Taking your dog on the Eurotunnel

In June, we travelled to the South of France to the Languedoc region for a week's holiday. I love this region of France, not least because my favourite white wine is grown here, Picpoul de Pinet.

We wanted to bring our border terrier puppy, Baxter, with us as we would prefer not to put him in kennels and because we knew he would have a lovely time playing on the beaches. 

There are two options for taking your dog abroad; by ferry or by the Eurotunnel, Le Shuttle. We chose Le Shuttle because we wanted Baxter to stay without us throughout the journey.

Baxter travelled in his little crate and
was very happy for the whole journey

It's really easy to book your dog on Le Shuttle. You simply add him on when making your online booking and it cost us £16 each way.

Before you travel with your dog, you need to get him a pet passport which you can get from your vet and he'll need to be microchipped. He will also need to have an up to date rabies vaccination. Baxter already had his chip, so for the passport and the rabies jab, plus a health check cost us around £90. 

If you're travelling from the UK, they don't check your pet or the passport as you leave, so it's your responsibility to get these completed properly. 

At Folkestone, they have little play areas for the dogs. They are enclosed and have water bowls which meant Baxter got to have a good stretch of his legs and go to the toilet before the journey and also meant that we could entertain him while waiting to board the train. 

Baxter had a lovely time in the pet exercise area

You then just drive onto the train and travel with your dog in the car with you. If you haven't travelled by Le Shuttle before, it's a really easy way to travel. The total journey only takes about 35 minutes and you get mobile reception the entire journey (yes I did tweet from under the Channel). You can get out of your car to go to the toilet, but your dog has to stay in the car for the duration. 

If you travel Dover to Calais with P&O, your dog has to stay in the car without you. It costs about the same for your pet (£15 each way) but takes quite a bit longer (75 minutes) and I think we would have been worried about leaving Baxter on his own in the car for all that time. 

The only downside of travelling with Le Shuttle is that you can't have a cheeky drink during the journey (obviously only the passengers!) But since it is such a short distance, even I coped.

Driving on to Le Shuttle

There are then no checks at Calais. You just drive off the train and start your journey.

Before you come back to the UK from France, your dog needs to have had an injection for tapeworm. This must be administered by a vet in France between 24 and 120 hours prior to arrival in the UK. The vet has to sign, date and stamp the passport on the relevant page. 

We were staying pretty much in the middle of nowhere and neither the vet nor the receptionist spoke a word of English. When we showed them the pet passport, they clearly had never seen one before, so just be warned that, outside of the tourist areas, vets might not be used to administering this injection. My parents were staying in a much more English friendly area and they didn't have any problems. So I'd advise you learn the French for tape worm which we were told was "ver solitaire". 

We also found the whole vet experience in France very different to that in the UK.  Here we find the vet tries to make the whole experience as enjoyable as possible for Baxter. They make a real fuss of him and give him lots of treats so he loves our little trips to the vets. He didn't even let out a squeak when he had his rabies jab, he just sat there wagging his tail waiting for his treat. 

There was none if this in France. The vets smelt and looked much more clinical and, although the vet was kind to Baxter, she did nothing to calm his nerves. Plus, as she administered the injection, he was wriggling around and she didn't really hold him still. He absolutely wailed when he was given the injection and was not himself for a while afterwards. 

The amount of fluid they inject depends on the size of your dog. Baxter was a small dog and weighed 7kg at the time and so the injection cost us €34. My parent's dog was a large beagle and theirs cost over €60. 

The pet travel scheme paw prints at Calais

When you arrive at Calais, you follow the yellow paw prints to the pet reception building. They recommend you get there half an hour prior to departure. You then take your dog into the building, they check his passport and also check his microchip. It takes about 5 minutes. 

You then board the train as usual and continue on your journey to the UK. They have the same pet exercise areas in France for your dog to stretch his legs prior to departure. And, again the dog has to stay in your car with you on the way home. 

We would definitely take Baxter abroad again on Le Shuttle. He had a lovely time on the beaches in France and the small cost of taking him on the Eurotunnel, the rabies jab and the vaccinations were less than kennels would have been for the time we were away. Plus we have now paid for the passport and the rabies lasts for a year so we won't have to pay that next time. 

Baxter having a lovely holiday in France

And the great thing about taking your car over to France? You can bring a few little bottles of wine back with you from the vineyards. Perfect. 

Are dogs allowed on beaches in Argeles-Sur-Mer?

When we took our little dog, Baxter, down to the south of France for his first holiday abroad, we were surprised at how few beaches in the Argeles region allowed dogs on them.

Our little dog Baxter having fun on the Marenda beach

If you've never been to this part of France, you're missing out. Part of the Languedoc region, there are miles of beautiful, white, wide, wild beaches. The small towns that litter the beaches are less built up than, say, the south of Spain, and even the more commercial beaches such as Argeles Centre are still reasonably unspoilt. 

I guess they don't want dogs fouling on the beach and antisocial owners not keeping hold of their pets which can irritate other holiday makers. But it means dog owners are a bit restricted. 

There are six stretches of beach within Argeles. If you go further North from Argeles, you'll reach St Cyprien and further South, Collioure.

Racou beach, probably my favourite dog-friendly section

The six beaches in Argeles are called (from North to South) Plage de la Marenda, Plage du Tamariguer, Plage des Pins, Plage Centre, Plage Sud and Plage du Racou. In between Sud and Racou, you'll find the marina. All of these beaches have large, patrolled areas with toilets, lifeguards and swim-safe zones. However, none of them allow dogs!

To take you dog on the beach, you have to go to the sections which are not patrolled. This means that technically you are not supposed to swim in the water and there are no facilities such as toilets and showers. However, they are more remote, less spoilt and far less busy. 

The first dog-safe section is on the edge of the Racou beach, next to the Marina. You can park for free in a large, beach car park which sadly has no shade so the cars get pretty hot. The beach is beautiful, wide and very wild. We went on a Tuesday in June and it was very quiet and although it was hot, there was a lovely breeze. 

To the south, the long beach is cornered by hills topped with ancient watch towers and the buildings are barely visible behind the trees and not that commercial. Like all the beaches in Argeles, the sand isn't soft and fine, instead, it is slightly gritty and fairly white. 

There are toilets on the main beach and also bars and restaurants. The main beachside restaurant is Hotel L'Oasis which allows dogs on their outside area and serves a good selection of salads, sandwiches, cold drinks and ice creams. They stop serving food at 2 though, so don't get caught out!

Marenda beach. A bit more crowded, but still pretty remote

The second area that allows dogs is to the north of Plage de la Marenda. This is part of the Northern section of the Argeles beaches and is very beautiful. Behind the beach lies huge campsites which seem to be popular with Germans in particular. There are lovely views of the Pyrenees from the beach and the campsites are hidden by wild plant dunes of flowers and pine trees. It has a very remote and wild feel to it. The sand is white and again pretty gritty.

We went on a Wednesday in June and, although still quiet, was busier than the Racou. However, the beach is incredibly long and, if you are less lazy than us, I'm sure you'd leave the people behind if you were prepared to walk up the beach. 

Again, there is a free beach car park, with no shade. The walk is slightly longer than Racou to the beach, but probably only about 5 minutes. To the south of the unpatrolled area is the Coco Beach restaurant that does typical takeaway food. As it is on the Marenda beach, you can't take dogs there. 

I can see why the Argeles beaches are some of the most popular in France as they are very beautiful. And, if you are prepared to go to the more remote parts, you can experience a very wild beach experience which your four legged friend can enjoy too. 

The Argeles beach region with details of the different patrolled areas

Wine I've drunk this weekend

Since I've drunk lots of delicious wines this weekend, I thought I would take a break from wittering on about weddings and share them with you. Plus, one of my friends came round my house recently and complained that she'd been on my blog to try and find a wine I liked to bring round to supper, but couldn't find any. So, Caroline, this one is for you!

The long wine whiling weekend started with a visit to the only wine shop in the village, Salisbury's Cambridge Wine Stores. We originally went to get some Limoncello. But when they didn't have any, we ended up spending £70 on wine instead!

I love buying wine from proper wine shops. You get that extra bit of help from the staff who genuinely know about wine. Plus, there is usually a more varied selection of unique wines rather than the standard selection sold at many of the supermarkets. On Saturday, Cambridge Wines was full of middle aged men talking guff about wine. However, one of them have us a tip on a delicious Argentinian Malbec and he was not wrong!

La Chamiza Malbec from Cambridge Wines

He recommended La Chamiza Polo Amateur 2012 Malbec. The bottle claimed that, many years ago, the Chamiza Estate was a land of polo horses. But now they grow wines that reflect the polo horse because it is generous, equilibrated and passionate. I'm not sure about all that, but it was delicious!

I think it cost us around £7 which we thought was pretty good value since it was so nice. It was quite a dark, purple wine and tasted of cherries and strawberries with a hint of mocha coffee. It was dry but also velvety smooth. We had it with curry, but would be a perfect wine to have with a burger or lamb steak on the BBQ. 

I've mentioned my brother on here before as he is a proper wine snob and he got me onto wine tasting. As a thank you for organising a recent ski trip, we bought him a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2004 Il Palazzone from Cambridge Wines. He keeps telling me I should upgrade on the wines for the wedding from Chianti Classico to a Brunello but the budget won't stretch yet (sorry, had to mention the wedding). The Queen had it at her wedding apparently, so if it was good enough for her...

We didn't drink the wine as it apparently will be better in a few years. So when he does try it, I'll let you know if it was worth it!

The same brother picked a wine from Dad's wine cellar to drink with our bank holiday BBQ. To say it is a cellar might be stretching the truth somewhat, however, he does have a selection of 30 or so wines under the stairs at his house. My brother picked a rather tasty Shiraz from Majestic with a slightly tasty price point! Dad thought he'd paid around £20 for it, but it looks as though it is currently retailing at £30.

The McRae Wood Shiraz

As an Australian Shiraz, Jim Barry's The McRae Wood Shiraz from the Clare Valley is pretty full bodied. Bottled in 2004, the wine has spent a few months in oak and has a nice well rounded taste of fruit and spice as ell and lavender and liquorice. We had it with sausages and burgers but would be perfect with any red meat dish. Not the cheapest of wines but if you have a special occasion or want to impress someone, this would be a good choice.

A while ago, we went to the Wickham Vineyard which is near to Southampton in Hampshire. It's lovely there and I would definitely recommend a visit. It's about a 20 minute walk from Botley train station and set in beautiful countryside. You can do a little tasting, do an audio tour of the vineyard and buy local produce. Plus, they have a beautiful restaurant which has only recently opened that looks out over the vines.

Me wine tasting at Wickham Vineyard

We bought a bottle of Wickham Celebration Rose 2010 when we were there. We were saving it for when my friend Natalie came round. But she was too slow and it was drunk this weekend! The bottle claims it has "intense strawberry, raspberry and red currant flavours". However, I think it is more subtle than that description. It's actually a fairly, dry and light rose and not too sweet as some roses can be. 

You don't seem to be able to buy it via their website but maybe you can still buy it in the tasting room at the winery. I think it cost around £10 at the time. We enjoyed it with a Marks and Spencer Millionaire Shortbread biscuit but I think it would go with most things, maybe even a light pasta or chicken dish.

The view from the restaurant at Wickham Vineyard

Also this weekend we enjoyed the following yummy wines all of which I would highly recommend:

• The Ruins Organic Pinotage Bon Cap 2010 which cost around £9 from Cambridge Wines
• The Macon Villages 2011 which cost around £9 from Marks and Spencer
• The Barossa Shiraz 2010 which cost around £10 from Marks and Spencer 

So that was some of the wine I drank this Bank Holiday Weekend. Yes, I am off for a detox now. Someone bring me the Milk Thistle.

Catered vs non catered accommodation in the French Alps

I've always thought that one day I would buy my own ski chalet. Somewhere near Lyons or Geneva so I could pop over for a weekend of snow, sun and après-ski. I’d get to know the best ski runs, I’d speak to French like a local and I’d probably have an affair with an instructor called Yves.

Until I earn significantly more than I do, I will have to accept rental accommodation. Over the years, I've stayed at a variety of ski rentals. With everything from a huge apartment block in Val Thorens to a catered chalet in Meribel.

Having recently returned from a ski trip to La Plagne, I thought I would explore the benefits of the different types of ski accommodation.

In my view, there are two main types:self-catered apartment or catered chalet. You can obviously stay at traditional hotels, but for me, this is a very expensive way of going skiing. And, given that ski holidays are one of the dearest holidays you can go on, I don’t know why you would suffer the extra expense.

Benefits of self-catering apartments

• With a self-catering apartment you get the freedom of cooking your own food to your own tastes and dietary needs. This can be especially useful if you have allergies or picky children
• You can eat when you like. You don’t have to be up by nine in order to catch breakfast, or leave the slope side bars by 7 in order to catch dinner
• If you meet people or there are different groups of people going on the holiday, you can easily invite them over for dinner without it being an issue
• Eating on the slopes can be expensive. So you can make your own packed lunch and take it out on the slopes

Down-sides of self-catering apartments

• There are some mini markets on the resorts, but the produce is limited and expensive so you have to be more organised and stop off at a hypermarket en route
• It means you either have to cook and clean every day or accept the expense of eating out
• Often, the cost of self-catering apartments is not significantly different to catered chalet
• Apartments can be large, multi-story affairs. My advice would be to try and avoid the real eye-sores

Benefits of catered chalets

• Everything is done for you. The sheets are generally changed every day, your plates and glasses are tidied away and your bathroom is cleaned daily
• You have three meals cooked for you on all days apart from the leave day (generally a Wednesday). So, breakfast and supper as well as tea and cake when you get back from the slopes
• You generally get unlimited white and red wine with your evening meal. That’s right, unlimited wine
• The chalet staff are on hand every day to help with questions and advice. They’re all doing a ski season, so they know the best slopes, the best restaurants and where to stop for steak hache on the mountainside
• Chalets tend to be smaller buildings. So can be more attractive than the cram-them-in apartments
• Unless you are a group, you’ll generally share with other people. This can be useful if you're travelling with different abilities or if you are looking to have a spot of holiday romance (please note, this can also have downsides, see below)

Downsides to catered chalets

• If you have very specific dietary requirements, a catered chalet may not be for you. In the larger chalets in particular, you often don’t get much of a choice around what you are presented at 7pm
• Unless there is a large group of you, you’ll generally share with other people. This can mean you get stuck with people you don’t like, screaming babies or overly familiar people
• The chalet staff are often there all the time. If you don’t like them, they can be annoying
• The chalet staff make additional income from the “honesty bars” that they operate. Some chalets therefore operate a rule where you can only drink alcohol purchased within the chalet. Which is obviously more expensive than if bought elsewhere

My top tips for finding accommodation

Here are my five top tips for finding accommodation:

1. If you have specific dietary needs or tastes, you might be better off with a smaller chalet rather than a larger one. We recently stayed at a smaller, boutique-style chalet in Les Coches where the chef cooked us bespoke food each day. It meant that they were able to cook a gluten-free cake for when we got back from the slopes and cook evening meals without dairy.If you have ever been on a ski holiday in France, you know that most meals are topped with cheese or doused in cream so this is an absolute luxury. Here’s my review on TripAdvisor of the place we recently stayed as it was excellent.
2. You should always look for accommodation that backs out ontothe slopes. Having been on many holidays where I've had to lug my skis up hillsand onto shuttle buses, it really isn't much fun. Also, check the ski ability needed for the slopes located by the accommodation. If you are a beginner,you’re not going to be able to ski out onto a red or black run.
3. Following on from this, there is nothing worse than finding out that the ski rental shop is a bus ride from your chalet. Honestly, skis,boots and poles are the most cumbersome and heavy items to lug around. It may cost you a bit more, but if you can get the ski people to deliver and fit your skis at your accommodation, it removes a lot of the hassle.
4. If you are catering for yourself, be organised. You’ll need to stop off at a large supermarket before you start climbing the mountains.But, if you run out of anything, you may not be able to get everything you need in the local markets. Plan what you are going to cook and shop accordingly.
5. If you are sharing with other people, tread carefully. You may find yourself agreeing on the first day over a glass of free wine to going to ski lessons altogether,only to discover that you have nothing in common by day two. Absolutely, it’s great if you can find people at a similar level to you that you can head out to the slopes with. But, if you fall out, things can get awkward.

I hope this helps you plan your next ski trip. Have fun and enjoy the après ski. I would recommend a vin chaude every day at around 11am.

Wine is back in fashion!

A few decades ago, you couldn't move for fancy wine bars and there were Threshers and Oddbins on virtually every corner. However, nice wine seems to have fallen out of favour in our town centres of late. 

Take my home city of Salisbury as an example. Our last off-licence closed a few years ago and most of the bars serve house red or pinot grigio and not really a great deal more. Every type of vodka under the sun, yes. A selection of wines from the Stellenbosch, no.

If you want a bottle of decent wine, you invariably have to go to a supermarket or restaurant and suffer something slightly substandard everywhere else.

I'm pleased to say that the trend seems to have started to buck, in Salisbury at least. 

Last year, a specialist wine retailer finally opened in Salisbury, as part of the Cambridge Wine Merchants chain. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine to buy wine in a supermarket and I am a massive fan of the selection at Waitrose and Marks and Spencer. However, nothing can replace walking into a shop, and being able to ask what wine they would recommend to go with the duck or fish dish you are cooking that night. And having the personal service of expert wine advice based on your tastes and preferences.

Cambridge Wine Merchants, Salisbury

And, you don’t just get some store attendant who has done a three week course in beverages as part of their store induction. These guys know their stuff.  The manager, Gareth, has long recommended and slurped wine and used to manage the last of the wine shops in Salisbury, Oddbins and Nicolas. Last time we went in there, we explained we were going to my parent’s for coq au vin and Gareth recommended a delicious drop of Italian red. A far better experience than interpreting the pretensions of a marketing label on a wine bottle.

Then, in the New Year, joy of joys we got a wine bar! A real wine bar! Well a wine café by the name of Crane Street Wine Café. OK, they do serve food and I did go there for an evening meal, however, you can just pop in for a glass of wine and you don’t have to serve food. And, they have a really good selection and the food is pretty good too. 

Crane Street Wine Cafe in Salisbury. Finally the wine bar is back!

Run by the gregarious Andy Griggs, the place has a really classy ambience and décor too and I can see myself whiling away many an afternoon with a glass of Pinot, watching the people go by. We enjoyed a delicious bottle of Australian Shiraz. And then we enjoyed a second delicious bottle! If you do decide to eat, I would heartily recommend the tuna steak and my Dad wolfed down his spare ribs, so I assume they were pretty tasty! 

I’d be interested to know if this trend is being replicated in other towns across the UK. For me, this is a great departure from shots and red bull and a decidedly more sophisticated way to enjoy a drop.

PS I couldn't write an article about wine in Salisbury without mentioning the Majestic wine store in Salisbury. For me, it’s off this list because it isn't in the town centre and requires a car journey to get there. Plus, you have to buy a six bottle case and you can’t just pop in for a bottle. However, their service is impeccable, there’s nearly always a Pinot Noir on the tasting bar and they do social well. So plus points from me.

The Francais from the flames

When Charter 1227 restaurant in Salisbury went up in flames a few years ago I was so sad.

I'd love to say it was due to my disappointment for the owners and the loss of a historic building in Salisbury. Nope! I was mostly sad because Charter 1227 was supposed to be one of the best restaurants in Salisbury and I had never been. And partly sad as the fire also took the best fish and chip shop in Salisbury with it, Stoby's. Yes I know. The pain was all mine!

So you can imagine my self-centred delight when the restaurant reopened earlier this year, with the same owners and a new and improved menu!

As it was our anniversary, we thought we'd go and have a try. You know, to support the regeneration of Salisbury and local businesses....

The restaurant didn't look much from the outside. But up a fairly steep set of steps (yes I was worried about falling down them!) we found an open plan restaurant, with a modern, fresh feel, yet with a nod to the past.  Our table had a great view overlooking the market square and, as we were in the corner, the rest of the diners. I love to sit "eyes out" in a restaurant, although I occasionally get told to stop staring.


 

Our waiter was really friendly and took the time to chat and make us feel welcome. We ordered a bottle of Chianti and we were given a delicious slice of olive oil laden focaccia bread (which the squeeze could have eaten three more of, even though it was a generous size!).

To start, I had beetroot and goats cheese salad with walnut dust and raspberry essence. The squeeze had Wiltshire pork ballotine, black pudding and apple and vanilla purée. For main, I had Roast rump of lamb, mint potato croquettes, zucchini topped Provencal vegetables and pea purée. The squeeze destroyed char grilled duck breast with braised leeks, celeriac purée, port and blackberry infused sauce.

Yes, your dribbling mouth is correct. It was all absolutely delicious.

In my opinion, there are no other restaurants in Salisbury quite like Charter 1227. Yes, there are lots of great places to eat, but nothing truly refined like this one.

If you want a huge plate of food, served to you within moments, it's probably not for you. But if you want plates of food that look like works of art, with each morsel tasting delicious and surprising and where you get personal service, then you'll love this place. And, if like me you're into your chinaware, and always turn your side plate upside down to look at the brand, everything is served on Villeroy and Boch.
At the end, Danny the chef and owner popped over to say hello and ask about our dining experience. He seemed so passionate and genuine and it was a cordial touch.

And, I managed to get down the stairs without falling over. Another commendable achievement.