Author - Lorraine Stokes

I consider myself a Brightonian having lived there for almost half my life but I'm originally from Portsmouth.

I studied Social Work and practised as a children's Social Worker in the local authorities in and around Brighton.

I'm interested in vegetarian food, am a supporter of animal welfare, LGBTQ rights and health and wellbeing. I love riding, running, yoga, mediation and property development when I can fit it all into my busy lifestyle!! I also love partying. My biggest loves of course are Marley and Dan.

Bom Dia Portugal – original post title!!

June 27, 2018Lorraine Stokes2 min read

26/06/18 – 27/06/18 – Cacela Velha / Ria Formosa – Algarve  Our first Portuguese destination was the cute little town of Cacela Velha in Vila Real de Santo António, Algarve – just a short drive from the border.  The town overlooks the easternmost lagoon of the Ria Formosa, and it has two cafes, both of which were very busy while we were there. About a 1km along the coast further into Portugal is the more populated Fabrica beach. We stayed one night on a grassy field in front of a car park that had a great view of the lagoon. Although it stated no autocaravanas we decided to chance it and park up anyway! Getting cocky now, as we were the only ones there on arrival. Over the next few hours we were joined by several other Mohos and campers. Throughout the day as the water went out we enjoyed the changing shapes and beauty of the lagoon. I took a walk via from one beach to the other, and kept on walking into Fabrica town. I was trying to find a birthday present for...

‘Appy Pride! Seville Orgullo

June 25, 2018Lorraine Stokes5 min read2 comments

23/06/18 – 25/06/18 – Seville We’d heard that Seville was hot and had discussed staying in a hotel, but chose to test it out once there. Boy was it hot, reaching 43 degrees at its highest, so after taking turns to go and see the spectacular Plaza de España and surrounding gardens, we packed a bag, checked out of our Moho, and into a hostel. The pure reason for this was to benefit from the air con, so imagine how gutted we were when we were provided with a measley oscillating fan. Although it did work well enough to keep us cool, but more Importantly  Marley, who was struggling and at risk of getting heat stroke. The hostel was clean, quite quirky, and the lovely owner let us keep our bikes inside.  We’d planned to be in Seville for the Pride celebrations that evening, which are hosted each year for the whole of the Andalucia region. At the hostel we were a short walk away from the parade starting point, so after getting a bit of colour and glitter on, off we went to to...

2 Days of Not That Much – Conil de la Frontera

June 22, 2018Lorraine Stokes2 min read

20/06/18 – 22/06/18 – Conil de la Frontera After spending 8 days wild camping and a bit concerned about our Moho leisure battery not charging properly, we headed to the nearest campsite on route, Camping Rosalida. We didn’t get there til late, we were both tired and quite irritable so having to queue for ages to check was a real bummer. We chose a pitch in the “dog friendly” area which in other words meant segregated from everyone else who didn’t have a dog. The pitches were generous in width but not in length which we is what we need for our beast. It also took a lot of faffing about with the chocks to get level. In the process Dan accidentally scraped the van on the small wall (nothing serious fortunately) but when you’re already irritable!!! We then heard our English neighbour who was obviously drunk by her shouting rather than talking. Her partner ushered us over ‘so our dogs could meet’ keen to interact and give us loads of advice on what we need to do once we...

Marbella – Hidden Wild Camping in the Woods

June 19, 2018Lorraine Stokes3 min read

16/06/18 – 20/06/18 – Playa Las Mimosas, Mabella We took a chance on a wild camping site listed on searchforsites.co.uk , that had no reviews or photos but only mentioned it’s popular with the locals. It was so worth it. 6kms along the coast from central Marbella beach, Playa Las Mimosas was truly a lovely find. A small woods not impacted by tourism, predominantly frequented by Spanish for camping. By camping I mean big groups of friends and family spreading out, enjoying drinking, eating, laughing, listening to music. Not surprisingly, there was that aroma of cannabis in the air…again. We were so happy that we could do the same [spread out I mean) and that it was free. Being the weekend, It was absolutely packed. Fortunately we arrived just in time to bag ourselves a pretty huge space amongst the trees, which we then made home for the next 3 nights…for free!. Just a short stroll away we found the long stretch of white sandy beach which had a couple of...

We Left Our (Skid) Mark on Nerja

June 15, 2018Lorraine Stokes4 min read

13/06/18 – 15/06/18 – Torrox and Nerja On arrival at Nerja beach there was no chance in finding a parking space so we decided to camp the first night at Torrox, the next beach along. We parked up on a piece of land where a few other Mohos were parked up and enjoyed the marijuana aromas drifting by. It felt relatively safe despite the Police call out to the group of young’ens being antisocial in the local park. The beach close by had dark sand and didn’t appear as well maintained as the beach further down the coast which seemed like a popular holiday destination. We used our beach as an opportunity to play fetch with Marley. Despite him avoiding the water at all costs, he absolutely loves being on the beach. In the evening, we took a stroll on Torrox promenade which was pleasant, plenty of restaurants and many brits. One guy told us how he’d lived there for many years and wouldn’t have it any other way. We had a couple of beers and tapas (not so tasty, probably as it was...

Nudi Beach – Playa Carabassi

June 6, 2018Lorraine Stokes3 min read

4/6/18 – 6/6/18 – Carabassi/Santa Pola Our next destination was one of my favourites because of its natural beauty, the lack of tourists and its peacefulness. We got a free spot on a piece of unused land (apart from the other happy campers) right next to the rocky coastline with crystal clear water. The landscape surrounding the sea was dry but filled with wild shrubs and trees. I found it easy to meditate and do yoga, and sleeping to the sound of the sea at night was so relaxing. There is a cute little white chapel close by that was frequently visited, and some people would ring the bell outside, we assumed as part of their religious ritual. Both the locals and Police who were present, did not seem to mind dogs walking freely on the rocks and on the little beach, lucky for us as  Marley loved climbing over the rocks looking for snacks and jumping out of his skin when a tiny splash came near him. He made loads of friends which was lovely to see. Although one dog, Sammy was...

Our 13 Year Anniversary – Teulada/Moraira

June 4, 2018Lorraine Stokes7 min read

03/06/18 – 04/06/18 – Teulada/Moraira Every year we remind ourselves of the actual date we got together.. it always makes us laugh as you think after all this time we would remember! We met at our mutual friend Max’s birthday party in London on 3rd June, but her actual birthday is on the 2nd June, which is the reason for our confusion. I can’t believe it’s been 13 years! We’ve done so many exciting things together, our current adventure being one of them. This year, I wasn’t quite sure what gift could actually top this. Then I came across a beautiful villa on AirB&B in Teulada owned by the lovely Wiebke (Vicky).  It didn’t quite feel right staying a night away from the Moho given we’d only been away 5 weeks, but I thought what the heck, it’s too nice not to. It would be extra special as Marley could be off his lead and hang out with us by the pool (something you can’t do at campsites). So off we hopped into the van, and just a 20 minute journey South we...

Alcossebre

May 28, 2018Lorraine Stokes3 min read

27/05/18 – 28/05/18 – Alcossebre About a half hours drive South of Peniscola is the Parc Natural de la Serra d’Irta, part of the Spanish coast line, which has hardly been touched by tourism. Being a nature lover, I really wanted to go and Dan obliged. We found a free overnight stop in Alcossebre (basically a row of parking spaces) next to the sea which was separated by rocks. Being the only ones there, we waited a while, noticed we were getting a few looks from passers by and then thought, sod it lets go anyway. We went off on our bikes on what we believed to be a 5km ride, and I was pretty excited about the mention of a natural thermal spa at our destination point. There were no cycle paths that we could see, and once we reached the start of Parc we saw how rocky and dusty the road was. We already knew about this, which was why we hadn’t taken the Moho. I hadn’t quite planned for how uncomfortable it was, given I have a road bike with narrow wheels and...

Peñiscola – Yes you read it right..

May 27, 2018Lorraine Stokes4 min read

26/05/18 – 27/05/18 – Peñiscola After we stopped giggling about the name (can you see a theme here…) we checked into Els Daus, a very basic overnight stay/car park with facilities and security at a cost of €8.40 per day. There were no free sites close enough and this was the cheapest we could find. We had no problems apart from our anxieties about Marley potentially going crazy at the crowds of cats nearby. He must have been in a funny mood that day, as he was pretty calm on seeing them, which completely surprised us. We settled in, had lunch and after it was a little cooler outside, we set off along the seafront cycle track towards Peñiscola Castle on the hill. In our opinion, this was the main attraction and focal point of Peñiscola. The ride there was 2-3km. It was very pleasant, however quite touristy along the strip that aligns the beach with many English/Spanish restaurants offering paella and tapas alongside fry ups. The old town is situated around the castle...

Beautiful Barcelona

May 21, 2018Lorraine Stokes3 min read

18/05/18 – 21/05/18 Barcelona We travelled to Camping Barcelona, which was pretty much the closest campsite to Barcelona that we could find. One of the benefits was that the 20 Euros a night included a free shuttle into Barcelona, which we took advantage of the following day.  Our neighbours were Austrian, and just could not get enough of Marley who they said reminded them of their late dog. They were very sweet, and super friendly. The site itself was well organised and tight, but neat spaces. They gave a massive info. guide which Dan read incorrectly the first day and took us on a bike ride in the wrong direction to Mataro which was a bit scary, as it along a main road and didn’t cater for bikes. Unfortunately, there is a train track running along the edge of the coast and the mainland, which takes it beauty away. That evening we ate at the site restaurant. Dan had lamb chops and was extremely disappointed by the tiny portion for 15 Euros, I was stuck with Pizza again as...

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