Quend-Plage-les Pins, Thursday, 1st January 2015

Sand dunes on Quend-Plage-les Pins

On this first day of the new year, we find ourselves back at the motorhome aire at Quend-Plage-les Pins, as when we came here last Saturday, the weather was rather atrocious and we didn’t get to enjoy a long walk on the beach as we had intended. So, after 4 very cold days at Broglie and La Suze-sur-Sarthe, we thought we would like to give it another go and we haven’t been disappointed.

The stunning setting sun at Quend-Plage-les Pins

We’ve just come back from said second attempt and it was just absolutely lovely, with a beautiful sky lit by a stunning setting sun and the tide completely out, which gave us masses of sandy beach to stroll on and for Beano to enjoy some proper ball-chasing time. It is obviously a very popular area for walkers, judging by the number of people joining us, even on this cold, winter day.

Belle Dune Eco Village

On the way down, we walked through what looks like a brand new Eco Village by the motorhome aire, and very charming it looks too, but I have the feeling that it is more a holiday complex rather than permanent homes, as most of the houses looked quite small. Still, it is very pretty indeed.

Closer

So we went back to Broglie yesterday after our two-day stay at La Suze-sur-Sarthe, which turned out to be free after all, as nobody came to collect fees and the paying machine was out of order. At Broglie, we took Beano for his pet-passport check and worming tablet, which made him very sick, and spent another very pleasant afternoon at the aire and walking along the Charentonne river to the water mill and beyond.

This morning, we got talking to a couple of ladies parked next to us on their 8-week break heading for Almería in south east Spain, as their 2 leisure batteries had packed up and their van wouldn’t start, so Adonis helped with a jump-start so that they could go merrily on their way to warmer climates. It just made us feel very grateful for our Elddis Autostratus serving us so well and not letting us down in the freezing cold. Our heating has worked very well, both on gas and electric, and it only takes a few minutes first thing in the morning to warm it up enough for me to get out of bed.

Broglie’s motorhome aire

This is it for now. We’ll do our shop in Auchan in Boulogne-sur-Mer tomorrow and then we’ll spend the rest of the day at Wissant, where we hope to go for another long walk on the gorgeous beach.

The start of a stunning sunset at Quen-Plage-les Pins, seen from the motorhome aire

Take 2

Take 3: fire in the sky!

We’ll be on the road again at Easter and we hope it’ll be much warmer then.