The Ham Nomads

5 Jan 2015. <GB-ENG> Poole, Dorset ⇒ <FR> Cherbourg; Villedieu-les-Poêles, Manche —

Woke up early in the McDonald's car park in Poole. Still dark. There was a gentleman policing the grounds for rubbish — there had been a bunch of litterbugs in the place overnight (not us, I hasten to add!). As breakfast was on from 5am, and it was now 5:30, we decided to go over and have a Macca's breakfast, only to find that the doors for eat-in don't open until 6! We spent a little time chatting to the groundsman I've already mentioned, and to another gentleman waiting for the doors to open, and then we went in, had a 30-minute Macca's breakfast, and then left for the Brittany Ferries Terminal, only about 15 minutes away. Very easy, and we were there in plenty of time to queue up for the ferry — they didn't start boarding us until 7.45.

First we had to go through a police check, to determine that we had no stowaways on board (although, according to all reports, all the stowaways are coming in the other direction!), then up and into the ferry. Looks like they've done it all before - it was so efficient. We left our van and went up to deck 7, where all the restaurants, shops, and general seating are. Most comfortable.

The ferry actually left port about 15 minutes early, at 8:15. The crossing was very quiet, the seas calm and, surprisingly for such a busy shipping lane, the Channel seemed devoid of other ships. The ferry is run by a French company, so all the announcements came through first in French, and only then in English (with a very strong, and delightful, French accent). But, for some reason, the Ferry runs on British time, so it was only when we came off that we had to adjust our clocks an hour forwards.

We're in France!

The passport check took only a minute or two, and then we were let loose on the Continent!

We left Cherbourg and set off on a comfortable drive southwards, taking easy roads so that Suzie had time to adjust to driving on the other side of the road. The one thing that really struck us, after the UK, was the absolute lack of litter on the sides of the roads. We even saw crews out spray-cleaning bridges. We think that maybe the UK has something to learn here!

We drove south to Villedieu-les-Poêles, where there was an Aire (a stopping place for motorhomes — we intend to make great use of these while on the Continent!) we could stop at in the town (just opposite the local hospital), and leaving us within striking distance of Mont-St-Michel for tomorrow should we decide to make that little detour. So we parked for the night in this delightful Normandy village, with the sound of a water cascade in the river nearby.

Distance driven — today, 89 miles ( 143 km ); to date, 10,229 miles ( 16,462 km )