| DATE |
ARTICLE |
CLICK HERE |
|
What was New in Previous Years: The
website started in 2005 so there are several previous 'What's New'
linking to articles and images still on the website. |
What
Was New in Previous Years |
| 28 Dec | Summer in Norway and Finland 2015: Margaret has completed her full account of our motorhome journey across northern Norway well above the Arctic Circle and then south through Finland to Helsinki and a ferry to Estonia. | Summer in Norway and Finland 2015 |
| 24 Dec | Summer in Sweden 2015: Margaret's detailed account of our summer 2015 motorhome journey 1,630 miles (2600 km) through Sweden from its southernmost to its northernmost point on the border with Norway. | Summer in Sweden 2015 |
| 19 Dec | A New Campsite in the Greek Peloponnese: Here is a full description of a splendid new campsite at Plaka Beach near Leonidio in Arcadia, with a map, photographs and co-ordinates. If only a few more Greek campsites were like this. | Camping Semeli near Leonidio |
| 18 Dec | Images of the Ultimate Peloponnese Tour: Exactly paralleling the Tour, a gallery on our MagBazPictures website has a slide show of 54 images taken along the length of the journey. | Images of the Ultimate Peloponnese Tour |
| 16 Dec | Full Description of the Ultimate Peloponnese Tour: Running to 12,000 words, this is the full day-to-day description of our 15-day, 1,250-mile (2000-km) tour of the Greek Peloponnese by car in November, with maps and images. 56 locations are described which can be the basis for a wide range of tours, long or short. | The Ultimate Peloponnese Tour Fully Described |
| 16 Dec | Summary of the Ultimate Peloponnese Tour: Following our 15-day, 1,250-mile (2000-km) tour of the Greek Peloponnese by car in November, we outline with maps what is the ultimate tour. OK for motorhomes, cars, bicycles and perhaps even public transport! | 56 Locations on the Ultimate Peloponnese Tour |
| 8 Dec | The Dears in the Balkans 2015: Travelling in their beloved Autosleeper Symphony, a 2.5L diesel-powered Peugeot Boxer-based Campervan, Keith and Jenny make an 11-week summer tour of the Balkans. | Keith & Jenny Dear in the Balkans 2015 |
| 30 Nov | Readers' Comments: Collecting a few more Readers' Comments brings the total to 698. Thank you very much. If you would like to add your comment, please just Contact Us. | 698 Comments from Readers |
| 4 Oct | A View from the River Bug: This river forms part of Poland's border with Belarus and Ukraine. Along its banks are three of Germany's WW2 extermination camps: Treblinka, Sobibor and Belzec which we visited as well as the Majdanek camp near Lublin. What lessons are there for further European Union? | A View from the River Bug |
| 21 Sep | A View from the Baltic Republics: Barry's reflections on the fifth motorhome journey through the three Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) in the Autumn of 2015. | A Baltic View |
| 19 Sep | Baltic Republics & Eastern Europe 2015: Following our 72-day, 4,300-mile (6880 km) motorhome tour of Scandinavia in the summer of 2015, we sailed from Helsinki to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. We then headed south through the three Baltic Republics, into the eastern borderlands of Poland and so through Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Greece beckons. | Summer in Scandinavia 2015 In the Baltic Republics and Poland Autumn 2015 |
| 5 Sep | Life Within the Circle: Here are some reflections, maps and data based on 40 days and 2,075 miles we have just spent motorhoming north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, Norway and Finland. | In the European Arctic |
| 1 Sep | New Elbe Ferry: Margaret reports on a new ferry across the mouth of the River Elbe at Cuxhaven. Two ferries make the 90-minute crossing several times a day, enabling the motorhomer to avoid Hamburg travelling to or from Denmark. | New Elbe Ferry |
| 1 Sep | Brian's Wolds Challenge: Good friend and fellow cyclist Brian has completed the tough 146 miles in 2 days Yorkshire Wolds Challenge. Over 180 cyclists raised money for a charity based in the East Riding town of Malton where the ride started and finished. | Brian Takes On the Yorkshire Wolds Challenge |
| 1 Sep | Camping in Turkey: Mike Thompson shares his experience of camping near Istanbul and near Ankara on his recent motorhome tour of Turkey. He also reports on the safety of 'wild camping' in that country. | Camping in Turkey |
| 1 Sep | Camping in Bulgaria: Sara Flinn has given us details of her campsite, Kamping Kromidovo, which is very well placed near Bulgaria's borders with Greece and Macedonia. We aim to be travelling that way this Autumn. | Kamping Kromidovo |
| 1 Sep | The Motorhome Diaries: Making the total of such sites reach 50, we are happy to recommend this website by Sheila and Gilroy Coleman. In addition to the usual European countries, they have motorhomed in New Zealand, Japan and Argentina! | 50 Recommended Websites by and for Motorhomers |
| 16 Jul | Summer in Scandinavia 2015: After overland journeys to and from Greece in 2014-15 we spent spring in Ireland, Scotland and England (including The Grand Tour). In June we took a ferry from Hull to Rotterdam to cross the Netherlands and Germany for another ferry to a summer in Sweden, Norway and Finland. | Summer in Scandinavia 2015 |
| 11 Jul | Dachau, the Prototype Concentration Camp: Following Margaret's report on our recent visit to Dachau in the leafy suburbs of Munich, Barry has written a brief account of the purpose and history of this, the first of several such camps in German-occupied Europe. This evil concept was later extended into the Extermination Camps of Eastern Poland. | Dachau: Its Purpose and History |
| 11 Jul | Readers' Comments: There are now 675 Readers' Comments, with only one that contains what might be called a negative reaction.. Guess who? | Readers' Comments Update |
| 10 Jul | From Slovenia to Ireland 2015: Now complete! A rainy spell in Sweden has enabled Margaret to complete her Travel Log of our 1,800-mile (2900 km) motorhome journey from Slovenia to Ireland, ending in a ferry from Larne to Cairnryan in SW Scotland. | Travel Log: Slovenia to Ireland |
| 9 Jul |
Midsummer Carnival in the Netherlands: On a ride
along the cycle paths of the Eastern Netherlands we passed through the town of
Goor. In a leafy suburb we were surprised to see numerous groups and floats
preparing for their Midsummer Carnival Procession. Here are many puzzling images!
| Pictures of the Carnival in Goor |
| 9 Jul | Pictures from the Grand Tour: Here are five galleries containing the best of the many images captured by Kevin during the Grand Tour described below. Hover on '2015', then on 'Grand Tour . . ', then select a Gallery. Links to the pictures have also been added to the account of the tour in this website. | Pictures from the Tour An Account of the Tour |
| 21 Jun | A Grand Tour of Northern England & Wales 2015: Accompanied by Australians Rebecca and Kevin who developed this website for us in 2005, we made this 2-week 1,100-mile (1760 km) tour by hire car. The Tour started from Brownhills in Newark and visited Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, North Wales, Lancashire and Yorkshire. | A Grand Tour |
| 6 May | The Barkers in Norway 2014: On their 17th comprehensive, fully researched and recorded VW campervan journey in a European country, Paul and Sheila provide a well-written, illustrated and mapped account for us all to use. Among much else, the fauna and flora of Norway are described and there is a Detailed List and Grading of the 82 Campsites they used. | The Barkers in Norway 2014
|
| 5 May | North Through the Balkans: After a winter motorhoming in the Greek Peloponnese, we cross the Gulf of Corinth and head north on what is a new (for us) overland route to the UK through Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. | North through the Balkans |
| 5 May | Ten Thousand Miles through Europe: This is a summary of our overland motorhome journey to and from Greece in 2014 through into 2015. Distances and times are given, along with links to the five travel logs which cover the journey. | A European Journey |
| 26 Apr | Breakdown Scam in Serbia: We have received the following warning from our good friend Martin Jeffes, owner of Camping Sakar Hills in Biser, Bulgaria. The report came from German travellers who fell foul of a scam at the Motel Jerina while travelling east through Serbia. | Breakdown Scam in Serbia |
| 13 Apr | Meeting Paul the Tent-maker: Leaving the Peloponnese, we spent two nights in Ancient Corinth with its links to St Paul. Reminded that we had met him before in Ephesus and in Philippi, we developed a list of 24 places where our paths had crossed. Lesvos and Damascus are the exceptions and sadly it's too late now for the latter. | Meeting Paul the Tent-maker |
| 12 Apr | The Greek Easter: Writing on the 9th of April from the edge of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia, we take a nostalgic look at Greek Easters Past. With 7 photographs from 4 different locations. | The Traditions of the Greek Orthodox Easter |
| 5 Apr | An American Perspective on Security and Safety: Richard and Kathy Howe have been travelling fulltime since 2001, initially in the Americas and, since 2010, in 40 countries of Europe, North Africa and West Asia. Here is a new and very useful perspective, first published on their own extensive website. | An American Perspective |
| 3 Apr | Dr Bob's 13-point Prescription for Security & Safety: Dr Bob sends this prescription from Sri Lanka, en route to Australia. Very experienced travellers, Dr Bob and Sandra keep a McLouis motorhome in Spain and a Land Rover Discovery and caravan in Australia. They also have some great ideas on how to deal with intruders. | Dr Bob's Prescription |
| 2 Apr | Norway - The Ultimate Campsite Guide: This is a detailed and graded list of 82 campsites used by Paul and Sheila Barker in 2014, the length and breadth of Norway. Full descriptions, phone numbers, co-ordinates, website, availability of WiFi and costs are included, along with an interactive map of the country. | 82 Campsites in Norway fully Described and Evaluated |
| 29 Mar | Winter Camping in Greece: After travelling from the Turkish border through northern Greece to Patras, followed by a full circuit of the Peloponnese, we make major updates to our descriptions of the few campsites open in winter. We also improve and greatly extend the list of places for quiet overnight parking ('night halts', 'free camping', 'stopovers', 'camperstops'). Not least, we have added GPS co-ordinates where available. | Campsites Open All Year in the Peloponnese and Northern Greece Overnight Parking throughout Greece |
| 28 Mar | Security and Safety in the Motorhome: This is a new category, gathering together all 20 articles on this important subject. Included is a link to 48 captioned images of the many security and safety features in our German Hymer-built Carado T337 motorhome. | Security and Safety in the Motorhome |
| 25 Mar | Our First Year on the Road: Reminiscing on the 20th anniversary of our life on the road, we looked back through the Newsletter we wrote for that very first year. In those days, it had to be typed, copied, enveloped, addressed, stamped and posted, in this case from Italy. | 1995 Newsletter |
| 25 Mar |
20 Years on the Road:
25 March 2015 is a National Holiday (Independence Day) in Greece. For us, it celebrates
20 years since we started the engine in our fully-loaded first motorhome and set off from our house in Huddersfield. Much has happened since.
| 20 Years on the Road |
| 24 Mat | Response to the Camping Finikes Report: This is the reaction of Ian Shires on his blog to our report on the deterioration of Camping Finikes, followed by our response to him! | Camping Finikes: Our Response to a Reaction |
| 18 Mar | 53 Bicycle-Related Quotations: We have selected 53 bicycle-related quotes from the 86 collected by bicycle historian Carlton Reid for his proposed book 'BikeBoom'. They range from Boris Johnson to Jean-Paul
Sartre and from Iris Murdoch to Michelle Pfeiffer! | Bicycle-Related Quotations |
| 17 Mar | Stopovers on Farms, Vineyards, Etc: Our list of guides to camperstops on farms, vineyards, etc throughout Europe has been updated to include information on the latest edition of the German 'Winzer Atlas' (= Winery Map). | Europe-wide Stopovers |
| 16 Mar | LPG in Greece: We add two new websites (with clickable maps and co-ordinates) giving the location of the ever-increasing number of LPG stations in Greece. We particularly recommend an AVIN LPG station that we used near Nafplio in the Peloponnese. | LPG in Greece |
| 8 Mar | Greece in Spring 2015: Following our autumn motorhome journey across northern Europe to the far east of Bulgaria, and the onward winter journey to the far southwestern corner of the Greek mainland, we begin our springtime travels north to the Balkans and a route towards France and Ireland. | Greece in the Spring of 2015 |
| 7 Mar | Tourist Snoopers Proposed for Greece: Following our report on Camping Finikes, the Greek Finance Minister has proposed that official paid 'snoopers' could be employed to check on the rampant illegal financial activities within the Greek tourist industry. We quote from the Guardian in vindication of our 'snooping'. | The Proposed Tourist Snoopers of Greece
|
| 1 Mar | The Deterioration of Camping Finikes: We have made regular winter visits to Camping Finikes in the far southwestern corner of the Greek Peloponnese, but for the last 8 years we experienced with regret its slow decline to the point where we will not return. This report gives the full story. | Camping Finikes Report
|
| 23 Feb |
New Recommended Websites: Three more
non-commercial websites written by and for motorhome travellers have been
added to our list of recommendations: two are journeys by Hymer and one an exploration in a VW Devon. |
49
Recommended Travellers' Websites |
| 23 Feb |
Brentacre Insurance: Gary Kemp writes
that Brentacre had just insured his Fleetwood C class American motorhome,
giving him a good price, 365 days Europe-wide cover and EU recovery. More
details among the 36 other insurance companies we describe. |
Insurance
for RV's |
| 17 Feb |
In Greece in the Winter of 2014/2015:
Margaret completes a detailed, illustrated account of our 1,400- mile
(2240 km) motorhome journey through Greece to Finikounda from the
Bulgarian/Turkish border, staying in 22 different places. |
In
Greece Winter 2014-15 |
| 17 Feb |
Aussies on Tour in France, Spain & Portugal
2014: Pam and Martin Williams give a full, daily account of their
motorhome tour, with a detailed introduction and overview. Each
photograph of the many in their Gallery and Slide Show links directly to a
detailed map of their journey. |
Aussies
on Tour in France and Iberia |
| 5 Feb |
SYRIZA The First Week: The election was on
Sunday, the new government started work on Monday - discover what was achieved
by the end of the week! This socialist government is compared with that
of Clement Atlee between 1945 and 1951. |
SYRIZA
in its First Week |
| 1 Feb |
Cycling in the Welsh Borders: This account
of fourteen of our cycle rides in and around the Ceiriog and Llangollen
valleys now has links to a map and a distance and height profile for each ride.
There are also links to 68 photographs and to Annwen Jones' cycle hire
business in the Trevor canal basin by the Pontcysyllte
Aqueduct. |
Cycling
in the Welsh Borders Update |
| 27 Jan |
Travel Log UK to Greece 2014: This is the
detailed travel log of our first journey in the Carado T337 motorhome - 3,700
miles (5900 km) overland through 11 countries from Newark to Bulgaria's border
with Greece and Turkey. |
UK
to Greece Autumn 2014 in Detail |
| 14 Jan |
Autumnal Journey through Eastern Europe: With a
Map, Table of Distances and Photographs, we compare this motorhome journey with
routes behind the Iron Curtain, cycled in the summers of 1988 and
1989. |
Eastern
Europe 1988 to 2014 |
| 12 Jan |
Camping Akrata is Open! Dave Hutton says it
is open all year, but the gates are shut when there are no
customers. It's clean, modern and with plenty of hot water, plus all the
necessaries for motorhomes. Free wifi too! The site backs on to the beach.
More detail in our full list of Campsites Open All Year in Greece. |
Camping Open All Year on the
Gulf of Corinth |
| 11 Jan |
Motorhome Service in Greece: Antonis and
Alexander Zampetas run the business founded by their father near Thessaloniki
over 45 years ago. They offer repairs, sales, service and accessories for
motorhomes and caravans and also provide free overnight
stays with hook up, water, wc, dump and WiFi |
English-Speaking
Motorhome Service in Greece |
| 9 Jan |
A Visit to Mostar and Half River Camping: Keith
and Jenny Dear visit Mostar on a motorhome journey into Bosnia Herzegovina from
Croatia. They stayed at nearby Half River Camping which they highly
recommend. |
The
Dears in Bosnia Herzegovina |
| 8 Jan |
South America by Truck Camper: Australians Gary
and Elizabeth Gray, currently travelling in the USA, outline their recent
journey in South America with links to fuller accounts in a Truck Camper
magazine and their own website.
We probably call a 'truck camper' by the less prosaic term 'demountable'. |
Truck
Camping in South America |
| 7 Jan |
Claude's Travels in the Balkans: In 12,000
words and 47 pictures, Marilyn and Geoff Cass describe a 4,000-mile, 35-day
journey through the Balkans, starting and ending in Calais. Slovenia, Croatia
and Bosnia Herzegovina are explored, the highlight being time in Mostar and
Sarajevo. |
A
Motorhome Journey through the Balkans |
| 7 Jan |
Camping in Istanbul Update: At the end of 2014,
Jamie Wakey described and gave co-ordinates for the new location of the Sports
Complex in Istanbul which offers camping and other facilities for
motorhomes. The Fisherman's Wharf location is unchanged. |
New
Location for Camping in Istanbul |
| 6 Jan |
The Ongoing Greek Crisis: Using
articles from a wide range of reputable international western newspapers, Prof
Aristides Hatzis of Athens University traces the current crisis from its
start in mid December as it approaches the election of January
25th. |
Greece
in Crisis |
| 4 Jan |
Overnight Parking in Germany: Heide
Haake writes from Germany that you are allowed legally to park for one
night on any public car park or space in that country. Parking is not Camping.
Read more . . . . . |
OK
to Park Overnight in Germany |
|
|
|
| Oct 2014 |
Images of our Carado T337 Motorhome: Taken
in Scotland and Germany, here are some early photographs of our Carado
motorhome bought from Brownhills in August of this year |
The
T337 Carado in Pictures |
| Oct 2014 |
Life After Marquis: July was wasted extricating
ourselves and our money from the clutches of Marquis Motorhomes. Thereafter we
bought a motorhome from Brownhills of Newark, equipped it and took the ferry
from Newcastle to Ijmuiden near Amsterdam and re-entered the world of
motorhoming. |
Life
after Marquis |
| July 2014 |
Marquis Malpractice: This is the almost
unbelievable story of how Marquis Motorhomes failed to deal with any of
the complaints we made arising from their mis-selling of an overweight
motorhome and how they refused to refund the money we had paid without
inordinate delay and draconian conditions. |
Marquis Malpractice |
|
White Vans, Camper Van and Caravans: Following
16 years of motorhoming, first with a Ford-based Four Winds and then a
Chevrolet Fleetwood Flair, for 3 years we experimented with a number of vans
and caravans. Now in our 20th year, we have returned to motorhoming with a
Hymer-based Carado T337. All their pictures are gathered together in one
place. |
Mercedes
Sprinter 1
Mercedes
Sprinter 2
VW
Crafter
Compass
Rallye
Bailey
Ranger
Lunar
Quasar
Carado
T337
|
|
MagBazPictures: Our new website is now up and
running and still growing. It will hold photographs from some major
past journeys and all our photos from January 2012 onwards. Several
thousands of pictures remain on
magbaztravels and are still used to illustrate
articles. |
New Website
MagBazPictures |
|
37 Motorhome Insurance Agents: The need to renew our
motorhome insurance encouraged us to resurvey the jungle of motorhome insurers.
This led to the revision and updating of our findings.Contact
Us to share your
experience. |
37
Motorhome Insurers Reviewed |
|
Readers' Comments: So
far, 651 readers and users of this website have offered comments and
opinions by email. |
675 Readers'
Comments |
|
72 Fellow Travellers have
contributed articles and images to this website, sharing their experience
of long-term, long-distance travel by motorhome and/or
bicycle. |
74
Fellow Travellers |
|
62 Useful Links: Selected from the many,
here are a number of links to websites useful and relevant to the
long-term, long-distance traveller by motorhome and/or
bicycle. |
62
Useful Links |
|
308 Travel Quotations: The
collection of travel-related quotations has now reached 306 - so there
must be more than one for every occasion! Can you add to the
total? |
308
Travel Quotations |
|
48 Travellers' Website: These
non-commercial websites have been produced by long-distance motorhomers,
cyclists and other travellers. Please let us know about any other websites of
this type that you can personally recommend. Or perhaps you can recommend
your own site! |
48
Travellers' Websites |
|
147 Books for Travelling: 16
more books for our travelling in the summer of 2010 brings the total to
147, including some recommended by readers of this website. There are
guide books, cook books, fiction and relevant non-fiction. Why not share
the contents of your motorhome's bookshelf/ bicycle pannier?Contact
Us! |
147
Books for Travelling |
|
The Collections of 3 Fellow
Travellers: These
fellow long-distance, long-term travellers and motorhomers have each
contributed a good number of articles to this website; enough to form a
personal Collection. Click on their name to see a clickable list of their
wide-ranging articles. |
Don Madge Collection
(32)
Webb Collection (17)
Dr Bob Collection
(16) |
|
Our 32 Greatest Cycle Rides: Gathered
together here are brief descriptions and links to 32 of what we consider
to be the best of hundreds of our cycle rides over the years. The chosen
rides add up to 34,730 miles (55,570 km) or an average of 1,085 miles
(1,740 km) per ride. |
32
Greatest Cycle Rides |
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