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The trip down to Dover was uneventful it’s fair to say, however I made the mistake of stopping at a service station for fuel shortly before hitting the M25 or “London’s Car park” as we call it!
We decided to stop and have some lunch there in the caravan parking area, everything was going along according to plan, until I tuned into Steve Wright on R2 giving us the good news about a Lorry fire two exits past the one we needed for Dover!
So lunch ended abruptly and we headed out into the traffic expecting delays, queues etc., fortunately we were not held up for too long, and arrived safely at Dover to begin our holiday in good time.
It’s been a few years since we last took a ferry from Dover across the channel, in recent years we have done the larger crossings from the UK’s more South Westerly Ports of Portsmouth and Plymouth, and taken advantage of the travelling time saved to the Western regions of France Brittany, the Vendee and the Loire Atlantique to name just a few of our favourite destinations.
However, the deal offered by Norfolkline was far to good to be passed upon, Geoff and Helen joined us with their Hymer later in the evening, and we all got our heads down on Dover Sea front for a few hours, before we made the early morning (04:15) crossing on a millpond, arriving at Dunkerque (07:15) local time, after devouring a full English for less than £4.00 on board! (P&O take note)
Departed Dunkerque and headed S.W. toward Le Mans, some 230 miles away,. Now bearing in mind prior to leaving the UK, we had no set plans regarding where we we’re intending to go, or stay, during the hols, apart from a visit to Rocmadour in the Dordogne, and/or spending some time at Bonne Anse in La Palmyre (Royan), Geoff had just finished 13 straight shifts on nights, so the distance /mileage covered was his call.
A brief search on t’internet found us a site near Tours that looked favourable, a huge lake with fishing, pedaloes, canoes wind surfing, Dinghy sailing, horse riding and cycle tracks with various routes through the Pine scented forest for riders of all abilities that surrounds it, all for €8 per night including electric. ‘Camping a la foret’ and ‘Camping les Molliers’ (two sister sites on each side of the lake) in my own opinion I think that the camp site we stayed at was better than it’s sister Molliers.
The nearest towns are Sille de Guillaume and Fresnay sur Sarthe, both are pretty, quiet small towns, with the river Sarthe running close by, Sunday brought a market to Fresnay, locals were buying and selling all the usual things, bread and other local produce, however tagged on to the market, were other tables laid out ‘a la Car Boot’ style, this is our first experience of this popular British Summer pastime in France.
Two peaceful nights were spent here by the lake, the area is what the French love whilst camping, i.e. forest and lakes, there were no other English on site, there is no bar, or entertainment provided in the evening, however there is a small shop on molliers, and a visiting baker in the mornings between 0800 and 0930.
The weather was changing all the time, cloud and rain, wind and sun, this unsettled weather pattern plus low temps, was the deciding factor in a move further South, so after a quick visit to the Supermarche on the Scooter, we packed up, paid at reception and headed for Pornic in southern Brittany.
We arrived in Pornic later than expected due to traffic hold ups and horrendous storms, that lit up the area for miles around, visibility was obscured , not only by darkened skies, but the amount of spray thrown up by overtaking cars on the roads whilst traveling along the D758 west of Nantes. When we finally got there, the first site we tried was full, however the chap at reception pointed out to us where we could find alternative pitches to stay, and we ended up at ’Camping Le Port Cheri ‘. They only had one pitch available, the receptionist said we could share with one another if we wished, it was a huge pitch and accommodated both motor homes comfortably. We enjoyed a discount for being ‘two up’.
Again there were no English on site, mostly French with a few Dutch campers, it’s a mixed site mobiles to rent as well as pitches, the small outdoor pool is heated and was surrounded with sun loungers, a small bar and terrace, with boules court and children’s play area, a take away offering the usual pizzas, crepes and gaufres.
For the benefit of those who have no first hand knowledge of ‘Scoubidou’, I’m not referring to an alternative spelling of a well known cartoon dog, but multi coloured pieces of plastic string, that can be made into bracelets, necklaces, key rings and a multitude of other items, by means of intricate braiding techniques, known only to kids and a few adults!
So it wasn’t long before our French neighbour’s kids, Kirsty and Terri got together, and settled into a night of ‘scoubidou’ making contest.
Pornic is a lovely town, with a small but pretty harbour, Geoff and I set off to find a Trailer board for the Scooter rack on the back of his ,van ( a French driver ran into the rear, shattering it completely) and he used the Post office to change some currency, the weather again was unsettled, lots of rain and wind.
Heading South again through yet another storm, we arrived at la Palmyre (Royan) finally the Sun was out, and the temperature reached 34deg.
We stayed at Bonne anse plage, a site we have visited on a previous trip to France, the kid’s love it here, there is so much to do on site whatever the weather, met up with Norman (nmj1953) who is currently touring western Europe in his Autoquest, with the intention of over wintering in southern Spain and joining the Spain and Morocco rally next year. He is currently staying on an aire next door which is free, but the water costs _4 for a 15min fill up from the tourist office across the road, which also has a chemical disposal point too.
Our neighbours a few doors down is camoyboy, who spotted the pennant flying and came across to introduce himself, a small world isn’t it!
The plan for the following morning was to get up early and go fishing, but the wind had got up and the waves were crashing in, so we binned that idea and went for a ride on the scooter a little later on to the ‘phare’ or lighthouse, a huge structure visible for miles around which allows visitors to climb up the never ending staircase to the top, the views from which are stunning, unfortunately it was closed that day, so we went to the nearby beach that pays host to a surf school, after watching all the budding Old spice advert wannabees whilst lazing on the sands, we headed to a nearby restaurant for a well earned plate of Moules marinaire, on the way back to the site we called in at some of the remains of Hitler’s ‘Atlantic wall’, where gun emplacements and soldiers accommodation were built into the sandy dunes along the edge of the Coubre forest during WW2 which overlook the bay of Bonne anse and the Atlantic ocean beyond, similar structures can be found all along this coast line, to offer protection from allied attack.
Sunday morning we cycled down to the market in La Palmyre, we were entertained by a Peruvian ‘pan pipes’ band in the market square, whilst surrounding traders were selling fresh fish, mussels and oysters, local pottery linen wear, pineau and cognac. Our mouths watered with the smell of roasting chickens, and a paella, which was cooking in a pan larger than a dustbin lid!
Monday was a lazy day, spent by the pool and beach respectively, Tuesday saw the departure of Geoff and Helen as they made their way up the coast toward Brittany, and finally Normandy to do the beaches, we intend to catch up with them on Friday evening at Mont st. Michel.
Woke up on Wednesday morning nursing a hangover due to the over indulgence at a barbeque on Tuesday evening, Chris and Gill joined us for the bbq, along with another two couples we’ve met down here, Norman turned up too, needless to say the wine flowed freely for most of the evening! Prior to getting inebriated on the night, a suggested trip to Cognac never came to fruition! Today’s temp reached 38degs.
Thursday was glorious, the sun shone all day with just enough breeze to stay cool in, after breakfast we took the scooter down the road to St. Palais, traditionally a fishing village with a lovely sandy horse shoe shaped beach in the town centre, nowadays it has become a fashionable resort, but without losing it’s charm, worth seeing are the ‘belle epoque’ villas set amongst the pines and evergreen oaks, also a walk along the cliff tops on the ‘Grande Cote’ is worth doing.
Thursday evening, we shared the bottle of champagne with Chris and Gill, which we jointly won at the Bromsgrove meet earlier this year, we shared a meal, and sat outside the motor home watching the sunset over the bay, it’s 26deg in the shade at half past nine, and time to start thinking about breaking camp, our plans have changed for now, instead of heading north towards the monument as planned, the climate down here at the moment is absolutely wonderful, it would be a shame to miss out, camoyboy is moving on in the morning too, he’s heading towards Futuroscope, we’re moving on to the free aire next door. Later that evening we were joined by Rob, Christine and their daughter Amy, in an absolutely wonderful fiat ducato LWB panel van self build, gave them the MHF web addy, hopefully they may join.
Friday, it’s 0715 and already 24deg in the shade, looks like another hot one in the making, we say our goodbyes to friends old and new, most of the kids from the Bonne anse site who Kirsty and Terri have become friends with have turned up to see them off, our destination today is a municipal site in Beaumont sur Sarthe, about 11 miles south of Alencon on the N138, roughly a 247 mile journey, hence the early start, we arrived here late afternoon, _10 for the night inc electric (6A), lovely site, friendly staff, ideal overnighter for all the ferry ports , the river Sarthe runs through the site, great for anglers, the toilet/sanitation block is a very modern, clean and hygienic facility, complete with washing machines disabled access and a ‘common room’ is incorporated at the opposite end of the same building, where you will find a table tennis table and a table football game, the swimming pool is a short walk into the town.
The weather here is pretty much the same as we found it in this area over a fortnight ago, overcast, muggy, intermittent rain and a cool wind. Set off at leisure on the Saturday morning heading north east towards Rouen and finally Dunkerque, stayed on the aire at Gravelines, (not that easy to find) after a visit to the supermarche, strolled into the town later that evening to watch an African dance concert held in the market place, a lovely end to an enjoyable trip.
Sun morning the ferry embarkation was held up due to some would be illegals being discovered in the rear of a curtain sided HGV, apart from that the crossing was calm, and we were soon in Dover and on the road home
Regards M&D
Last edited by MandyandDave on Mon Aug 08, 2005 10:11 pm; edited 1 time in total
The following members of MHF thanked MandyandDave for this posting
Excellent post Dave, it felt like I was there with you, sounds like a lot of fun you had, meeting others from the site as well, it is a small world after all.
MHS...Rob
______________________________________________________________ Optical illusion look closely, can you see a giraffe?
“When I was born I was so surprised I couldn’t talk for a year and a half”
The following members of MHF thanked Motorhomersimpson for this posting
are you mad??? crazy??? can't wait to go off again 10 minutes after the post has been checked and bills despaired over.
Stayed at the municipal site at Beaumont a few years ago - loved the site and the village, glad it's still going strong.
We found nice spot just south of La Rochelle, courtesy of ACSI at Camping Les Boucholeurs Port Punay, sunsets to die for! although the site was still in off season mode even tho it was quite busy! nice pain au choc in the mornings though! and bus service into La Rochelle
The following members of MHF thanked twooks for this posting
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