Rochefort & The Gironde

Bit of a gap in my posts, sorry - good wifi has been hard to track down!  The weather has been fantastic for the last month - too dam hot at times. Bit of a novelty for me being on holiday in September.

Sun 31^st 

A short drive south brought us to a lovely aire at Soubise near Rochefort. It is right on the riverside with lots of grass in front and a view of the boats moored on the very tidal River Charente. Their was also a network of cycle paths along the river – wonderful! As we were setting up the French people next to us commented on how practical our lefthand drive van was – not realizing I understood every word. When I replied in my best French that I agreed they laughed out loud. We had a good conversation with them and as they were leaving we were presented with a bottle of their local wine from the Charente. How nice of them.

mud. glorious mud!

bit of bad boat parking?

Soubise aire

Mon 1^st September

We took the cycle ferry across the river (2 years old and part of the continuing development of the tourist cycle path network) and enjoyed a cycle along the river into Rochefort. We stopped at the Transbordeur bridge which was built in 1885. It is still working today after having been restored in 1994. It was designed to allow the French navy ships get into Rochefort without dis-masting.  

cycle ferry

transbordeur bridge

Rochefort was a major centre for the navy and Loius 14^th had insisted it was built to be the best. The dry docks were really big and the infrastructure huge. Lots of the buildings survive today. The naval officers college is huge and very stylish – almost like a slightly smaller Greeenwich.

They have built a replica of a Napoleonic warship – the Hermione. It has just been completed and was due to have its first departure on Sept 3^rd. it was beautiful and very authentic looking with masses of ropes. The marinas , all three of them were full of boats of all descriptions. Some of them were huge.  All in all a lovely town to visit.

Tues 2^nd

Our next stop was to be Mortagne Sur Gironde on the aire which gets rave reviews on all the forums. We mooched down the Gironde’s northern bank and stopped at Seurin D’Uzet a very small village with a small 5 van aire right by the marina. We decided to stop there as it seemed to have all the right ingredients for us – calm, good views, grass area nearby and lots of space. There was even electric hookup included. After lunch we cycled down the back roads to nearby Mortagne. I personally was underwhelmed! Yes it had good views from the aire of the marina but there was loads of vans. Some were really packed in tight , some camping caristes had taken up 2 spaces. We much preferred our chosen spot – a bit of a find in our opinion. The cycle back was good, not to steep back up to the main road – we didn’t return by our original route as there was a 16% climb. See the warning for camping 

cars!

Seurin

view across the estuary

bit steep for us

Calais to Ste Foy La Grande - google map link

Link to map of our latest stopovers in correct order this time!

Look at them on Google earth to get maximum detail of the amazing Gironde estuary - especially Rochefort.




https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zLPprIVde9E4.kOziae1NmFSs

Ile de Re - at the seaside again

Mon 25^th – Tues 26th

Heavy rain was promised for today and it certainly arrived. Rain means a driving day for us so we aimed for Le Mans. When we arrived on the outskirts the traffic was bad so we diverted to nearby Suze Sur Sarthe and a riverside pitch. The main aire was full and as it turned out hardly any of the mainly French camping caristes actually paid!? Next day the sun came out so the drive to the Le Mans 24 hour museum was good. The museum was very well laid out and  had many exhibits which thankfully Tina enjoyed. After lunch we moved to Parthenay further south for the night. The aire was adjacent to a campsite and on the edge of a lake. Nice. Only us and one other van for the night.

Le Mans winning diesel / hybrid powered Audi

Weds 26^th

Enroute to the Ile de Re we stoped off to watch the publicity caravan pass for the Tour of Poitou – Charente cycle race. Lots of free orange biscuits. Some big names were racing and Mark Cavendish was the race leader. We didn’t wait the hour that the riders  were scheduled to arrive at our spot as we wanted to get across to the Ile de Re and find a campsite. We needed to stay on a proper site as we had a pile of laundry to do. All tjis travelling and relaxing seems to generate lots of dirty clothes!

The drive across the bridge was spectacular with the flat island laid out in front of us. We ended up on a site right next to the beach in Bois Plage en Re. we had a dune between us and the crashing waves. Of course we had to go for a paddle. What a lovely and relaxing sound. The takeaway pizza that evening was also lovely J

you gotta have a paddle.

Thurs 28^th

Laundry hung out to dry we cycled across the island on one of the many marked cycle paths to St Martin de Re on the north side of the island. What a charming town with loads of character (and people!) especially around the port. Bikes were chained up everywhere as everybody seemed to head for the ice cream shop just as we did. Definitely a place to revisit.

lots of boats at St Martin

also lots of bikes

That evening as we were settling down for  a read after tea o’clock we heard screams and a loud thump. A small caravan had rolled down the hill and into a VW campervan smashing it’s front end in before it continued onwards and ripped their awning to bits. It ended up wedged in against a tree!!! 

Luckily the young couple had realized what was about to happen and had pulled their two kids out of harms way. The elderly Dutch caravan owners had just arrived and unhitched the caravan – handbrake or brain failure we will never know. It was all sorted out amicably thank goodness.

Fri 29^th

Today we drove to the most westerly part of the island – St Clement des Baleines and its 18^th century lighthouse. The aire  was close to the beach and right next door to the municipal campsite. We met the English couple I had spoken to in a supermarket car park somewhere south of Le Mans. Small world. The beach was covered in a thick layer seaweed a result of the recent storms. A very strong seaside smell as it dried in the hot sun. We cycled along to the lighthouse for a walk about. Lots of people about but you can see why when we got up close. It is very well preserved with an expansive garden around it offering lots of seats in the shade.

Phare - lighthouse

Sat 30^th

Rivedoux Plage was our last stop on the Ile and what a contrast. Busy with lots of traffic arriving directly of the bridge which looked very imposing just along from us. We chose to go onto the campsite as it was only 10 cents more expensive than the aire. Our pitch was right on the sea front with great views of the bay. Result.

remains of church

view from Rivedoux Plage site - bridge in background

La Flotte

Lunch then another cycle into nearby La Flotte. Another town with a picturesque port area. Another ice cream! Fuelled by this we zoomed back to the site. Our route back passed the ruins of a 17^th century church then a Napoleon fort. Lots of history within 2km.  

Back again! Cheryl onboard & Le Treport

sorry for lack of posts - wifi has been very thin on the ground, but we are back mooching about in France - more to come asap.


Weds 20^th aug – 23rd

After a short period back in the uk  - fridge repair was a “fridge out “ job to fix it properly! and eventually a new handbrake cable fitted ( a long, frustrating experience ) we also enjoyed the hospitality of several friends who were good to catch up with – thanks Rich, Teresa, Chris and Lilian! Fully stocked up with some spare teabags, branston pickle and bacon in the now beautifully cold freezer we were back on the Eurotunnel. This time however we had an extra passenger with us, Cheryl a friend and work colleague of Tina’s was along for a short break and her first ever experience of motorhoming. First stop was the carpark at Escalles again as we arrived at 10pm French time. We quickly settled in and retired to bed after a glass of wine. Cheryl was very impressed with the level of comfort and all of our built in gadgets. She was with us for 3 nights and we think she thoroughly enjoyed her mini break. We stayed at Le Crotoy where she was defeated by a huge bowl of moules in a local restaurant. It was huge, even I had to leave a few.

ready for the tunnel

hurry up girls!

afternoon tea at Le Crotoy aire

very bracing wind on the beach

Montreuil ramparts - no health & safety here...

eating again

now I know the answer to my problem............ !

field opposite Escalles parking

Sun 24^th

After saying goodbye to Cheryl at Calais Frethun Eurostar station we headed south to Le Treport. The aire on top of the cliffs by the free funicular has been resurfaced and is now mud free! We were lucky and got the last slot right by the grass with good views. There were lots of people about enjoying the sun so we joined them. We walked across the harbor into Mer Les Bain to look at the amazing art nouveau buildings on the seafront. Colourful or what. We took the funky funicular back up top and enjoyed a refreshing cup of tea on our private grass lawn. Nice relaxing place.

view from van on Le Treport aire

Mers le Bain - funky colours

view from Le Treport cliff top - Mers le Bain on other side