Home or Away?

[grahamr_5041507]

A friend of mine and I were seriously considerng a vanning trip to Britanny next year, but have now decided to stay at home - are we missing something?

Firstly there is a lot of additional work to be done for going abroad, permission for the compnay car and insurance, breakdown etc, planning overnight stops on route, nerves regarding wrong side of road towing, headlight covers and triangles (tiny detail but a consideration nontheless), passport for the dog, putting the little fella in a ferry kennel, thinking about electric sockets compatability, having to name the daughters friend who may well have changed by travel time, and insurances for every last thing. The list seemed endless just to cross 20 miles of water.

Thats before the ferry cost which at £450 for good crossing or £150 if you fancy hundreds of miles from Calais.....

I estimated total cost for the holiday before spending money circa £800 vs. about £200 for staying at home with non of the above hassles.

Is the Brittany climate that much different mid-summer, can i take or leave the french experience for all what seemed to be 'agro'. We decided to stay at home and can now book much later and more or less hitch up and go.

So, are we missing out on that much by saving the money and travellng within the UK?

 

[rob_jax]

Are you missing something?

I'd say yes, especially if you or one of your party speaks French. Eating, drinking and French culture is exactly as you would expect and often better...

The channel is a bit wider than 20 miles by the time you get to Brittany, and the weather in Brittany compared to Cornwall is usually better by the same difference as between Cornwall and Wales...

And if travelling out of school holidays, if the weather looks a bit iffy in Brittany, we've just headed south to the Loire - and never needed to pre-book either...

Driving on the traffic free roads from Calais to Brittany - for us means an overnight (or longer) stop in Normandy - and that's nice and different too... Maybe that's one of the real charms of France - the regions still have different characters...

Robert

 

[nrdonnelly]

Hi Graham,

I've toured Brittany in motorhomes and caravans and I really feel that it's worth the extra hassle but obviously the money issue is always the major hurdle. A lot of that grief can be dialled out by getting either of the main club travel services, Alan Rogers or Eurocamp to compile you an itinerary, book the crossings and sort out the insurance. The climate probably isn't much different, but I've only ever had really good weather so it probably influences my thinking. The main attraction is the landscape and the space. It's a lot quieter and more peaceful than Cornwall but enjoys the similarly rugged scenery. It's much harder to get a pasty though...

Nigel Donnelly

Editor

Practical Caravan

 

[Countrylass]

Graham

We've never taken our van to France as it's a two day trip to get as far as a ferry but we've been several times with Canvas Holidays, Matthews Holidays and latterly Carisma and found the weather as variable as it can be here. Last June we had rain at some time every day but one day of our two weeks and were glad we'd packed waterproofs and fleeces. Two years ago at the same time we had endless sunshine and no rain!!

We've also had brilliant weather in September on occasion so I don't think you can ever generlise.

April

 

[grahamr_5041507]

Interesting thoughts. Noone in our party speaks French so that puts me off (only due to our ignorance). I think for this year we need the hassle free uk option, I find vanning is much better done with plenty of time and no added pressures. The thought of a reluctant teeenager as well as the rest of the considerations is too much!

Scotland/South Wales is an option tons of space up there and only costs