4 Sept 2018. We got an earlier-than-booked ferry from Dover.  On our way south we detoured for a couple of nights at an old favourite, Bagnoles de l’Orne, in Lower Normandy.

7 Sept 2018. Then a site by a lake north of Bordeaux. Lots of young-ish people on some sort of team-building course.

We spent the next day in Bordeaux.

Then drove to Salles, in Aquitaine, and had a pine wood to ourselves, which Lucy thought was fabulous as she didn’t need to be on her lead and had plenty of sticks to chase.

9 Sept 2018 Distant lightning during the night, which turned to rain just as we were getting up. Stocked up (food, drink and petrol) at local Carrefour, then long drive into Spain and to Saunces, west of Santander. Supper of prawns and lots of white wine courtesy of earlier shopping trip.

Saunces, Spain

10 Sept 2018 Continuing along the north Spain coast past Bilbao we glimpsed, from a motorway, a ruined church in a cornfield and turned back to find it. There was also a great beach. This was near to the town of Llanes, I think the beach was at San Antolín, but I’m not certain.

We drove on via twisting roads to Luarca and a campsite called Las Cantilcles, run (for the last fifty years!) by a German woman, with her German/Dutch son.

11 Sept 2018. Large German and Dutch contingent among campers, presumably due to the owners, who expressed their sadness re Brexit. I felt obliged to apologise for the short-sightedness of my kinsmen.

Early morning view of Luarca from camper.

We walked into Luarca, a very pretty “working” town with a nice harbour and broad beaches. Was shouted at by a man for taking Lucy onto beach. Pretended not to understand.

12 Sept 2018. We continued to drive west along the north Spain coast, stopping for supplies at local “agricultural” supermarket. Lunch in Mondoñedo. Then to A Coruña. We tried to find a site in Santa Cruz but got hopelessly lost, mainly because new roads had been built since our old map was printed. Finally settled for a site run by a woman in a bikini. Not in a good way, really. We had a good view of the local beach which belied the quality of the site itself. Also, as we discovered later, dogs were not allowed on the beach. Seems to be quite common in Spain, unfortunately, although plenty of people have dogs.

13 Sept 2018. We left the site and walked to the area known as Santa Cruz which had been so elusive yesterday. The main feature of Santa Cruz is a bay with an island connected by a pedestrian bridge to the land. Not to be missed.

After walking around the island we bought supplies in the town of Santa Cruz then continued the drive westward through A Coruña and inland to Carballo and through stunning scenery to Cee on the west coast. From there, south through Ezaro towards Muros. Sal had identified a couple of camp sites, the first of which was closed and the second, in Lariño, looked boring with no views, so we went back up the coast for a few kilometres to a huge beach with pinewoods behind the dunes and, after a stick-throwing session with Lucy, “wild” camped in the sunset.

Will we survive? Will we have to use hitherto untested in-house sanitary “arrangements?” Will we ever get to Portugal?

See Part 2, coming soon.