In 2007 we decided to do our first driving holiday from the UK. We did this before we purchased the Land Rover, in our Vauxhall: Goldie. To say that it was crowded with us and all the gear would be an understatement.

This was our first camping holiday, as a couple and with Cassie. At the same time, this would be Cassie’s first camping holiday ever. She was only 2 years old at the time too. We decided to visit Dan’s family in Limoges and St Jean D’Aulps.

We tried to avoid the toll roads and motorways on this trip to get a good feel for France and experience as much as possible. We hadn’t experienced European campsites yet and therefore we did not know what to expect. We invested in a Camping Card which allowed us to use this instead of our passports when booking into campsites. We must say that it was a good thing to have with us.

We did the trip in July on the advice from the family that this was a good time to visit. Suffice it to say that we had a wet holiday!

We, unfortunately, purchased a cheapie tent in a package form that came with 2 double blow-up mattresses, 4 sleeping bags and a 4 man tent all in its own carry bag. We sold the extra 2 sleeping bags and blow-up mattress and bought Cassie a ‘my own blow-up mattress’. This was great as it was a blow-up bed and sleeping bag all in one.

We planned this holiday down to the campsite we would stay at before we left. This turned out to be ok for us this time round as we were European driving holiday virgins. We had no GPS and went just on a highlighted route on the France map and Google directions.

On the first night camping, I think we were lucky as we forgot that Sundays were closed days in France. We were also lucky that we had brought some food with us for dinner because there were no shops open. Setting up the tent for the first time was also an experience.

We managed to make it to Dan’s Dad’s place in Lizieres near Limoges in good time and lucky for us their neighbours were back in the UK, so we slept on our blow-up beds in their lounge. Having the use of a bathroom in the middle of the night with a small child who was just potty trained was very handy. We had a great few days exploring the area with family and catching up.

After spending a lovely few days with Dan’s Dad, sister and stepmom, we headed for St Jean D’Aulps, to Dan’s Sister and her Partner. This drive gave us some great scenery through the mountains. We were taken to what is fondly known as ‘Goat Mountain’. Here all the wild goats congregate because they know they can get a free meal from all the tourists. It was stinky but entertaining.

We started our journey back to Calais from here and the end of a great first adventure. We immediately started planning what we wanted to do the next year. This is what started the bug and what planted the idea for ‘The Big One’!