Crossing the Channel in our long-term loan, the Bailey Adamo 75-4I

I recently took our long-term-test Bailey Adamo 75-4I across the Channel and on a bit of a jaunt down the west coast of France.

I’d settled the ferry or Eurotunnel debate this time by opting for the former. Suffice it to say that the Bailey proved easy to drive onto and off the ferry, with that automatic gearbox once again proving useful when we were requested to edge forward just a little bit to allow more vehicles on board.

The best motorhome will always provide an excellent driving experience. In the case of the Bailey, it coped very well with the French roads, too, with the wide mirrors providing easy vision for a right-hand-drive vehicle driving on the right.

I’d previously been pleased by the drive it offered when I headed to Wales in the Adamo, and I was just as impressed with the turning circle this time, when at one stage we ended up on a single-track road with canals either side and no fences, and the odd inexplicable right-angle turn.

If you’ve been away when it’s hot, you’ll know how important ventilation is in your ‘van, as you’re going to want to stay cool on tour. Central and southern France wasn’t as hot this time around as it was when I toured there two years ago, but I was still glad the Adamo was well ventilated, with two Hekis, a sunroof, and large windows all thankfully dressed with flyscreens. I never once regretted the lack of any air-con.

The motorhome at Morn Hill — Morn Hill has special pitches for vehicles crossing the Channel

What I really want to talk about here is what happened after we got back to England. As I am sure any seasoned European traveller knows all too well, cross-Channel ferry timings don’t always neatly coincide with caravan park barriers.

So I was feeling a bit concerned about finding somewhere to stay for the night, when I realised our ship, Brittany Ferries’ MV Bretagne, would not be docking at Portsmouth until 6.30pm.

I also knew that I would have to be up north bright and early the following morning, so I really needed to make some headway in that direction, but I wondered, which site would be welcoming me at that time of day?

Pitch up by the site entrance

Fortunately, the Caravan and Motorhome Club had the answer. Its Morn Hill site, just outside Winchester, has dedicated ferry pitches located near the entrance, which are especially designed for motorhome owners who might be arriving late or leaving early. In my case, as it happened, the MV Bretagne arrived almost half an hour early.

You have to keep a sharp look-out to spot the sign to the campsite, because access is directly off a very busy roundabout.

That means there is a bit of background noise from the road, but the immaculate motorhome site provided a welcome return to Britain, with the bonus of a gorgeous sunset to enjoy on the evening I arrived.

The sunset at Morn Hill — A glorious sunset greeted Peter’s arrival at the site

The modern shower block proved very useful, too. The shower cubicle in the Bailey had been more than adequate en route – in fact, it was preferable to the showers in the municipal sites I had used in France – but it was still great to be able to have an alternative after a long day.

Parking the Bailey on a ferry pitch also meant I could sneak out early the following morning without waking any of the other campers

I returned to England just a few days before parental duty required me to help my daughter move out of university for the summer. On this occasion, the Camping and Caravanning Club’s small, family-run Bounds CS at Fulbourn, near Cambridge, proved a useful night halt for me to get ready for an early-morning pick-up time in Cambridge city centre.

Bounds is a charming site. All of its pitches are grass, with individual picnic tables and electric hook-up. There’s a communal summerhouse, complete with fridge and sofa, set among mature trees, and at the back, a toilet block.

Best of all, if you were to use this site as a base to explore Cambridge, the city centre is only a flat two-mile bike ride away.

Generous storage space

I made it to the pick-up on time next morning, and here again the motorhome excelled, with the garage providing enough space for a second bicycle my daughter had managed to acquire alongside the one she left for college with, and ample space in the aisle for her boxes and bags.

Going for a quick breakfast afterwards, I did incur a parking fine: the Bailey was deemed too wide for the space I had parked it on. But despite this small hiccup, the four-berth Adamo proved an admirable companion on my travels, and I’m looking forward to my next adventures in it very soon.

If you’re heading out in your ‘van soon, check out our 8 tips to being a better motorhome driver to see what you can do to enjoy a less stressful experience on the road.

Technical spec of the Bailey Adamo 75-4I

Price: £75,499
Berths: 4
Belts: 4
Base vehicle: Ford Transit
Engine: 2.0-litre, 160bhp
Length: 7.49m
Width: 2.38m
Height: 2.85m
MTPLM: 3500kg
Payload: 358kg
Expenses: £81 on sites, £350 on fuel
Distance travelled: 1680 miles this time

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PeterBaber

Peter Baber is Reviews Editor of both Practical Motorhome and Practical Caravan. He has been reviewing motorhomes for the best part of a decade now. His first caravan reviews date back to the early 1990s when he first worked on Practical Caravan, before he embarked on a 20-year career in business journalism which saw him edit a wide variety of magazines, and launch a few too, including one that won an award. Although he enjoyed that, he always knew he wanted to come back. Peter reports on all the new models that make it to dealer forecourts each season, giving his judgement online and in magazine reviews. He has twice been shortlisted for a Caravan Writers Guild award. When he is not working, apart from going on motorhome trips himself (mostly local to where he lives in West Yorkshire, but also last year right across France) he likes trying to write novels, cooking, throwing the odd pot, and has just taken up tennis.