Saumur, Rugles, Neufchatel-en-Bray, Gravelines

Tuesday 14th October 2014 - Sunday 19th October 2014   

This will be our last day at Saumur, indeed, it is effectively the last day of this trip, since from tomorrow we will be heading, slowly, toward Calais, to be there for Saturday evening, then catch our ferry, early Sunday.

But, let us not jump ahead.

Another beautiful day, with clear blue sky and sunshine, spent cycling along the south bank of the Loire.

We go from the campsite on Ile d'Offard, to Dampierre-sur-Loire, and return of course, just short of 10 miles.

At Dampierre-sur-Loire, we discover a new Aire, which does not appear to be in the Aires book.

It is in an area laid out as a picnic area, just off the D947, between the edge of the village and the River Loire. All rather pretty, with the usual "borne" to dispense water, dispose of waste, a toilet, but, no electric hookup. 5 Euro per night. (N47.241044' E-0.022341)

Refreshments, sitting in the sun, in Place de St Piere, in Saumur, courtesy of my generous wife.

The rest of the day is spent in a mixture of packing and chatting to newly arrived neighbours, David and Barbara, fellow Armitage Trailer owners and scooterists.










Wednesday, time to be moving on again.

A hundred and twenty miles, more or less, due North, and we park at an Aire, in a small town / village, called Rugles,  (N48 49.370' E0 42.619'), in Haut Normandy.

It is a pity it is not Sunday, we have this old church, about 25 metres away!

It is no longer functioning as a church, the main church is in the village, with, it would appear some very enthusiastic, campanoligists.

The Aire is just a few minutes walk from the main street of the village.

It has space for about seven vans. Six free electric hook ups, and a free service point for water, waste etc.

The space is in two areas, three vans and two EHU's in one area, and four vans and fours EHU's in the other.

There are no signs to indicate there is a charge, and, so far, no one has appeared to collect any payment.

It is on the edge of a very attractive public park, with an old water mill.

You can stroll through the park to the High Street, where we contributed to the local economy by purchasing apple tarts, and a couple of beers.

It all seems very pleasant, the customers in the bar even shook hands with us, when we went in for a beer!

This is the town hall.

Now, remember, this a town / village with a population of only about 2,500.

How can they possibly support / fund such a grand town hall?, not to mention the rather grand public park, shown in the photographs above?

It makes no sense to me, but, it appears to work.


Thursday, on to Neufchatel-en-Bray, our old favourite, Camping St Claire. Still as well kept as ever, this ACSI site is only two hours south of Calais. Not that it concerns us, since we are "pet free", but, I told there is a good English speaking Vet in the Town, who can do all of the Pet formalities far cheaper than the Calais based Vets.

Apart from the fact the campsite is very well run, and inexpensive at 14Euro, we use this stopover to fill with cheap diesel (at Le Clerc), and stock up with cheap booze at Le Clerc and Lidl.

Weather is not too kind, warm and bright for most of the day, with just the odd shower, but, right at this moment, as I type this (20:00), it is pouring with rain!

Friday, our friends, (Bryan and Joan, Crick) arrive.

We have a wonderfully sunny day, which we spend in a very decadent way, ie sitting in the sun, chatting about our adventures and drinking beer.

We vary the theme in the evening, by drinking Red Wine, White Wine and Manderine, not all at once!.

Saturday, is another bright and sunny day, Joan and Bryan have an extra day compared to ourselves, so, they head off for an Aire on the coast.

Kathleen has a hair washing session, whilst I go shopping, then we head slowly for the Aire at Gravelines, our usual last overnight stop, when we have an early morning ferry / tunnel crossing.

Gravelines has a few advantages (in our opinion) over the Aire at Calais, ie,

• it is near a Church with a Mass on Saturday evening,
• it is far enough away from Calais to avoid any "asylum seeker problems" (not that we have seen any asylum seeker problems either , on previous occasions).
• There are enough places to walk, cycle to fill the time
• there are a number of bars and restaurants
• it is almost, scenic

Sunday morning, we are up at 6:00 to make our way to the 07:45 ferry, only to find, the travel arrangements administrator (Kathleen) has got the time wrong, it is the 08:15 ferry!

We could have had another half hour in bed!

Home by 16:30.

 
 

 

Saumur, continued....

Friday 10th October 2014 - Monday 13th October 2014  

Friday dawns with a thick mist, frizzy hair day, as Kathleen would call it, so, we must wait for the sun to "burn off" the mist.

Then, first task, to find the church which has a Saturday evening Mass (St Lambert de Levee). Google maps to the rescue.

As a bonus, we also find the Lidl.

On our return, our folding bicycles attract some attention from our new English neighbours, Brian and Norma.

After lunch we head off on the bicycles again, the intention is to follow the cycle track along the banks of the Loire.

It is mild, but, with a significant amount of cloud cover.

After about three miles, we feel the first drops of rain, so, we turn back and head for Saumur town centre.

By chance, we encounter a very large Commercial Centre / Le Clerc on the edge of town, a suitable place to shelter from the rain.

Kathleen has still not acquired my birthday present, by good luck, the Le Clerc has Courvoisier.

We discover, they also have a drink called "Mandarine Napolean", which our friends, Bryan and Joan had told us about.

Kathleen decides to buy both for my birthday.

It is my lucky day.

My luck doesn't last, Kathleen has no money with her!

So, I buy myself a bottle of Courvoisier and a bottle of Mandarine Napolean, for my birthday.

The rain has stopped, and we have blue skies, when we emerge from the Le Clerc, but, I am weighed down with bottles of drink and a three litre box of wine, so, we limit out cycle ride to just over six miles and head back to the van to sample the Mandarine.

It is VERY NICE.

Saturday and Sunday, weather is "changeable", although, we do not actually get much rain, but, the uncertainty limits the length of our cycle rides.

Lunch on Saturday, and we are able to eat outdoors in the square.

Saturday evening we able to peddle to St Lambert De Levees, so Kathleen can attend church, and return, without a soaking.

Sunday, a forecast thunderstorm, turns out to be a few heavy drops of rain, and a few distant rumbles of thunder, not enough to prevent a walk with refreshments!

Monday. Blue sky, sunshine.

We decide to cycle along the River Loire.

I want to cycle along the South facing river bank, ie, the opposite side to the Chateau.

I actually checked it out on Saturday evening, whilst Kathleen was at church.

It is not a dedicated cycle track, but the road is very quiet, with a  30kph (20mph) speed limit.

I am over-ruled in favour of the North facing river bank, because:

• It has a dedicated cycle track.

We will pass the Le Clerc, and can then buy another bottle of Manderine Napoleon.

Kathleen says so.

The positive aspect of this decision is the route is very scenic, but, since at points in leaves the river bank, it is a bit up and down hill.

The folding bicycles are good, but, they are not ideal for steep hills!

Nevertheless, we manage just over 16 miles, and, acquire a bottle on Manderine Napoleon.

Saumur

Wednesday 8th October 2014 - Thursday 9th October 2014

As we are doing final packing up to leave, the sun comes out!

Tempted to stay, but, no, off we go the 80 miles or so to Saumur.

Shopping for food (and wine) supplies en-route.

We have some rain en-route, but, soon the sky clears, and we are back to sunshine and fluffy white clouds.

The campsite at Saumur is an ACSI site, called Ile de Offard (N47 15' 36" W0 3' 52").

It is located, as it's name suggests, on an island in the River Loire.

At the entrance to the site is a large notice board, informing you in several languages what to do if the site has to be evacuated due to flooding!

A trifle worrying, since, it is soon p***ing down, with thunder and lightening thrown in.

Kathleen, looking on the brightside, points out, we are on a pitch at the highest point in the site.

Thursday and the weather has improved, sunshine with a little cloud, is the official description.

What is it with women?, a fine day, and, their first thought is "nice day to do some washing".

So, we make use of the washing machines and dryers, clean clothes all round again.

After lunch, a stroll into town (Saumur).

First, we check out the Tourist Information Office, closed for lunch, (separating the French and lunch, is no easy task).

Next, by chance, we locate a restaurant which I have read many recommendations for (Le Trianon).

The reviews I have read, say, it looks a little basic, and old fashioned, indeed most of them compare it to the Café in 'allo 'allo, (the comedy series, for you youngsters).

Well, it remains to be seen if we will try it of not. The menu looks appertising, and the price is an incredible 11Euro, but, it does really look "shabby chic".

Time for a little culture..., a wander through the streets of the "old town", check out the church, and visit the rather imposing Chateaux.


























This, I assume is the servants quarters!

No wonder the French had a Revolution!

Eventually, we are fully cultured, and retire to a bar.

While we are enjoying a refreshing "biere au pression", we meet two of our neighbours from the site.

The lady of the pair injured her hip some years ago, and, has since had the joint replaced no less than SIX times, and, they still ride around on a tandem! Some people are amazing.

April 14th 2010 - April 18th 2010

 Les Rosiers-sur-Loire � Le Val de Loire � ACSI 2010-963


They must have the BBC doing their weather forecasts here, because the forecast was for sun with a little cloud and 18C. We got full cloud cover, and about 14C, although it did become sunny by about 15:30.


French time is one hour ahead of UK time (ie when it is 08:00 in the UK, it is 09:00 here in France. Kathleen does not change her watch (no, I do not understand why) so in the morning she gets up according to UK time, ie 08:00 UK, 09:00French, and in the evening she goes to bed on French time ie 11:00French, 10:00UK), so it is difficult to have an early start, (unless I go without her).


When I unloaded the bicycles off the back of the van, I found that mine had a puncture which was too big to repair, fortunately I had a spare inner tube. Whilst I was in the process of fixing the tyre, we were approached by an English couple, asking if we had found any good cycling here, since we had not actually got out yet, we could not offer much information.


We eventually got on our way at about 10:30 and cycled across the bridge over the Loire to Gennes, then along the Loire to Saumur.

Unfortunately, the cycle track we scouted yesterday did not go all of the way to Saumur, so it was about half road and half cycletrack, but the road (D952) was almost traffic free, so it was no problem to cycle along it.

Here is Kathleen forging ahead on one of the off road sections with the Loire just visible through the trees to the left.

There are picnic tables at various points along the way, and we stop for lunch by the banks of the Loire, all very civilised. 













The total distance, there and back, plus a bit of exploring was 28 miles, it was a very enjoyable day, not a word of complaint from anyone.

Saumur is a pleasant French town, most of which is located on an island in the Loire. The Loire at this point is very wide, even although we are quite some distance from the sea, with grand bridges linking the island to the two opposite banks.

There is also an imposing Chateau, although it closed to the public at the time of our visit. It is still possible to wander around the grounds, which include a (drained) moat and a series of fortifications.

We arrived back at the site to find we had new English neighbours (from Devon), so that makes at least six English here, including ourselves.

We decide to head further south, partly to chase the sun and warm weather, and partly to meet up with a couple (Lyndon and Carol), who we first met up with in France on one of early trips. We know they arrived in France the day before us, and are just slightly further south than we are. Kathleen is very keen to meet up with them. It does not occur to her that perhaps they are trying to avoid us, I notice in their texts, they have avoided telling us precisely which site they are on! (only joking).

Up prompt, rather than early and away south. It is quite a long stretch so we split the driving, Kathleen gets the short straw and has to drive around Bordeaux. We stop at a Le Clerc en-route and are able to buy some Liptons tea bags. They are not upto the standard of Asda teabags, so I will have to make do with them, leaving the small supply of the Asda ones for Kathleen.

We approach Bordeaux on the N10 with Kathleen driving, first crossing the River Dordogne before it joins up with the River Garonne to form the River Gironde.
















Crossing the River Garonne as we go round the orbital motorway to the west of Bordeaux, with Kathleen driving.

For any of you who have been stuck in the traffic today, just to show the roads are not always empty here, the traffic begins to build up as we go around Bordeaux.

Leave on the A63 heading South West, just like driving in England, except the road signs have more numbers on them, because the French show the European system of road numbers as well as their own. Well they have to do something with all of that cash they gain from being in the EU.


This area is called Les Landes de Gasgoine, it is very flat, a bit like Norfolk but with more sun and more trees.


The sun is shining and it is quite warm, like a good summers day in England.


Biscarosse - Mayotte Vacances ASCI 2010-1023


The site is located on a lake, but only a short distance from the sea. Everything works, and it is clean and tidy. But it is clearly geared up for family entertainment. At the bar, you can have �free� wifi for the price of a drink. The barman even loans us a suitable electric lead so that we can plug the laptop into the mains and not be limited by the battery time. The intention is to update the blog and make a couple of Skype calls. However the downside is, the children�s entertainer is so noisy it is not possible to hold a conversation on the skype, so we give up and retire to the van.

We have a text message from Lyn and Carol, they are proposing a meeting at Bidart, near Biarritz, which is on our intended route, perhaps they do want to see us again after all, there is no accounting for taste.


It is a short hop to Bidart, mostly along a motorway standard stretch of the N10, so no rush to get away, and we arrive by 13:00.


Bidart � Ur-Onea � ASCI2010-1021


We are now in the Basque country, hence the strange campsite name. Like our Celtic friends back home, they have this absurd obsession with having all of their place names and road signs in two languages (French and Basque here), which just makes life more complicated. I should not mock, how long before we have our road signs in English, Urdu, Arabic etc, just to extend �diversity�?


The site is pristine.


We have arrived first. As we are in the process of getting ourselves organised we meet Sam, who comes from near Colraine, Northern Ireland, and is in the process of checking out the vacant pitches. Sam�s main concern seems to be where he will find a bar showing the coming Manchester City / Manchester United match. I am impressed by the way in which he has been allowed to choose a pitch by himself, it is not usual for such responsibility to be devolved to the husband or male partner. But sure enough, shortly afterwards, his wife Alice turns up to vet his choice and make the actual decision.


Lyn and Carol arrive, we chat for most of the afternoon, and toast ourselves in the sunshine, turning a nice shade of pink in the process.


This will mean a return to the creaming of the legs routine. Which at least means the Tomtom will be left to get on with it.


In the evening we talk a walk into Bidart and explore our surroundings. This includes the inevitable search for a church, which we duly find, with masses on Saturday at 18:00 and Sunday at 11:00. It is a lively village, with a beach and promenade.


Saturday morning, the plan is for us to take the bus to Biarritz, whilst Lyn and Carol exercise their two dogs.


Things do not go according to plan.


We miss the 10:53 bus, and decide waiting for the next bus (12:23) is not an option. So we walk into Bidart where we find there is a market in full swing (what fun). Fortunately we meet Lyn and Carol on their way to do the dog exercising, so we enjoy the market from the vantage point of a pavement bar (definitely the best way to see a market, French or otherwise, as far as I am concerned). Kathleen and Carol spend their time updating each other on what is happening in their respective families, including our new grandchild and impending new grandchild. Lyn and myself, discuss the important matters of what has gone wrong with the UK, our thieving politicians, the price of gold, and which shares might make us a few pounds.


Kathleen and I eventually wander off to find something to eat (a bottle of Rose, Pizza, followed by Strawberries and Cream, and very nice too), whilst Lyn and Carol, continue with their intended walk to exercise the dogs.

Suitably repleat, we return to the van to lie about in the sun, it is a hard life, but someone has to do it!


A good day, so far, the missing teabags have only been mentioned about five times by late afternoon.

We spend a very pleasant evening drinking wine and chatting with Lyn and Carol, eventually being forced indoors at about 23:00, becuase it is too cold to stay outside any longer.

Sunday, it is time to say our fond farewells, Lyn and Carol are off to join up with some other friends, Terry and Ingrid, to continue their trip into Spain. It being Sunday, Kathleen is off to the church at 11:00, and I while away the morning in the town square, alternating between reading my book and watching the world go by.

After church, we linger in the pavement cafe overlooking the square with a glass of rose, before returning to the van for a leisurely lunch and more lying about in the sun.