French Leave
The story of our trip to the South of France via the Clermont Ferrand route and back via the Dordogne and Loire. Please click on small pictures for larger image.
Tuesday 21st August. Here we are again sitting on a campsite a
few miles from the Channel Tunnel ready for our crossing tomorrow to
France. Seven weeks since our return from our trip to Italy, it’s a hard
life! This time we have chosen to stay at
Black Horse Farm at Folkestone as it’s a bit nearer to the Tunnel.
Apparently if you only stay one night you should
always book a ferry pitch, and pay in advance.
I
am sure I am not alone in thinking that the ferry pitches only occupied
the area around reception but the reality is that it also includes
quite a few pitches inside the barrier. Regardless of whether you leave
at a civilised hour the site is keen for you not to disturb the long
term holiday makers, no wonder we never get a hard standing!
The journey was pretty mundane with only the smallest of holdups
and we got to Black Horse Farm before 2.00pm. Clearly lots of people of
a ‘certain age’ here, off on their autumn jaunts.
The site was quite busy and had 'site full'
notices up although when I walked round in the evening there were a few
empty pitches but also half a dozen envelops outside the site office for
outfits still to arrive.
Wednesday 22nd. Up
early and ready to leave before 8.30am. Black Horse Farm is about 7
miles from the Tunnel. For once it was not too bad getting out of the
site onto the usually busy Canterbury Road. Arrived at the Tunnel in
plenty of time to get an earlier crossing but found that was not an
option. Apparently an earlier Shuttle had been cancelled and they were
trying to catch up with the backlog. Eventually our barrier went up and
we had cars in front of us which is a bit unusual. I think they were
trying to shoe horn as many onto the Shuttle as possible. I proceeded
carefully down the ramp as loading was very slow. When it was our turn
we were called forward of the loading point so that they could get
someone in the carriage in front of ours. I did point out that they
would have to allow room for me to reverse back which they did not seem
to fully appreciate. When I pulled forward an older Hymer motorhome went
on the Shuttle before us. Anyway we were able to reverse backwards and
pull into the carriage. At one point I was concerned that we would not
get on our booked crossing but I am writing this as we traverse the
tunnel sous le manche! The fun and games of our crossing had not ended!
When they open all the fire doors on the Shuttle I usually wait until I
can see brake lights ahead before switching on. I saw the lights and
started up but for some reason the Hymer was not moving, he had broken
down! It took another 20 minutes for him to be towed off the Shuttle
with us in hot pursuit. Having filled up with diesel in the Tunnel
complex the open road beckoned. We had set ourselves the ambitious
target of getting south of Dreux but began to doubt whether this was
realistic. We pulled into the Baie de Somme service area only to find
all the caravan parking filled with cars, both French and English. Over
lunch we decided that we would not travel as far as planned and decided
to stay this side of Rouen for a couple of days and decided to give the
campsite called
Camping
Sainte Claire, at Neufchatel en Bray a try. It was pretty busy when
we arrived and got even fuller by the evening.
Thursday 23rd August. Needed to stock up with a few essentials so fortunately there was an E Leclerc within half a mile of the site. Diesel was the equivalent of £1.17 a litre against £1.39 a litre we last paid in the UK on Monday. It was a nice day so later we decided to explore the cycle track that runs from near the site entrance. It was originally a railway which seems to have had the Dr Beeching treatment. The old rails and sleepers have been removed and replaced by tarmac. Being an old railway it has the advantage of no steep inclines or declines which make cycling easier. We first rode into Neufchatel to have a look at the town. It’s a typical French town dominated by a large church. I decided to withdraw some cash on my new Halifax Clarity card as I want to see what the savings are over my Natwest debit card. Having looked round the town we cycled back towards the campsite and then beyond to the first village. We could have gone onto Dieppe 33 kms away but as we are more used to 3kms we gave that a miss!
The campsite is again pretty full by the evening. Some people
seem to stay for a few days and for others its just overnight. It’s a
pretty little campsite and the owner seems to put a lot of effort in
keeping it nice, that is when he is not directing people to their
pitches which seems to take up quite a slice of his time. We are moving
further south tomorrow.
Friday 24th August. We left Camping Sainte Claire just after
10.00am. It was a lovely campsite but not sure we would stay longer than
a couple of days simply because of the constant turnover of units which
regrettably gives it a feel of a transit camp. Having said that if
anyone wants a good stop over site I would certainly recommend it for
that purpose.
In order to navigate we are using my new TomTom. Yesterday it
did OK, mind you difficult to go wrong in just a 100 miles! In planning
today’s journey I had to work out a way to avoid being taken via Paris.
I have it set on the fastest route, if you set it on shortest it will
take you down any road suitable or not. I therefore had to set it to go
via Dreux town centre which was a bit of a worry but at least it was
well away from Paris and I knew that it would not be difficult to
navigate around the bypass. The first test was Rouen, gold star for
that. A short section of the A13 which cost €3 so not too bad. When we
got to Dreux it did actually take us around the bypass which surprised
me. At Chartres it did want us to go through the middle so we ignored
that and again took the bypass. For most of the way from Rouen the N154
is now dual carriageway with a few exceptions and of course toll free.
However from Chartres to Orleans it is mainly single carriageway although
there are signs that work maybe in progress to improve the road. Towards
Orleans we had to join the A10/A71 to avoid going through the centre of
the City. We were surprised how busy this road was, especially
northbound. We exited at junction 3 towards Lamotte-Beuvron, or so we
thought. Instead TomTom indicated that we should turn left and wanted to
take us to the campsite via some narrow looking roads so we overruled
and turned round towards where we thought we were going in the first
place! Once on the old N20 it was very easy to find our campsite for the
next couple of days
Camping La Grande Solonge.
As a campsite it is what I call
‘Rustic’ in the sense that it does not have the manicured look of our
previous campsite. The campsite is set around a lake which is use for
fishing. It seems perfectly acceptable and we only plan to be
here for a couple of nights.
Saturday 25th
August. No particular rush today as we did not have much planned except
to go and get some fuel. We decided to go south to Salbris which is
about 8 miles away. We took the opportunity to go via the campsite in
the town which looked quite nice and is situated on a lake and within
easy walking distance of the town centre.
Last evening a Bailey caravan and a Range Rover arrived and
pitched two along from us. Initially we took no notice but this morning
Margaret said to me that she thought it was Margaret Becket, the former
Foreign Secretary. I spoke to her husband but there was no sign of his
wife. When I saw her I was also convinced it was who we thought it was.
They were having some issue with their car so they were pretty late
leaving. I would have loved the opportunity to get into a proper
conversation with her but it was not to be. Mind you I suppose she
didn’t realise that she was next door to David Klyne either!!!!
Later I rode into the town to have a look round but there is not
a lot there but I did manage to take a few photographs. Later on, when I
was back at the van, I could hear a brass band playing so we went off to
investigate. As it turned out it was a wedding possession headed up by
the band. The group was quite large and a good number of the town’s
residents must have attended. They all assembled at the bandstand in the
Municipal Park to take photos. We wondered if the bride or groom might
have been something to do with the band. Perhaps I have said enough in
the past about how people dress at French weddings but nothing seems to
have changed but it was nice to see so many people there plus the oddity
which is France, of a possession around the town!
Sunday 26th August. It was quite dull when we left today but the
day did brighten up as we got further south. We are now at a place
called Ebreuil which is not far north of Clermont Ferrand.
Camping de la Filature, where we are staying for the next few
nights is just outside of Ebreuil. It is yet again another ‘rustic’
campsite set out along the River Sioule. The lady on reception was
clearly English, who else could think up a password for the WiFi of
‘fishandchips’? It does not have a massive amount of pitches and I would
say not even half full, even with the overnighters.
Monday 27th August.
After breakfast we drove out to Gammat and took the opportunity to fill
up with fuel. It was an unmanned pump so I had to use my credit card. It
all seemed to work in a straightforward way and most of the instructions
came up in English.
On the campsite we seem to have a mixture of overnighters and
longer stayers. We have even decided to stay another day. This has
required a rejigging of our next campsite so I went off to use the
internet to get a few more details. I regret not bringing my small
printer with me as it would have been useful.
There are a fair number of Brits on the site but
they don’t seem to want to chat or even say hello!
After lunch we rode our bikes into Ebreuil to have a look round.
Rather than use the main road we diverted down the road past the
Municipal Campsite which like our site is right on the river. From here
we continued to take the back streets through the village occasionally
going down a blind alley! We went as far as the river bridge before
turning for home.
Where I use the internet is also the serving area for the
takeaway food and I noticed they were doing duck fillet in red wine
sauce and chips tonight so decision made for tonight’s meal and very
nice it was too and not a bad price at €9 each.
Tuesday and we awoke to the patter of rain drops on the caravan
roof but by the time we got up it had stopped and there were signs of
the sky brightening up. We had a fairly lazy morning although I did have
a chat with a guy who first came to this campsite 37 years ago and has
been coming back over the years. He did say the only change was when
they modernised the toilet block which I thought was a bit comical given
they would hardly win the best kept loo’s of the year award!!!
After lunch we had a ride out in the car to explore the River
Sioule Gorge. The road was a bit narrow in places so care had to be
taken, especially with oncoming vehicles. We followed a sign to a Roman
Bridge which even after 2000 years still looked pretty substantial. We
then followed the road to a view point which was fine except the view
was obscured by trees. Back on the main road it was surprising how far
across country you could see. Back at the van we started to pack a few
things away and it seemed that we were not alone as several units around
us were also packing up.
Wednesday 29th
August. We were woken up quite early when the old VW camper opposite
decided to leave early this morning. I hope it’s not as noisy inside as
it is out! We were away from the site just before 10.00am and it was not
long before we were heading down the A71. On the A75 we stopped at a
service station which had a rather spectacular view of the Viaduc de
Garabit which was constructed by Gustave Eiffel between 1882 and 1884.
We
had originally thought about stopping a few days at Millau but instead
decided to stay at Severac le Chateau at a campsite called
Les Calquieres. There were dire warnings about not using a sat nav
to find the site, just to follow the signs. We managed without too much
trouble. The weather has not been as nice today although we have not had
a lot of rain but it did suddenly become very windy. Fortunately it
calmed down by the evening.
Margaret wanted to watch the opening ceremony of the Paralympics
which over ran so we got to bed quite late. No sooner had we got into
bed when a thunder storm started with heavy rain so it took a while to
get off to sleep only to be woken at 7.30 am by the motorhome next door
departing!
Thursday did not dawn very bright although it had stopped
raining. I had, had a bit of a disaster with my new TomTom which I
unplugged as it was updating and since then I have not been able to get
it to reload or repair it via the internet. It might not be terminal but
I am not sure I will be able to fix it before we get back home. We went
out to a local Intermarche for fuel and I thought I would see it they
had any cheap sat navs. They had a few which did not seem too bad a
price and with full European mapping. Before buying I decided to see if
I could get the TomTom working but to no avail so we went back in the
afternoon to buy a new Garmin which cost about £67 so not exactly a
King’s Ransom. As these things are all locked away so I was a bit
nervous about how I would get on buying one. As it turned out it was
reasonably easy. I realised I was not going to get any buying advice and
I probably knew more about them than the lady serving me but it was all
unpacked for me to examine. We tried it in the car park before leaving
just to make sure it was working. It seems such a tiny screen compared
to the TomTom but I am sure it will be fine as a temporary measure.
Friday 31st August.
We left Severac Le Chateau today heading for the Mediterranean. There
were still some steep inclines before we got to the Millau Viaduc and it
was pretty windy today. When we got to the Toll Booth people seemed to
be having some difficulties with paying by credit card, usually a ten second
operation. When we got there it rejected Margaret’s card so we had to
pay by cash. At €12.80 it seems as steep as some of the hills! Judging
by the queue the other side of the Toll Booths I think all lanes were
having problems and likely a computer problem with their payment system.
Once past the massive plateau on the other side of Millau the road
starts to go downhill with some seriously steep declines and very low
speed limits for lorries and caravans. The road eventually opens out
onto the flat plain as you get nearer the sea. The Garmin tried to take
us down a very narrow road, just proves it’s not just TomTom! When we
got to
Camping Les Sablons, our next site, a street market was in full
swing and until we were right at the gate of the campsite we could not
see where it was. We blocked the entrance and were asked to go to out
pre-allocated pitch and come back later to finish the booking in
process. The site is packed. Our pitch is OK but there is a tree in the
middle of it which reduces flexibility. We got the van in OK and the car
across the front of the pitch and when the wind goes down there will be
room for the Caravanstore. When I went back to Reception I was surprised
that they wanted payment for our stay. As we are not sure how long we
will stay I have paid for 7 nights to start with. Later we went for a
bike ride around the site and into nearby Portiragnes Plage.
Saturday dawned bright and sunny but not massively hot as there
is still a strong breeze blowing. Pleasant enough for me though as it’s
a comfortable temperature. We had a wander around the site this morning
to find out where everything is. There was some evidence of people
packing up and leaving, especially the permanent accommodation. A few
touring units and tents have left but there are new arrivals as well.
After watching the Quali for the Belgium GP at Spa we went for a walk
through the site and along the beach towards what passes as the town of
Portiragnes Plage. As we walked along the beach my legs were getting
sandblasted as the wind whipped up the sand from the beach.
I suppose it’s a settlement rather than a town
and you can imagine it being totally deserted in the winter. The family
on the pitch behind us are Italian and they have a small dog. It is
never on a lead but it does not seem to wander far and I have never
heard it bark even when other dogs have gone by. Imagine my surprise
when putting something in the side locker when I suddenly found him
licking my toes!!! Not something I would recommend, even for a dog!
Sunday 2nd
September. Pretty lazy day today except for some household chores and,
of course, the Belgium Grand Prix won by Jenson Button. There was a big
crash at the start which put both Alonso and Hamilton out of the race
before it really started. Weather has been a bit strange today. There
has been quite a bit of cloud with sunny intervals in between. More
people have left today. Amazing to watch some of them pack up and get
all of their equipment, children and dogs into small cars! However they
seem to have been replaced by more newcomers, when do German kids go
back to school? Our neighbours on one side are French. They seem to be a
family of three, husband, wife and daughter of Uni age. For some
unexplained reason this morning they had the car radio on with the car
door open and as they were in their van or awning I doubt they could
adequately hear it anyway but the rest of their neighbours could. Why do
they do such things?
Monday 3rd of
September. We have not altogether been enamoured with this campsite and
are perhaps rueing the day that we paid in advance for our stay. We find
we have little privacy which makes it awkward whichever way you site on
the pitch. For many, especially those with young children, it would be
ideal. However for us it’s a bit like being on a Butlins holiday park.
There is not much of substance to Portiragnes Plage and out and about
the roads are very busy, especially towards Agde. This afternoon we
drove to Agde to look at a campsite called Les Champs Blancs. The guy on
reception was very friendly and offered us a plan of the site. We quite
liked it but it was a bit out on a limb and having visited the nearby
supermarket we just felt the whole area was just too busy. So it looks
as if we will leave here on Friday and head inland. That perfect site on
the south coast of France is still eluding us!
The weather has been a lot better today than yesterday. Still
trying to get my TomTom to work, without much luck so far. The Garmin I
purchased, albeit a basic model, struggles to find a sensible route and
would put me off investing in a better model. After lunch we went for a
bike ride along the Canal du Midi to Portiragnes where there is a lock.
The old towpath has been tarmaced which makes for an easier surface,
except for where the tree routes are trying to find a way through.
The locks on this canal are a funny shape. The
one we saw today was sort of keyhole in shape. Whilst it might aid
pleasure traffic I doubt it would have enabled two barges to ascend side
by side. I have been trying to find an easy way out of the campsite as
it has a one way system which in parts is a bit scary because of people
parking vehicles right on the edge of the road.
Wednesday 5th
September. It has been very much hotter today. The high wind we
experienced when we first arrived has subsided. First thing we visited
the market that is held a couple of times a week outside the campsite.
It was surprisingly comprehensive given that Portiragnes is such a small
place! Otherwise we had a pretty lazy day and plenty of time to observe
our fellow campers. Our French neighbours next door don’t seem to be
very friendly, they only respond if we say something first. They are
still putting the radio on now and then which seems a bit pointless as
the car is 4 yards away and they are either in the awning or the
caravan! Very odd behaviour! Our Italian neighbours in front of us,
owners of the toe licking Lola, do all their cooking about 3 feet from
our front window when the have space on their pitch to do it away from
our van with little, if any , inconvenience to themselves! I am
increasingly of the view that people, of all nationalities, are thinking
less and less of how they impact on others. Perhaps I am just turning
into and old grouch! Also being fickle we are how thinking of staying
until after the weekend as we originally planned. We have been wondering
how we should get to our next site. Should we head north back up the A75
or head out towards Toulouse an up the A20? This will be a more direct
route but will involve more in the way of tolls. It looks as if Margaret
will have to be map meister as I am not sure I trust the Garmin I
purchased recently. The TomTom has still not yet woken from its
slumbers, hence the need for good map reading!
Thursday 6th
September. Well we are still dithering as to what to do. We even put the
Caravanstore out and the front sun blocker but in the end we decided
that we still did not have any privacy and matey next door is still
playing his car radio, if anything on a more regular basis. So over
lunch we decided that it was just not worth carrying on in the hope that
things will improve and so a final decision was made to leave in the
morning. This meant that we had to go out and fill up with fuel and do a
bit of shopping. We only plan to go about 100 miles as a stepping stone
towards the Dordogne. Over the past 24 hours the News has been full of
the dreadful news about members of a British family killed by a shooting
in the area near Lake Annecy in the Alps. Fortunately two young
daughters survived although one was badly injured. It seems a very
strange incident with many theories but no doubt we may eventually get
to the truth.
Friday 7th
September. With little regret we left Les Sablons this morning. It seems
that we were not alone as several vans were packing up and leaving
including our German neighbours. A lot of people in the permanent
accommodation were also packing their cars. Perhaps we were just a week
too early!!! I suppose today’s journey was the turning point for us
returning home although in effect we were still heading south when we
joined the A9 autoroute. After Narbonne we took the A61 towards Toulouse
but left the motorway at Carcassonne. We headed for the toll booth just
behind a white van that was clearly having difficulty getting the
barrier to open. He pressed some button and was on his way. Margaret put
the toll ticket in the machine but it rejected it. Tried again, same
thing. From the message it was having difficulty deciding what class we
were. So we pressed the help button which resulted in us paying our toll
successfully and going on our way. Interestingly the toll was less that
it would have cost to use the A75 and the Millau Viaduc? We were heading
for Revel which is on the road towards Castres. At Revel we took the
road to Soreze where our campsite was. We had a bit of a problem
accessing the site as the road narrowed on the approach to the site and
cars were not keen to hold back whilst we came through the narrows.
Eventually we got through and found our new campsite called
Camping St
Martin. It is not a particularly large campsite, perhaps 40/50
touring spaces. There was no one in reception but we eventually found
the owner cleaning one of the chalets they have for hire. We found a
quite large pitch near reception and set ourselves up. Nice to have a
feeling of space around us and unless I have gone completely deaf,
quietness!
Saturday 8th
September. First
thing we walked into Soreze, the idea was to buy a baguette. Anyway we
decided to have a look round this rather interesting little town. It has
clearly been far more important than perhaps it is now. Behind the main
road that runs through the town is a maze of streets of this previously
fortified town. On the way back to the van we stopped for a while in the
Municipal Park behind the town hall. Not so much activity on site today
a couple of units left and a couple of units arrived. We did notice that
one of the seasonal caravans was packing away. It took three cars to
remove everything and that didn’t include the caravan which is now
sitting in secluded isolation of its pitch with the corner steadies
wound up.
Sunday 9th
September. Another beautiful day. After breakfast we drove out to Revel
to have a look round. Somewhat more substantial than Soreze, perhaps
because it sits astride the road from Castelnaudary and Castres. It has
a large covered, but open sided, square building at its centre which I
imagine must have been, or still is, a market space. The building on the
four sides of the square are colonnaded provided a cool environment for
the many shops facing onto the Square. We had a wander through the
narrow roads leading into the Square including having a look inside
a large Church which, unusually, was situated away from the centre of the
town. On the way back from Revel we stopped at the Municipal Campsite
which looked very nice but was closed, although some campsites in France
do have a very short season. Whilst we were having lunch a French couple
arrived and pitched their caravan on the pitch next to ours. The last
few days have been very hot so Margaret decided to have a dip in the
swimming pool. I went along to see how she was doing but left some of
the windows open so thought it prudent to put the caravan alarm on,
which is just a fairly quiet single blip. When I got to the pool
Margaret suggested I might like to dip my toes in which did seem
appealing so I returned to the van and unalarmed it, two blips on the
alarm. Closed everything up and reset the alarm one blip. We returned
together and unalarmed the van two blips. Unfortunately I must have sat
on the alarm control as when Margaret entered the van the alarm went off
but quickly stopped. At that point there was a tremendous commotion
coming from our new neighbours. He was really angry and shouting, I
thought at his wife, almost to the point that he was so angry I thought
someone was about to be murdered! We discovered the reason for this
anger when the lady from reception arrived at our pitch with our
neighbour hovering on the road in front of the van. It transpires that
his anger was directed towards our alarm. Now it has nowhere near the
powerful noise
of a car or house alarm and given that at most
it was running only for a few seconds I thought his reaction was
completely OTT and its just one of those things that have taken the edge
off our stay on what we considered an excellent little site. The poor
girl from reception did not speak much English and I felt a little sorry
for her so I tried my best to explain that it was only on when we are
away from the van that the alarm was activated. I think she understood
but not sure about matey! Earlier I was talking to another English
couple who are in a motorhome about 200 metres across the campsite from
us and he was so concerned when he heard the noise the guy next to us
was making that he came across to see if I was OK.
Monday 10th
September. We were up quite late last night as we watched the Closing
Ceremony of the Paralympic Games which brings to an end a fabulous few
months of the Olympics from Torch Bearers to this ceremony. I think even
those who expressed severe disinterest in the subject months ago must
have had their hearts touched. We have been away for the entire
Paralympic Games and when possible I have been trying to find reference
to it in the French newspapers. Certainly not on the front or back
pages. Perhaps it was there somewhere but otherwise a non-event!
Wasn’t quite as hot and sunny this morning although this changed
as we went through the day. After breakfast we went back to Revel for
fuel and a bit of shopping. The Intermarche filling station was quite
busy, especially the lanes with the cashier. I gave the auto pumps
another go, first time through choice, and it was fine and again I had
the option of English instructions.
Back at the van Mr Angry and his wife seem to have gone out so
perhaps a quieter day today! I did notice they had a tee shirt on their
line with quite an offensive phrase across the front in English. As I am
pretty sure he does not speak English I wonder if he realises what it
means!
Ever since we have been here our neighbours on the other side
have been an English couple, I imagine a bit older than us, who seem to
be camping in the back of a Renault Kangoo, so not a lot of room. The
lady has always responded to a good morning or a smile from us but they
have never put themselves in a position where we could have a
conversation. I am not pushing that as clearly they don’t want to
engage.
In all the excitement of yesterday I forgot to mention a rather
intriguing arrival at the site. It was a horse drawn caravan rather like
the one illustrated in Wind in the Willows! It only stayed overnight and
left this morning. I walked over to take some photos. One problem was
that as it left the pitch it hit a branch which snapped off and in the
process startled the horse! I had vision of being mown down but
fortunately it was calmed down in time. It must be a relaxing and
leisurely way to travel as it clip clopped off down the road.
We have decided this will be our last day at this site. Apart
from the rather strange outburst from Mr Angry next door it has been a
very pleasant campsite and far more peaceful than we thought it would
be. A good place to chill and I would certainly recommend it for anyone
in the area and is probably worth a small detour.
Tuesday 11th September. We have moved a bit further north today into the Dordogne just south of Sarlat at a campsite called Domaine de Soleil Plage. A longer journey for us of 149 miles. This involved a bit of peage but mostly across country on the old N roads. It seems that more and more autoroute toll booths have changed over to automatic payment. I have always argued against the idea of the Sanef motorway tag which enables you to pay tolls via your bank account but I think I might be changing my mind. Having left the A20 and heading for Sarlat the journey became a lot more interesting! The roads were generally not too bad until we got to the other side of Gourdon when they started to get a bit tighter. We knew access to the campsite would be difficult because we had read the reviews. There were dire warnings about approaching the site on the D703 from the D704. It was narrow but you could pull over if someone was coming in the other direction and to quote one report of overhanging rocks I think was a bit OTT. We passed the sign for the campsite so had to reverse and turn to go down an even narrower road to the campsite. As soon as we entered the campsite it had a large area for parking and booking in which gave a totally different impression from the previous few hundred metres! Having parked and walked up to Reception we found it closed for another half hour. At least we had time to look round at the pitches. There was one on the riverside but had already been pre-booked our other choice of pitch was so large there was enough room for two units. As we struggled to get everything set up our neighbours opposite offered us some cold beer but unfortunately at the very point Margaret had opened some in the van. However it was a very nice and welcome gesture. Unfortunately the site WiFi was down so I have not yet purchased any time. The pricing is very much geared towards encouraging guests to purchase a week’s worth of access with shorter periods being excessively expensive.
Wednesday 12th
September.
It was quite dull when we got up and nowhere
near as warm as it has been over the last few weeks. I had a wander down
to the river and got chatting to a couple and I think I may have upset
them. They said they had paid €33 a night to be here and I said I was
paying €15 a night with Camping Cheques! They said they had heard of
them but had never used them. We then went for a bike ride around the
site having a look at all the facilities. I called into reception to
check whether the internet was back on-line. We continued our ride
around the site and down to the river. We first visited this part of the
Dordogne over 20 years ago and I remember that we hired a couple of
canoes although we were staying at a different campsite. During the late
afternoon the weather brightened up but it was nowhere near as warm.
Thursday 13th
September. We had rain overnight and it was still wet when we got up
although it did start to get brighter but the temperature was well down
on previous days. Given the dull weather it seemed a bit pointless to
visit the gardens we had planned so instead we drove to Sarlat to do
some shopping. It was also an opportunity to check out the alternative
approach to the campsite. Both are narrow but I think the one from the
Sarlat direction is marginally better. We will see when it’s time to
leave. When
we drove through Sarlat it was surprising how many motorhomes parked
everywhere. I wonder how long it will be before local authorities will
start clamping down on where they park as in some places they seem to be
taking over! It is also strange that most French tourist towns don't
have Park and Rides like other countries, this would perhaps help solve
the issue. During the afternoon it did brighten up with some sunshine
so I set off the take some pictures of the river and the campsite. It
seems to be getting darker much quicker now in the evenings.
Thursday 14th
September. Quite chilly overnight but at least there were signs of a
better day when we got up. Mist was still clinging to the rock faces of
the river gorge but elsewhere the sky was blue. We decided to visit the
Jardins de Marqueyssac today.
The gardens are only a few miles from the campsite so it did not take
long to get there. The sun was now out with a clear blue sky and the
mist gone but there was a fairly strong breeze which would keep
temperatures down, perhaps no bad thing given the amount of walking.
Marqueyssac is set out on a promontory in the Dordogne valley and as such
affords wonderful views up and down the river towards La Roque Gageac in
one direction and Domme in another. Several large chateaux can also be
seen in the distance. It’s almost worth visiting for the views! However
Marqueyssac is famous for its Topiary, although from the brochure you
would think the entire garden is covered with closely clipped bushes
which is not the case. Most of it is centred around the rear of the
Chateau and is somewhat surreal in appearance. You can do a complete
circuit of the gardens but it is quite demanding and anyone with walking
difficulties might struggle. Once you have exhausted the gardens and
yourself you can take refuge in the Terrace Restaurant overlooking the
river valley.
We made our way back to the campsite but not
before checking out our original route to the campsite.
Saturday 15th
September. Washing clothes might not be considered something you do
whilst on holiday but given that you can’t realistically bring enough
with you on a longer trip you have no choice but to avail yourself of
the campsite laundry facilities. Despite this campsite being well
equipped and good quality facilities it could do with a few more washing
machines. At our end of the site there are just two machines and there
always seems to be a queue! At €5 a time I would have thought it would
have been a nice little money earner. There has been a lot of activity
on site today as Eurocamp are starting to dismantle their tents. I asked
one of the Eurocamp staff how long it would take and she reckoned about
3 days. Being an inquisitive sort of person (Margaret calls it nosy) I
enquired how long the tents last and I was surprised to learn that they
are used for around 10 years.
There are now quite a few empty pitches
but there also seem to be more newcomers arrived today, mainly, it
seems, Brits. In our little enclave there are eight pitches and all but
one is occupied by couples from the UK. After lunch we went for a walk
along the river. Surprised to see the Canoe Station closed for the
weekend but I suppose giving that we are getting later in the season
there is not such a pool of likely customers to make opening worthwhile.
Sunday 16th
September. Certainly not warm when we get up these days but as the day
goes on the temperature does improve, helped today by very little
breeze. Today we visited another well know garden in the Dordogne called
Les Jardins du Manoir d’Eyrignac.
It was quite a tortuous route to get there but we eventually did. Had it
taken any longer to buy our tickets it would have been dark! Just joking
but the French have a way of ignoring what is happening around them and
just concentrating on what is in front of them. The customers they are
dealing with seem equally oblivious to anyone following them in the
queue so no change there! To cap it all when I tried to pay by my Visa
credit card it would not accept the card, this despite a ritual of
waving the machine around in the air to try and get a wireless
connection! Fortunately Master Card were more on the ball.
Once free of the administration we were in the Garden. We were
aided in our visit by a nice plan, in English, which made it easy to
plot a route around the garden. The features are reasonably compact and
you can move from one feature to another without the need for a long
trek. The Hornbeam Alley is a classic of Topiary design with long vistas
of neatly clipped hedges.
The problem with being a photographer is that
you are sometimes affected by photographeritis which means that you
spend, what seems ages standing trying to get the perfect picture but
people just stand in the way. A French guy and I stood in one place for
what seemed an eternity waiting for people to get out of the way. What
amuses me is that they stare down the barrel of the camera lens without
twigging that you would prefer them not to be in the picture. Henri
Cartier-Bresson was right about his moment in time idea. You could grow
old before getting the picture you want! So a plea to all readers at
famous sites please take pity on the poor photographer that would prefer
not to have you as the centre piece of his picture. As part of the
entrance fee you can also visit the Manor House, albeit only the ground
floor. Unlike many historical houses it does seem lived in and the
kitchen being a case in point with modern American fridge-freezer
alongside copper pans over a hundred years old. Other features of the
Garden I enjoyed was the Kitchen Garden with everything crammed in
making use of every inch of space, Monty Don would have been proud of
that. A wild flower garden and perhaps the best bit the White Garden
where all flowers were, you’ve guessed it, were white! All feature
around a central pool with frog fountains shooting water into the pond.
For garden enthusiasts I would certainly put
this on the visit list if you are in the area.
Monday 17th
September. Our last day at Soleil Plage. Most of the facilities on the
site like the shop/bar/restaurant are now closed but the pool is still
open. In fact they were taking down the outdoor part of the restaurant
today which gives a very much end of season feel. Having said that the
site is still quite busy with campers and there have been new arrivals
every day. Our Welsh neighbours, opposite, are here until the last day
of site opening in two week’s time. They have a rather engaging Jack
Russell called Poppy who seems very friendly, at least she has not tried
to lick my toes, sensible dog!
In the morning we went off to Sarlat for fuel
and some shopping. It was somewhat unsettling whilst filling up my car
to be asked by an English lady what colour pump for diesel! I just
wondered how she had got this far not being sure of which pump to use.
It has been another lovely day here in the Dordogne so perhaps
understandable that it is still popular at this time of year. We
wandered across to Reception to settle up and reclaim my Camping Cheque
card. Have to say the crew in reception have all been very nice, both
friendly and helpful. I now only have 8 Cheques left which will see us
OK for our next site but the one after may require some cash towards the
site fees.
Tuesday 18th
September. Our journey today was only 98 miles but it took just over 3
hours to complete. This is the penalty or the pleasure of using cross
country routes! Roads in the Dordogne are not fast. As we arrive at
Chateau Le Verdoyer we were concerned that reception might be closed
but there was someone there who gave us a site plan and suggested a
couple of places to pitch and said come back when we had settled in. We
had a look at the pitches suggested which were at either end of the
site. We could not use one area because there was a Caravan Club Rally
in progress. In the end we decided on a pitch with a more open aspect
because we wanted to be able to get a satellite picture. I sometimes
wonder if campsites take the interest of satellite users into account
with their tree management. Whilst it’s nice to have shade many trees
are just too tall? I have to admit to doing a terrible thing. All the
pitches seem to have their own taps so I connected up my hose to fill
the Aquaroll turned on the tape and for some inexplicable reason, other
than a senior moment or worse, completely forgot I had left the tap on!
By the time I had remembered water was flooding across the next two
pitches which were both occupied but fortunately both owners were out.
This allowed us a bit of time to get rid of some of the evidence. I had
to go and apologise to both of them when they returned and fortunately
both were very good about it. I think the trouble when you arrive on
site there are so many things to do and if you try and rush things like
this can happen. It had been a very dull day and I think the threat of
rain, which did eventually come, spurred us on to complete all the
tasks quicker than we normally would. Initial thoughts on Camping
Chateau le Verdoyer is that it is a bit rough and ready as campsites go.
Having said that we met one English couple who first came here in their
caravan and liked it so much they purchased their own static on site.
Wednesday 19th
September. I can’t remember quite when it was but I would imagine 25-30
years ago I read about a village in France in the Sunday Times Magazine.
That village was Oradour sur Glane not far from Limoges. The intriguing
thing about the village was that it had been left exactly as it was on
10th June 1944 when German
SS Troops massacred all the inhabitants in the village including many,
many children. I have wanted to visit Oradour sur Glane for years but
until now have not really been near enough. Even from this campsite it
was 40 miles away. After the dull day yesterday at least it dawned
bright and sunny although there was a chill in the air. Since that
fateful day Oradour sur Glane has been completely rebuild adjacent to
the original site. Today the original village is known as the Martyr’s
Village. Next to the site is a Visitors Centre which tells the story of
what they think happened or rather why it happened? There is quite a lot
of padding of history in the lead up to the massacre. Interestingly the
parts involving the Nazi’s is also in English but those parts involving
the French are only in their own language so make of that what you will!
Whilst you pay to an entry fee for the Visitor Centre access to the Martyr’s Village
is free. The village is surprisingly large and all buildings are
derelict having been in the main been burnt down by the SS Troops. It is
a very eerie place to walk round especially being aware of what happened
there. This particularly applies to the church where many of the
children were killed. The horror must have been unimaginable. Old cars
lay rusting where they were burnt out. There seems to be no specific
reason why Oradour sur Glane was targeted by the SS and even those sent
to trial when the war ended have been unable to provide a definitive
answer. Some think the wrong village was targeted and in fact it should
have been Oradour sur Vayres which is about 20 miles away and there had
been some reported Resistance activity there. The real truth will no
doubt remain a mystery. The Cemetery is a very poignant place to visit.
There are family graves, many with the 10th
June 1944 engraved on them. There was one I noticed showing
children
that died on that day but a member of the family born in 1895 who died
100 years later. At the top end of the Cemetery there is a memorial with
all the names of those who died. So sad to see the ages of many children
that died. I challenge anyone to visit that memorial and not get a tear
forming in the eye. Given the horror of what happened here all those
years ago you would have thought that lessons had been learnt but
unfortunately there are those that wreck the same havoc on people still.
I suppose the only difference is that the Nazi’s did not do it in the
name of religion!
As an aside we were eating our sandwiches in the car before setting off for the campsite when I noticed a group of four Brits heading for the Visitors Centre and no doubt the village beyond. One of the men was in shorts and a vest and the women hardly any better. Call me old fashioned but that seems hardly a respectful way to dress when visiting such a place, surely a little more solemnity is required?
Thursday 20th
September. What a lazy day. We sat around in the sun today which was a
bit warmer than yesterday as the wind chill was not as much. Spent a bit
of time looking at campsites further on in our journey. Also trying to make a
decision whether to stay here until after the weekend or go as
previously planned on Saturday. We will have to decide by tomorrow!
Friday 21st
September. Well we came to a decision, we will leave on Saturday. This
campsite is pretty remote so to visit anywhere requires a longish drive,
rather like when we went to Oradour sur Glane. Whilst this campsite is a
peaceful place you do tend to get fed up with just sitting around. We
were not quite sure what the weather would do today, although it started
bright enough there were concerns about rain. Although we had a few
spots during the day it then cleared up to sunshine but then heavier
rain during the evening with thunder! We were trying to decide on the
best route north. Back to Chalus and the N21 seemed the obvious but we
wondered about a more cross country route to avoid Limoges which was
going slightly east rather than directly north. We needed fuel and
shopping so we headed for Nontron. The route there was not too bad but
road works in the town could make it difficult. Likewise the cross
country road we went to explore was not of a very good quality so it
looks like Limoges. We found a nice Super U and afterwards made out way
back to the van. As we started to take down the Caravanstore our Dutch
neighbours also started to take down their awning. I had a chat to them
about Camping Cheques. They collect bonus stamps which once you have
stayed four nights in five campsites you get a free week at a designated
campsite. He understood what I meant when I said he was being a bit
‘Scottish’ ! I went to pay, or rather use my Camping Cheques and was
surprised that the Tourist Tax was only 25 cents each per night one of
the lowest we had experienced. Later on we had another chat to the
English couple who own a static on the site, as it transpires they
actually own two, and one is for sale! We avoided the temptation!
Saturday 22nd
September. The day dawned dry if not very bright and still a bit chilly.
Our Dutch neighbours were away a bit before us, we managed to get
away by about 9.30am. Our journey today was 158 miles, none of which was
on motorway and only a fraction on dual carriageways. So In the main it
was a day of two-way roads. Obviously progress was much slower and it
took nearly 4 hours to do that 158 miles. Interestingly I am not
convinced the car is any more economical on the slower cross country
journeys and for those that strive to avoid motorways to save tolls may
in fact be saving very little. Just a theory of course!
Camping
I’lsle de Verte has a nice position alongside the Loire River and
Montsoreau on the other side. It was pretty busy when we arrived given
that it’s the third week of September.
Sunday 23rd
September. Brighter today and quite muggy. We thought we would ride the
bikes along to the centre of Montsoreau but soon discovered that it was
very busy with what seemed a popular Sunday Market. We thought better of
the bikes and returned them to the van and walked into the town to give
us a better opportunity to look round the market. Afterwards we walked
up through the town to the Chateau, we did not bother going in as we did
not have enough time. We took one of the narrow roads down to the river.
The Loire is a wide river but in a fairly wide shallow valley in this
part, so not particularly attractive. As with many rivers it’s what’s
built along the river that adds the character. In the afternoon we
watched the Singapore Grand Prix. The pole sitter, Lewis Hamilton had an
engine problem halfway through the race which gifted the lead to
Sebastian Vettal with Jenson Button second and Alonso third. Still six
races to go and you certainly can’t rule out Alonso as he has been very
consistent this season, it could be Vettal but he does have some ground
to make up. Quite a few have left the campsite today and not so many
arrived. It is perhaps understandable that so many sites don’t stay open
as long as they do in the UK.
Monday 24th
September. Well, what a night! Some rain but very strong winds which
were blowing bits off the trees above us. The Caravanstore was also
flapping about which tended to wake us up every now and then. When we
went to bed it was also strangely muggy which also did not help the
sleep situation. By 6.00am we were out taking down the Caravanstore
(first time this holiday). However we were still being bombarded from
above with bits from the trees being blown off and landing on the roof.
We decided that it would be better to move onto the next pitch which did
not have any overhanging trees, although the potential downside is that
it is opposite the play area, although we are hoping that being mid-week
there will not be any children!!! Several Dutch caravans have left
today, certainly don’t envy them their journeys in this wind. It seems
to be almost a year to the day when we were struggling with the effects
of Hurricane Katia in Scotland!
The weather has continued to be unpredictable all day, one
minute bright sunshine and the next threatening skies. At least the wind
has abated somewhat. After lunch we drove out to Chinon which is on the
banks of the Vienne rather than the Loire. The town is dominated by the
fortified Chateau overlooking the river from high above. Having found a
parking place at one end of the town we walked towards the centre
through those strange streets which are half pedestrianised and half
open to traffic which the French seem to like. There were many shops
that were not open and many which looked as if they had closed for good.
Clearly the economic conditions are really hitting places like Chinon.
Whilst the Dutch caravan contingent has gone
today we seem to have had an influx of motorhomes amongst them lots
of Brits and even the odd German. The couple opposite us have had a
serious gearbox problem with the tow car which is currently at a Volvo
garage in Tours. They heard today that the repair would cost €5000 to
have it done here in France so Red Pennant have agreed to have their car
transported back to the UK and they are sending out a replacement tow
car.
Tuesday 25th
September. After very heavy rain overnight and the day remained dull and
wet all day. During the morning we drove out to Chinon for fuel and
shopping. We had thought that we would stay at Montsoreau a little
longer but the weather forecast is not good for the next few days so we
would rather head a bit further north. It was quite convenient in a way
because I only had four Camping Cheques left on my card so this site has
left me with a zero balance. The guy on reception did have a few
problems with getting connected to CC but he managed in the end. Our
neighbours with the car issue had their Volvo returned to the site on a
low loader. They are now just waiting for the replacement tow car to
arrive from the UK. Good
Wednesday 26th
September. A very changeable day weather wise today, alternating between
rain and sunshine and its not been warm all day. We made good progress
going north, mainly on the old N roads but we did use a bit of autoroute
around Tours. Our intended site was at Bonneval but could we find it?
After several attempts and several narrow roads we gave up and headed
elsewhere. We did think about Chartres but decided to go somewhere a
little less urban. Our new choice was
Camping Les Ilots se St Val just north of Maintenon. Whilst the site
was well signed the roads in Maintenon were not the widest! We
eventually found the site with no difficulties but were surprised that
we were the only touring unit on site. The campsite is pretty big
but 80% of the pitches are given over to season pitches. Not sure if it
has recently come under new ownership but there does seem to be some changes
being made to encourage more touring units.
Having
set up we went back to Maintenon to fill up with fuel and then drove up
to Nogent-le-Roi to check the road out but that seemed worse. Looking at
the map I was surprised to see how close we are to western Paris.
Thursday 27th
September. Despite a pink sky the night before it dawned grey and wet
this morning. It was another day of strange weather sometimes sunny and
other times wet and grey. When we arrived at this campsite yesterday we
were the only touring unit there but we were later joined by another UK
van and a French motorhome.
As we were getting ready to leave this
morning we were also aware of the other UK van also starting to pack up
although I think we were a bit ahead of them. As we had gone onto the
pitch hitch first we needed to use the mover to get us off the pitch
which slowed things down a bit and as we were getting ready to hitch up
the other van was already behind us ready to go, there was no room to
get by. I thought this was bad form as it put pressure on us which could
mean we might have made a hitching error. Eventually I pulled into the
nearby motorhome service point to let him by.
Today’s journey was only 79 miles and mainly on the N154. The
last section to Les Andelys was across some twisty country roads but
they did not cause any problems. When we arrived at
Camping I’Iles des Trois Rois we were given a big pitch right on the
banks of the River Seine so we had a front row seat watching the barges
go up and down the river. During the late afternoon we walked into the
town of Les Andelys which looked quite nice although there is more still
to explore. The campsite and town are dominated by Chateau Gaillard
which towers above everything on an outcrop of white rock. By the
evening the campsite was pretty full given that it is near the end of
September.
Friday 28th
September. It was cold overnight but it still dawned grey this morning
although in fairness it did improve as the day went on with the
afternoon being quite sunny. After breakfast we had a drive through Les
Andelys which turned out to be quite a big place. We went beyond the
town to check out the route which seemed OK as far as we went! The
sunshine provided the opportunity to get the Caravanstore out so that we
could dry it off as it had been put away wet several days ago. Likewise
the large ground cover mat we used was hung on the bushes to dry. After
we sorted that we went for a bike ride along the river. We were given the
impression that we could cycle along the river for some kilometres but
we ran out of paved path and ended up riding across grass so we turned
round and headed back. Got chatting to our neighbours who arrived a bit
after us yesterday. They run a B&B and they undertake all bookings via
the internet. When they go on holiday they just say they are fully
booked which I thought was clever as it just reinforces with customers
how popular the place is!
Saturday 29th
September. When we woke up there was a completely blue sky but
by the time we had breakfast it had become cloudy. Lots of people have
left today and we were down to about half a dozen neighbours. It’s
Market Day in Les Andelys today so we thought we would walk in and have
a look. It was further than we thought but we did manage to get there
before it closed! A lot of French towns are quite dead at the weekends
but here seemed quite busy. As we wandered around a respectable looking
man of around my age, offered me a leaflet. My usual reaction is a
friendly ‘Non Merci’ He then started to talk to me and I tried the one
about being a stranger in these parts. He cottoned to the fact that I
was in fact English, a language which it transpired he spoke very well.
He was handing out leaflets on behalf of the French Socialists. If I
understood him correctly he seemed not to have much time for either our
PM or his own President. It would have been interesting to talk further
but Margaret had more important things on her mind, shopping! We don’t
often buy much on markets but we came away with a scarf, for Margaret
and some fruit for both of us. Rather than return to the site via the
main road we walked down through Petit Andelys which in effect is the
old town on the river. The weather here is very changeable with bright
sunshine one minute and grey skies the next, fortunately the rain has
stayed away.
Sunday 30th September. A very foggy start to the day but it meant that we had one of the best day’s weather wise for a week or two. Perhaps it was a swansong for September. We had been looking up at Chateau Gaillard ever since we arrived at this site so we decided to go up and have a closer look. We could have walked up but it looked a pretty steep climb and I am not sure we felt able to do that so we drove up to the car park. When we got to the car park the French were spread out on the grass enjoying their picnics. Have to say that you are unlikely to find a spot with more impressive views. As well as having an excellent view of the ruined Castle which has associations with Richard the Lionheart, there are wonderful views down over the Seine and Petit Andelys. We saw a sign to a car park nearer the ruins but when we got there it did not look particularly good so we returned to the original place and walked to the Castle. The paths were pretty rough and it surprised me that greater attention had not been paid to the access. There is no charge for just looking around the ruins but there is for visiting the Keep. However in typical French fashion it was closed during the lunch break! From a couple of the viewpoints there were good views of the campsite below. On the way back to the car park we decided to take a short cut up an extremely steep and long bank. I think we realised that it was a bit foolish as we both struggled and had fears of doing more than just being out of breath! It took us a while to compose ourselves before making our way back to the van. In the main the afternoon was spent sitting in the sun on the river’s bank Barge Watching. We thought that being Sunday there would be less river traffic but there seemed more. I have found this a particularly fascinating aspect of this campsite. In the sun it was quite hot but out of the sun quite chilly although there was little wind, no doubt the reason for the fog earlier in the day.
Monday 1st October.
The first day of October, winter must be on the way!
First thing it was quite bright and sunny but as
the day wore on it has become cloudier. During the Morning we went
off to buy fuel and do a bit of shopping although with the prospect of a
proper Waitrose shop within the week we are only buying for our
immediate needs. After lunch we decided to have one last bike ride to
Petit Andelys along the river. By the park was a large Viking River
Cruiser. We were able to have a closer look and found, apart from sheer
size it seemed similar to a cruise liner. It must be a nice way of
seeing Europe, simply stopping off at towns and villages along the way
and no Bay of Biscay! Back at the van we started to pack a few things
away. We noticed that one of the toilet blocks in the touring section
has been closed today despite the site seeming to have as many units as
it did last week. Despite being the first week of October they are still
arriving albeit in smaller numbers. Margaret ventured the thought that
this is one of the most enjoyable site we have stayed on this holiday.
Not because it has the best facilities but the location is superb, right
on the River Seine. You can spend hours watching the river traffic go
by. On top of the that you have an attractive town on the doorstep. This
is our last day here as tomorrow we are moving north to be near Calais.
Tuesday 2nd
October. There was rain overnight but it was dry as we were packing up.
It was quite a torturous journey across country, by the time we got to
the A28 a distance of about 60 miles it had taken two hours! This did
include a rather long ‘deviation’ around one of the towns en route. We
arrived at
Les
Epinettes at Peuplingues around 1.30pm. This campsite only has about
15 touring pitches but not all of them are being used.
Wednesday 3rd
October. Very heavy rain overnight which made it difficult to get to
sleep. Apart from a few bright periods through the day it continued wet
for most of the day. This is our last full day in France as we go home
tomorrow. As seems to be the tradition of our end of holiday stays we
were off to the Supermarket to stock up with wine. We decided to go a
bit later so that we could have lunch before we started the serious
stuff. Nothing fancy, just a Flunch at lunch! On the way to the Cite de
Europe we thought we would do a detour to have a look at another
campsite near Sangette called Camping Fort Lapin. It was very near to
Calais and has access to the Channel beach. It only seems to have a few
touring pitches but would no doubt be acceptable as an overnight stop.