June Newsletter

Bob and Wendy
Jun 6
8 min read

Welcome to the June edition. We have three tours out this month with groups out in France, Spain/Portugal and the Alps. Our Brittany & Normandy Tour has just returned and we have a full tour report from Sue in this edition (a moody Mont St Michel pictured).

Sadly, this was Colin and Sue's last outing for Crossings as they have now retired from tour leading. A little more on this later.

We will be undertaking (wrong word) our abseiling challenge again this year as we jettison ourselves off the top of Coventry Cathedral later this summer. More details below.

As usual we have another “cut out and keep” recipe and this month’s motorhome tips cover the dreaded Adblue.

2027 Tour Bookings

First off as always is the shameless plug for our tours as we are well under way selling spaces for 2027. Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that she will NOT be coming next year so we have at least one extra space available.

Full details of the 2027 Tour Schedule are on the website here: https://www.crossingsmotorhometours.com/tours

If you would like to book for 2027, please do so via our website here: https://www.crossingsmotorhometours.com/book-now

If you want a chat about any of the tours, or need a bit more information before you decide, then please contact us and we will be very happy to talk you through it.

Brittany & Normandy Tour Report

Thanks to Sue for the following...

The first tour of the Crossings 2026 season set out from Dover on a chilly morning in mid-May heading for a route around Normandy and Brittany. Calm seas meant a calm start for the guests, several of whom were first-time abroad with their motorhomes.

Once off the ferry in Calais, clocks were fast forwarded an hour and we headed on the first leg of the journey. This was a steady drive along the smooth French roads to our first night stop-over with a chance en route to stock up with food and fuel.

Day Two saw us heading on into Normandy for a three-night stay in the pretty town of Honfleur. The route took us over the impressive Pont du Normandie – a two-mile long cable bridge spanning the Seine River. During our time in Honfleur (pictured above) some of the guests took a boat trip to view the bridge from the river, sailing underneath to really appreciate the vastness of the structure. The weather for our first few days was a touch on the chilly side with some heavy showers – little did we know how quickly it would change!

The next few days on the tour took in the Normandy Landing Beaches with an opportunity to visit some of the numerous museums and monuments. A highlight of these was the British Normandy Memorial, set high up overlooking Gold Beach. During the summer months the Standing with Giants figures are being exhibited at the memorial. 1,476 life size figures representing the number of British service men who died on D-day are set amongst the poppies and other wild flowers reminding us of lives lost – a poignant visit.

After a couple more days spent on the Normandy beaches, cycling, walking, swimming and sight-seeing it was time to move on to Brittany. From here on, the temperatures moved on too and shot up into the high 20s and low 30 degrees with sunshine all day every day.

The journey into Brittany saw guests stopping off at Mont St Michel. The Abbey, which is set high on a rocky island is a magnet for tourists and a must see for visitors to Brittany.

A couple of days in the surprising town of St Malo was our next base – very busy because of the Whitsuntide holiday weekend. The cooler streets of the Intra Muros (walled town) offered a respite from the high temperatures and a chance to wander through the narrow streets and alleyways or enjoy a cool drink in the many bars and restaurants.

Continuing further into Brittany the tour headed for the southern coast at Concarneau, with stops en route to visit chateaux or the pretty towns on offer. Hot! Hot! Hot! was the order of the day so a chance to relax in the swimming pool or sea was a popular choice for the guests or just people watching in the old town.

After three days in Southern Brittany it was time to head northwards to start our journey back

towards Calais. Our route today provided opportunities for the guests to visit the Lorient Submarine Base, the Standing Stones of Carnac, The Chateau at Josselin or the pretty town of Vitre, finally arriving at Fougeres for a two-night stop.

The market was on in Fougeres on the Saturday morning, which gave the guests the opportunity to experience the hustle and bustle of the local market and see the range of locally produced fruit, vegetables, cheeses and meat on offer.

Cooler temperatures greeted us as we rose on Sunday morning ready to start the next driving day and we even encountered some drizzly rain during the journey. However, it soon passed and the sun was back out for our overnight stop at a site next to the Seine River. The site is overlooked by the ruins of Richard the Lionhearts Castle and there were beautiful views of the river and the castle in the evening sunset.

Final stop of the tour was close to Calais where the group spent an enjoyable evening in the site restaurant reflecting on memories and experiences from the past couple of weeks and how much had been achieved. The following morning it was time to head for the return ferry crossing and yes, the sun was still shining as we said our goodbyes.

And that, as they say “is a wrap”. After ten years of touring with Crossings, eight of these as tour leaders, it’s time to hang up our t-shirts and bid farewell. We’ve had some amazing experiences, met some wonderful people and had the opportunity to travel all over Europe. North as far as the Arctic Circle, south to Barcelona, west into Brittany, east across to Croatia and all manner of places in between. Thank you for all the memories – friendships, fun and laughter. We wish you all many more years of Happy Touring! Colin and Sue

Bon Voyage to Colin and Sue

Following on from that lovely tour report, we could not let this moment pass without saying a very public thank you to Colin and Sue, our resident "sun boxes".

We first encountered them ten years ago when they came as customers on our Lake Garda & Venice Tour. We remember vividly that we were very much in synch when we bumped into them five nights in a row in the same restaurant. Luckily for us they were just at that stage of their lives where they were looking for a few adventures and a bit of a challenge. Crossings was starting to get busy and we really needed another pair of hands. So our stars collided and they started running tours. Since then they have been to the four corners of Europe and led some amazing trips.

A few examples to demonstrate what good eggs they have been for us over the years...

Longtime readers will remember when Wendy had to have a big op in 2019. This clashed with out first tour of the season that year and we were supposed to be running it personally. Who were first on the phone to offer their support and run the tour for us?
In 2024 I was invited to do a talk at the NEC on The Arctic Circle. This was not to promote a tour - it was just supposed to be something interesting that the visitors might want to listen to. As a result of that talk we were inundated with folks wanting to go there. Who stepped up and offered to plan and run the tour?
All of our tour leaders have a "thing". This idea was invented by Colin and Sue who came up with Colin's and Sue's Cafe. Anyone who has been on one of their tours will know what this means and will have benefited from it!
For several years anyone who came to the NEC Shows (and the outdoor shows too) would meet Colin and Sue. Although we only paid them in bacon sandwiches, coffees and the occasional ice-cream they selflessly gave up their time to help us with our business.

As I write this, the reviews for their last tour have just been coming in on email so here's a few quotes:

"Colin and Sue were excellent guides. Always available when we needed them and some very helpful advice and information given at each of the campsites we stayed at".
"Colin and Sue couldn’t have done anything any better, they were very informative and always on hand for any problems we or any of the other parties had, it’s going to be a great loss to your company now that this was their last tour".
"Colin and Sue was first class they could not have been more helpful - a credit to them both".
"Sue and Colin were very professional and friendly and always willing to help out with any problems and of course the bacon sandwiches and wine evening went down a treat".

I could go on but I don't want them getting too big-headed. Suffice to say that Colin and Sue have been great assets to Crossings over the years and that we will miss them. I am now picturing them disappearing in their Knaus into a distant sunset.

Charity Abseil

Regular readers may remember last year that Wendy tried to have me killed by volunteering us for a charity abseil from the top of Coventry Cathedral. We did the abseil and received many very generous donations from you, the newsletter readers.

We have quite a few connections with Cov and the charity is one that Colin and Sue work with called the Coventry Mission (https://covcitymission.org.uk/ ). They work with vulnerable families in the city. Last year for example, your donations helped to provide over 1600 Christmas gifts to over 600 families.

On August 1st we will be doing it all over again and would welcome any help you feel you would like to give via the Missions Just Giving Page here: https://www.justgiving.com/coventrycitymission/donate

We will put out full details next month and would also welcome anyone who lives locally who might want to come and watch.

Coq au Van (the amusingly titled recipe feature)

Spiced Chicken and Green Beans

Ingredients

500g potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
4 echalion shallots, halved
3 clove/s garlic, unpeeled
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1kg pack skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
1 unwaxed lemon, halved
2 tsp garam masala
200g pack trimmed green beans

Method

Preheat the oven to 220ºC, gas mark 7. In a large roasting tin, toss together the potatoes (halving any larger ones), 1½ tbsp oil, shallots, garlic, cumin and ½ tsp sea salt flakes. Roast for 10 minutes.
Nestle the chicken thighs and ½ the lemon into the roasting tin, then scatter the garam masala and the remaining ½ tsp salt over the chicken skin. Grind over plenty of black pepper and roast for 20 minutes.
Take the tin out of the oven. Give everything a stir, turning the potatoes and spooning any cooking juices over the chicken. Toss the beans with ½ tbsp oil, season, then scatter over the top. Roast for a final 15 minutes until the chicken is golden and cooked through with no pink meat remaining, and the potatoes and beans are tender and a little golden. Serve with the remaining lemon half, cut into wedges for squeezing over.

Motorhoming Tips

A quick one this week on Adblue. Anyone that has it knows that it is a complete pain in the exhaust pipe.

One potential issue seems to be that Adblue crystalises and that this then creates problems e.g. clogging up your injectors, ruining seals etc. There is a particular issue with motorhomes as they are often unused for months at a time so the Adblue is not getting regularly used up, giving it time to crystalise.

Here's a few tips:

You could use an additive (like Wynn's), which needs to be added in accordance with their guidelines i.e. don't put too much in.
Buy fresh adblue and try to avoid contamination e.g. from dirty containers.
Keep the adblue levels topped up.
Clean up spills and wipe around the filler cap.
Never ignore warning lights! Adblue problems often lead to your engine going into "limp mode" putting an end to your journey!

Keep in touch

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Please feel free to contact us at any time. When we are away, calls will bounce to our mobiles at no expense to yourself.

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