Monday 14 January – Peniscola to Valencia

Peniscola to Valencia - 115 miles driven

Another bright and sunny day, feeling a bit warmer so we finished packing things away and servicing the van having decided to move on today. We're in no rush however so first call, once we'd managed to navigate ourselves free of the complicated road network in the town, was to the Mercadonna supermarket to replenish supplies. That done we headed for the coastal N340 road and turned south.

Generally the coastal plain is somewhat featureless with the odd outcrop of rocky hills, the main “views” being of the mountains to the west. The N340 generally follows the toll AP7 motorway, becoming the A7 occasionally before joining the AP7 approaching Valencia. In an effort to find the so-called coastal route we turned off, thinking we were headed for Benicassim but had left the road 100m early and wound through the countryside only to come up against a dead-end. Well it wasn't quite a dead end but strictly non-accessible to us so we backtracked then tried the proper road and meandered into Benicassim, another holiday resort.

Like Peniscola, Benicassim is a tourist destination, although somewhat larger and definitely busier. We ambled through the town before getting slightly lost trying to find our way out, but Nellie, our trusty notebook, showed us a way and we were soon back on the N340. Later, looking for somewhere nice to have lunch, we took a turn with signs for the beach which led us through lots of narrow streets to a large empty carpark on the edge of the beach at Almenara Plage.

In season we surmised al the small houses we could see lining the beach would be full of holidaymakers but for now it was totally deserted, although actually quite attractive in the sunshine. Jamie had a nice plodge in the sea (too cold for us!) before we had a lazy lunch, checking out the guides to decide where next. We could easily envisage a night "wild camping" here.

We would usually have chosen an aire but they were few and far between, mostly of the commercial variety and quite probably full as we have experienced before. At costs varying from €8 to €15 per night we thought for a few euros more we could enjoy a proper campsite so decided on Devesa Gardens south of Valancia, an ACSI site we stayed on for a week or so last year. So with TomTom providing guidance we worked our way back to the, now, A7 and headed into Valencia.

Although we are aware there is an old quarter, Valencia is a very modern city with some stunning architecture that the camera couldn't quite capture as we drove past on the excellent roads serving it. We would have liked to pause but the traffic gave us little opportunity – perhaps we'll return by bus. Almost before we knew it we were out the other side and following the coastal road, past a large coastal lake nature reserve from which our intended destination takes it's name.

As last year, we were surprised to find the site only half full and we selected a pitch in full sun. There had been some work done with the trees being thinned out and large metal frames erected, ready to take the sunshading which is quite common in Spain at the height of summer. But for now they were just bare frames, easy to forget about unless your van was quite high – we watched a very large “A” class motorhome reverse onto a closeby pitch, his TV aerial and air-con unit clearing the frame by less than an inch! A goodly number of attractive holiday chalets have also been added.

We've booked in for 4 nights, which will take us nicely up to our “meet” with friends near Alicante at the end of the week.

WE STAYED AT Devesa Gardens, on the coast south of Valencia. The usual full excellent facilities include a restaurant, swimming pool (closed out of season) a small supermarket and free Wifi. ACSI at €18 per night. Buses into Valencia stop outside the gate and the beach is around a 20 min stroll through woodland.