And we’re off!
After a very stressful week of getting all our stuff together for the trip, whittling it down to the bare essentials (and then trimming that down again!), moving the entirety of our belongings to Eliza’s family and trying our best to make sure that it’s packaged up to be shipped to the other side of the world when we eventually move, we’re actually on our way.
The journey to the Eurotunnel was entirely uneventful, and it felt very bizarre to be setting off on the trip we’ve been dreaming about for so long.
Once the train was successfully caught, with sandwiches and snacks squashed into any spare room in the top box and Tom’s rucksack, we settled in to making friends.
It’s probably the best thing about taking a motorbike on the Eurotunnel – you go in your own little carriage (too often, it’s been just us!) with all the other motorbikes and you can chat all things bikes. This time, we made friends with a lovely rugby coach as well as a cargo ship captain – both pretty epic jobs, and both avid bikers – and the first people in a while we’ve given Boondock Puffin stickers too! It makes us super happy to meet other motorbikers, and spreading some further feeling of community is what we aim to do.
Arriving into France, we headed out to find a campsite for the night. Unfortunately, for a reason I’m not sure we could explain, we’d chosen to leave on a Sunday and camp spots (particularly as it’s the summer holidays) were very limited. Ultimately, we went with the only site we could find that had space, in an odd little settlement called La Capelle-les-Boulogne. This felt very much like camping on a village green really, but nonetheless, it was clean, cheerful and more than served its purpose. We would definitely stay here again. After a supper of all our Eurotunnel snacks, and an attempt to figure out how to settle into camping life again after so much stress and upheaval, we settled around camp, got everything set up and enjoyed our first night of the trip.
Some thoughts of the day:
All in all a successful day… under budget! A measly €6.40 for our campsite for the night – a little bit of an odd site, but with beautiful surroundings. We both struggled to relax, probably because the last few weeks have been so stressful. It’s great to finally be on the road and actually doing what we’ve been thinking about for so long.
A few recommendations:
Places to visit:
- Aquarium in Boulogne-sur Mer
- Forest Trail (Espace de Baincthun) in the Forêt Domaniale de Boulogne
- Beach: Crique de la Crevasse.
Places to stay (if camping’s not your thing)*:
- If luxury is your thing: De la Maison aux Ateliers
- A holiday home: Évasion
- Wellness orientated (19th Century converted farm house with wellness area and option of massages!): Alex Factory Gites et Chambres d’hôtes Côte d’Opale
Don’t forget to subscribe to our website for more travel, motorbike and camping things!
Boondock Puffins 
Leave a comment