Round up of the Post It stories, September to November 2014

We set off on this holiday with the intention of going to the Costa Brava, in Spain, to Sant Pere Pescador and thereafter only moving further south to keep good weather. Well we achieved that and found we could actually stay quite a while in one place if the location was correct for us. When we spent 16 nights at Sant Pere Pescador it was the longest we had ever spent in one place so to stay 24 nights at Pineda de Mar was a real achievement. I did not get itchy feet, which is what we expected, and we only left when the site was closing or else we would have stayed a further 7 nights before heading for home. Pineda was only about 50 miles further south so we did well and it just goes to show you do not need to travel far away to enjoy yourselves. We had originally thought about going south to Cambrils but as the weather was not any better, or in some places worse, we looked for somewhere closer with lots to do. We found that at Pineda, and we shall no doubt return time and time again. We enjoyed staying in the one place we are now considering going back to Spain early in the New Year for a couple of months. We would probably choose La Manga because we have friends living in the area and we know it well so would be able to get about easily. I think we would have to hire a car though if we were staying there for 6 weeks. 

We could not have been luckier with the weather. We had a half day driving in heavy rain on the way south, two nights when it rained at Sant Per Pescador, no rain at Pineda de Mar and the average daily temperature was probably around 25ºC during that time. At Pals we had a high of 28ºC at the weekend and on the Monday it cooled to 22ºC with rain showers to follow for 36 hours and the temperatures started to fall thereafter. The drive north was totally dry except for some light rain as we passed through Millau. So for a couple who hate the wet weather we did really well. They did say though that the hot and dry weather on the Costa Brava/Barcelona was not normal and they normally get more showers in October and a little bit cooler than we had. I was still in my shorts on the way home so that was good but had to put trousers on when we passed Clermont Ferrand. 

So we spent 60 nights away staying always on camping sites, most were ACSI and totalled 14 sites with 3 being ones we had previously stayed at. The total cost for the camping sites worked out at £805.80, an average of only £13.43 a night. The cheapest was only £9.79 at the Municipal site, Pont De L’Arche and the most expensive was £19.48 at Orcet. It too was an ACSI site but the discount was not available at that particular time of year. As a comparison our one night at the Club’s Black Horse Farm at the start of the holiday was £18.30. We were only ever charged once, and the first time ever I might add, for our cat when we paid £1.73 for the night at the Municipal at Bourges. The young receptionist also asked for Smokee’s pet passport which was another first for us. 

We travelled a total of 2296 miles and used 372.78L of diesel costing £378.09. The cheapest fuel was at Boulogne on the way home which only cost £0.94 a litre and the most expensive was in Hull on our departure which was £1.297 a litre. Incidentally I was able to compare fuel prices, which dropped overall. At Millau I paid £1.029 a litre on the way south at the Simply Supermarket and on the way north it had reduced to £0.979 a litre at the same supermarket. ASDA’s prices had also dropped from £1.297 to £1.237. 

The prices for fuel was much cheaper on the continent but I was surprised that the UK’s price seemed to have fallen at the pump a similar amount to that in France but you have to remember France was a full 26% cheaper than the UK, if my maths is correct! That’s a huge difference. 

This time I did not reset the Ducato’s trip computer and we drove on toll free motorways, except for about 10 miles to avoid some cities, or we used main roads. For the whole journey we actually drove 58 hours 35 minutes at an average of 39 mph and returned 27.9 mpg, which I was pleased with considered we weigh 4 tonnes. 

We tend to cook most of our own meals and take all the cats food etc. and quite a bit of our own food away with us but I know some like to know what such a holiday costs overall. Excluding the above, the whole holiday including the Eurotunnel crossing cost around £2470 when I deduct the cost of things like the clothes and presents we bought. This is a daily average spend of £41 which compares with similar continental holidays we’ve done with the van, if not a little cheaper this time. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading the stories I have posted and the photographs that went with the, I have added three of my favourite scenes from the stories.

Thank you for all the comments and feedback. Until next time, take care and happy camping.

Regards, Roy