Coming to the end of our 2024 European jaunt, I thought I would put some notes together regarding locations visited that may be of help to others. I use the What3Words mapping app to give more accurate locations as sometimes those given are not as accurate.
We started off in Brittany,Camping St Cado which is our usual “long term” stop. Couple of hours from Roscoff and got everything we need in the locality. It’s a very friendly easy going site with a restaurant and two bars within 300 metres. Beach is a distant 20 metres across from the site entrance. Supermarket SuperU is in Belz which is a 20 minute walk. After a few weeks there we headed east, planning to follow the Loire from St Nazaire up river. As we have done St Nazaire itself many times we skipped this bit and using Route Nationals headed for Ingrandes Le Fresne sur Loire, the Camp site is south of the river over a long bridge (derails.streamers.multiply) on the banks of a very full Loire, when the river is lower bathing pools are excavated on the sandy banks as the river itself can be treacherous.
Moving on up river we were hampered by many deviations due to roadworks and bank repairs so we took the fast route away from the river towards Sancerre. It was nice to see the hundreds od acres of vineyards being tended by both man and machine. We stopped overnight at Beaulieu sur Loire (jovially.binding.upends) nice walks around the village, canal and river. Cracking on we ended up in Mandeure (morale.hugger.witchcraft) the site is adjacent to a river the Doubs and had been subjected to flooding in recent weeks however it was open as were all the facilities. We stayed two nights including one filled with dramatic thunder, lighting and rain.
Onwards to Switzerland to stay with friends for a few days we elected to cross at Fahy a two men and a dog type crossing rather than the busy Basle. After a few days it was on east trying to follow the Donau (Danube) for awhile. After months of torrential rain the river was in full flow with a lot of debris, landslips and flooded farmland. First stop Tuttlingen (blurts.grew.gashes) the Stellplatz was near the centre of town and had until that moring been used by a visiting funfair so was muddy however a solid base so no getting stuck.
Onwards to Beuron (crank.tweezer.koala) after travelling through some dramatic rock gorges, then to Augsburg (matrons.areas.question) a city centre location. Next into Austria somewhat unplanned long day but ended up at Tirolhofer (waged.meekness.congas) lovely location on a hilltop farm but at €27 cash / no receipts it was one of only two places that were over €16 some stops were free! No black waste disposal either. Picked up the Danube route again at Amstetten and stopped on the banks at Aggsbach (booster.vertigo.microphones). Instruction was to pay in the adjacent restaurant but this remained closed during my stay. Breaking away from the river made for Deckerspitz, lakeside parking, fishing and swimming. (farmhouse.vertigo.microphones) Then Zwettl (blazers.when.scans) 3 spaces with all facilities reserved in a riverside carpark – free, a few minutes walk from the town centre. Called at Gmund (insist.tiger.vowing) room for about six vans next to an official site and large swimming complex. Moving on to Eggenburger (hipbone.gurgle.sabotages) quiet location, next Ebenthal (dubs.calorie.ticket) on the edge of a village next to a sports ground and their bar. Onwards south roughly along the Hungarian border to Purbach am Neusiedlersee (interview.scrubber.reinsert) room for five vans, maximum stay allowed is two nights, free electric, adjacent to a large lake and swimming pool. Wet days ahead, moved onto Graz, a large commercial site on the edge to the city next to another large open air, heated swimming pool. Bus stops nearby for access to city centre. (hotdog.corner.wing) the other no receipts and €30 later moved on.
On to Klagenfurt then Wernburg (gurgles.gleefully.involve) a gasthaus with a great restaurant and shop selling a range of local produce including great salami. Ramps may be needed. A short hop into Villach where I found the biggest camping shop I’ve ever seen – wallet firmly secured. (womanly.locate.bongo) The weather forecast had not improved so crossed into Slovenia over the Wurzen pass 18% gradient, cold war bunker near summit to Podkoren and now better forecast for the Adriatic 150km away – lets go. Grado (pleasing.frog.pushing) plenty of parking with and without services near the beaches. Typical Italian beaches regiments of sunbeds and umbrellas set up – all empty next to a free beach. Little tidal movement so probably a kilometer of a walk out to the water at low tide.
Headed back north through Austria to Germany, first stop at Gasthaus Neuwirt(portrays.curry.memories) in the village of Aufham, just off the autoban from Salzburg to Munich. Room for about four vans, free when you have a meal/beer. Swimming pool and supermarket within 100 metres. Nearby also are a few nice picnic areas (tricked.topple.addiction) where there is a swimming lake with a circular walk. Next on to Inzell (bloke.lateral.gestures) daytime parking, at Unterwossen (moon.pamper.understand) there is a black/grey dump and fresh water borne, €2. Plenty of wild camping nearby we stayed in the forest at (intelligence.muffled.tanned) the base for a lot of walks. Visited by local police who were happy with our one night stop only. At this time we were roughly following the “Deutsh Alpenstrasse” which several times crosses the border back into Austria but nowhere near any toll roads so no vignette required.
Moving west to Sontheim (feasibly.altering.senders) the description was parking in a gravel quarry however due to the flooding the parking area was now under 1 metre of water, however alternative parking was available on the access road. The up side of the flooded parking area was that there was now a large area of 1- 1.5 metre deep warm water before plunging into the 10 metre deep lake of much colder water. There are 4 or 5 lakes in the immediate vicinity. This was to be our last stop before heading back into Switzerland via the northern shore of Lake Constance. Enroute called at Burmeister Campervans to drool over their range of vans and facilities, first impressions count and if I was buying they would definitely be a dealer worth considering. I tried out their cassette emptying and washing machine - €2 insert cassette a few minutes later its returned washed and refilled with “blue”. There is a stellplatz adjacent (suspicions.dashed.sect). Another few days in Switzerland before making the long haul back to Brittany, we stopped for power snoozes at Aire de La Loire and another service station near Samur (there was another Irish van overnighting there – Zedbedee) Arrived back in StCado after 1200km and 14 hrs of driving over 30 hours – need a good sleep. Unless stated otherwise all the stops and routes have been great – no hassle anywhere – scenery great and apart from a few wet and cold days it has been a joy.
Hope the locations are of help to someone.
We started off in Brittany,Camping St Cado which is our usual “long term” stop. Couple of hours from Roscoff and got everything we need in the locality. It’s a very friendly easy going site with a restaurant and two bars within 300 metres. Beach is a distant 20 metres across from the site entrance. Supermarket SuperU is in Belz which is a 20 minute walk. After a few weeks there we headed east, planning to follow the Loire from St Nazaire up river. As we have done St Nazaire itself many times we skipped this bit and using Route Nationals headed for Ingrandes Le Fresne sur Loire, the Camp site is south of the river over a long bridge (derails.streamers.multiply) on the banks of a very full Loire, when the river is lower bathing pools are excavated on the sandy banks as the river itself can be treacherous.
Moving on up river we were hampered by many deviations due to roadworks and bank repairs so we took the fast route away from the river towards Sancerre. It was nice to see the hundreds od acres of vineyards being tended by both man and machine. We stopped overnight at Beaulieu sur Loire (jovially.binding.upends) nice walks around the village, canal and river. Cracking on we ended up in Mandeure (morale.hugger.witchcraft) the site is adjacent to a river the Doubs and had been subjected to flooding in recent weeks however it was open as were all the facilities. We stayed two nights including one filled with dramatic thunder, lighting and rain.
Onwards to Switzerland to stay with friends for a few days we elected to cross at Fahy a two men and a dog type crossing rather than the busy Basle. After a few days it was on east trying to follow the Donau (Danube) for awhile. After months of torrential rain the river was in full flow with a lot of debris, landslips and flooded farmland. First stop Tuttlingen (blurts.grew.gashes) the Stellplatz was near the centre of town and had until that moring been used by a visiting funfair so was muddy however a solid base so no getting stuck.
Onwards to Beuron (crank.tweezer.koala) after travelling through some dramatic rock gorges, then to Augsburg (matrons.areas.question) a city centre location. Next into Austria somewhat unplanned long day but ended up at Tirolhofer (waged.meekness.congas) lovely location on a hilltop farm but at €27 cash / no receipts it was one of only two places that were over €16 some stops were free! No black waste disposal either. Picked up the Danube route again at Amstetten and stopped on the banks at Aggsbach (booster.vertigo.microphones). Instruction was to pay in the adjacent restaurant but this remained closed during my stay. Breaking away from the river made for Deckerspitz, lakeside parking, fishing and swimming. (farmhouse.vertigo.microphones) Then Zwettl (blazers.when.scans) 3 spaces with all facilities reserved in a riverside carpark – free, a few minutes walk from the town centre. Called at Gmund (insist.tiger.vowing) room for about six vans next to an official site and large swimming complex. Moving on to Eggenburger (hipbone.gurgle.sabotages) quiet location, next Ebenthal (dubs.calorie.ticket) on the edge of a village next to a sports ground and their bar. Onwards south roughly along the Hungarian border to Purbach am Neusiedlersee (interview.scrubber.reinsert) room for five vans, maximum stay allowed is two nights, free electric, adjacent to a large lake and swimming pool. Wet days ahead, moved onto Graz, a large commercial site on the edge to the city next to another large open air, heated swimming pool. Bus stops nearby for access to city centre. (hotdog.corner.wing) the other no receipts and €30 later moved on.
On to Klagenfurt then Wernburg (gurgles.gleefully.involve) a gasthaus with a great restaurant and shop selling a range of local produce including great salami. Ramps may be needed. A short hop into Villach where I found the biggest camping shop I’ve ever seen – wallet firmly secured. (womanly.locate.bongo) The weather forecast had not improved so crossed into Slovenia over the Wurzen pass 18% gradient, cold war bunker near summit to Podkoren and now better forecast for the Adriatic 150km away – lets go. Grado (pleasing.frog.pushing) plenty of parking with and without services near the beaches. Typical Italian beaches regiments of sunbeds and umbrellas set up – all empty next to a free beach. Little tidal movement so probably a kilometer of a walk out to the water at low tide.
Headed back north through Austria to Germany, first stop at Gasthaus Neuwirt(portrays.curry.memories) in the village of Aufham, just off the autoban from Salzburg to Munich. Room for about four vans, free when you have a meal/beer. Swimming pool and supermarket within 100 metres. Nearby also are a few nice picnic areas (tricked.topple.addiction) where there is a swimming lake with a circular walk. Next on to Inzell (bloke.lateral.gestures) daytime parking, at Unterwossen (moon.pamper.understand) there is a black/grey dump and fresh water borne, €2. Plenty of wild camping nearby we stayed in the forest at (intelligence.muffled.tanned) the base for a lot of walks. Visited by local police who were happy with our one night stop only. At this time we were roughly following the “Deutsh Alpenstrasse” which several times crosses the border back into Austria but nowhere near any toll roads so no vignette required.
Moving west to Sontheim (feasibly.altering.senders) the description was parking in a gravel quarry however due to the flooding the parking area was now under 1 metre of water, however alternative parking was available on the access road. The up side of the flooded parking area was that there was now a large area of 1- 1.5 metre deep warm water before plunging into the 10 metre deep lake of much colder water. There are 4 or 5 lakes in the immediate vicinity. This was to be our last stop before heading back into Switzerland via the northern shore of Lake Constance. Enroute called at Burmeister Campervans to drool over their range of vans and facilities, first impressions count and if I was buying they would definitely be a dealer worth considering. I tried out their cassette emptying and washing machine - €2 insert cassette a few minutes later its returned washed and refilled with “blue”. There is a stellplatz adjacent (suspicions.dashed.sect). Another few days in Switzerland before making the long haul back to Brittany, we stopped for power snoozes at Aire de La Loire and another service station near Samur (there was another Irish van overnighting there – Zedbedee) Arrived back in StCado after 1200km and 14 hrs of driving over 30 hours – need a good sleep. Unless stated otherwise all the stops and routes have been great – no hassle anywhere – scenery great and apart from a few wet and cold days it has been a joy.
Hope the locations are of help to someone.
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