The new-to-us Hymer came home on Friday last, after the long trip home from Pierrelaye on the northern outskirts of Paris. Mr Snail has since been spending time looking for snags and fixing them. We began to pack but the heat has defeated us.
Yesterday we went to buy gas bottles.
We think that we may go off for one or two nights very soon, perhaps just up the road to Adriers, where we have discovered a little known Aire de Campingcar. If we forget to pack anything it’s only ten minutes home to come and pick whatever up.
We have a new van mascot:
Dusty
As for the van… tentatively named Heidi Hymer. Is that far too camp?
Blog Paralysis still reigns supreme but there is now a chance of catching up as we are stationary for a while.
The real reason that we flogged North was that we needed to be closer to the UK and closer to an airport with UK flights. We combined that with a perceived desire to revisit Limousin to see if we really wanted to live there as it had been possibly our favourite area on the trip down. We knew that there were flights to the UK from Limoges and so we mapped out a route to the area.
It was only when Mr Snail spotted a property advert that appealed to us both that we changed direction just a little and found ourselves in Vienne rather than Haute-Vienne. To be precise, we fetched up in Bussière-Poitevine, where we stayed for a couple of nights before needing to leave due to the borne being out of action. Thus we landed in nearby Lathus (more properly named Lathus Saint-Rémy) at the recommendation of our estate agent, and a lovely wee place it is too. A very neat and tidy aire with tree-lined bays for 8 vans sits by the side of a quiet road, with a park across the road complete with small (fishable) pond. The Village has two boulangeries, one of which is also a glacièr and chocolatier. There is also a small SPAR shop and other necessities catered for. Result!
Vincent on the aire at Lathus
Importantly, Lathus has a railway link to Poitiers so when the expected need to return to the UK arose Mr Snail was able to make the journey by train, leaving me, Nell and Vincent on the aire in safety and with convenience at hand. No EHU admittedly and no showers but at least I can get food and that is a big plus. So long as the sun keeps shining we have solar power and I can pass my time getting the blog up to date.
Today’s featured photo is from the walk that Nell and I took today. Happily the village is surrounded by a network of waymarked routes so walking is plentiful and safe. Better still, no sign of pine trees, pine moth or pesky processionary caterpillars. It is good to be free of that worry.
We can wholeheartedly recommend this aire, which will only score more highly when the village bar reopens shortly. (If it matters, it is going to be under English ownership.)
I have posts written on the road to inject here and the Two Snails Time Machine will be hopping all over for a while. I’ll post them under posting date for a while for the benefit of regular readers but later will move them into proper sequence to avoid confusion for newer readers.
This blog is about our travels so I will document the house search elsewhere, for now I’ll just say that Bussière and Lathus will be our nearest small towns when we settle and that the house purchasing process has begun. Our time as full-timers has been much shorter than expected but we feel okay with that and perceive several benefits in having a little pied-à-terre.
You may recall that when we were down south over the winter there was a slight argument with a large boulder, resulting in damage to that part of Vincent that I never knew how to name. Well, it turns out that it is called a bumper cover.
We bought some materials at a B&Q somewhere and eventually a repair was effected after we got home, having driven many miles with the thing held together with waterproof tape.
Unfortunately another wee accident recently not only ripped the original repair apart but did further damage. When research showed that the ugly plastic thing on the front actually hid a perfectly nice chrome bumper beneath, Mr Snail did the only sensible thing and discarded the offending material.
That was just one of the many tasks that he has been engaged in. I doubt that I can remember them all and no doubt he should probably write up this stuff himself in order to have an accurate record but here goes, I’ll do my best:
bumper cover removed
chrome bumper polished
trim from above the bumper removed, rejuvenated and awaiting replacing
new rear camera fitted, to work with GPS
old radio removed and
new radio fitted
new runners fitted to galley drawers
replaced broken cupholder with new one
issue with table leg resolved
bathroom doorknob fixed so it no longer falls off every five minutes
replaced broken sink drain
waterpump adjusted
passenger seat behind driver removed and
replaced with a cupboard unit sourced from our bathroom
reversing light replaced
replaced fiddly wee doorknobs wii’ summat to grab hold of
repaired ceiling fan
replaced dodgy outdoor locker handle
released sticking gas valve
repaired leaky air suspension
single power socket in glazed top cabinet aboved wardrobe replaced by a double. Cupboard now designated for electronics storage and safe recharging station.
moved thermostat to accommodate new cupboard unit
removed superfluous seatbelt mountings
The latest job is an attempt to resolve the radio interference caused by installing the solar panel. The manufacturers say that the issue is to do with the connecting cables and suggest shielding them with aluminium foil.
Tasks remaining:
Fit new front fog lights, when they arrive
Replace ducts on Eberspächer when they are delivered
Fit magnetic locks to drawers as required
Fit new wipers – awaiting vendor’s reply as they sent a mismatched pair.
?
The bathroom cupboard is providing a no-cost proof of concept. If things do not work out we can simply junk it on the way south. If it works well we may replace it with something a little more attractive and possibly with slightly more volume.
The van’s MOT is due in August but that is a little close to Le Depart so we will probably take Vincent over to Kirkwall a little earlier than necessary and will be booking that in fairly soon now.
Two door cupboard has one dividing shelf inside and a drawer above
So far I am liking the change with the seat out and cupboard in. We have not gained a great deal of space as the storage below the seat has gone and we can no longer access our bottle store in the seat arm. There is however some additional storage space and all of it is more accessible than the previous arrangement. The van feels more spacious too, with more room for manoeuvre on entering the habitation door.
Not exactly sure yet on how we will use the storage but current ideas include housing our toiletries in the top drawer now that they are displaced from what is now the charging cupboard. We may need to fit a few bottles of wine in the bottom… but mainly I think we shall have a shelf each for our clothes, freeing up the rear clockers for some kitchen items, spare bedding and a pair of camp chairs.
