To Corsica and back.

[syncrosimon]

Just got in an hour ago from a 3 week trip to Corsica and back. 4102kms, which is about 2500 miles. only one thing fell off, which bolted back on again, and I more than ever love that 2.1 DJ engine. More will follow including the mpg. The downhill bit to Bastia on Corsica it was 24.56 mpg, but on the island had to use 95, and re-set timing, not as good on way back, but also into a very strong headwind all up the peage from Nice to Paris. Did the Milau bridge. Fantastic, brilliant, and some off roading on the island.
Oh she used 1/4 litre oil, and a full tank of coolant from a slight leak somewhere around the waterpump, which she was doing before we went.
Used 4 wheel drive on some of the mountain passes, but otherwise 2 wd. Could not tell the difference except for the middle light on the dash.
Did not see a single other syncro, and only 1 brit t3 at Millau, and a few dutch and german ones on the island.

I am proper knackered.

Simon.

[HarryMann]

Sounds a great trip Simon. Looking forward to complete mpg figures...

Kangoo Trekka.. now that sounds intersting, love the diesel kangoos.. or whatever the Bongo equivalent is which we rented whilst down on the Riviera.

[RichP]

Corsica is stunning, perfect for camping etc, the ferry trip from Savona to Bastia is one of the best.

Daughter loved the place and keeps asking "when are we going back?"

We did Dover - Calais- Aix le Baines - Asti(Italy)- Savona - Corsica in August 04 didn't book any campsites just found some on web searches prior to going so we new where we were heading for, mostly planned to be near lakes or sea at each campsite.

Perfect trip in a T25

[syncrosimon]

Part the One.

Total distance is 4102km, used 484 litres of un-leaded. To my calculation that is 24mpg. Well chuffed with that.






Well, this is the story. We had always planned to go to Corsica as we had heard nothing but positive things about how beautiful and unspoilt the island is. I was also determined to do a big trip in the syncro, as this is why we had purchased and spent so much money on her.

We left home at 1700hrs on Saturday with a full tank of petrol. Stopping off in Salisbury for a good luck steak dinner we arrived at New Haven docks at 2200hrs. We camped in the car park in our only just finished interior. The ferry was at 0630hrs and was a sorry old thing of a boat. The crossing cost £233, and got us to France at 1330hrs on Sunday afternoon. It was pouring with rain, and Dieppe was shut, as is French tradition, and probably a good idea.

We then drove via the Tom-Tom route down the A71 to Bourges, where we camped our first night, 772 km done.

The next day saw a late start and via a supermarket in Clermont Ferrand down the amazing, and now free motorway to the British Norman Foster Millau Viaduct. This route, the A75 is a stunning 2 lane motorway, a favourite with bikers for its sweeping bends and steep inclines. We reached a height of 1100 meters. The dub was running real sweet, and I only had to drop to 3rd gear on one incline. I found that staying above 120kmh on the Speedo, or 68mph on the sat nav kept her in the power and she climbed up everything, lots of full throttle.

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The Millau viaduct is in a brilliant bit of France, lots to see and do, and it crossed my mind that we should just stay there, it was already a long way down with 1242 km covered in 48hrs. We stayed at a nice campsite on the bank of the River Tarn, and the next day went and had a look at the Viaduct. It is very big, and long, and best seen from underneath. The central tower is taller than the Eiffel Tower, and is a staggering bit of Brit design. We then drove over it and briefly got in a convoy with the only Brit bus we saw, a Westfalia TD. Naturally we were much quicker than it, despite the weight of the huge amount of junk we chose to take with us. The bridge when driven over is annoying as you cant see down, and cant stop on it, thus you get no sense of the height, there is no walk way as on the Humber Bridge.

We drove on, and on towards Antibes on the Med near Nice where we were to get the Ferry the next day (Weds). This is where the breakdown occurred, we had come through some heavy rain and I had been using 4 wheel drive for some time. I pulled off the A8 at Antibes J47, and we were coasting down the off slip when after a nasty clonk we lost drive. With a nasty grinding noise I bumped the syncro up the curb and we came to a halt. Trying to engage gear left a horrid grinding, and I immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion that the recently re-conned gearbox had given up. I felt like a fool who had dragged his family 1700kms to break down irreparably on the French Riviera. We had AA Europe, at the cost of £155, and I phoned them immediately. I then started looking under the van, I could see that both drive shafts were in place, but could not reach the right hand one as the kerb was underneath the bus right next to the wheel. I then thought I should try it in 4 wheel drive, and she moved. The recovery arrived, he was useless, but I managed to drive up the kerb, and look underneath properly. I then found to my relief that the outer CV joint had come undone. I had the rare tool on-board, and it bolted straight back on. One bolt was bent, and the sense of relief was huge.
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We then drove to a noisy campsite on the beach and got the ferry to Corsica the next day.

[KarlT]

Glad the old bus went well but how did the kids handle all those miles?

[Louey]

I'm tempted to drive down to the Milau viaduct

get your self to www.freewebs.com and put a website together of your excursions in the van

[syncrosimon]

We had a laptop in the back, and the kids watched dvd's and played on their Nintendo's DS. They were very good, it was hard work, but I enjoyed every mile, I never even got a sore bum even after 12hrs in the saddle. I love the sense of achievemnet that you get from driving somewhere faraway, it is a cop out to fly, I have felt every mile to Corsica, and that has added to the enjoymeny of the trip. The fridge was full of ice-cream, which helped. We broke the trip into 200km bites. The km's drop away faster than the miles, which is easier.

The Sterling power management system meant that we never had a hook-up. Seen 119 amps from the standard 90 amp alternator, 100 amps at 14.8 volts going into the twin battery bank. Fully re charged after 45 minutes. It's the way to go.

[Louey]

put miles on the clock is hard work - I remember various trips: Birmingham to Holyhead then Dublin to Derry in a day; Derry to Belfast and then Stranrear to Birmingham on the way back in a day. Biggest 24 hour haul was leaving Birmingham about 7pm, getting to Dover after sitting in big jams around London (nothing new there), 5am ferry (did have about 4 hours sleep) then from Calais to St Ettienne Du Bois in Vendee - arrived about 9pm Calais to St Ettienne was 440 miles on its own. No DVD player, DS or laptop to keep my Kim entertained so lots of story CDs and a few stops.

Heading down to Lake Geneva this summer - can't wait to get going - no 4WD to help in the Alps though

[syncrosimon]

You will be fine in 2wd. If there is tarmac, you will make it in the dry. I wanted to come back via the Alps, but we opted for a stay in our favorite campsite in the excellent ardeche for a days rest in between two big drives.

[Mudlark]

Was only thinking yesterday it was time you were home! hope the trip exceeded your expectations; looking forward to hearing where you found yourself on the island!

[syncrosimon]

Nice was really nice!, and the cruise down the Boulevard Des Anglais was enjoyable, we were all still very happy that the dub was moving at all. I was using more 4 wheel drive now to take the strain from the rear joint as it was down to 4 bolts due to bent bolts and a stripped thread. I had had a chance now to mull over what had happened, and at the campsite got underneath and checked all 4 rear joints. The other three were all tight, and I can only surmise that I only ever did the faulty joint bolts up by hand, the wife probably called me in for tea, and I never re-checked. It was annoyingly on my to-do check list before we left, but as the roof bed was still being made on the Saturday we left, it never happened. The 16" uses bigger bolts, and I fortunately took the tools to do the job, but I am left with a repair job that should have been avoided.


Louise was pleased to see I was getting on with the washing up and hoovering when she came down from her bath!!
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The tool kit!!!

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The ferry we chose travelled to Bastia, which is the biggest town in Corsica. It was a great big yellow thing, quite new, and very comfortable. The crew was mainly Italian, and very efficient. We arrived in Bastia ay 1915hrs. When underway the ferry trip was brilliant, we left the Riviera coast and motored along it with great views of Italy and Monaco. The weather was perfect, and we spent most of the time on the decks. The ferry also allowed dogs on board, and there was a dog exercise yard on the top deck. We did not bring our dog, because of this ferry trip, as we thought that like the British ferry's rule, we would have to leave her in the dub. The French are much more dog friendly. Corsica came into view 2 ½ hours before arrival, and we began to appreciate that the island was just a big lump of mountain sticking her head out of the sea. This was the exciting bit, with Corsica on one side and the islands of Elba off the Italian coast on the other. The ferry trip cost 288 Euros return.

Arriving in Bastia
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Polombaggia Beach.
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Video of arrival at beach.
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Fishing Ray Mears styleee!!
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We docked, and to save time drove through the evening and early night, as it gets dark noticeably earlier, towards Porto Vechio in the South of the Island. The dub was now running on 95 octane as the 98 on which she is tuned is not available on the island at all. I thought it would be alright for the 90 miles, before I could re-tune her.

We free camped in a deserted cattle yard, going to sleep listening to the frogs, cicadas, and a strange hooting bird. The next day (Thursday) we found a lovely campsite called U Pirellu, which had a swimming pool, great facilities, and was 36 Euros a night. The campsite was set on a hillside overlooking the sea amidst a cork oak forest.

I re-tuned the Dub's timing for 95 octane, as now it was very hot, and any slow speed running resulted in the fan coming off and on continually. This then caused an intermittent slow speed running gremlin, to mar the otherwise flawless running.

Corsica is special, it is a predominantly green island, and this sets it apart from the South of France, and other Med Islands where dusty dull hillsides dominate. The mountains and hillside are generally covered by small trees, and the French draconian planning laws mean that the coast is not built up. This means that beaches like Polombaggia have survived. When we were there Corsica was nearly deserted, the campsite had just a smattering of people, mainly German, this added to the enjoyment. The beaches were truly stunning, and the main reason why we wanted to drive all that way.

The roads were in general good condition, but some were very poor. The interior of the island is dominated by twisting roads where we were using 2nd and 3rd gears all the time. This can be tiring if you have to drive a long way, so with advice from Mudlark, a Corsican veteran, we opted to cover small distances, and only move campsite 3 times.

[KarlT]

Would be interested in costs. I wonder how they work-out against flying, apartments, car hire & so on. (You don't have to includes the $10,000 for the bus! )

[KarlT]

PS My Mrs got mad just seeing YOU in YOUR kitchen. I wouldn't be brave enough to try, I'd never hear the end of it!!

[mikey9]

Simon - excellent trip and pics (though why did Foster build the viaduct pillar right in the middle of the road you were on?) - and story to go with it.

The stirling power management thing sounds interesting - can you give us a resume of what it entails some time.

[syncrosimon]

Would be interested in costs. I wonder how they work-out against flying, apartments, car hire & so on. (You don't have to includes the $10,000 for the bus! )

The cost of The Peage (toll roads), fuel and ferry tickets came to £1050. Thats 4 people for 3 weeks. Campsites came to a surprising £500. The campsites charged per person including children over 3, per tent, per campervan. We paid between 25 and 42 Euros a night. average prob 36 Euros.

We looked at other alternatives, and camping was the best way to see most of the island. The kids have been raving about the hol, especially the breakingdown bit, which seemed to be the memorable highlight.

(Dont forget this is my ultimate vehicle, she will never be sold, so I am gonna invest money into her)

Most campers we saw were 3.5 tonne behemoths brand new or a few years old. Saw 1000's of campers, everywhere, and the majority of them were new or nearly new. My van, whilst expensive, is still a 1/4 the cost of the average camper undertaking this type of trip.

This is only the first stage of my bus, and she will continue to evolve into the ultimate camper.

Sterling power management resumee coming up!!