D189 WCK
Ouistreham, some time in the mid 1990s
Click picture to enlarge
Particular cars make particular memories.
First in the queue for the following morning's early ferry to Portsmouth at Caen ferry port in northern France. I don't know which year exactly but we had probably travelled from Loches on the Loire or Sarlat in the Dordogne, the main places we had our French camping holidays en famille each summer. Route via Le Mans (including part of the 24hr race circuit), Alençon, Argentan and Falaise.
Other years we came back from the west coast of France (perhaps even Sarlat) via Rennes, Avranche, Granville (camped there in transit), Coutances and Cherbourg. The photo is most likely returning from Loches. Many years later it all becomes a jumble of memories of different holidays. We also sailed back from Dieppe, Le Havre and Calais, coming back from where exactly, I don't remember. Does anyone remember which family holiday they went on which year?
Overnight at Caen we slept in the car, six on at least one occasion. I may also have slept under the trailer. The Volvo estate 'workhorse' had six seats with two facing backwards at the back and did not let us down even once, although I spent a lot of money keeping it properly maintained at Walkdens of Chorley (gone now).
Arriving at the ferry port in the late afternoon, eating chips and hot dogs and messing about generally while watching other people arrive in caravans or on loaded up motorcycles was always something to look forward to. Then in the morning to drive on the ferry it was always a question of which queue was called first (especially if you really deserved it by being right at the front!).
In my wardrobe somewhere is a live bullet (a big one) that some of our sons found in the rocks by the sea at Caen ferry port. It may be a leftover from the Allied Landings of WW2. Who knows?
It's Ouistreham, not actually Caen.
Time passes, things change. Years later, after D189 WCK had become almost worthless (we sold it), some of my family happened to park alongside it by chance near Queensferry on the way to or from Wales. It wasn't so worthless after all.
