We had a cunning plan but it failed - VANLIFE FRANCE
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ธ.ค. 2023
- Join us, Carol & Ken, on our latest adventure in our little red Nissan NV200 campervan. In this video we take the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe for a change to see how it differs to the Channel Tunnel.
After a 4 hour crossing we park up for a cup of tea then it’s time to stock up with food.
The next day we take a walk up to Château d’Arques-La-Bataille but will the heat be too much for us?
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This episode was filmed 8-9th June 2023
#vanlife #lifeistooshort #littleredcamper#relaxing #vanlifefrance
It's an indication how much we like your videos in that we dont watch "Life is too short", we watch Ken and Carol.😀
Thanks for the lovely comment 🙂
Great, the start of another adventure with Carol and Ken.
Great start to a new trip, thanks for sharing 😊
Cheers Lee ❤️
Really enjoyed this. You are both a pleasure to watch, and the content, filming, editing, voiceovers, and music just flow together into one fantastic masterpiece. Thankyou.
Thanks for that 👍
I’m an idiot! When you were looking directly at a cooling fan talking about one of your fans passing away, I honestly thought you were talking about one of us (youtube fans)!. Copped on then and did chuckle to myself. Glad we’re all ok for now. X Love that we're going on a new adventure with you.
😁👍 That made us laugh 👍
Great to see you both I'm looking forward to your new adventures , take care 😊
Thanks for watching 🙂
Keep going 💯👀
I’ve been waiting for this! Nice to see you both! Beautiful buildings, great scenery, good food. What else do we need!
Dieppe Newhaven has always been our favourite crossing precisely because it does not have the hurly burly of other routes.
Nice to have you guys back . Cheers from Toronto !!
Looking forward to seeing more from this trip.
excited to see you back even if there are pitfalls ahead
Great to see you again on Utube. looking forward to seeing your travels in France.
As always perfectly relaxing xx
Welcome back Carol, Ken and your little red campervan 😄 Phew 32 too hot for us, you did really well. I loved the filming of the castle, thank you. Looking forward to part 2. ❤️
It’s great to be back in France with my two favorite friends and travel companions.
Hope you're feeling better, hope you guys have a great Christmas and a happy new year when it comes !!!
Thanks. You too Garry 🙂🎄
So interesting to see the various places we have also been .. we visited the castle in Feb and it was quite a frosty day …
Great to have you guys back on my telly this evening. Glad your back is feeling alot better Ken.
I do love your road trips, set at a relaxing pace, through quaint little towns, with a lovely meal and a beer to end the day. Fantastic 👍🐸
Cheers 👍
Great to see you back again. Another great video. Thanks.
Thanks for watching 🙂
Brightened up my dark lonely stormy evening. Thank you 🥐🥖👍
Thanks for watching 🙂
Missed you…welcome back…to new adventures!
Great to have you guys bk. Great video. As always . Air con defo needed . Thanks for sharing
Air con may be something to consider for the new van ☺️
Thanks guys that was a lovely video 👍
It’s nice to see you on yet another adventure. I love your one pot meals. Looking forward to next week. Hope you’re feeling better, Ken. Cheers
Thanks for watching 🙂
Thank you for this new series! Always enjoyed your videos. Lots of snow here in Canada, I love all this green scenery on my screen. 😊
We are hoping for some winter camping when our new van comes 👍
I travelled this route back in 1990 with my Parents it took over 4 hours to cross but at night so not that bad - it was a last minute decision to travel so we were lucky to get on
Watching this from the Alps! You're providing some inspiration for the summer! :)
Brilliant to have you both back, we have missed your videos as we look forward to them.
Lovely video as always.
See you next week, take care
Thanks June ❤️
So glad to watch your videos of France. When I lived there in the uk we took the hoovercraft. 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
We took the hovercraft once - very bumpy 🤢🙂
@@LifeistooshortCK we where 3 kids, we laughed the whole time. Lol 😂 my parents where sea sick.
Hello you two, you always seem to find nice spots to camp out. Good to hear you're better. I'll make a note to buy some of those sheets for next summer.
They are cheap and work so well 👍
Lovely to have you back. We’ve missed you. Some beautiful scenery and yes, it would be amazing to go back in time to see the castle as it once was. Hope the cube fan works out ok. It looks bloomin’ hot! Tunnel every time for us. Most enjoyable. Take care ❤️😊
Thanks for watching. Yes it was blooming hot and that cube fan was useless 😂
Nice to see you back I have missed your weekly video. Hope your back get better as I can sympathise with you ken as I have had two spinal opps due to disc problems.
Thank you 🙏
Another excellent video. We took the ferry from Dieppe once but it was a high speed jet fouil thing - quite fast. You can take food to France, just not meat or dairy.
Enjoyed the video. Some gorgeous countryside and your prawn and spaghetti meal looked fabulous.
Glad you enjoyed it ❤️
Great little video.glad the back is better roll on the new van 👍
Cheers 👍
Have a wonderful Christmas will be great to see new van 🎅🏼🧑🎄🎄🚐
You have a good one as well 👍
Hi great to see you back get well soon
Cheers Gary 🙂👍
Makes me want to go back to France again...roll on next year.
Not long til you get the new van now! X
France is a wonderful place to campervan 👍
I know this was back in the summer but it is nevertheless lovely to see you both back out enjoying the countryside in little red once again. Glad your back is better Ken , it's a bally nuisance if you suffer with back problems as I know only too well. When you get older you have to watch it in that sort of heat, you could see plainly that Carol was suffering in it. Still you can't let it spoil your fun can you. That little personal cooler was a good investment. I had one for about seven years which looked identical to the one you bought in France. I hope it serves you two as well as mine did me. Looking forward to the rest of this little adventure unfolding over the next few weeks. It'll provide a nice juxtaposition to Camper Vibe who are currently in Ireland in the rain. 😬 Bruin out for now.🐻
We like showing summer in the winter and winter in the summer 😁👍. Cooler was a bit naff to be honest 😁👍
Welcome back 🤗. The spaghetti/prawns meal looked delicious. Have to admit that watching you in the heat, makes me very grateful for the cool weather now (can't stand the heat)😅. Glad you are feeling better Ken. Take care
Thanks Anita ❤️
You've reminded us of the raspberry beers that Carol had. We enjoyed them when we went to France. Glad to hear your back is better Ken.
Thanks for watching 🙂👍
Great editing ,,, gives a nice pace ,,,, if you had a couple of small dogs like the " ex pawers " that would be another interesting " focus "
One day 👍
Very interesting video,funny enough we are planning our French trip for next year and were thinking of Brittany ferry out , DFDS, from Dieppe back ,but having weighed it up with your video decided against the DFDS ,thanks .Dieppe itself very interesting town
A rough ride over to France and if I’m hearing you correctly it was a rough ride home too. So now I await to see how this venture unfolds! France is a beautiful country. I’m now wishing for those warm temps after having a cold snowy day here. Glad the back is mending! Can’t have a bad back and a travel vlog! Mary
Its a trip we will not forget 😁👍
Immensely enjoyable to again share your memories and ventures. I only ever once used the Newhaven to Dieppe crossing, at night, so it is nice to see in the daylight. I have found over the years and through lots of international climates, that the best way to keep cool is to get a really good and strong hand help fan (a real fan). It also helps in so many ways, the best so far is made of bamboo & thick fabric, slips into any pocket, light and strong. Used to have an adjustable metal clamp that allowed you to have a golf umbrella on your camp chair back, helped too. Here we are finally starting to have some summery weather, but with winds & occasional showers, expected for next two months. Take care of yourselves guys, relax and take some time to 'smell the roses'. Kia Ora from New Zealand. 💜💜 PS: A wee note to help with camping, get a cast iron skillet (square pan with rippled bottom), use it on your LPG stove to make the best toast and if necessary, great to grill anything on fire or gas. 👍👍
Hi Xavier. Cast iron would help with the poor heat I got and a wind deflector. Good to here summer has arrived 👍
@@LifeistooshortCK We have always had to use a wind shield with any outdoor stove, whether an old kerosene Primus or a modern disposable gas canister. I have a small folding metal screen that does a treat and intensifies the heat too. 💜💜
Hello Carol & Ken great vid 😁
Nice to see you back and looking forward to the rest of the series.
Did that evaporation fan actually work effectively? Nice to know there might be an off grid alternative! When the A/C broke at work they hired some large versions of those for the office and they were OK if you were close to them, but then you had to put up with their noise. Still that s memory now, as I'm retired 🙂
I've used the Newhaven - Dieppe service and that route does suffer with swell, always did, even when it was Sealink back in the 70s. On my last trip back in January the Captain mentioned they'd deployed the stabilisers. Good tip on the food queue! Those boats used aren't in their first flush of youth for certain, but they're functional and provide a good alternative than travelling to Kent. However, other than the queue on disembarkation for Passport checks it doesn't seem to suffer from the delays which can happen when using Dover routes, or the tunnel.
Good to hear your back is getting better Ken, I know how you feel, seems recovery takes a slow and long time!
Yes the ferry is fine really. I must of had a bit of a grump on when I filmed it. The fan was rubbish but is now doing ok in the study at home. As you say if you sit right by it its ok. The water pad that the air blows through stops the airflow. 👍
Good to see you back on our screens. We also bought one of these cooler cubes and what a waste of money😢
Yes rubbish 😁👍
Wouldnt have liked that crossing
Enjoying this x
My mother and I were at Versailles during a horrid heat wave in June. It was hideous. Packed jammed with tourist, not a single breath of air. Finally got back to hotel in Paris, no AC! It cooled off when the sun went down. And we went to Brittany and cool the next AM.
I know you two had to suffer! Good to,have you back!
That must have been unbearable at busy Versailles in that heat. Shocking that the hotel didn’t have aircon.
Hullo. Gosh that does look hot! I don’t understand, so little distance such a difference in weather. We have had rain ,wind and generally inclement weather. Didn’t even grill outside this year! It actually makes one feel warm watching you guys cook in 32degrees, whilst it rains, at least the snow will be gone by the morning! Looking forward to the next episode! Take care.
Hi Marion. Much too hot for me and even too hot for Carol which surprised me.
Watching as per on z quiet Sunday morning with a cuppa tea 🍵 and dunking biscuits 😋 great to see travelling back on the channel 👍 France has some lovely places 👌 this is the trip that turned out nof as per expected 🤔sooo all will be revealed at a later date 📅 😀 great to hear the old back is on thd mend Ken 👌👍 only a matter of weeks away from the new holiday transport 💯🎉
Yes we can’t wait to get it David. 😁👍
Hi kids from Spain. You need a windshield to put round any stove used outdoors. You can make one easily from three pieces of thin aluminium hinged using cycle spokes as hinge pins. Have only done the Newhaven to Dieppe route once and that was way back in 1955 and from there we took the train to Paris. I found that the sea crossing was a bit swell bound. We always use the tunnel these days.
Agree tunnel is so easy and you will see we used it coming back. Will try it with a windshield next time. It was too windy for it. 👍
Hi guys ,,, been watching yous for a good while,,such a nice couple indeed, your videos are so relaxing to watch ,,,, new subscriber here,,, love from us both in Scotland
Cheers thanks for the sub 👍
We used newhaven dieppe and found it very good and stayed at the air in town it was perfect. Will definatly use again. As someone else said just a bit calmer and if your not in a rush perfect
It’s very convenient for us but some you like some you don’t. Many people use it often so it was just us I think. 👍
So, a new journey begins! So looking forward to the rest. Bye for now.
Hello guys, nice video as always. That heat would definately be too much for us also.
Hoping to tour France next year in our converted campervan.
We wouldn’t go again in June, July or August to avoid the heat. Hope you have a great trip 🙂
Yeah, if this year is the new normal, we would love to wait till late august - early september.
Thank you very much and for the 3 words 👍 well done both and good luck . Our pop top is on the van now , and the rib bed arrives Monday , then I’m going for the noisy neighbour award 2023 while I work on the van in the drive . Good luck 👍👍👍🏴🇬🇧🇨🇦🦢
Good luck with the build 😁👍
Pleased your back has improved , I purchased a sciatic belt from amazon the best thing ever 👍 I wear it after the first few twinges and when it's difficult to sleep . Just thought I would drop that in , in case you didn't know about them .😊
Thanks for the tip. That could be useful to have in the van. If you could email me a link I will get one. 👍lifeistooshortwildcamper@gmail.com
You couldn't get in the castle but yay, the drone footage was great. T.
Hi 👋 Nice to see you both back on our screens & bringing us a bit of sunshine too! How did you find the little cube air cooler? The cake looked delicious 😎 It looks very pretty there, although I couldn’t cope with the heat. Em 🎄
Air cooler was fine if it was right by your face but in reality useless. The water system only cools if the humidity is low. Wouldn’t recommend.
Very enjoyable. Cheers. And love your choice of supermarket. Our favorite too. Got them new slippers yet? Not much time left
I am ready for the challenge 😁👍
Very pleasant relaxing viewing with a lovely feeling of summer 👍 I'm wondering what the music is that's playing at 23:00!
Being grateful by Bortex
There was a ferry used between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. ( Canada) the St Lawrence crossing. So many got sick while on it no matter the weather. It got named the Vomit Comet 😂😂😂
Sounds a real adventure 😁👍
Glad to hear your back is better. Treat it kindly.
Thanks Larry. How are you doing now?
@@LifeistooshortCK hanging in there. Treatments start on the 18th and go for 5 to 6 weeks. Will know more than. Thanks for asking.
@@lcook0825 hope all goes well for you. Take care ❤️
Great to have you back on my Friday night viewing
That Groot would have to go on the front seat - Jane in the back lol
RIP fan
We went to that castle in more wet weather I have to say 😂
Great flow as ever …. Nice one guys
Put that big Groot on the roof. Let the boy racers crap themselves when their headlights catch it 😁👍
Yes your visit was on a wednesday arround 12.00hr. I have the secret !!!!
😂
Still hugely enjoying the vids thanks. Phil (Isle of Man)
Cheers Phil 👍
Have missed you both, glad to see your back again. Love the drone shots Ken. Just experienced one of the hottest days here in a while.42c 😅
Wow, that’s well hot 🥵
Can’t be the UK!
@@louisajones3535 hi from australia
we had 40 degrees here today, thankfully we have had storms since around 4pm which has cooled the placed down, hope you guys get some relief from the heat, but thinking back to June/July when we were in UK/Europe it was hot most of the time, cheers, Garry from DownUnder
It stayed hot for almost all of it. Nice and wintry at home today though. It’s always nice after a storm 👍
@@LifeistooshortCK 23:15 here and I can see more lightning flashes and hear thunder, so more storms coming, temp is down to 23, cheers, Garry
I wish you would raffle your little red van when you get the new one! I dream of having a van like that! (Having sold my chunky 24' motorhome in the US before returning to the UK a couple of years ago.)
It would be fun but we saw the hassle it caused for another channel so we will take the more traditional route. 😁👍
Great to see you both back. Boy, that temperature would floor us. Great tip with the space blankets. Can we ask for your opinion on the wee air con unit you used? We've thought about one before to keep our Blue cool🤔🐕🚙
We tried one in our van this past summer and it was worthless, a waste of money!
I know this is probably a bit weird but I actually prefer my meat a bit tough, not tough enough to be chomping like a cow but I like to have something to chew.
It was funny watching this, your first video since we got our new van. Feeling sad that we don't have Connie any more but marvelling at how small it looks!
I've been to Wales for an overnight and up to Scotland for a few days in the new one but haven't developed a relationship with it yet! The extra size is definitely nicer and the van itself is a real joy to drive, so it is just a matter of getting to know it and a few more trips.
How have you been getting on in this cold weather 👍
@@LifeistooshortCK I splashed out on a new Duvalay sleeping bag which is sooo cozy so I am warm as toast overnight. I bought a little electric fan heater which warms the van up quickly and is just the job on hookup. It looks like it uses about 10% of battery for an hour so wild camping it should be fine so long as I drive the next day. Not done much cooking yet on the induction hob as the temptation to microwave ready meals has proved too strong so far!
Having a microwave is very handy. Not got one in the new van ☹️. I watched a video the other day about sites going metered on electric. I was astonished how much they charge now. I thinks its because they have to charge commercial rates which are higher than domestic.
I imagine it takes time to adapt to a new van. I am sure it will be the same for us. 👍
A friend of ours runs a site in the highlands and only charges £16 a night including hookup but he was saying that he can lose money on some vans if they draw enough power. It’s interesting the whole thing of site pricing. Anything over about £30 they’ve lost my business.
@euansemple5598 yes it’s getting on a par with a cheap hotel room at some places now. Very difficult for site owners as some customers are cavalier with electricity when its included. £16 all in is very good these days.
I genuinely love you two!! So calm, always positive!! I really have been enjoying your content. Can I ask, what screen do you have in the front of your van, do you screencast the navigation from your phone of does it have navigation built in?
Glad you are enjoying our channel 👍 We use an iPad and an App called Pocket Earth for navigation.
There’s a chance that I misheard what you meant about this being where things went wrong. Unless it was the heat and the fan failures. Not to understate that with Carol’s heart pounding in the heat in a walk. Your face was quite red, as well. Maybe this trip will reveal all and it is not all in this video. Maybe I am simply incredibly thick. Who knows. I have a little black fan with a clip that is charged via USB. It also has a little extra in the battery to let you charge your phone or what have you. It moves the air fairly well with a speed dial to blow faster/slower, harder/softer. I have bought 2 or 3 of them as my daughter and grandkids have fallen in love with them so I order another. I have had this last one for about a year. It only lasts 3-4 hours on high. I think I paid ~20 quid on Amazon.
All heat and discomfort aside, this is an enjoyable video! So glad to have you back online! Cheers!!!
The trip is a series of 8 episodes and the main problem brought it to a halt. 👍
Being a Francophile I loved every minute of this video.
Another really good video but I failed to spot the cunning plan that went wrong.
All will be explained by the end of this series ☺️
@@LifeistooshortCK 👍
Great one again. Looks it felt hot. Where I was in the east of France it was 36C: HOT. Don't wear black shirts! And: getting busy with Frenchmen. Yes France is a great country, its only all those Frenchmen living there 🤣
Some studies suggest that black clothing might actually keep you cooler in specific circumstances. I stay out of the sun when I can. I don’t know what they were gathering for but we left when there were about 60 of them 😁👍
Can’t help but wonder … did you get anything for breakfast or was your ferry breakfast advice given from experience?
I got mine first as Carol held the table with all our gear. 👍
❤❤
How did you find that water fan/cooler? Was it any good & does it work off 12v or mains?
12v and its rubbish 👍
Hi Carol and Ken..👋👋.. good to see you back 🙂 always love your drone footage 👌 what drone are you flying and are the drone laws in France similar to here?.. great video again 👍🙂
DJI Mini 2. France are similar but more strict than the UK. I use the Drone Assist App before flying which always showed I was clear to fly but some viewers are saying I was not. Confusing.
@@LifeistooshortCKdrone assist is essential for me too up here in Ayrshire...👍🙂
I like the app a lot. I think I am going to switch to the DJI Mini 4 now. It has some features I would like to have to make life easier. I also like the simplicity of that X1 Hover drone so I might plump for one of those as well. I will have a bit more space for kit in the new van.
@@LifeistooshortCK the mini 4 is an excellent drone with the all round obstacle avoidance and many other cool features....I use the mini 3 👍 just been flying since August this year and I love it 🙂 started a wee TH-cam channel too.. Drone Adventures Ayrshire...gave me something to focus on after my wife passed....she absolutely loved your channel too..🙂🙂
So sorry to hear you lost her Craig. I can’t imagine what that must be like. Good for you for starting your channel. TH-cam keeps me occupied. I enjoy learning about editing and telling the story. Good luck with your channel and enjoy that drone 👍 This is the link folks youtube.com/@DroneAdventuresAyrshire?si=VzuWELt55F4LhDNu
Nice video, but what was the fail it looked lovely. We had almost 40C in our van in central France in September and had to spend 3 days at a camp site with a pool to keep cool. Too hot to venture out during the day but the nights were worse and had to leave our doors open or we would have melted. But I guess that’s global warming for you. Happy travels.
The fail ended the trip so that is coming 👍
I see, apologies Ken, I must learn to be patient. Hope you’re better soon btw. I had a bad back for years and it’s truly miserable. Had a good chiropractor sort me out plus some gentle Pilates, pain free now.
The bigger the church the more money the town had......apparantly?
Didn’t know that. Some of those places were very rich then 😁👍
And what was failure with the plan???
It’s a series so all will be revealed when the trip comes to a sudden halt.
Ah fair enough
I see you broke your own park safely rule, nose in, no way to escape, if necessary.
I see you confuse rules with suggestions. I made that film for people who have no experience of wild camping and who are too frightened to do it. It is intended to give them confidence. They are not rules, just suggestions and the more confidence you gain the less they are needed.
I can't help wondering why your cunning plan failed.
All will be revealed but the smugness of our cunning plan was soon wiped off our faces 😁👍
Ken looking at you is like looking into a mirror! Obviously, I'm slightly younger and far better looking!!🫣 we shared the same profession, and after 30 years of having your body abused it takes it toll. Try and loose a few lbs your back will thank you. The best thing you can do is keep mobile not let your back seize up. Pleased your back on the channel. Happy camping.
How very dare you 😁👍. Is the mirror one of those for checking for bombs under cars. Yes I know what I have to do and it generally happens in January. Hope you are enjoying the benefits of those hard 30 years. I am 😁👍
May I ask what frying pan you use with that little blue gas camper stove you use please. I have one.
It was a three-piece set with a detachable handle from Lidl or Aldi 🙂
@@LifeistooshortCK Thank you. X
Great to see you both back. Boy, that temperature would floor us. Great tip with the space blankets. Can we ask for your opinion on the wee air con unit you used? We've thought about one before to keep our Blue cool🤔🐕🚙
It was rubbish in the van but works fine at home. These water coolers only work when the humidity is low and the cooling system stops the airflow. Plus if you knock it over water goes everywhere. Easy to do in a small space 👍 A small clip on fan would be much more effective for blue
@@LifeistooshortCK Thanks Ken or Carol for this response. Guess we'll give it a swerve then 👍🤔🐕🚙