Hi Eribear,
I doubt we will be going further 'abroad' than the IOW! We have an aging dog and no pet passport for him. As we are getting on a bit ourselves we will be limiting our travels to the UK. It is very expensive to take car and van abroad these days. We last went to IOW in November 2012 with just the car and ourselves and the return ferry fare was over £70. Apparently, the IOW ferry is the most expensive in Europe. I agree with your comment about the relaxed nature of camping on the continent and the weather is so much more reliable too.