Roughly 3,500 miles, just under six weeks, one Iberian Peninsula loop, and a very stubborn engine light on the way home. This was the last leg of the trip, and it threw everything at us in the space of about 72 hours: one of the most moving places either of us has ever visited, a full day at Disneyland Paris with George, a checkout penalty that left a sour taste, and Lyndsay driving the van for the first time. Not a dull ending.
Oradour-sur-Glane: a Village That Stops You in Your Tracks
We pulled into Oradour-sur-Glane midway through France and, honestly, nothing quite prepares you for it. It is a martyred village, left exactly as it was on 10th June 1944, when an SS battalion rounded up the entire population. The men were taken to barns and warehouses along the high street and shot. The women and children were locked in the church, where an incendiary device was detonated. Six hundred and forty-two people died that day, more than 200 of them children. It was a farming community, well away from the front lines, full of normal people living normal lives.
Walking through it, you can still see the shell of a hairdresser, the remains of a wine shop, the rusted hulk of a car. Sewing machines in the rubble. The village has been preserved as a memorial so that people can come and try to understand what happened to ordinary civilian life during that war. It was one of the most moving experiences either of us has had travelling. France produces a lot of brilliant reasons to stop, and this is one of the most important.
We were staying at a Camping Car Park aire nearby, which made visiting easy. The aire cost €15.35 for the night, which included Wi-Fi and 6-amp electric, plus a service pitch with an Elsan point and fresh water. There was even a small play area with a ping pong table. If you are travelling through central France by motorhome and you are not stopping here, you should be.
Disneyland Paris: Turkey Legs, Pirates, and an Expensive Checkout Lesson
George had the casting vote on what to do in Paris. He chose Disneyland, which he has not visited since 2018, and given that he has only ever been as a younger child, it felt like the right call. I stayed in the motorhome to rest (day nine of feeling genuinely rough) and to upload a video, while Lyndsay and George had a full day in the park. By the sounds of it, they made the most of every minute: Pirates of the Caribbean multiple times, the Haunted Mansion, Star Tours, It’s a Small World (a must for Auntie Loly, who rode it again and again with their grandparents), and a turkey leg that scored a solid nine out of ten. The fish and chips, for the record, got a six or seven. Not quite English. But the turkey leg was incredible.
The motorhome park-up at Disneyland is in the main car park, which now has solar panels covering most of the spaces. We needed one of the uncovered spots for Starlink, and we grabbed one of the last. The overnight rate was €40, which is only €10 more than the standard car park day rate, so reasonable enough for the size of the van. No electric, no services, though there is a water point nearby. The issue came at checkout. We left at 12:39, and the sign (which is frankly easy to miss) states that you must be out by 10:00 a.m. to avoid an extra €40 charge per day. We did not see it, so we paid €120 for 36 hours rather than €80. Mickey Mouse had, to put it bluntly, ripped us off. Learn from our mistake: set an alarm, leave by ten.
The crossing home was on an Irish Ferries sailing from Calais, which came in at £140 for the van at 9 metres by 4 metres. The Eurotunnel was quoting £400 one way at that point in the summer, so the ferry was an easy decision. Lyndsay drove the van down the ramp and onto the boat, which also happened to be her first time behind the wheel of this particular motorhome. She drove it like a pro, for the record. We finished the trip in the traditional way: breakfast at the airport café just off the ferry, brown sauce on the full English, the way it should be.
Questions People Ask
Where is Oradour-sur-Glane and how do you get there by motorhome? Oradour-sur-Glane is in the Haute-Vienne department of central France, north of Limoges. We used a Camping Car Park aire nearby, which cost €15.35 for the night and included electric, Wi-Fi, water, and waste services. France’s aire network makes it very straightforward to visit by motorhome: you manage it via the app, top up credit, and use a code for the barrier.
How much does it cost to stay overnight at the Disneyland Paris motorhome car park? It was €40 per night when we visited. There are no electric hookups or services, though there is access to water nearby. Crucially, you must leave before 10:00 a.m. the following morning or you are automatically charged an additional €40. The sign is there, but it is easy to miss. We paid €120 for a 36-hour stay because we left at 12:39.
How did you get the motorhome back to the UK, and what did it cost? We booked an Irish Ferries crossing from Calais. At 9 metres long and 4 metres wide, it came to £140 one way. The Eurotunnel was quoting £400 at the same time of year (end of the school summer holidays), which made the ferry a clear winner.
What were the total trip stats? Just under six weeks, two days short of the full six. Total mileage was 3,652 miles, taking in the ferry down to Santander, the Iberian Peninsula, back up through France, and home to Milton Keynes. Not a bad run, even if the driver spent roughly a third of it feeling thoroughly rough.
The full video has everything: the memorial, the Disneyland day, Lyndsay’s first drive of the new van, the ferry crossing, and that airport café breakfast. Well worth watching.
Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TUno6-Ik2Y