles, causing a degree of nervousness in the navigator. Expensive too – Dkr715 (£80) but cheaper than the ferry (although it doesn't take into account the longer drive of course).

Strange architecture - it's fallen over!

Lunch taken in a rest area before continuing on the motorway, with a short holdup due to a minor accident. A little later we turned off to once again go cross-country towards Ribes, said by the Rough Guide to be the centre of quite an attractive coastal area. There was a good choice of places to stop and we paused to select one, plumping for a restplatz right on the edge of the town – basically just a parking area for all types of transport with around 20 dedicated motorhome bays; a little tight perhaps but it's free and there is a service point.

A cuppa and we took Jamie for a walk to have a look at this old town. Very traditional Danish with an unusual church, which looked like (and probably was, the info board was in Danish) a new church had been built around another. Whatever, it was obviously important as it had a church school attached to it.

Return to the van for tea and a quiet evening. Unless we decide to have a look at the coast itself, we'll probably cross into Germany tomorrow. We're still having problems with the van although someone on MHF forum has come up with a possible solution, but we need to raise the front up to get at the suspect bit.