2025 September: Ambelteuse France to Forest Car Park
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At the horse farm near Ambelteuse the morning it is overcast but has stopped raining. We have a slow morning enjoying the sights and sounds of the rollers crashing on the beach and sand dunes below us and the horses in the field in front of us. A leisurely breakfast and then we plan the day: the paeage down towards Paris and then as far as we get by about 3.30-4.00pm. We don’t set precise targets for how far to drive our motorhome, it’s better to be flexible, that’s why we don’t book our overnight stops in advance. This means we sometimes have problems as on this occasion.
We leave Ambleteuse about 11.15 taking A16 past Boulogne and south towards Amiens. Still A16, onto the paege at Le Bahot we travel south to Amblainville arriving there about 3.00pm. Apart from a half hour stop for lunch at an Aire about 12.30, we didn’t stop until we reached Amblainville north of Paris (about 170km). We continue on A16 to its junction with D922 and take this road west past the Commercial Centre towards the River Oise and Camping Les 3 Sources. Here the difficulties start.
Our destination: Camping Les Trois Sources was accessed down a narrow busy road next to the Commercial Centre (with many parked cars) and when found it was either closed or full (the gate shut). This was a problem as this area around Paris has very few Aires/campsites. We pressed on south towards Cergy and are tempted to stop and look for the graves of Vincent and Theo (brother) Van Gough at Auvers sur Oise, especially as we pass by the town. As it is late afternoon we decide not to and press on towards the regional Forêt de Montmorency. Here we search for several Aires but find none, only car parking areas and… the road into the forest to access them is closed: Route Barre! It is definitely not our day. Although we have saved about 2 hours taking the paeage we have wasted at least that in trying to find somewhere to stop that was open and not behind a 2m barrier.
Feeling totally defeated we parked across the closed road wondering what to do. A council worker in a white van stops, as he too wants to take the closed road. After some short conversation in French Mr C. established that the council worker knows the alternative route and offers to guide us, which he did (an angel in a white van!). It was about 10km so no ‘shortcut’ across the countryside! Finally back on the road and in the Forêt de Montmorency we find a large parking area among the trees (not sure it is an Aire but certainly big enough to hide ourselves).
It is about 5.30pm, here in the silence among the sweet chestnut trees, laden with their fruits in spiked coverings, we stop!
After 200km and five-and-a-half-hours of driving, we relax, open wine and feel some kind of peace under these magnificent forest trees. Of course, as I prepare chicken and mushroom stirfry for tea I am reminded imminently of our lack of water, which we would normally have replenished at the campsite! The water-shortage regime (so reminiscent of Covid) springs into action: emergency water (4 litres) for drinking only, no washing up, no washing ourselves (Mr C. likes that), just a half mug of water for teeth cleaning. On that happy note we fall into bed and sleep.
Motorhome Trek Ambelteuse, France to Forest Car Park North of Paris
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