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.

Pineda de Mar

May 18, 2018Lorraine Stokes3 min read

16/05/18 – 18/05/18 – Pineda de Mar We decided to stay at another campsite at Pineda de Mar called Enmar (17 euros using ACSI discount card) including a free sangria each. It was a bit of a change compared to the last campsite in regards to many mohos tightly parked together, but you still had enough outdoor space to eat and sunbathe. The facilities were good and the people pretty friendly. We noticed that we were the youngest residents by at least 20 years. Some of the residents looked like they were there long term and we got quite a few territorial stares when walking around. Our neighbours were lovely and would often pop round to chat, and say hello to Marley. We took a walk to the only dog friendly beach we had been told about, albeit the sign still said “no dogs”. Although this is the law in Spain, there seems to be some tolerance to dogs on beaches depending on the time of year, how busy the beach is and whether or not it has a blue flag status. It...

A Lakeside Overnight – Lac de la Cavayère

May 13, 2018Lorraine Stokes1 min read1 comment

12/05/18 – 13/05/18 –  Lac de la Cavayère, Longuedoc-Roussillon After a 7 hour drive with a 30 minute lunch stop, via several small and pretty villages, we arrived at Lac de la Cavayère at 6pm.  We stopped in the free car park overnight where there were only a couple of other motorhomes present. We took Marley for a stroll down to the lake, and had not realised until we were about 3km into it, just how big it was to walk all the way around due to the hidden bays. It was too late to turn back, but it was fab and Marley was in his element.  It turned out to be a 5km walk, which isn’t much but a lot when it was only going to be a short walk. We hadn’t realised the lake was an adventure park with steep slides into the lake and zip wires over it. Looks like a brilliant place to come back with a group of friends! Time for dinner (picky bits including one of our French favourites Remoulade) and a chilled out evening (an episode of West World) before our next drive to...

Dinard or Dinan!

May 8, 2018Lorraine Stokes1 min read

08/05/18 – Dinard, Brittany
We were confused on arrival as we had read about Dinan further inland, which was very different. The town is twinned with Newquay in UK and you could see why when we reached the beach. (Check out the google street view main image and have a look around!)
What started out as a sunny morning, the weather quickly changed. The wind picked up and was bitterly cold, perhaps marring our experience of the town a little. We had a walk around the market and the seafront, shared some frites (fries) and bought a baguette before heading back to the van.
Our original plan was to follow the coast around norther France, heading west and then south, but the forecast appeared gloomy for the foreseeable future, so it seemed a good opportunity to head to Dan’s parents place in Monteneuf, about 1.5 hours drive from where we currently were to take refuge for a few days.
 
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A Magical Island – Mont Saint-Michel

May 8, 2018Lorraine Stokes4 min read

06/05/18 – 08/05/18 – Mont St Michael, Normandy This was our first night of paid camping at Aire de Camping Car  (GPS 48.5902365,-1.5151345,16.25)- Beauvoir – Mont St Michael about 3 Km away from the monument.  It is still an Aire but you get your own outside space and use of the services for €12.50. Good job as we were low on water and the toilet needed emptying…yes one of the joys of motor-homing! We enjoyed this place so much we stayed 2 nights. In the morning we rode along the river to where we had to dismount and either walk or get the free bus to see Mont Saint Michael. We chose to walk. Amazingly Marley is now so different in his bike carrier, a massive contrast to the start, and its reassuring as it gives us so much more freedom. The sight itself was well worth the trip and is very impressive as you approach it. Its origins date back to the 8th century and it was a famous pilgrimage site across Europe. Today, it’s a Unesco world heritage site. The...

A little Paris? Caen

May 5, 2018Lorraine Stokes1 min read

05/05/18 – Caen, Normandy
Arriving in Caen, we parked for free using one of the Moho carparks approx 2 KM outside of the town centre at the Memorial de Caen. We did try and take a look around the park Colline aux Oiseaux, however, they didn’t let dogs in, so we and made our way into town in the sunshine.
Caen reminded me of Paris in certain parts with the wide tree-lined boulevards and grand state buildings, but also the narrow cobbled street lined with bars and cafes with everyone squeezing into the sunshine not in the shadow of the adjacent buildings. I’m sure one could spend a long time exploring the many boutiques and independent shops, but as shopping isn’t really our thing, we opted to sit outside the Hotel de Ville and watch people arriving for what look like a very grand wedding.
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A Restful Stop – Hérouvillette

May 5, 2018Lorraine Stokes1 min read

05/05/18 – Hérouvillette, Normandy
We stopped here for a free overnight (yes this is becoming boring) en-route to Caen after the disappointment of Cabourg.
Herouvillette is a pretty village with a tiny approx population of 1000. The aire is next to a duck pond with horses in the fields behind enough for about 8 Mohos – 4 on the hardstanding and 4 on the grass pitches. (GPS 49.2199571,-0.2447687,172)
Its a sleepy little village with not too much to see or do, the most interesting thing was an old communal laundry station on the other side of the road to the aire, so we had a quiet night both in terms of activity but also surrounding noise levels.
Feeling rested the next morning before leaving, we managed a bike ride  along the river with a much more chilled Marley…
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Beach Stop

May 4, 2018Lorraine Stokes1 min read

03/05/18 – 04/05/18 – Merville-Franceville, Normandy Another free overnight spot big enough for 6 vans and very close to the beach, just 2 minute walk though the dunes.(GPS 49.2847479,-0.2106921,18) The beach itself was gorgeous (although you’ll have to take our word for it as we didnt get round to taking any photos), a very long strip of sand stretching as far as you could see  – only spoilt facing west and seeing the Ferry boats docking into Caen (Or so we thought at least) The beach was pretty breezy, so after about 10 minutes of sitting there in our jumpers feeling somewhat chilly, we decided call it a day and to walk along the coast path in to town. I went for a run here and Dan rode his bike with Marley in the basket, as well as him (Marley) sometimes running alongside – he’s still barking mad, but he’s gradually getting used to it. So far we’re very impressed with French cycle tracks and free overnight stops making it very easy to...

Our 1st French Town

May 2, 2018Lorraine Stokes1 min read

02/05/18 – Rouen, Normandy
We stopped at Rouen on route to Honfleur for a couple of hours. We parked for free using the searchforsites app to find us a location suitable for the Moho which was about  20 minute walk along the river.
We wondered around the town centre for about an hours or so –  the best part, in our opinion of course, is around the cathedral in the historic centre, where the majority of buildings are medieval with pretty and cobbled streets.
On our way out, we popped into Intermarche for our first wine and baguette shop, and a few groceries of course. We were surprised by how expensive fruit and veg is, and wondered if we could survive on just alcohol.
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