Saint Nicolas d’Aliermont, France

Travelled:21km

Stay/visit: Saint Nicolas d’Aliermont - aire, free parking, service point, N49.8804 E1.22122

We awoke to a drizzly morning and drove up the road to St.Nicolas. We stopped to have some breakfast and decided to stay the rest of the day. 

We walked up and down the main thoroughfare, admiring some of the houses along the way.

The town is renowned for its clockmaking which started in 1725, however manufacturing stopped in the late 1800’s. It is possible to visit the clock museum on most afternoons. 

Mark took the opportunity to fix the tap on one of the grey water tanks while I cooked turkey paupiettes for lunch. 

We then spent a bit of time planning for tomorrow before we went to have look at the 13th century Roman style church. 

Mesnieres en Bray

Stay: Mesnieres en Bray - Aire free parking and services, 49.76599, 1.38076

Travelled: 126km

Visited: Forges les Eaux, Val Ygot V1 rocket site, Mesnieres en Bray

Our first stop for the day was at the Intermarché supermarket in Beauvais where we bought up on some favourite supplies to take with us into the UK and filled up the LPG bottle.

We then headed along the road towards Dieppe and stopped for a brief walk around Forges les Eaux. During the 17th C it was a fashionable spa town and well renowned for its waters, which was reflected in the buildings. 

Further along towards Dieppe we drove to Val Ygot to visit one of the 120 V1 rocket sites built in the region by the Germans during WWII.

 As the rockets could not be controlled, launch ramps had to point directly at the targets. This one was heading to London! Luckily the site was destroyed before it became operational. Although other sites did manage to send about 3000 rockets to bomb London. 

Still feeling under the weather we decided to venture only another 10km to an aire in Mesnieres en Bray (previously visited 2014). We settled in and then went for a walk through the small but quaint village.

 The main attraction is the Chateau built in the 15th century but it can only be visited during July and August as it is used as a school. We did manage to sneak into the grounds and have a little look around.

 The church dates back to the 11th century. 

Just outside the castle gates is an old railway line now a popular bike path. Someone very artistic in the town made a great effort with some ceramic signage. 

Agnetz, France

Travelled: Melbourne to Paris. Then 28km in Bluey.

Stay:Rousseloy Storage and Agnetz, free parking  N49.3813, E2.38816

Visited: Cauffry Ford Service and shopping.

Our 7th annual trip began on 26th May, departing Melbourne on Singapore Airlines and arriving in Paris early Monday morning.

 The day went as per usual, preparing Bluey for the start of our 4 month journey. After an early nights sleep, we were up around 5am and heading off to the Ford Service in Cauffry. Unfortunately whilst we waited for their 8:30am opening, Bluey’s battery went flat. Luckily we were just outside and they were able to jump start us. A new battery was added to the bill along with new rear brakes and a roadworthy certificate (required every 2 years). This year, instead of waiting around we got a courtesy car, so we decided to drive to the CLC motorhome supplies and nearby shops to begin filling up Bluey’s cupboards. 

By mid afternoon the jet lag we setting in so we didn’t want to drive too far away. The parking area next to an old château, now the town hall in Agnetz seemed a quiet spot to spend  the rest of the day and hopefully tonight. 

We were impressed at the size of the church in this small village.

We saw these building scattered around...very interesting design.

Plans for our 2019 trip

Our 2019 trip is fast approaching and we are looking forward to spending most of our 4 months away, exploring England, Scotland and Ireland.

Just to be on the safe side, we decided to book the ferry crossing from Dieppe to Newhaven with DFDS. As Mark is over 60 and the main driver we were able to get a 20% discount...the up side of getting on in years! To get the discount we had to call the office in France and pay over the phone.

We became members of the National Trust of Australia ($140 per couple per annum) to get international reciprocal rights in the Uk and Scotland. Click here to have a look.

We have been researching places to see and stay and have found lots of maps and information via facebook. We joined a few groups and some we liked more than others. Scottish Motorhome Wildcampers and Total Motorhome Ireland are our favourites so far.

We have also created a google map 'Bluey UK 2019' with POI and overnight spots that we have got from other blogs, books etc and also saved some great maps. 

Here are some links of sites and maps we found helpful:

Wildcamping Moonfruit has lots of great maps

Total Motorhome Ireland (become a free member on their facebook page)

Scottish Motorhome Wildcamps  (become a free member on their facebook page)

Wildcamping UK map

North Coast 500 is the official site for this well known route in Scotland

Wild Atlantic Way the official site for this Irish route


We will also continue to use our favourite apps to find overnight spots

Park4Night, CamperContact, Wikicamps UK, 

For any other useful links have a look at our 'Links and Blogs' tab.