Spring 2006 Travels

Hi everybody, here is the latest instalment of our travels in our motorhome, we left the UK in April 2006 after visiting the Peterborough Motorhome show where we stayed on site with our "motorhomefacts.com" friends. We had a good show with about 6000 motorhomes of all ages and sizes attending, this is the first really big show of the year and usually coincides with many fulltimers returning from warmer climes having spent the winter sunning themselves.

We left the show at Peterborough and made our way down to Dover for the "euro tunnel" to France where we were to spend the next 8 weeks travelling along the West coast from Bordeaux to Brittany.

We started out in Calais where we visited the vets "Madame Christian"  to book the dogs in for their check up as required by the "pets passport scheme", then it was down to Saints which we have previously visited staying at the Aire behind the "Abbey aux Dames". After a visit to the supermarket it was down to the Forest near Royan  for a long weekend with plenty of wild camping in the "Forest de Coubre", we love this forest due to its long beaches and isolation but at the same time near to the lovely town of Ronce Le Bains, easily reached by cycling through the forest on the excellent cycle tracks. Here we ate ice cream while watching the oyster boats going about their business before cycling back to the motorhome.

From here we drove south via Bordeaux to the area called Gascony and the huge forest there reputed to be the largest in Europe. We started off in Biscarosse Plage at a great motorhome parking spot in the forest right next to the beach, we were joined here by over 30 french vans all making use of the excellent site for free something this country has come to offer the motorhome owning people of Europe. We spent the next few days lazing about on the beach walking the dogs and cycling into the local towns sampling the local cuisine and wine before moving on.

We only managed to move a little way before finding the next spot being about 5mls north of Biscarosse village at a huge lake . We found a new Aire in a holiday village called "Navarosse" with space for 20 vans by the marina ,parking on the road or under the trees if shade is required, this area is excellent where cycling and watersports abound in a tranquil setting so we ended up spending 4-5 days here before leaving for Mimizan.

We arrived at Mimizan under cloudy skies after nearly 2 weeks of glorious sun but a change non the less, this Aire can hold 70 vans all with electric for only 7 Euro's per night. Basically it's a huge car park behind the beach area and can get very busy especially in summer , great for surfing and long walks on the beach but after a night we moved on north to Arachon near Bordeaux to see the largest sand dune in Europe. We spent the morning climbing the steep sides and rolling around in the sand like children ,very tiring but great fun, after lunch overlooking the huge Arachon bay we drove north to stop the night at a small fishing village called Tausatt with oyster fishermen leaving on the incoming tide. The next morning we drove through the northern Gironde and the Medoc region were the beautiful red Bordeaux wine's are produced, sampling a bit to much along the way, we eventually stopped for the night in Verdon-sur-mer near the ferry from the Point de graves to Royan  at 40 Euro's ,but a lot quicker than driving all the way round, the crossing only taking 20mins compared to the 7 hour drive round. From Royan we drove a little way north to spend the next few days at a old favourite spot at Soubise near to Rochefort on the River Charente cycling through the quiet back lanes stopping off at the old napoleonic fort at Lupin for a picnic very enjoyable.

Our next stopover was at Fouras south of La Rochelle from here you can catch a boat trip to the island of Isle de Aix were Napolean was imprisoned and also visit the "Fort Boyard". We usually stay here for a long weekend and visit La Rochelle on the bus as it has very busy and  tight streets for the motorhome, but well worth the trip for its great marina and aquarium and the shopping experience not forgetting the restaurants round the old port area. From here you can cross the toll bridge to visit the beautiful island of "Isle de Re" with its excellent sandy beaches and a haven in summer for the tourists, strolling along the country lanes and browsing at the street markets buying to much french cheese and wine before falling asleep on the beach.

From La Rochelle we turned inland towards the Marais Poitevin area intending to visit the "green venice" in particular, our first stop over was at a small village called Mauze sur-le mignon on one of the old canals in the area, we stayed by the old port  overlooking the quayside, very picturesque with long paths along the towpath. After a hot a sultry night we moved onto the main tourist town of Coulon with its quaint houses and small local boats for hire to tour the backwaters for which this area is famous. After lunch we drove alongside the river bank before reaching Aracais and spending the night overlooking the village, in the morning we had a quick walk round the village and along the river  bank before driving up to the Forest de Mervent area north of Fontenay -le- Comte. Here we had a lovely walk through the forest and round the dammed lakes before spending the night at the beautiful town of Vouvant famous for being a "Petit village of character" with its riverside walk and old houses.

After 3 days of hot weather we ventured back towards the coast to find a cooling sea breeze finally stopping at the small town Bourgenay near to Talmont-st-Hilaire, here we spent a couple of days resting by the beach with a short trip into the famous nearby town of Les Sables-d'Olonne from where the Vendee Globe sailing race is held. After a night of force 8 gales we drove north to St Giles Croix de Vie to find shelter for the night from the gales which seemed to be getting ever stronger. We awoke in the morning to a slight drop in the wind so ventured along the Corniche Coast by bike very interesting seeing the waves break over the rocks and up the blow holes, after lunch we drove further along the coast till we turned inland towards Clisson a french town supposedly styled in the Italian style. This town is worth stopping off en route as the riverside houses and old market square are beautiful with old viaducts and  a water mill, We stopped the night at another old french town in the Anjou/Muscadet wine region called Champtoceaux with its excellent views over the river loire.

We decided to head back towards the coast via Nantes to Noirmoutier ,an Island we visited last year with excellent cycle tracks and great seafood restaurants and plenty of parking for motorhomes, just as well because when we arrived there must have been 300 vans on the island camped up at various spots. We spent the next 2 days here shrouded in mist deciding where to go next either up into Brittany as planned or back down to the south west of France, after a cycle up to the point and a couple of glasses of wine with other campers it was decided to head back south via the Dordogne to explore the Lot area and further East . So we packed up and spent the next 2 days criss-crossing France eventually to end up in the beautiful town of Aubeterre-sur-Dronne where we spent the weekend camped up alongside the river with fellow motorhomers, we cycled and walked all around this beautiful area in temperatures in the high 20's touching 29oC on sunday evening, so we joined the french over a bottle of wine under the shady willow trees, pure heaven. On the Monday morning with sore heads we drove down to Perigueux to spend the afternoon walking along the river Isle and touring the old medieval part of town , we spent the night being overlooked by the Cathedral parked up alongside the river with fellow motorhomers. 

We left Perigueux after a hot night and drove via the forested hillsides of the Dordogne to spend the night at St Cyprien , then the next morning drove a short distance to a "french passion site" at port Envaux were we spent the rest of the day canoeing on the river great spot highly recommend it. After tea we drove to the beautiful medieval village of Beysac Et Cazenac what a place like stepping back to the middle ages with free parking for camping cars at the top of the village so we spent the night overlooking the ancient Bastide.

The next morning it was on to visit la roque-Gageac, good trogladite caves and riverside cruising then onto the hillside town of Domme , not recommended in a motorhome so we had lunch then drove onto the small village of Montfort were we met a couple in a rare swift Bel Air from holland and england. After much wine and talking about the places we had visited it we decided to stay put for the night. Awoke the next morning after a very quiet night and drove east towards Cahors and along the river Lot via Douelle and Albas great views, then back along the other river bank to spend the night at Vers. The next morning we cycled along the very beautiful valley as far as Cajac and back- very highly recommended before driving across country to spend the night overlooking the village of Villeneuve. Had breakfast in the shade before looking around the old village centre and market before driving south to spend the night along side the riverbank next to the local canoe club at St Antonin Noble Val, the next morning we had planned to head north but found our van blocked in by hundreds of french motorists unbeknown to us ,the village was holding both the weekly market and a huge antiques fair so we stayed put another day and joined the french in browsing the many stalls and tasting the local produce.

The next morning after a early start we drove north on the start of our return trip via Limoges and Poitiers before spending a couple of days along the Loire river at our favorite halts at Turquant and Angers, along the way to Mayenne we stopped of at Chateaux Gontier to spend a few hours along the river at a new Aire spot, must remember this for another time. Then we drove north through the lovely Mayenne countryside to spend a few days at another new Aire on the river Seine west of Rouen at La Malleraye sur Seine, great spot for fishing in the river while watching the large river boats go about their business in the company of 50 fellow motorhomers.The next few days were spent heading back to Calais for the Tunnel home via La Touquet and the  calais penninsula.

To sum this trip up, it was nice to visit France again and meet fellow camping-car owners in this unique country which truly appreciates the Motorhome ,unlike the UK. We covered nearly 3000mls in 8 weeks with temperatures in the high 20's low 30's for most of the trip, except for the gale force winds the weather was excellent if a little hot towards the end. With using the Aires and a little free camping in the forests and and next to nautic centres we only spent £50 on water and stopovers compared to the high cost of campsite fee's, and managed to meet many new friends along the way and both gained and exchanged our experiences in true motorhome style. For now its back to "blighty" to earn some money for our Winter trip along the French Pyrennes and down into Portugal for the Winter -- watch this space for further exploits of "Wistfullywandering" life in a motorhome on the open roads of Europe and some day the World!