Move in Spring or Autumn when weather’s better - not in July/August heatwave. And don’t try to do too much in a day. Unless you’re moving to Boulogne break your journey, have a nice meal and an early night and start your new life rested and not too stressed the following day.
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What would I bring / bring more of?
Everything that goes on our periodic ‘Bovril Run’ back to England including Heinz Baked Beans (a gourmet item at French prices), peanut butter, TCP, curry paste, Lucozade (pref original formulation) and a smoker so that I can do my own bacon. And my piano…
Leave behind? Probably everything which is still packed in boxes in the garage, 2.5 years after our move as well as the 1950s radiogram I .”…will get round to mending now I have more time.” (It has since been joined in the garage by a 1950s French record player bought for €5 at a VG!)
Our local Grand Frais in Macon also has scotch bonnets.
I do not know why it is so difficult to find milder chillies here.
We grow our own now.
You can cut them into strips and freeze them.
This is a very useful topic… I am adjusting my shopping list accordingly. Cannot possibly live without Lime pickle and Indian spices… and Yorkshire tea and Scottish Oatcakes.
I can see an extra box of ‘provisions’ making it onto the Van.
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It’s amazing how quickly you find the most of the products you like close to home in France and adapt to the differences you may find. These days I can’t eat U.K. baked beans or plain chocolate as I find it much too sweet. The local French supermarket beans I buy now are much more to my taste as are their plain chocolate biscuits. I’m not a tea drinker. I have always found enough curry powders and chutneys and buy them when I see them on sale whether it is in a local market or Lidl. Talking of Lidl, they sort the peanut butter issue as well.
I’ve had three lots of visitors this summer and each group has asked if I want anything brought over and each time I’ve replied, no thanks.
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Oh dear I was going to put hubby 
obviously does not count haha 
You can get Nairn’s oatcakes in Inter and Leclerc, also Yorkshire tea in bags, but it is a mega rip-off so instead of paying 7.50 a box of 80 I now buy them online at 38 for a bag of 1200, which lasts about 3 months.
It’s been mentioned here a few times but British Corner Shop provide a really good service…
A friend of mine in uk used them and ordered some vegetarian atora and had it sent over to me when I was having a craving for dumplings during my first winter here…! x 
I’m not many miles away from a Super U which has an “international section” and very often Super U’s own version alongside branded products…I’ve bought Marmite there and branston pickle and HP brown sauce and Pataks curry sauces…
Sun-pat peanut butter on the international section is marginally cheaper than skippy peanut butter and I don’t know why that is…??? x
chevrefeuille, I agree, there’s nothing that I yearn for now - apart from a proper country pub!
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Lime pickle is available! I find it odd that people think that France is limited in available foodstuffs Sure what you want might not be in every Lidl, but you can find things more easily that travelling to the UK to get them. And face it, in 60 odd days sending things to France will probably get a whole lot more complicated.
And how will the britishcornershop work after brexit I wonder?
I’ve no idea Jane…I haven’t bought anything from them for a long while but it would be a shame if they weren’t able to provide their service due to the complete and utter mayhem going on at the minute…I can’t hardly listen to Bojo without steam coming out my ears…!
It will depend whether it can get the necessary certification for the goods that it imports and whether its customers can weather the highr prices.
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That was a rhetorical question…
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We like so many things from various countries. My shopping list also includes masa flour to make tacos, herb seeds to grow ingredients for Frankfurt Green Sauce, Lidl and Aldi have been great resources for German chocolate in th UK … baking ingredients will be available. I have already scoped French stores and markets and really look forward to cooking with local foods. Of course we will miss some Scottish produce like Raspberries and Strawberries and Gin.
Is there something special about Scottish raspberries and strawberries that I don’t know about? The ones I grow here in rural France seem a fair bit better than OK to me and the growing and eating season is incredibly long. The Word famous Grey Goose gin is made in the department next door to mine so that’s not hard to find either.
Gin??
What is it then? Is it Vodka? I’ve been to the place where it comes from but as I don’t do spirits I wouldn’t have a clue. I’d always presumed it was gin. Whatever it is, it was strange to find it in the middle of the Cognac vineyards.
I’m sure that they sell gin in the supermarkets here anyway. Strangely the only bottle of gin in my house was brought by a visitor from a Glasgow, I hadn’t ever realised that it had its roots up there.
It is Vodka, and while it is distilled and bottled in France it rarely appears on the shelves here. Mainly for export, I think.
I drank it in India 11 years ago, one of only three alcoholic drinks I have had in 10 years!