A new house...

The daily ice creams continued

And so we came to the final campsite near St Malo, and a real treasure it was too. Our final days of le grand trip were spent soaking up the last rays of sun, enjoying the swimming pool (or land swimming which Emily invented), gorging on cheese, bread and all the other culinary delights that France has to offer. We took it fairly easy, as the campsite was very family friendly, with animals to feed and a playpark, on top of the swimming pool and plentiful games that were around. I even managed a quick trip to the supermarket to stock up for the next few months :-).

 Chillin' out campervan stylee

 Competitive 'Hungry Hippos'

 Crashed out after 20 lengths of land swimming

A bientôt mon beau pays

And so we arrived at a pitstop for a few days in Birmingham at my parents. I still had my hat and we were still singing our holiday song, so all was well with the world. But how could that be made better? By Grandma and Grandad giving Emily a new house, in fact my sister's old one. This was one excited supreme being.

 What could possibly be underneath there?

 Transfixed in anticipation

 That is one happy face

And away she goes

I spy with my little eye...

No-one told me that endless games of "I Spy" were an essential part of life on the road. Nor did they tell me that there are so may things that can be coloured blue (we play colours I Spy not letters with the supreme being). Nor did they tell me how long a supreme being's runny nose can last for and how many times a day that same supreme being can say "my nose Daddy".

Life on the road's not all rock 'n' roll you know.

Largin' it camper van stylee

So after game of I Spy numbered 1,027 and nose blow 1,454 - I thought it time to update our road trip adventures in France. 

Obviously, French cuisine, beaches, cycling, swimming pools, and a whole host of other things isn't as exciting as I Spy but we pressed on round the Ile de Re regardless, and encamped ourselves in a fantastic site complete with tropical pool. Ile de Re is one of many French hotspots for oysters, clams, mussels and other seafood delights on France's Atlantic coast. Joined to La Rochelle by a large bridge it is a cycling haven with picturesque old towns, as all the houses are painted white with green shutters. It gives it a real Mediterranean feel. 

And so we explored the old towns by bike, finding our way round by means of I Spy instead of a map, and nose blowing pit-stops instead of drinks in cafes. All seemed to work fine as we had a marvellous time, enjoying the food, culture and genuine joie de vivre of this laid back Ile.

La Flotte - typical port on Ile de Re

Soaking up the old town's atmosphere

 And then soaking up the sun on the beach

Oh so French! (Part I)

Oh so French! (Part II)

The first 6 of many oysters that Daddy ate

Quelle surprise!

Local salt production

View over the island from Le Phare des Baleines (lighthouse)

And then from one French isle to another, as the never ending game of I Spy led us from Ile de Re to Ile de Noirmoutier where the lovely French ladies were out in force for the final stages of the European Cup.

Ooh la la...a pair of French lovelies...

And we continued our road adventures with a wonderful campsite on the beach, more seafood and trips out to local produce and bric a brac markets, butterfly land, a voyage on the islands little train, horse rides both real and merry-go-round, and of course joining in the atmosphere as France progressed to the final of Euro 2016.

An evening stroll 50yds from DDU

Even Mummy joined in on the oyster action

Pack horse Daddy with beach essentials

Horse riding (Part I)

Horse riding (Part II)

Daddy joining in the petanque action

A myriad of butterflies in the Ile de Papillon

Looking over Noirmoutier

But all good things must come to an end, and the road beckoned once more as we headed off from the French isles with a few final games of I Spy and a good nasal blast. One more stop till home - but this road trip was already feeling magnificent :-).

 Night night to Re and Noirmoutier

I can see that Daddy...

I want to ride my bicycle

The Ile de Re is a cycling haven - and the supreme being has been making the most of it. Previously our cycling efforts have involved either Emily being transported on a bike seat or us walking alongside Emily on her balance bike. But now all that has changed...we are officially a cycling family!! Ile de Re by bike - there's no stopping us now :-)

Videoclip: I can see that Daddy...

Ooh la Loire...

A good road trip has a few vital ingredients.

1. A hat - Captain of the ship needs a hat. That's me - if in name only. My role is generally more driver, tent putter upper, fixer of broken things, luggage carrier and general help around the place but when I'm sitting up front in the Captain's chair I like to pretend I am the Captain of my ship.

The Rooke family are off with new Captain's hat

2. A song - Being the Captain means it's important to keep the crew's spirits up. So I penned a new ditty for our travels. The family might have pretty much had all the words learned by the time we left Glasgow, but as we departed on our lengthy voyage it kept our flagging spirits up when the journey got tough...or at least I liked to think so. 

Ooh la la. Here we are.

We're going to France in our Camping Car.

Where the sun shines bright,

And the sea is blue.

Lots of fun and laughter too.

The song lasted well till we landed in France when the supreme being pointed out that we were now in France so had to change the words. And so, like Heinz, there became at least 33 varieties of this song - too many to list here you'll be glad to know.

The crew on board the ship to St Malo

3. A sense of the unknown - The final ingredient. That sense of mystery...

Will the van last round France?

Will Emily sleep in her bed or will one of us be forced on to the floor outside?

Will the weather hold out or will we be confined like sardines to a tin inside DDU?

And so, throwing all caution to the wind - we were off!

First stop was a night near Preston to stay with our good friends Edward and Ewa in their beautiful house in the country, with a garden which left me drooling. I can thoroughly recommend it as a great pit stop off the M6 - the sun shone, the food was home grown and delicious, and the company delightful as we nursed our societal wounds post-Brexit.

Cycle tour round the garden

And then it was on to the Southern Rookes for a few days including a tour of Oxford with the Houdini like Chloe, a fantastic trip on the Thames on La Margarais for an early taste of France, and some more wonderful food and company to get us right in the holiday spirit. Merci biens!

Rooke Posse

Mutiny! Supreme being in charge

Cruising delight

And then we were off proper. First stop - the Loire, for a touch of Chateau spotting, the Loire by bike and a glorious introduction to French gastronomie as we started to blend in with the locals.

 When in France - eat croissant.

Watch out for Brits on bikes abroad

Hollyhocks abounded everywhere

 Delight by the lake

 The Loire from DDU

Advantures out and about...

DDU has been a part of my life for many years now. We’ve been through many wonderful advantures together round Spain, France, the Netherlands and the UK. There’s been long periods of ill health, hefty private clinic bills but many, many, fun times have also been had. He's been there when I wake in a morning and there when I've fallen asleep at night. And he has many hidden treasures inside, so much so there is a saying in the Rooke household that "the van will provide".

This year is no exception and we’ve a big trip round France planned. But before that we’ve been putting dear DDU through his paces and enjoying some quality family time together around Scotland. First up there was a wild camping trip to our favourite spot on Loch Chon which involved a detour to Scotland’s only lake (Lake of Menteith) and a trip to the community beach and field at Kinlochard. The weather was grand – so much so that after opening the back doors whilst parked up to keep cool, we managed to drive a couple of miles down the round without realising they were open. That was until we discovered we’d lost some of DDU’s treasures out the back. Hasty retreat time to recover said treasures, and then a beautiful night was spent by the loch.

 The bluebells were out

 Jumping about at Inchmahone Priory

 More jumping about at the community beach

 All the family together

Which way's up

Then we had a long weekend in Dumfriesshire near Kirkcudbright – where the sun just seemed to keep on shining. We stayed at a wonderful campsite on the Solway Firth and lived for a few days in rural bliss with our own private beach just 5 minutes’ walk away. We ate fish and chips by the sea, went beach combing on the shore, ran around in wild meadows, and had a lovely bbq with Tanya’s friends, Fiona and Frank.

 Our own private beach

 From sandcastle destroyer aged 1 to sandcastle protector aged 3

 The scent of garlic was somewhat in the air

 My beautiful girls

The view from DDU's side wasn't bad

And then finally there was the annual Dad walking weekend with Big John. This year we headed up the west coast for more manly munro's, campfires and beer. We also substituted the angry fish and chip shop owner for an angry farmer; some angry midges for some more angry midges; and more not angry at all stunning scenery for much more not angry at all stunning scenery - the highlight being the walking on the CMD arete. Great fun :-)

The big man and a big view

The van doth provide magnificent views

Early morning bath

The stunning CMD arete to Ben Nevis