Cultural Trip to France in a Westfield

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

Introduction:

One of the ideas behind me building my 250, was to be able to do a few road trips with my better half Lucy.

Had a few enjoyable days out after IVA, and getting the car on the road beginning of last October, but we both wanted to do some thing longer than a day out. Around Christmas we had the following conversation:

"Where are you going to take me in your newly completed car?"
"Where do you fancy?"
"Versailles Palace and gardens, and Monets gardens in Giverny!"
Quick look at map of France, both reasonably close, west(ish) of Paris. Realisation dawned on me that quite a bit of thought had already been applied to the trip already by Lucy, Should have guessed really!
Consult the diary: Motorhome to Outer Hebrides May, Shelsey Walsh mid/end June, LeMans Classic early July! So gap early June!
First up, check kennels can take our dogs, yep, no problem.
Eurotunnel booked to go first thing Mon 4th June, return late evening Fri 8th. Holiday Inn Folkstone Sun 3rd, and Ashford Fri8th booked.
Found a French B&B sort of between Versailles and Giverny. Looked to have secure parking for the Westie, which was a priority for me. So all booked by the end of December.

Following recommendations on here, bought a Lomo waterproof bag, and bits and pieces to strap it on the back of the car. Only downside of luggage on the back of an FW is, it has to be removed to fill up with fuel. Bought some straps and sorted a way of strapping the bag down securely, whilst being relatively easy to remove.

Headed to Scotland for three weeks Tues after Stoneleigh, didn't even have time to wash the car! Home from Scotland Tues 29th May, wash the car, fit new steering wheel and column (bargain from Stoneleigh), check car over, sort all relevant bits for our French adventure.

Found home for everything, in and on the car, all ready to go.

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

Day 1 - Sun 3rd June

Up prompt took dogs for walk before going to kennels, one has an upset stomach! Could be a problem we thought. Off to the kennels, explained the upset stomach, not a problem, much to our relief.
Left home in sunshine at 12.00 for ~210 mile run from Someset to Folkstone, across country avoiding motorways.
Tomtom decided it didn't want to work not long after we left home, so Lucy's  phone used for navigation for rest of week!
Made good time to Salisbury, then headed towards Winchester. Got stuck behind a car that was dithering about behind a horsebox, gave the car some beans to get past both, just level with horsebox car makes a "pop" sound, hesitates briefly then picks up, albeit with less power. B----y hell, now what's happened!
Car seemed to run ok, just down a bit on power, no "chuntering" from wast gate when I lift off, bit of a whistle when I accelerate. Brain in overdrive trying to work out what might have happened, thought it might be something to do with the waste gate.

Stopped in Winchester, bonnet off checked small bore signal(?) pipework to waste gate, and cable and plug on solenoid, nothing obvious! Quick look at easily accessible air feed pipework from turbo outlet, nothing obvious, damn! Lucy suggests ringing one of the Dorset WSCC gurus, good idea. Call made to Wattune and disturbed their Sunday afternoon. Described symptoms, and in no time diagnosis was "you've blown off one of the air pipes somewhere between turbo outlet, intercooler and inlet header". Quick furkle with my hand up inside the nose, and sure enough ali pipe on outlet from Intercooler has blown off connecting hose, jubilee clip still on hose. 
Malcolm you're a genius! Thank you.

After  blowing the pipe off must have been running as a normally aspirated engine, sucking air in through the open ended pipe, amazed the ECU just took it in its stride and controlled the engine accordingly. Certainly no "limp home mode!"
Connection was right beside top hose hockey stick, and expansion tank, so flipping hot to work on, not a lot of room under the nose of a 250 either! Managed to feed pipe back into hose, and tighten jubilee clip without burning myself, and without needing to take the nose off.
Fired her up, all sounded back to normal, so packed up tools and had pleasant run to Folkstone hotel. Car cover fitted, and car put to bed for the night. Beer tasted good after an eventful day.

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

Day 2 - Mon 4th June

Awoke to find it was grey overcast and misty in Folkstone. 10min run to Eurotunnel, checked in And we were soon. boarding an earlier train.

25min trip under the oggin, and were in France at 9.00.
Drove out of train, to be met by Grey clouds and mizzle (mist and drizzle)! Not enough to need roof up, but enough to need wipers.
We were aiming to head down the coast a way before heading south east(ish) to our B&B. However, soon decided to head inland, in the hope it was sea fog, no such luck initially. 

Took scenic route down to our B&B. Drizzle eased as we headed down, which was welcome. Stopped for a coffee in a little village, everybody fascinated by the Westie, and the fact I had the steering wheel on the table beside me!
Soon found that virtually every French village now has speed humps, some with vicious ramps, but just about always over a cars length long. To be fair, they are always signed, and have a 30k limit posted just before them. Not convinced some the French drivers appreciated the gentle approach I adopted to both the up and down ramps though! Really glad I fitted the shallow sump!

After 200 of miles, arrived at our B&B at about 17.30, great place, in lovely setting, remote operated gates (had our own controller for our stay)on quiet lane. Hump and a bit steep drop from road to gates, ok going in carefully, but grounded coming out. Found it was ok if Lucy got in after driving up and over hump onto road,

 

 

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

Day 3 - Tues 5th June

Woke up to find it was raining steadily! After a good breakfast, decide we would venture to Giverny, Monets home town/village.

Ventured  out and took the cover off the car. Had put the half hood on before the cover, the night before! Then following phone sat nav, splashed our way to Giverny.

The tweaking I'd done to the flat wiper blades I've fitted, worked a treat, and with the heater de misting the screen (that even worked in the mizzle when we left the Eurotunnel the day before, with no roof on!). Pulled into the free parking, and covered the car, and headed to the entrance to Monets garden and house.

Naively we thought it might be relatively quite with the rain How wrong we were! A lot of people walking about.

Armed with WSCC brolly, We wandered round the gardens and ponds, which were stunning, despite the weather.

We then joined the que (I hate queuing!) and went through Monets house. Interesting to see his studio.

Also went in the gallery, intriguing to see how some of the pictures "worked" from different distances, and not others.

Rain stopped for our return journey, so we did a scenic loop around, south of the river Sienne, and ended up in a slow que to head north over the river to our B&B, via a supermarket to pick up some snacks and beer!

More to follow!

[Thrustyjust]

Another great Westie trip to read this year. All good stuff. The only thing is I need a West country to English dictionary Adge 

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

9 hours ago, Thrustyjust said:

The only thing is I need a West country to English dictionary Adge 

That's the down side to living in a posh part of the country 

[Alan France]

13 hours ago, AdgeC said:

Day 2 - Mon 4th June

Hump and a bit steep drop from road to gates, ok going in carefully, but grounded coming out. Found it was ok if Lucy got in after driving up and over hump onto road,

I would not have risked that last sentence.

Great story, keep it coming.

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

Day 4 - 6th June

Somewhat disturbed night, thunder storm rumbling around the area for several hours. Quite spectacular in a room with two big windows, and just fine mesh curtains! My poor car, sat outside, by itself, when it's used to being tucked up in a nice dry garage at night!

Storm had passed by breakfast time, dry but cloudy. Took cover off car, all nice and dry inside, plus one for Walker St Clair covers.

Plan today was to head to Versailles, looking at clouds we left the hood on (advantage of having "grandad" zips is you can unzip, roll up each side, and tuck them down behind the headrest, et voila, a targa top!). Satnav route (avoiding motorways, being a poor pension!) took us through some narrow twisty villages. Arrived in Versailles, straight into parking just outside main gates to the Palace. Westfields and cobbled roads are not a good combination we soon concluded! Had to take ticket from machine to get barrier to lift to let you in, pay on your way out!

First of several baggage checks on our way in, quite amusing the look on people's faces when you produce a steering wheel from your rucksack!

A large area of the gardens are free to enter, but you pay to go into the Palace and Marie-Antoinettes Estate. So tickets duly purchased we set off. I was gobsmacked by the size of the estate and the grandeur of it all, not suprised the rank and file French revolted!

Having got our head round the scale of the place, we realised why Madam at our B&B said we would need two days to see it all!

Had our first encounter with the "selfie" brigade, quickly came to realise that (how can I word this in this PC age?) our Orietal brethren seem to want to photograph everything, and be in the shot as well. Guess I've led a sheltered life, usually avoid busy places with lots of grockles like the plague! Glad to say the place was big enough to get away from the throngs, just by walking a few extra yards, an advantage to me, of the "herding instinct" of others.

The Grand Canal as its called, is in the form of a cross, and is huge!

We meandered for much of the day, including a look around Marie Antoinettes Estate, still trying to take in the scale of the place! The manpower and resources to create the buildings and gardens must have been colossal.

Mid afternoon we decided to go into the Palace, no que, but disappointed to find less than half of it was open, particularly as the section about the creation of the estate was closed off. Asked why so little was open? Gaelic shrug, and told "security decide what's open, and when. Asked if more would be open tomorrow, same reply!

Went into the Palace and joined the throngs meandering around, most seeming to have the intent of photographing themselves as often as they could! God I'm sounding old and grumpy!

The grandeur of the interiors was impressive, and the Hall of mirrors just that.

Some 53m long if memory serves.

We soon decided, that fascinating as it was, we needed to escape the grockles, so went back outside for another wander round the gardens.

After a while, sky began  to look threatening, then we heard some rumbles of thunder!

Discretion being the greater part of valour, decided to head back to the car. Didn't make it before it started to tip down! Just as well it was warm. I went to the car, and Lucy to the barrier to pay to get out when I rolled up with the car. Cover off and rolled up, jumped in, bounce o ear the cobbles round to the exit barrier. Met by Lucy, sign parking machine saying it does not accept foreign credit cards, thank you for paying at the office, wherever that is! Still tipping down, I reverse back out of the way, having found windscreen too tall to go under the barrier! Lucy found the elusive office, machine in the wall to pay with foreign cards.

22euros lighter! Barrier up of we go, 5.30, straight into the Versailles commuter traffic in the rain. Still at least we could laugh about it.

Half an hour later, out of Versailles and heading west, rain starting to ease off. Stopped completely  by the time we reached Hardricourt (near our B&B). Quick stop for more beer and "home".

Overall intriguing day, very enjoyable.

Must mention SBFS half hood performance, forget yesterday. First test of hood this holiday, it has performed really well. Roof zips completely watertight, very clever design, bit of water come in on shoulder nearest outside of car if stopped, some drips coming in on centre seam near windscreen, runs down mirror, and occasional drip on passenger knee on righthand bends, and divers knee on left hand bends. Overall really pleased with how it has performed.

Day 5 to follow.

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

Day 5 - 7th June

Awoke to find fluffy white clouds, with patches of blue, and sunshine, hooray. Set off for second day at Versailles, satnavs taking us on another route, that felt more direct, but took about the same time. Had done some homework, and aimed for an alternative entrance to the estate, where in theory we would be able to drive in. Arrived to rather tall steel gates securely looked, but a small car park with one nice Westie sized space. Eventually won the battle with the pay machine (this one took foreign cards), and got a ticket (12euros for the day), then thought where do we put it, to display it securely? Decided all we could do was tuck it under a wiper, on top of the cover, then took a photo, in case some barsteward nicked it.

This entrance was near Marie-Antoinette's estate, quite a distance from the Palace, and subsequently quieter. Only way to get there was walk, land train or hire a golf buggy, the drivers of which were somewhat erratic at times. We watched one chap going along, stop, put it reverse shot round backwards a complete 360deg, nearly going into a hedge and taking a statue out at the same time, then varying on the the same direction, kept us amused anyway!

Walked towards the Palace with the idea of trying to find out what was open. Turned the corner round the front of the Palace, half mile que to get in. That decided it, we would forego the Palace and walk around the grounds in the sunshine. Started walking around the Grand Canal, lovely peaceful walk, occasional runner, and several groups of yanks on guided bike tours! Best part of 4 miles right round, with the odd stop in the shade on convenient seats.

From here we went into Marie-Antoinette's estate and walked some more.

Was told I should be taking unposed shots, so

Futher round the gardeners were trimming the trees to form a tall Tee section "hedge"!

We finished up getting lost trying to find Le Hameau. A hamlet apparently created by Marie-Antoinette, her vision of how the "normal" people lived! A bit like an old version of a village from a Disney film!

Some of the houses were inhabited, the occupiers keeping goats and sheep.

By this time it was 5.30, so we decide to head for home, having walked 12 miles according to Lucy's sports tracker on her phone.

Back to the car, ticket still under the wiper. Cover off, still sunny, so roof off, and head for Hardingcourt. Stopped off just before we got back, and parked on an island in the Middle of the Seinne. Got an ice cream, and sat beside the river watching the world go by. Who said romance is dead, even after 41 years of marriage!

 

[Geoffrey Carter (Buttercup)]

What a great set of photographs. 

So pleased you posted them. 

 

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

Day 6 - 8th June

Another misty start to the day. Loaded the car, roof off, said our farewells to Madam, and started heading homewards. I thought it would be a good idea to go back via Giverny to see it in the sunshine! Still misty and overcast when we got there, so decided not to stop, but head towards the coast at Dieppe. Satnav took us on a narrow one way system, at one point we came to a to a tee junction on a single track road. Only problem was the road had a 9" deep cobbled gulley running down the middle of it. No option but to get a pair of wheels each side. Front wheel in and out ok, slowly down with rear wheel, "graunch " (my poor car!), then up, out and away. To busy holding our breath to take a photo!

Found some nice quiet roads on the way to Dieppe, some straight, some twisty. At least it was dry.

Weather brightened up as we headed towards the coast, which was a bonus. Found Dieppe, quite a picturesque place in a way, then turned right and headed North for Calais, sticking to the coast as much as we could.

Found a massive beach at a place called Berck, saw the name and thought we've got to go there. Parked up just back from the beach, and walked along an esplanade. Miles of sandy beach at low tide, think it disappears when it's in. Think it must be the French equivalent of Sidmouth in our part of the world, lots senior citizens walking cycling, and sitting having a chin wag.

Carried on north, with some stunning views along the coast on the undulating road.

Eventually started seeing signs for Sangate, which was somewhere I definitely didn't want to be in the Westie! Should have had faith in my navigator though, all under control.

Rocked up at the Eurotunnel check in at 6.30 , train booked for 8.20. Straight through, after a bit of a panic when we didn't put the correct booking reference in! French passport control, UK passport control, most pleasant guy there, had a chat about our trip. Then waved through, very little traffic about, straight onto the train. Off we set back under the oggin to dear old Blighty. Drove off the train an hour after arriving at Calais, impressive. Bit of a shock getting back to driving on the left, but made it safely to our overnight stop at Ashford.

Hope I'm not boring you too much, only one more day to go!

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

Day 7 - Sat 9th June

Up with the lark, on our way west by 7.30. Dry, but cloudy, bit chilly, glad of the heater.

Nice roads through Tenterden, Haywards Heath, and on to Petworth where we stopped for Breakfast in Tiffins Tea Room. Nice welcoming place, friendly service, good food and coffee. Highly recommend it if your thirsty or hungry in Petworth.

Refreshed, we carried on west through Petersfield, Winchester and Salisbury, then headed towards the A303. Stopped for a quick snack lunch at the Black Dog Inn at Chilmark. From here we picked up the A303 just east of Mere (deliberately avoided it around Stonehenge!), not long after we were home, having covered a total of 1020 miles. Tucked Westie in the garage, staright to kennels and collected our dogs, both of whom seemed really glad to see us.

Verdict

A great trip, we both enjoyed immensely, weather could have been better, but we laughed it off.

Car went like a dream after initial hiccup. Have checked it over and found nothing of concern.

Checked and tightened all air hoses, been following up on water hoses as a matter of course! Did find that of the 4 nuts holding the fan onto the rad, 1 was missing, the others were still in place but finger tight. Have now fitted secondary locknuts. I didn't fit nylocs deliberately, as I was worried about shearing the M6 stud off where it's welded to an Ali bracket. 

The various grounding I've done has all been on the chassis hoop as far as I can see, so really pleased, Dread to think what it would have been like had I norpt changed the sump and done the cooling system mods. Half hood has been baptised, and worked a treat. Found the heater was really useful for de misting, and taking the chill off on fresh days.

Up on stands for check over after washing

Nose off to check and tighten air hoses!

Chassis hoop been doing its job!

 

Thank you for reading, hope it's not been too boring.

Adge

[Ali and Gail]

Absolutely fantastic, loved reading about your trip and seeing your photos 

[aeg]

Superb write up, oh to be retired!! Glad all went well, I make a habit of checking our accommodation entrance/ parking by google maps as have fell foul of the dreaded cambers! Becky hates going anywhere where we get grounded. Well done both for your first of many adventures, Andy and Becky

[Gary Taylor]

What a great read and thanks for the amazing pictures it really is a delight to read of others adventures, glad you had fun and we’re able to laugh at times too