During the final leg of our adventure, we explore some of the Alsace before heading up Eastern France towards home.
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The Detail:
Distance Covered: 556 miles
Financial: Fuel £94; Site Fees £24; Groceries £50; Alcohol £43; Laundry £12; Zeus £3; Vehicle £10; Vet £41; Personal £4; Total £281
Stopovers: Turckheim; Bergheim; Kerprich-aux-Bois; Le Chesne; Anvin [2 nights]; Tournehem sur la hem
The Alsace wine route. Officially launched as a tourist trail in 1953, it winds its way through 170 km of hills and vineyards from Marlenheim in the north to Thann in the south of the region. It passes through 119 wine-growing villages with around 720 wine producers.
We headed towards Eguisheim a little north of the southernmost point of the route at Thann. We parked up just outside Husseren les chateaux to take a short break and decide how to proceed.
Our plan, such as it was, was to roughly follow the route north from there, stopping off at any places that catch our eye on the way, until we ran out of time and had to head to Calais.
Road of the 5 Castles
Eguisheim is a medieval village with narrow, concentric streets in the old town, lined with many preserved half-timbered houses around the 13th Century Château Saint-Léon. Ranked amongst the most beautiful villages in France it is one of the main tourist destinations on the wine route.
We set off, following the Road of the 5 Castles. Surrounding the summit of Stauffen, the road of the five castles extends over 10 km joining the village of Husseren les châteaux (the highest point of the wine road) to the village of Wintzenheim.
Along the way, you will find the so-called 3 castles where you will see the ruins of the castles of Dagsbourg, Wahlenbourg, and Weckmund all set together overlooking Husseren les chateaux.
Further along the road is a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the plains of Alsace.
Continuing along the road Château du Hohlansbourg and Pflixbourg Castle can be found. Château du Hohlansbourg is the only paying site which was closed on the day we visited the area. Pflixbourg Castle is set back from the road and requires a short hike to visit
Turckheim
Next we headed to Turckheim. We parked up and headed to the old town, and what a delight. We ended up spending far longer wandering around than we expected, so much so that when we eventually got back to the van we decided to stop here. We moved to a parking space on the edge of town, but still only 10 minutes from the centre. We even went back into the town for dinner and a drink, almost unheard of for us.
Turckheim, a very beautiful village at the entrance to the Fecht valley, is renowned not only for its rich historic centre and the quality of its wines, but also for its night watchman, who continues to make his rounds every evening. at 10:00 p.m., from May to October. Sadly I didn’t find out about this until the following morning.
Kaysersberg-Vignoble
With its castle, fortified bridge, paved streets, St. Croix church, and half-timbered houses with their colourful window boxes it’s a lovely place to explore. Because it’s one of the most popular towns on the wine route it’s very busy. Parking is charged at a flat €10 even if you are only there for a short time.
Riquewihr
Riquewihr’s cobbled streets are dotted with half-timbered winemakers’ shops and tasting rooms. Winemaking tools and a restored kitchen are on display in the 16th-century Maison de Vigneron. The 1291 Dolder Tower houses the Musée du Dolder, featuring centuries-old weapons. The 14th-century Tour des Voleurs, a former prison, has torture instruments on display.
Like so many of the towns and villages on the wine route, it is a beautiful place to explore. However, as one of the better-known tourist destinations it also is extremely busy and parking is at a premium. All parking is paid. In the designated motorhome parking the cost is €10 for 3 hours. All out-of-town possibilities to park were closed off with barriers.
Hunawihr
One of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. Like so many in Alsace, it is primarily a wine-producing community.
Outside the village is a small nature park and butterfly garden. The church, St Jacques Le Majeur, with its fortified cemetery stands over the village, with the half-timbered houses and carved door lintels typical of the region.
Don’t miss the 14th century fountain at the bottom of the village. Legend has it that one year when there was a particularly bad harvest, Saint Hune transformed the water of the fountain into wine! There was, unfortunately, no evidence of wine in there when we visited,
Despite everything the village has to offer it’s nowhere near as popular as a tourist destination. So much more pleasant than the crowds of people and the tourist shops. And even better, there is a free dedicated motorhome parking area close to the church.
Ribeauville
Before taking a walk through the town we first visited the aire which is actually located a short distance away from the town to do those necessary motorhome chores that we don’t really talk about.
We were struggling to find somewhere to park and had all but given up when we chanced upon a space close to the bottom of the town.
The town is overlooked by the castles perched on the hill behind, accessible by hiking trails. It still retains many of the original medieval fortifications including ramparts and the butchers’ tower. Half-timbered houses adorned with flowers, renaissance fountains, and picturesque squares line the Grand Rue.
The town is gorgeous and I can see why it’s one of the more popular destinations on the wine route. However, its popularity means that it is very busy. People everywhere. Too many for us to enjoy what it has to offer, so we had a quick look around and moved on. It was about this point that we decided to give up on the main tourist hotspots. We simply don’t find it enjoyable.
Bergheim
This was a bit of a hidden gem. Elected favourite village of the French in 2022 it was nevertheless not as touristy as some of the others.
The old village is still contained within the 14th century ramparts, 2 km long, with the watchtowers still standing at intervals along its length. Whilst exploring the streets within the walls you will find several Medieval gardens amongst the typical half-timbered houses.
We spent a lovely afternoon exploring the town and slept peacefully just outside, next to the city walls, watched over by one of the towers.
From Bergheim to Kerprich-aux-Bois
Today we decided to travel a little further along the wine route and then cut across the Vosges mountains to start our journey up eastern France.
A scenic drive from Bergheim along the wine route to Andlau, through village after village, each with their wineries trying to entice you in with tastings and fine wines, typical half-timbered buildings competing with each other with their floral displays.
By the time we got to Andlau we felt somewhat shell shocked, everything coming at you in quick succession, one lovely sight after another.
This wine-growing town and gastronomic centre possesses a remarkable architectural heritage including Saint Richarde’s abbey, the Spesbourg and Haut-Andlau castles and the new Heritage Interpretation Centre of the Barr and Bernstein area. In common with many of the other towns and villages of the region the old town has some lovely examples of the typical half-timbered buildings.
From Andlau we headed towards Itterschwiller, but roadworks diverted us away from the wine route. We decided to press on and start the journey home. A brief pause just outside Molsheim for lunch, at the Eglise Saint Pierre, or Dompeter, reputed to be the oldest church in Alsace.
After lunch we crossed over the Vosges, which sounds more dramatic than it actually was as they are a low mountain range. We finished the day near Kerprich-aux-bois, close to Canal des houilleres de la sarre by the Ecluse n° 1 de Kerprich-aux-Bois (or 1st lock). It was actually quite a sweet location, and very peaceful. Perfect for us.
Journey up eastern France to Le Chesne
We are now on the final dash up through Eastern France. Much of this area is arable farm land and as we have said before it doesn’t make for the most scenic of driving.
Large areas of wheat and sweet corn with occasional other crops in-between. A few fields of sunflowers, so nearly ready to blossom, just the odd one or two flowers to be seen. Long, straight roads with clear blue skies. The occasional stone village to break up the journey. A brief stop at Nixeville Blercourt for lunch. No special reason, just somewhere quiet and with a nice walk for Zeus.
As you travel along there are reminders of the horrors of the two world wars dotted about almost everywhere. War memorials and military cemeteries all too frequent. Rows of bone white crosses a stark reminder of how many young people gave up their lives in the fight for freedom.
One such memorial is the Varennes Pennsylvania Monument where we stopped to remember the fallen and contemplate how lucky we are today because of their sacrifices.
We finished the day at Bairon et ses environs. Again no particular reason why, just that it was a convenient place to stop when we had had enough of driving. Free dedicated motorhome parking for half a dozen vehicles. No services, but we didn’t want them anyway. We were the only ones there.
A short walk to the canal des Ardennes which runs through the centre of the town. A couple of boats moored up, visiting the town as they passed through. The town itself was oddly quiet. No- one around when I walked Zeus later in the evening.
Camping Les Prés de la Ternoise
More of the same again today, continuing our journey towards Calais.
We stopped at Homblières for a bite to eat. Again no particular reason other than it was somewhere quiet off the main road where we could also walk Zeus.
It’s a requirement for Zeus to have a tapeworm treatment before going back into the UK. We managed to find one in Bapaume that could see us today at 5pm, thanks to a useful Facebook group called ‘Recommended vets for tapeworm treatment’.
After the visit to the vet we had a choice. Stay in Bapaume or move on and find somewhere quieter. Given that it was a Friday and the current motorhome parking is at the side of the road in the middle of the city we decided to move on. It meant we arrived at our destination late, but we’re planning to be there for a couple of days anyway.
There is a new camperstop, operated by camping-car parks, in Bapaume for about 10 motorhomes which has just been finished, but isn’t actually open yet. Due to be open very shortly by the look of it.
We drove to a small campsite in Anvin, Camping Les Prés de la Ternoise, mainly because we needed to catch up with some washing. It’s a little bit weird, just one or two places for motorhomes and tents with the rest of the site given over to statics. Nevertheless it’s a very peaceful place, a lovely pitch for just €12 a night and laundry for €3 a load.
The Blowout
We didn’t rush this morning. All we needed to do was get a bit closer to Calais ready for the (relatively) early crossing to the UK on Monday. I’m not entirely sure if the immigrant situation has altered or not. But regardless we didn’t want to stay too close, just close enough that we didn’t have a long drive the next morning.
We were heading for a car park which is a starting point for several hikes including a short walk to the Chapelle catholique relique Saint-Louis de Guémy near Tournehem-sur-la-Hem on the edge of the Parc naturel régional des caps et marais d’Opale.
A remote spot on top of a small hill, which some reviews had said could be very breezy. That would be very welcome on such a hot day, with temperatures forecast in the mid-’30s.
We weren’t far away when boom! An almighty bang. The drivers’ side rear tyre had blown. Fortunately, we were travelling in a straight line and not going fast. We pulled over to assess the situation.
Donning high viz jackets as you have to in France in this situation we got out the warning triangles and placed them in front and behind the vehicle. The regulations say it must be a distance of at least 50 metres from the vehicle or obstacle.
We were lucky. Apart from the tyre there was no other damage. So I set about changing the wheel. As it’s an older motorhome there is a spare. Many newer ones don’t, they just have a puncture repair spray can..which would have been no good in this situation. It didn’t really take long to do. It probably took me longer to find the jacking point than to change the wheel. In the heat, however, it was a hot, dirty job.
Carol went off looking for the hubcap, which had blown off when the tyre blew. She eventually found it quite some distance away in the verge, and undamaged!
The wheel changed, we packed up and got underway again. A little shaken but none the worse for wear. Zeus was the one who seemed to take it the worst. Clearly shaken he climbed up onto the dashboard to get as far away as he possibly could.
We arrived without further incident and had a lovely relaxed afternoon and evening, ready to return to the UK in the morning.
Some menu highlights from this week
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And that was week 4 of our current adventure. We’ve had some very memorable times already, sometimes for the wrong reasons. We have seen some beautiful places, despite the ice and snow, and cold temperatures.
As before, There is so much more we saw and did that I haven’t included here – you’ll just have to go see it for yourself!
I haven’t gone into great detail about anything in particular in this post, so if you would like me to expand on anything please leave a comment and I will endeavor to write another separate post on the topic.
Happy Motorhoming.
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