Camping.

Having just returned from a camping trip to the Isle of Wight, I thought I would share the experience with you. It all began very early on a Monday morning. The plan was to travel from our home (near Antwerp, Belgium) and arrive in Dunkerque, France, at around 9.00am in time to catch the 10.00am ferry to Dover.

Day one.
6.30am: Off we set with an RAC routeplanner in hand, all very excited, car packed to the roof with various camping equipment, myself, my boyfriend and his 3 children (aged 11, 8 and 7). The roads were traffic-free and we were rather pleased when we made it to the French border at around 8.00am, well ahead of schedule!

8.00am: Entered France and we noticed the signs for Paris, realising with horror we had headed in the wrong direction.

8.30am: Left France and headed back into Belgium, looking desperately for signs to Dunkerque because the RAC routeplanner was now about as useful as a chocolate teapot!

9.00am: Entered France again! This time heading in the right direction! Big sighs of relief all round I can tell you. Made it to the ferry port with about 10 minutes to spare.

The ferry crossing was smooth and we arrived in Dover on time and set out on the journey to Portsmouth where we met a friend(a rather lovely lady we met through chat on here) for a coffee before taking the next ferry to the Isle of Wight. As we left the ferry I got out the trusted routeplanner again and off we set for what should have been a 20 minute drive to Nodes Point in Ryde. An hour later, as we passed a bowling alley for the fourth time, we decided we were totally lost again. I called my friend(who was already waiting for us at the campsite) and asked her for help. She talked us through the route and eventually we made it. We just had time to set-up our tent before it was dark and then we headed off for something to eat as we were all starving. When we came out of the restaurant, the heavens opened and drenched us all to the skin. The rain continued for the next two days, a wonderful start to a camping holiday.