DriveThru Tours

Holiday in Europe 2025

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Switzerland, Germany and The Netherlands

Thursday 12 June 2025 - Not a good day at all.

Leaving Camping Breithorn - heading into the unknown

After departing Camping Breithorn, we had no idea where we'd be spending the night. We'd intended staying in Switzerland but had not been able to book a site, although there were a couple of sites available near the border with Italy. We decided Italy was too far for this short holiday as it would take us even further away from the UK which would mean many more miles to drive enroute home. We decided to try a few sites not far from Lucerne but for some reason none of the roads into Lucerne were open. We'd spotted this yesterday on our way to our mountain pass tour as all the roads we'd passed that were leading into Lucerne were completely blocked with traffic going nowhere. Fortunately, it didn't affect us heading in the opposite direction, neither did it affect us on our return quite late in the evening. We thought this must have been just a temporary hold-up, but it certainly wasn't so we had to make a change of plans on the road. After about 50 miles of driving nowhere we wanted to go, we took a complete change in direction for another 50 miles to visit a couple of sites. One was fully booked and the other could only let us have a stay of two nights - at great cost! We pressed on in another direction for yet another 100 miles before finding a site where we could stay for a few nights. On the way, I missed seeing a speed limit sign that required me to slow down from 80 km/hr to 60 km/hr for road works. I got 'flashed' by a speed camera thanks to my stupidity in missing the change in speed limit. The temperature today is 30 degrees Centigrade and the heat emitted from the front of the car when stopped (where the engine bay is located) is phenomenal - and yet the engine temperature gauge hasn't risen at all. We've made very few stops, but I've kept the engine running all the time as I usually do to help reduce the likelihood of both engine and turbocharger problems. Unlike us, machinery doesn't need to stop for a rest!

We arrived at Schluchttal Naturcamping, Waldshut-Tiengen at about 1500 hrs after about 200 miles of not the easiest of driving and certainly one of the most frustrating drives I've experienced. Surprisingly, there were very few folks on this site in a forest so it was very quiet, apart from some traffic noise. One old man, Tobias, came to make us welcome on our pitch presenting us with a bottle of wine and a few brochures. He'd been living in his huge modern Dethleffs touring caravan on this site since October last year and will probably stay until October this year before moving on to somewhere warmer for the winter. Tobias said he'd worked for some time in Scotland as a chef for a German tunneling company contracted to Scottish Power on a project located somewhere near Fort Augustus but was now retired. One of the significant disappointments of being on this site is that there is no wi-fi on the pitch - only near to the reception office. Our pitch is also a long walk from the facilities.

Our pitch on the site in the forest.

I'm very disappointed that we're not in Switzerland, however, I'm hoping to return there as soon as we can get away from this site. We've booked three nights so we have time to rest and to find another site in Switzerland. Germany is not where I want to be at present but it was forced upon us by circumstances. Fortunately, we're not too far from Zurich, so I hope we can find a site somewhere near there.

One thing I've learned from today's experience is not to rely so much on the internet to find campsites. Although I'd sent e-mails to various sites, many were either fully booked, didn't like dogs or failed to reply at all. The ACSI book has been useful but only covers those in this association. Next time we travel abroad I'll buy a comprehensive caravan site guide for each of the countries we're going to visit.

Friday 13 June 2025

A serious rest day. Got some reading done. Another day with the temperature at about 30 degrees Centigrade - wonderful. Spent most of the day sitting outside.

I was talking to Grace and mentioned how privileged I felt that we had not only our lovely caravan but also all the equipment needed for outdoor living, whether it be for days / weekends away or for picnics - our speciality. What a blessing it is to be in this comfortable position when so many folks can't afford to do the things we do, Yes. our caravan and cars are old as is much of our stuff, but they work and do the job and that is all we require. Our caravan is now 25 years old and we've had it for about half its life so it was getting on a bit and not expensive when we bought it - but it does the job and we love it. Regardless of the age of our kit (my car is also very old) , we still feel very blessed to be able to enjoy these things and the way of life that they enable us to enjoy.

Saturday 14 June 2025

Since we've been here a couple of strange events have taken place. Firstly, there was a brief cry coming, seemingly, from under the caravan. We thought initially that it was Mia who was laying quietly on her bed on the floor of the caravan, but that wasn't the case. A mystery. Secondly, and this took place this morning, I was sitting peacefully working on photographs on my laptop computer early in the morning when the caravan briefly shook - as though someone or something had bumped into it. Grace was still slumbering so not her. Mia turned her head to look at me as though to say "What the hell was that Dad?" I went outside to see if there was someone, or something, that might have caused this but there was no sign of anything at all. Another mystery. Grace believes we have a ghost causing these events. Maybe she's right.

The morning was spent doing a few jobs and not a lot other than processing photographs and reading a good book for me - Grace never stops working (she gets bored if she has nothing to do). In the afternoon, we visited some caravan sites not too far away with a view to moving to one of them tomorrow. Nothing was to our liking so nothing achieved. Lovely and warm today as it's 33 degrees Centigrade. Came back to the caravan and continued reading - and Grace continued working. She can't help herself. Any five minutes of relaxation she takes is spent thinking of what else she can find to do that involves work. She's the same at home. The only way I can stop her from working is to take her out in the car - and then she complains that she still has work to do. No hope!

Sunday 15 June 2025

The 'ghost' shook the caravan again this morning. I also closed the gas bottle valve as we could both smell gas early this morning. Later in the day I mentioned to Grace that it would have been around this date in June 2000 that we first met - 25 years ago. In November it will be time to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary. The speed at which life passes by, seemingly so quickly, is scarey. Sadly, it is highly unlikely that I'll be here to celebrate another 25 years with Grace.

By the time we decided to go out it was getting on for 1300 hrs. No way were we going to get out as the site barrier is immobile between 1200 hrs and 1400 hrs. Turn the car around and back to the caravan. It would seem this restriction is quite common in Germany, but it's a considerable nuisance if you want to go anywhere during those hours. When we eventually managed to escape the site, we decided to visit the caravan site where we were heading to before we found the one we're on now - a fortuitous accident as it happened as we weren't greatly impressed by the site. It started raining on the way back to our home on wheels much to Grace's chagrin as she'd left washing hanging to dry on a line I'd strung between two trees.

At dinner this evening, Grace mentioned that she felt that we were 'drifting' through our holiday and not seeing as much as we'd expected to see. Some of this was down to my poor planning but we'd also had to make sudden changes of plan and not been able to go to areas that we'd intended. The other aspect we've had to go with is that we've both (and Mia) felt very tired for a lot of the time. Grace mentioned that she's been feeling more tired during our trip than she would have been at home when working full-time. Sadly, we've wasted a lot of time looking for caravan sites - far more then during the previous trip we made to France and Switzerland during our last tour in 2019. We've also spent a lot of time on the road travelling long distances which is also very tiring.

Today, I completed reading the book by Rowland White entitled Mosquito - The RAF's Legendary Wooden Wonder and Its Most Extraordinary Mission. People have often asked me if I enjoyed reading a particular book. I was thinking about that after completing reading the aforementioned book. I came to the conclusion that I don't read to enjoy myself; I read to discover. Some of the books I read present harrowing, often tragic events quite vividly in their text. This is particularly the case when reading military history when people, including children, often meet their end violently or in suffering. Unless you're a sadist, no one would enjoy reading about these events. However, a book can be immensely interesting without being enjoyable. From these books, one can learn and discover a great deal in the search of knowledge. I don't read for entertainment; I read to learn and discover facts that I would never otherwise know anything about. I just wish that I could remember everything I read.

I do read a few other genres and, being something of a frustrated gypsy, I read the stories of adventurers and explorers from which I learn a great deal both in a practical way and in a more academic way. Ever since I was a young man reading Thor Heyerdahl's Kontiki and Ra books and, later, various books by Chris Bonnington and other mountaineers, I've always had this inate curiosity to travel and visit the places about which I read.

RANT!

Sadly, when I was a young man, not being one of the privileged class and therefore not having a private school education and/or Sandhurst, let alone Etonian (or similar) connections, I knew not a single person with anything other than a working-class background where the only connections one had were local tradespeople and other workers, or those in slightly higher positions who were also strugglling to make ends meet. Opportunities for this badly state-educated working-class lad to take part in the sort of activities I read about were non-existent back in the 1950s and 1960s. All I had in my life was work, study and social activities at the local church.

I spent much of my hard-earned money on my love of photography and even that was a constant struggle to finance - what more some sort of travel adventure? My state-school education had been so horrendous that I left school with nothing in the way of qualifications and therefore had little chance of achieving anything in life at all - like so many of the lads and lasses from my school. I can confidently say that had I not had two years at primary school with the same bullying ogre of a teacher, I'd have had an entirely different career - and life. She ruined any chance of me going up to university and having a much more academic and successful career that would have suited me much better than the route that I ended up taking - or having to take.

The fact that I eventually became an engineer was entirely due to my father being able to persuade someone in the company where he worked to take me on as an apprentice industrial electrician and I built on that over the course of many years hard work and study. Had he lived long enough, I'm sure my dad would have been delighted, and very proud, to have been able to attend and share in my graduation ceremony (Honours Degree in Engineering) at Glazier's Hall in London. All my thanks go to him. At the age of 40, I finally got away from 'hands-on' engineering and took a different path, albeit still in engineering, as I became a technical author working as a contractor / consultant. I'd always been interested in writing, as well as reading, so this suited me very well as it combined my knowlege of engineering with my love of writing. However, it still meant that I had to earn a living and it wasn't until 1997 that, after saving a little money, I took the plunge and after completing my well-paid contract and qualifying as an English language teacher, disappeared on the adventure of a lifetime and went to the Philippines to start a new life. In 2008, I returned to England having found a wife and lived, and worked, in the Philippines for a few years as well as in Kuwait and Qatar. Once again, I worked as a contract technical author, editor and consultant. Back to more of the same.

Soon after Grace obtained British Citizenship we went to live in The Netherlands for a while where, as usual, I worked as a contract consultant technical author and editor. Once back in England I still had to earn a living but this time had a family to support, so it was back to the same mundane routine that I'd left in 1997. You will see the theme through all of this - WORK! One thing I've learned in all my wanderings is that it's easier to make progress in your career whilst abroad than it is in the UK - as long as you show you have the ability, qualifications and skills to do so. There aren't the same 'class-restrictions' in other countries as there are in the UK. I always encourage people I meet, especially young people, to leave the UK and go abroad to work, although this is much more difficult now, thanks to our evil leaders who have stopped us having freedom of movement and the right to work within the EU and Schengen Area.

Nowadays, working class people are considerably better-off financially then in previous generations but it is still largely true that unless you have good connections it is still very difficult to compete with those from the establishment and get anywhere. It is also true that, with my background, one either has the time and no money, or the money and no time - which is what keeps people anchored to their job (and mortgage debt) instead of being able to enjoy their life. The government also makes sure that retirement is a time where you have unlimited time and no money to do what you would like to do. You may well have health problems to cope with too and, of course, after working all your life you're worn-out and lack the drive, fitness, energy, motivation, self-confidence and ambition for the activities that you once had.

People who say "Do it whilst you're young" often have no idea how difficult that can be - it's usually impossible for most people of my background, especially if one is not highly talented in some way, and those who are highly talented don't always make it to the top because of lack of money and/or connections. Apart from myself, my mother was considered to be very much of university material but because of lack of finance in the family (and being female) she had to leave school at the age of fourteen and work as a shop assistant in Woolworths. How her life would have been changed had she received a university education which was a big deal in the era in which she lived (she was born in 1922).

Monday 16 June 2025 - Visiting Zurich - more than 100 miles driven

We got going somewhat earlier than usual and took the scenic route to Zurich visiting a caravan site enroute. We couldn't find anyone in the reception office, as is often the case even though it was before 1100 hrs. The site seemed to be okay so may be worth a visit in the future. We continued our journey to Zurich and parked in a car park in the Uraniastrasse from where we walked along the Bahnhofstrasse, the main shopping street in Zurich where all the big names have their showcase stores for their wealthy clients. After walking the in the opposite direction from where we wanted to go, we found ourselves at the Bahnhofplatz, so turned around and changed direction. We stopped in a small park area and Grace asked a lady eating from a food container where she'd bought her food. We walked off in the general direction and found a really lovely take-away store where I was served by a girl who was half-Swiss (father) and half-Filipino (mother).

Grace went to another place next door and bought some Thai noodles whilst I selected two dishes in a good sized container from the main take-away. After our meal, we continued our walk along the Bahnhofstrasse looking for a way into the old part of this historic city. As we crossed the Munster Bridge, a Swiss man came up to us to make a fuss of Mia - she attracts people like a magnet.

Above: Grace with her chocolate cheesecake and Heinz with his coffee.

Below: Alan's very expensive ice cream with cream.

Heinz showed us some good eating places and after our guided tour we all enjoyed some rather expensive snacks - my single scoop of chocolate ice cream with an equally small shot of fresh cream was CHF17 and Grace's chocolate cheese cake cost CHF9. By this time, I'd already spent CHF80 on a couple of small boxes of chocolates (one for JP) so we were out for an expensive day trip - the car park fee was CHF27. You need to be very wealthy to live in Zurich - or anywhere else in Switzerland for that matter.

Tuesday 17 June 2025 - Visiting Titisee - 60 miles driven

Had a quiet morning doing a few jobs and watching the tree pruners who showed up with a massive 'cherry picker' to cut branches from some of the tall trees around the site - a wonderful example of German engineering, then, after lunch, we drove to Titisee which was a place to visit recommended by Heinz. Lovely area but very touristy as is often the case with these locations. Took a boat trip around the lake which was very pleasant. Mia found the heat a bit of a struggle today. Grace went off to find some drinks but didn't suceed so returned with two ice-cream cones. This was the last thing I wanted as I was very dehydrated and needed some liquid. Grace ate my ice cream as well as her own - her third of the afternoon. We went back to the place where we'd bought our first ice creams and I downed two milk shakes - the waiter got the first order incorrect but I downed it anyway as I was so thirsty - the second was fine and also went down very quickly. I have to admit to being very tired by the time we got back 'home' to our caravan. Grace had a poorly tummy to deal with - must have been all those ice creams!

Wednesday 18 June 2025 - Visiting Rheinfall and Schaffhausen - 55 miles driven

Grace had only seen the Rheinfall at night and that many years ago, so she was delighted to be able to visit once more - and in daylight.

We had a meal in Schaffhausen which was rather mediocre and cost £50 for the two of us - just one small pasta dish each.

Thursday 19 June 2025 - Rest Day at the caravan site.

Spent many hours trying to find a caravan site not too far from Speyer as we leave Switzerland behind and head in the general direction of The Netherlands.

Friday 20 June 2025 - Driving to Speyer to the worst site we've ever stayed on.

On the road for 5 hours today, driving about 185 miles. Some navigational difficulties between our previous campsite and the roads around Basle before we got on the road we needed. The car engine died at a critical time getting through some roadworks but thankfully I managed to get it started again. I knew this site wouldn't be great, but it was far worse than anticipated. It can't realistically be called a caravan park as it's a far closer relative to being a car park than anything else. The pitches, such as they are, are so tight for space that we have to park the car in a separate car park instead of next to our caravan, which is very inconvenient. We also have some unpleasant German 'neighbours' on one side of the caravan, which we could do without. They moved on the next morning - and people changed very quickly on this dreaful site - as was expected.

Saturday 21 June 2025 - Summer Solstice Day - upwards of 31 degrees C here in Speyer

We had an unsuccessful drive into Speyer this morning. However, we did manage to get to a supermarket. Shops in Germany are closed on Sundays so we needed to stock-up before tomorrow. I went off on my own in the car to buy diesel and got lost and tangled up with the roads. This is nothing new for me - in fact it's quite a usual activity when I'm out on my own. I eventually found my way back to this insult of a caravan park. Later, we walked into Speyer and visited the cafe where JP and I ate ice creams in 2016. Sadly, the waitress who then served us, Leonie, was no longer working there.


Leonie with JP in 2016	My ice cream today	Grace with her milk shake

Sunday 22 June 2025 - Rest Day in Speyer - another very warm day

It was our intention to visit the wonderful technical museum in Speyer today. JP and I really enjoyed our visit there in 2016. This is a short walk from our caravan so off we went. Sadly, Mia wasn't allowed in and I couldn't persuade Grace to spend the day looking round the incredible exhibits on her own, so we returned to the caravan. I managed to get in touch with a caravan site located between Cologne and Dusseldorf so we now have somewhere to stay when we leave here tomorrow morning. It's another 180 miles or so to get there but at least we have somewhere to stay tomorrow night and the following night before heading for the Netherlands.

Actually, today has been a wasted day. I wish we'd travelled to our next site today instead of waiting until tomorrow as it's been a 'nothing achieved' day.

I'm gradually coming round to Grace's way of thinking about holidays. Grace HATES caravanning - and I completely understand her point of view. It's nothing other than a continuation of the work she does at home - cleaning, washing (she refuses to pay for the use of washing machines on caravan sites), cooking and all the other jobs she does without the convenience of all the space and appliances she has at home. Of course, she likes to visit the lovely places we go to, but there has to be another way. One reason we use our caravan is because I like caravanning and staying on many of the parks we enjoy visiting (NOT this one in Speyer!). The other reason is because we can easily accommodate our lovely dog, Mia - and she loves the caravan too. I'm going to look at other options for our next overseas tour - like dog friendly hotels or youth hostels outside these ridiculous low emission zones, so that Grace gets a real holiday and I don't have all the aggravation of owning a caravan and arranging sites for us to stay on (something that is very time-consuming). I don't mind towing as long as I know where I'm going - navigation can sometimes be a problem. The main aggravation is finding and booking caravan sites at short notice. The other is making sure all the maintenance and repairs are carried out. Things do go wrong and need attending to. For us, a motorhome isn't really an option as that's just as much aggravation as a caravan in many ways - as well as being a huge cost to buy and run. Neither is a self-catering holiday ideal as that too is nearly as much work as a caravan. When we go caravanning, especially for a long tour, Grace doesn't feel as though she's had a holiday at all. We have to change that situation if possible, however, the cost of hotels may be prohibitive - and NO, putting Mia in kennels is definitely NOT an option. Something for me to work on for our next tour. It must be possible to find accommodation somewhere we can drive to that will be a similar cost to a caravanning holiday where the (extra) ferry costs, repairs and maintenance requirements and site fees are taken into consideration. However, after we'd been home for a couple of days Grace told me that she also HATES TOURING! All Grace wants to do on holiday is go away with enough clothes to last her for two weeks, stay in a hotel where she can get bored doing nothing, or we can rent a car and go and visit interesting places, and then go home. Unfortunately, we can't just get on a 'plane and go away as we have Mia to care for and putting her in kennels is NOT at option at all, so where we go, she comes with us. Sadly, we are completely opposite in our views on holidays - as in almost every other way too.

Monday 23 June 2025 - Travelling about 180 miles to Campingplatz Strandterrasse, Grind 1, 41541 Dormagen - a site located between Cologne and Dusseldorf.

Started as another warm day at 25 degrees C before going up a little. As we drove north, the temperature dropped rapidly to 18 degrees C and we had a shower of rain here and there. Trundling along the motorway at about 55 mph, our car engine died completely. Onto the hard-shoulder, shut-down and waited a few seconds before re-starting it. Off we went again. This is the third time this has happened during our tour so it's becoming something of a habit - one I can do without. We arrived at the caravan site after driving for some distance along a stony unmade road by which time it was 1255 hrs. and the reception office was closed until 1500 hrs. This is not uncommon in this part of the world, so we had some lunch - Grace made some paté sandwiches. I then joined the 'siesta club' and had a snooze in the caravan until it was opening time. Grace sat in our car and played with her mobile telephone. Later, when it had opened, I booked in at the reception and found that here too there was no internet connection of any sort.

Located on the banks of the River Rhine, the site is quite attractive and frequented by cyclists travelling along EuroVelo 15, the same long distance cycle path that JP and I rode along in 2016. There were two familes who, together, had brought their young babies out on their first time to camp. Friendly folks and could speak English very well.

Sadly, Mia has an upset tummy and this resulted in frequent trips out for walks during the night. From about midnight, I took my folding chair and sat by the side of the river, walking Mia from time to time - better than disturbing Grace from her slumbers. Grace came to visit me at about 0245 hrs wondering why Mia and I weren't in our respective beds. At 0310 hrs. I returned to the caravan as I was frozen cold by this time. I climbed into bed fully dressed, including my fleece until Mia came to ask me to take her out yet again at about 0400 hrs. By the time we returned I was really cold and shivering. Grace made me a mug of tea and got my heavy duty down-filled parka out of the cupboard and I wore that on top of my fleece. It was in such contrast to the heat we'd experienced very recently that thoughts of contracting pneumonia came to mind - something I could do without - I'd been there before. Finally becoming warm under all my layers and under a blanket in bed, I managed just a couple or so hours before Mia got me out of bed again a few minutes after 0700 hrs. to take her for another walk. Later, Grace walked her at various times and also managed to find her name disk which had got pulled off during the night.

Tuesday 24 June 2025 - Rest day on the caravan site.

We visited the familes nearby for a short chat and found that there are no vineyards / wineries nearby so we elected to stay at the site where we caught up on some sleep after lunch. Still quite cold and with a wind to suit, it wasn't pleasant being out of the caravan for long periods. There were several showers of rain during the day too. It would normally be very enjoyable to sit on the beach and watch the barges pass by on their way along this great river, but not in this weather. We packed-up fairly early as the sun had come out and dried most of the awning. Makes life easier for tomorrow if we get as much packed as possible this evening.

Wednesday 25 June 2025 - Driving to The Netherlands - about 176 miles. Happy Birthday to Alan!

Vakantiepark Kijkduin, Machiel Vrijenhoeklaan 450, 2555 NW Kijkduin

We set-off at about 1000 hrs and arrived at our caravan site at about 1500 hrs. I'd last stayed on this site for about 10 weeks towards the end of 2012 when I first started working on a contract in nearby Delft. We then rented a lovely house in Monster, not far away, on 2 January 2013. It was like coming home - one of the many homes we've had during the last 25 years. This site is really marvellous for families as there are all the facilities that one can think of - even a supermarket and swimming pool.

Thursday 26 June 2025 - Still in Kijkduin.

Received a fairly early morning call from the vet asking us if we could change Mia's appointment time to 0930 hrs. We only just got there in time as the road we needed to take was closed! Anyway, Mia received her medication and all the paperwork was completed, signed and stamped, so we hope she'll be allowed back in the UK.

We visited the village of Monster and saw our old home. I knocked on the door of our former neighbour's at No. 5 but received no answer at the door. It was lovely to see the area once again, although there has been a lot more houses built since we lived there.

Friday 27 June 2025 - Still in Kijkduin - Getting together with our friend, Katja

We were delighted to spend time with Katja who was a next-door neighbour at No. 3 when we lived in Monster in 2012 - 2014. A long time ago, although JP and Alan spent a few days with her family in their house in 2016 after their bicycle ride along EuroVelo 15. Grace served lunch for us all in the caravan and it was wonderful to catch up on old times. Later, after Katja had returned home, we went for a walk on the beach. Grace and Mia took another walk then, to see JP's old school - the International School of the Hague - not far away.

This evening, we took the decision to stay at a caravan site near to Harwich, rather than drive home through the night after a tiring day. Much safer.

Saturday 29 June 2025 - Stayed overnight at:
Strangers Holiday Park, Station Road, Bradfield, Essex, CO11 2US

Sad to say, but our holiday tour is coming to an end. We boarded the Stena Britannica more then two hours before it sailed at 1415 hrs and went to our alloted cabin. This cabin was an inside cabin and not as pleasant as our outside cabin on the journey from England to the Netherlands. However, it sufficed and we had a pleasant journey to Harwich.

We'd decided to stay overnight at Strangers Holiday Park just a short drive from the ferry terminal rather than drive home through the night and were there by 2100 hrs. Pleasant grassy site with basic facilities but no internet. The facilities are rather old and not kept thoroughly clean which was the downside - and, for what it is, the site fees are quite high.

Sunday 30 June 2025 - Homeward Bound and Home at Last - A journey of about 270 miles.

Up early and on the road by 0755 hrs. Home at about 1500 hrs after taking the caravan to the storage facility. Rather a difficult drive - Two major traffic hold-ups which lost us quite a lot of time. The engine also died a couple of times, luckily we were able to get onto the hard shoulder of the M6 (which has many miles where there is no hard shoulder). My car engine was well down on power by the time we got into the trip and this continued to decrease the further we travelled. At one point, Grace asked me why I was driving so slowly - I replied that the car wouldn't go any faster! We were down to 40 mph a few times. We also tried to stop at two service stations but were unable to park, so continued our journey hoping that I won't get a parking ticket for being in the wrong place when I tried to stop to park. Nightmare! A long hard day. Our mileage was increased after reaching home as we had a number of trips to make between home and the caravan storage facility, so all in all, nearly 300 miles driven today.

Our total tour mileage was 2557 miles (not including the return trips to the caravan storage facility) and, according to the computer in the car, we achieved 26.8 mpg on diesel.

Some of the things we've learned on our trip

As on every tour, there are things to be learned and considered for the future. I've also added some items that are easy to forget in the planning stage of your trip which you may find helpful.

1) Don't be reliant on the internet, especially for finding and booking caravan sites. Many sites still don't have wi-fi or other internet connection. Having no way of locating or booking a site can be very stressful when you've got no other options.

2) If you take your laptop computer (and external hard-drives for your data) with you, it's very useful to have a printer - ideal for printing maps, directions, e-mails, reservations and more. This is something we learned during our last tour and it's been well worthwhile having it with us on this tour.

3) CHECK and RE-CHECK everything you book - and get someone else to check the details for you too. This will avoid making mistakes that only show-up when it's too late.

4) Take a good selection of caravan site guides with you. This will help reduce your stress levels when trying to find a place to stay and you haven't got an internet connection. Guide books of the countries you're going to visit are also a great asset. These can be electronic versions read on a tablet computer which is very handy when walking round a city as you can read your tablet showing the places of interest, and maps of where you are - or you can print relevant pages.

5) This is difficult: Apart from booking the site at our first destination and one enroute, we never pre-booked any other. This, of course, means you have greater flexibility during your travels. For instance, we booked 8 nights stay at Camping Breithorn, and stayed a few nights longer (we might have stayed longer but they were fully booked). The huge downside of this, is that it can take many hours to arrange your next site to go to. This eats into your holiday time very considerably when you could be enjoying doing other activities. It's also very stressful knowing that unless you have a reservation booked, you're likely to be on the road late in the day trying to find a site. With a caravan this can be a real headache. An alternative which we will consider in future is to book, as we did, sites on the journey to your main destination and stay longer when you arrive, rather than move on, trying to find sites as you go. Also, if you know the route you're going to be taking on your return journey, pre-book sites well in advance.

6) Be aware of public holidays in the places you're wanting to travel to - caravan sites are often fully booked during these periods and you can easily end up with nowhere to stay unless you book well in advance.

7) Be prepared to take 'rest days' where you do little in the way of visiting places of interest. Caravanning can be very tiring, especially as one gets older, as there are many jobs to do in getting set-up and packing at the end of your stay. Also, allow plenty of time to go shopping for food / drink. If you're likely to get bored, take some books to read (printed, or on your tablet / laptop computer) and use the time to process your photographs and write your diary.

8) Another difficult topic: How far to drive in a day. This is always tricky as you want to get to your destination as quickly as possible. 300 miles is plenty in one day and ideally keep this figure under 200 miles depending on road conditions - especially as one gets older. Losing concentration or falling asleep at the wheel is not a great idea.

9) In conjunction with 8) above, consideration should also be given to the minimum time one should spend on a site before moving on. By this, I mean that when driving to your faraway destination, should you spend time resting enroute? We have found that a minimum of 2 nights, and preferably 3 nights is a good option if you're going to be touring for some weeks. There is a lot of work to do on arriving at a site, and when packing to leave. We understand that if you've only got a short time for your tour, you want to make the most of it. My days of driving many hundreds of miles in a day are over so, for us, the total distance of our tour is reduced accordingly. We did meet a Dutch couple who'd travelled to Italy from their home in the Netherlands when they only had a one week holiday. They were travelling in their motorhome (not towing a caravan) and told us that the driving was part of the holiday as they could see the country as they drove through it. Each to his own. Not for us.

10) I still maintain my belief that the only way to really see and experience a country properly is by riding a bicycle. As we've driven through hundreds of miles of countryside along motorways at considerable speed, we've seen places of interest in the distance with no chance of going to visit them. That, to me, is really sad and misses out on the real experience of having a tour through another country. Only by travelling slowly and keeping well clear of main roads can one experience what a country has to offer. Whilst the distance travelled is vastly less, the experience is greatly enhanced. The great traveller, Wilfred Thesiger, hated the motor car with a passion. I can understand his point of view. The whole pace of life is so much increased by the use of motor vehicles - often to our disadvantage. Consider how life, and the pace of life, has changed for people over the last 150 years (or less) and you'll understand what I mean. I fully understand that riding a bicycle becomes increasingly difficult as one get old. My last bicycle tour was at the age of 67 after not riding for about 16 years previously. I've always considered that riding an e-bike is 'cheating' in some way, but now, at the age of 76, I could do with a little help climbing the inevitable hills along the route. There are still some relatively easy cycle routes to ride decribed in detail on the EuroVelo website. For instance, one can ride from the Hook of Holland (EV15) along the side of the River Rhine to Andermatt, then take EV17 along the River Rhone to Sete on the Mediterranean. From there, one can ride alongside the canals to Bordeaux and join the coastal route back to the Hook of Holland - or return via Calais. What an amazing experience that would be - but allow plenty of time to enjoy it! If I can get over my agonising back pain, maybe I'll buy an e-bike for touring and have another go at cycle touring before I get to the end of my road through life.

11) Record the details of your tour both photographically (inc. video) and by writing a diary about your experiences and the names of the places you visit and people you meet. Believe me, you're unlikely to remember these details even after a few years, let alone after many years. It's also a great way of recording some of your family history for generations to come. In 100 years time, how many of your grand-children, great-grand-children and others will remember you - let alone know anything about your life? By writing about and photographing your life, those who follow in your footsteps will be delighted to read of your little adventures. Wilfred Thesiger's books will still be fascinating to read hundreds of years from now, as will be the books of cyclist, Josie Dew, and others of her ilk. One should also read Robert Louis Stevenson's 1912 book "Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes" and enjoy his twelve day, 120 mile tour with Modestine, the donkey that accompanied him on his travels. You may not think much of travelling only 120 miles in 12 days, but he wrote a complete book describing his experiences. Your book my not be published, but it can be printed and also stored digitally for all those of your family's future generations to read and enjoy - and learn from. I've written a few books of my travel adventures, starting in 1997. They are books of memories which me and my family will enjoy reading and re-reading many years from now. In years to come these books will be the only insight they have into their predecessor's life. What a lovely record you can leave to future generations.

12) If you have a caravan without air-conditioning - and you have a dog, it's worth buying a portable air-conditioning unit if you're going to go anywhere really hot and sunny.

13) Take more tea bags with you than you expect to use! - continental tea bags are no good as they aren't strong enough (strength and flavour of tea, not the bag!), even if you can obtain them. Running out of good tea is a serious problem!

14) Is it worth taking the caravan at all? Caravanning is not always cost effective these days. Maybe taking the car and staying in youth hostels / B&B / hotels is a cheaper and better option - or even taking a bicycle and a tent!

15) One of the most useful things I did in preparation for going on this tour was to open a Euro bank account and have a Euro Debit Card. This saved having to change money into Euros (although we did have a small amount) as well as avoiding rip-off bank charges for every transaction had we used a normal sterling bank card.

16) Check that your passport(s) remain in date whilst you're away and comply with the latest legislation about their use.

17) Make sure all your debit and credit cards are not due to expire whilst you are away.

18) Be aware of Low Emission Zones and get any required permits. Not all caravan sites are outside these zones so check before you make a reservation.

19) There are many people who say that it is better to travel the more scenic routes instead of motorways. I agree - especially if you're riding a bicycle (see '10' above), however, it would take a very long time to reach a destination as far away as Switzerland and would be a much more difficult journey with a large caravan.

20) Remember: Tourists chase after visiting sights. Travellers blend into the world where they are. We should do more of that - see '10' above - much easier on a bicycle.