Montreuil-Sur-Mer (although it isn't)

 Chris back now with the last photos from our Sept-Oct French trip.
After Paris we spent the last two nights in France at Montreuil-Sur-Mer

                             

According to our 100 Beaux Villages book there was motorhome parking somewhere but it wasn't clear where.  We started by parking in the main town centre square and made our way to Tourist Information.

They directed us to the 'motorhome parking' and said it was shared with buses.  We were pleased to discover it was a proper 'aire' with fresh water, electricity and waste disposal facilities.  There was even a WC and wash basin etc. in the shed like structure.  Ok, the views weren't great, but it was very convenient, free, and most of the time we had it to ourselves.

Of course we didn't spend much time in the van.  The weather was fine so we set off to explore Montreuil.

Our walking wasn't aimless though: apart from being one of the 100 Beaux Villages, and therefore an interesting tourist destination, it is now home to The Wine Society's depot / shop in France.

Until now we had tried two approaches to buying wine to take home (1) Visit caves as we travel around, taste the wines and buy it by the half dozen or so.  This can be great but there isn't a lot of spare storage in the van to be lugging wine around for much of the holiday.  (2) Wait until we get to Calais and stock up from the big supermarkets.  We've tried this a couple of times but don't really know what we're buying.

John has been a member of the Wine Society for many years and trusts the wines they offer.  Usually he rings them from home with an order and they deliver.  When we found out that members can call into their Montreuil depot and get an additional reduction on top of only paying the French duty rate it seemed like a great idea.  We found the depot, selected some wines, and arranged to pick them up in the van the next day.

Then we spent the rest of our time exploring the town.

We had a great walk around the ramparts

Which went on...

..and on...

..in a complete circuit around the town.

This last photo was taken in Kent, where we stayed for a couple of nights with Kathy and David.  We went for a rather wet walk somewhere along the Medway estuary: maybe they'll read this and tell us where.  The height barrier is what a motorhomer dreads when looking for parking, I know they exist in France but don't think we came across one on this trip.