A Novice In France
The Aires book can be purchased at most supermarkets in France and comes complete with its own map showing details of the Aires in the book, along with a brief description on how to get there and facilities offered there must be close to 6500 sites with more being added each year by the local councils to attract visitors and increase the local shops business. This idea is not purely a french idea as the Germans also have their own version called "stelleplatz" its a pity the local councils in the UK can't provide this service as the amount of trade lost to overseas is phenomenal, even the supermarkets provide sites all over France surely our UK counterparts could follow suit.
In 2005 we travelled throughout France covering 5000mls the total cost for sites was £50 staying at nearly 25 different Aires over a period of 10 weeks. We travelled through the loire valley to the west coast and went as far south as Toulouse including the Dordogne and the Puys region of central France, temps between 5oc and 35oc we even had snow in may on the Puys in the Volcanic region.
Of all the areas we visited the west Atlantic coast was the one we liked the best, having excellent beaches for the dogs and plenty of places to visit from historic buildings to vineyards . From the islands like Noirmoutier to Isle d'yeu and not forgetting Oleron near to La Rochelle with its rich history, further south you enter the huge forested area of the Gironde where the biggest sand dune in Europe can be found at Arcachon near to Bordeaux.
Having spent our first night in France at an Aire in a small village called
Gravelines about 25km east of Calais at Rue de Victor Hugo [level & quite but
no services] about 400yds from the dunes. The dogs really enjoyed their first
taste of French sand before leaving to go and arrange there return visit at the
vets in Calais as required by the pets passport scheme, the vets were really
helpful with parking right outside.
We then left Calais along the A16 motorway which was very windy but quite to Bolougne then we joined the N1 to Abbeville and finally along the A28 motorway to Rouen . We then stopped at a small Aire [10 places+ services all Free] in a town called Cleres , this village is very picturesque with a small zoo in the grounds of a beautiful large mansion. The whole town is lovely to see especially the patisserie shop who sells lovely breads and cakes.
The sat nav was indispensable and helped make the journey easier as long as I remembered to turn when told to, tomorrow we continue on through Rouen calling at the supermarket for some food and wine before heading towards the loire valley.
The journey down from Rouen was univentfull and we stopped off at a supermarket and found a camping car store called “peirre camping cars” , except for rain all the way down we took about 6 hours in total to get to the loire valley. The drive through Blois was not to be repeated [next time use sat nav ] the journey to Amboise was through quite back roads by the river, passing caves cut out of the tuff rock were the wine is stored and sold. Arrived at a municipal site called Isle de ore.[6amp elec+water] On the banks of the loire , we were the only people there till Saturday night when 8 motorhomes arrived for a dog agility show .
Left Amboise to visit the best chateaux in the loire called chenonceax , the drive was well worth it as the chateaux was stunning with lovely grounds and spanning the river Cher, there is even a small Aire and motorhome parking facilities in the grounds . After lunch in the grounds we drove slowly through the country side to our next overnight halt in Ange. A very small town of no interest at all except the Aire had free everything , we had a lovely walk in the hills over looking the town walking amongst the newly sprouting vines .Tomorrow we drive to Chinnon to visit the forest and the old town, hope the sun shines and it gets warmer.
We left Ange in the
glorious sun by lovely quite back roads on the way to visit Azay de Rideau a
lovely turreted chateaux with informal English style garden, the chateaux was
nice to view from outside with its fairy tale style turrets but lacked much
inside, parking for motorhomes is tight except on the outskirts of the village
maybe 5mins walk. We then travelled by a long straight undulating road through
the “forest de chinnion” were we stopped for some lunch and walked the dogs ,
very enjoyable all round. We then moved on to the village of Chinnon over looked
by a medieval fort that was all there was to see apart from the river running
through.
We stopped for the night in a very small village called Turquat were there were many small private vineyards to look around overlooking the village with free vine tasting of the local produce. There was also a house set in the hillside “Tuff rock” were they preserved apples which were used on the old ships to prevent scurvy on their long ocean crossings. This Aire was very busy with mainly French again except a English couple in a hymer, excellent cycling above the village on the quite country roads with vine covered hillsides were you could see for miles seeing the workers training the new shouts along the vine cordons.
After a pleasant night we talked to the hymer couple for nearly 3 hrs its that long since we had spoken to any English people , after saying our good buys and “Bon voyage” we left to visit the caves were most of Frances mushrooms are grown from the everyday humble mushroom to the ornate shatak but they were closed for lunch , never mind something to see another day . So we journeyed on to Angers along the back roads by the Loire river where we stopped for lunch after a very tranquil drive . Arrived at the lac du maine camp site in full sun near to Angers so fell asleep for the rest of the day after a quick walk around the splendid lake. After walking the dogs by the lakes again watching the local sailing/canoe clubs on the lake which you can cycle all around even into angers itself , we cycled into the local village to do some shopping before returning to the van to do some laundry and have a rest , started to cloud over we expect rain in the night . There is a small Aire opposite the chateau in Angers or down the river about 5 miles at the local sailing club at Bouchemaine on the river bank , this large town is worth a visit for its old style houses and large tapperstrie depicting the "riders of the apocalypse" .
We left Angers in the rain which had fallen all night to visit a motorhome accessory dealer [narbbone accessories] in the next village near to the “le voyager factory” famous for its luxury motorhomes and to buy some bits and pieces, not much in the store but got what we wanted before heading off towards Nantes and the Atlantic coast. After a 3 hr drive in the rain we arrived at a small town in the “loire atlantic” called “Bourgeneff en Retz” our stop for the night on a small Aire, everything was still damp from all the rain but it started to clear up so we had a walk round the village maybe only 3miles from the Atlantic coast , a very nice place as the house style is different from the north of France [red roofs] which are not as steep so hopefully it dose`nt rain as much down here quaint small village .
Awoke to find the sun shinning and left the Aire to go onto the island of “Normortier” this proved to be a wise decision as we found a beautiful Aire at the “port Du morin” right overlooking the beach and harbour with space for 25 motorhomes . We took the dogs for a lovely stroll down the beach and around the harbour but I expect it gets busy here in summer. After a drive round the island to look at the salt flats and small villages were the first new potatoes in France are grown , we found another Aire next to the islands main village with parking for about 40 vans which we left to be explored another day . We then headed for St Giles Croix De Vie were we stopped for the night on a aire for 35 motorhomes next to the local stadium and the main marine boat manufacturing area of Jeanneau[very quite]. We meet 2 kiwis who had been living in their van all winter having purchased it in the UK and were touring France till October before shipping it back to Newzealand with them , much cheaper than buying one out their apparently and better specs. The weather had changed as evening fell once more to more rain so we had a small walk around this beautiful town.
The rain continued all night but when we awoke the sun was starting to break through and the wind had changed to a strong westerly so we went down to the grand plague to take the dogs for a good run along this long stretch of beach which goes all the way to the Spainish border , very good with views to match clears the head after all the red wine and large lunch were you can watch the local surfers. Parked up by the river for 2 hours alongside 30 motorhomes on a unofficial Aire but he French just take it in there stride and had a walk through the town along by the riverside restaurants, after lunch we returned to the aire as the sun had finally broken through so we made the best of it and had a trip out on the cycles along the coast road to the next village down the coast seeing signs forbidding overnight parking of motorhomes, before returning along the port road back to the van for a rest and more talking with our French neighbours great!
Left St Giles Croix De Vie to head inland towards Deux Severs as the weather didn’t look to promising [must be the English in us as we seemed preoccupied with the weather], we stopped off at the Forest de Aisenay which was great as they had a lovely walk through the woods and some ponds to fish in along with a small animal park with goats and wild deer [good overnight spot for a spot of wild camping].
After a tea break we drove via Poire-sur-vie which had a lovely lake and water mill with parking for motorhomes outsidethe village town of roche-sur-ron which didn’t have much to offer at all. After lunch we continued to the small village called Venrennes were we stopped the night on a small Aire , small village with a nice aire if the ground was a little soft the chateaux looked as if it was about to fall down with people still living in the property crazy French ! Rain arrived again by nightfall must rain here a lot in April.
Rain continued all night , as did the birds cheeping!! But quite all the same and left for Fontenay le Comte and did some shopping at our first “le clerc” supermarket –great. Travelled to the Forest De Mervent a large area of woodland and valleys with a large dam creating a couple of large lakes, looks okay and nice to see some trees and we had a lovely walk around the lake at the bottom of Mervent village , Aire not too promising very large coach park seemed more like it so moved onto Vovant and what a difference.
This village turned out to be excellent having both a free aire and plenty to see and walk around especially the lake and old part of town which is one of” Frances villages of beauty”. Spent most of the afternoon sunbathing and flying the kite on the Aire as the sun came out around 1pm later on we walked the dogs around the outlying houses and too see the French enjoying the evening sunshine. After our first night on an Aire to ourselves we went back to the forest at Mervent for a short walk which turned out to be very enjoyable around the countryside and by the river in the valley bottom even if we nearly got lost and must have been out for 3 hrs . As the dogs slept all afternoon we had lunch sheltering from the thunder storm with hail the size of garden peas -what a surprise.
After lunch we drove to
Fussier-payere not much too see but its on the way to la Rochelle were we were
headed so stopped for a look around. Arrived at La Rochelle in the late
afternoon this proved to be the worst place so far in France as the town was
horrendous to drive around what with very narrow streets and many one way
streets[didn`t help that the sat nav software was all wrong] so we drove to a
small sea side town 20mls away called Fourass with a small great Aire
overlooking the beach which the dogs should love.
Woke to a lovely sunny morning if a little cold and had a walk into town to get
some money and some tokens for water at the sani point which proved fun as even
the local maire could not provide after phoning around half the village, ended
up driving round to the north of the island by a camp site to find water which
led us to a lovely car park by the beach so was not in vain. Spent the afternoon
in the van asleep in the sun warm and cosy for the first time in ages. Before
tea drove back to aire overlooking sea and had a cycle through the countryside
on the peaceful lanes very nice indeed , still no other English motorhomes on
the Aires must be the wrong time of year still plenty of nice French/Germans to
talk to and enquire about each others trips.
Moved on down the coast a further20 mls towards Bordeax to a small village called Soubise outside of Rochefort Sur Mer , what at first looked not very inviting proved out to be a lovely Aire with 16amp electric by a canal to the sea with a small picnic site by a pond . Cleaned the van out and spent our second day in the sun with the dogs just lazying around in the sun with the place to them selves .In the evening we had a little walk around the village visiting the local ponds with the dogs chasing the ducks before sleeping the night away dreaming of our journey so far.
Awoke to yet more rain so had a trip into Rochefort not much to see but did some shopping at the le clerc supermarket before returning to the Aire for the rest of the day. This was very restfull especially as it didn’t stop raining until 5pm so had a little walk down the canal before tea, tomorrow we move southwards to be nearer to Bordeaux .
Drove down to Royan 35mls south of Rochefort on our way to the” isle de o`lleron” , stopped off on route to have a look at the “savage coast “and boy was it windswept with breakers all over great for kite flying but I wouldn’t like to wind surf hear . Had a lovely walk in the Forest du cobra which was mainly pine trees and flowering gorse great!!. Drove on after lunch 20mls through the forest to Rounce le Baines and must return here as the houses looked great all different styles butwe must find an Aire for the night.
Stopped off at one for water but looked a bit dodgy [efflluent all over the place but water ok] so moved on to Bourcefranc-le-chapus where we stopped the night in the port area overlooking the old fort in a small Aire. At night they light the bridge up blue that links the main land with o`lleron and as the tied went out all the oyster fishermen went to there beds in flat bottom boats which was a strange site to see .The rain returned again in the night but slept very well too the sound of the waves crashing against the port walls by the motorhome lovely spot but must arrive early. After a quite night we were woken by the fishermen going about there business so departed to visit Rounce le Baines to see the lovely houses , parked up by the sailing school and had a lovely look around the village before driving to the point in the forest again we stopped here over night as there was a few motorhomes parked up and the weather looked a bit dicey also we were only 2 mins from the beach along the savage coast as we could hear the wind in the evening [must return here another day] , tomorrow we will have a drive around the isle de o`lleron itself.
After a night of heavy rain we left the forest to drive around the isle de o`lleron , managed to do the laundry before driving to the top of the island along very tight roads and had a lovely walk along the beach were the locals were collecting cockles and mussels from the shore at low tide no Aires though which was a shame as it`s a lovely spot looking out to sea. The island is very nice but not to motorhome friendly best visited on cycles or local bus.
In the afternoon we drove off the island inland to the old roman city of Saints and spent the night behind the Abbey au Dames parked in a Aire, the town was very nice to walk around with old roman sites everywhere no wonder this town was twinned with sailsbury back in the uk.
Left saints after a peaceful night in the grounds of “the abbey au dames” and drove via Cognac were we passed lots of vineyards which were starting to green up and drove through the town past the huge Hennessy cognac building . Drove through the countryside and stopped for lunch with two other french motorhomes by a river at Nersac outside Angouleme very enjoyable, you could hire small electric powered motorboats for trips up the river. Then we drove south across countryside towards the Dordougne for 4hrs to stop the night at Auberterre su Dronne by the river side on a very pleasant and peaceful Aire , after tea we walked into the old town pearched up on the hillside very quaint in the evening sunshine with view over the valley below what a nice way to end a long day.
In the morning we drove to Riberac to get some water as the service point at the Aire the previous night was broke and drove slowly onto Perigeaux a very busy city as it was market day so we stopped by the stadium next to the river for lunch before walking the dogs along the river bank. The sun was starting to get hot (25) so we moved in land in search of shade and stopped at a small village called Sarliac sur Isle for the night parked in a small car park with other motorhomes . After being woke early in the morning by lorry drivers leaving for work we drove back to Perigeaux to find the local Aire and spent the rest of the day camped by the river side with another 25 motorhommers , which turned out to be the Aire by night and a car park by day excellent spot and not to noisy being overlooked by the old church.
Had a lovely walk around the old medieval city in the hot sun (28c) this place was the best yet and well worth a visit , had some lunch then tried a spot of fishing on the banks of the river “Isle”from behind the motorhome caught nothing except the sun . In the evening we had a walk to the cyber café and my wife had her hair cut [not much to her liking though], and bumped into some other uk motorhommers who had parked next to us a nice evening and great to chat to some fellow brits and exchange Aires and stories over a few bottles of wine. Awoke to another hot and sultry day it was (25oC) by 10am so it didn`t look good for the dogs being in the van all day so we stopped off on route to Bergerac to find some shade in the forest around Lamonzie Montastruc just north of Bergerac. We left the dogs in the cool van must look into air conditioning as it was already (35oC) by 12am and we cycled for a short while to keep cool through the shaded forest, on returning to the van we had lunch and a sleep before driving onto Bergerac for the evening. We found the local Aire overlooking the River with a picnic site below but right next to a busy main road. After a awful nights sleep what with road noise and the heat (lows of 26c) we decided to head east into the Dourdogne valley , not a bad idea as we came across a beautiful shaded spot by the river at Buisson de Cadouin and spent the afternoon hear bathing/swimming and later a cycle up into the hills to see the old caves. At 4pm we drove on to St Cyprien to spend the weekend encamped on a partly shaded Aire with electric as the temp was up to 94oC in the shade a bit of a shock as it was only April even with the cool blown air on inside the van was in the high 80`s . After a cool night (24c) with all the windows open and the fans going all night to keep us cool we met 2 elderly Germans who had just returned from spending the winter in Portugal and had lots of useful info which we soaked up over breakfast . After breakfast we had a walk round the small quaint village to see the traditional Sunday market a bit like back home except selling French produce, we bought some local strawberries and cream [more cycling to be done]. On returning to the motorhome we had a cycle along the valley for 12mls before catching up with a English couple returning to the uk after spending the winter in the south of Spain in their hymer. We spent the afternoon under the shade of the awning as the sun was still like a furnace with the French & Germans & English motorhomers all together at least we could take a shower to cool down under the outside tap.
At last the temp was coming down after a sudden morning thunder storm we left St Cyprien to head inland , not before the local lady from the office de tourism came driving like a crazed banshee into the Aire looking for payment for the weekend. Apparently in france you don`t pay till asked then look as you meant to all along but just forgot ! We left to have a look at some more caves and stopped off at the caves at Proumessac which were truly stunning and being 100mts under ground were lovely and cool, you were conducted on a underground sound/light show tour in small groups by the local guide well worth a stop here. After lunch we drove along the "valley of the river Vezere" towards Sarlat a very overrated town surrounded by trogladite cave , so we spent the evening free camping by an old church very quite and shady were we found a little stream which the dogs loved especially willy where he found the frogs great sport but didn`t taste of much or were they toads?
After a peaceful night we decided to head up north to the Volcanic region of France near Clermont Ferrand a very long 6hr drive but well worth the trip as it was a lot cooler (18c) and a new area to explore what with this being about 160sq mls of extinct Volcanoes and the oldest park in France. We stayed the night at a small Aire in a village called Aydat by the lake great for the dogs but the water was freezing and things looked promising for the next 3-4 days [or so we thought]. In the morning after breakfast we drove through the volcanic region to the north very cold and cloudy so stopped to do some shopping. After lunch at a small Aire we drove east through the very steep passes with snow on the ground by the ski lifts , great views as the sun came out so decided to press on as there were very few Aires in the mountains . We drove all afternoon till reaching a small town called Bort-les-orques on the top reaches of the River Dordogne by a dam , to sum the “central mattiff “up nice views but very hilly twisty roads not suited to motorhomes ok to pass through but not much to do otherwise the Alps region would be better.
Left Bort-les-Orques after a peaceful night on yet another Aire and drove through tight roads to reach the old village of Figeac in the “Lot” region famed for its oak trees, very nice town and well worth the trip if a little wet as it was raining again. Drove up through very tight village roads to reach the hamlet of Nassac amongst oak trees , so decided to stay the night on the village Aire after meeting some Dutch people in their campervan.
After a lovely night at Nassac we decide to drive through the “Lot” valleys towards Bordeaux and the flat west coast . We Drove all the way down to near Carcassonne in the south of France before heading up the motorway 255mls via toll roads good but expensive towards Bordeaux , okay if you need to get anywhere fast but we liked the N road network better as the pace was more sedate and ended up spending the night back in the town of Saints again . Still nice and even greener than last time and we ended up spending the evening with some French automobile club members who were on a tour of France in their collection of old “Peugeot” classic cars-more chance to practice our French.
We Decide to head back to the forest at Ronce le Bains for the weekend to get some sun and cycling in this beautiful area . Not disappointed as the weather was great and the dogs loved the beach , again we wild camped with the other French campervans and no trouble getting water from the near by Aires. Cycled 16kms through the forest with great views and all on cycles tracks pure bliss I could easily spend a week hear what with the cycling and wild beach great for a barbeque and some kite flying. On Sunday we took the dogs for a long walk on the beach and flew my kite as the wind was quite strong straight coming off the atlantic , great weekend all round must come here again some day.
We left the forest and drove a little way further up the coast to the town of Rochfort were we had stopped nearby before for a hair cut and to do the laundry . After lunch we called back at the small town of Sobise to have another couple of lazy days on the Aire in the sun cycling and walking the dogs , great to relax and enjoy the rural French countryside.
After a lovely 2 days at Sobise we headed back up north round La Rochelle towards the Aire at St Giles De Croix stopping of at Fousay for some money. Here we met a couple from Yorkshire in a Autotrail who had spent the winter in Portugal with their 3 dogs had a good chat and a up of tea if a little brief before driving to Tranch sur Mer a place we had passed on the way down France a typical seaside town were the Aire was nothing much to write about. Drove through the Forest along the Atlantic coast towards St Giles and stopped off to walk the dogs in the forest great spot with plenty of free camping spots tucked away in the trees with different types of trees to the savage coast. Nearby was the town were the “sailors set off from on the “vendee globe challenge” but we will leave that for another time.
Arrived at the Aire in St Giles and had a walk through town to use the internet and get thoroughly soaking wet in the rain still first time yet and spent the afternoon drying out . Left St Giles and drove up the coast to spend the weekend on the island of Normortier we had briefly visited early on in our trip , sat nav cable broke but managed to get it fixed for free at a hifi shop that’s something that you could not do in the UK. We arrived at the beach Aire at lunch time still the same as last time but a little more busier but still time to enjoy the island. We stayed put at the Aire on the beach at the small village called “L`Elpin” for the weekend and went for a cycle into in to Normotoire itself using the cycle network to do some shopping and ride pass the salt flats along the way which were very enjoyable. After lunch in the sun at a café we went back out on the bikes for a ride along the south part of the island to take in the views well worth the trip as you could buy fresh sea salt and potatoes from the local cabins . Back at the van we meet a couple from the UK who had moved out 5 years ago and lived in Deux Severes , great to speak to someone in English for a change and get some more info on the French Aires and even Portugal. Overnight the rain moved in and didn`t seem to want to stop so after a long breakfast we broke camp and headed back in the direction of Nants and on to the Loire valley on what is becoming the last few remaining weeks in France.