Salies de Béarn Days 55-56
The journey across the border into Spain was dominated by the biggest truck-jam we have ever seen. Mile after mile of HGVs on the inside lane, crawling slowly forward. Waiting, it transpired, to get off the AP8 at Irun and turning onto the N1 to cover the last section into France.
Which meant we were able to sail past, smiling cheerfully at the Douanes and speculating whether the truckers were buying cheaper fuel; dodging motorway tolls; or just queuing for lunch in one of the many Spanish eateries lined up before the border.
We arrived at Chris and Sue’s with the help of Google Maps and memory (the latter more reliable) via an interesting detour that took us past the town’s Aire de Camping Cars, as we were coming at their place from the opposite direction to normal.
Last here in 2016, it was lovely to see them and experience their Béarnaise hospitality, which, on our first night, included a lush Garbure, a typical meat and bean stew of the region.
Waking to a dull but not-raining-yet day, we went out on a walk around the edge of their extensive slice of French countryside and were introduced to an element of French rural life we had no idea existed…
The palombiere! In a nutshell, this seems to be a tradition in the Aquitaine/South West region (and into Spain) where, in the months of October and November, wild pigeons are hunted as they migrate towards warmer climes, with the ingenious use of tame/previously captured pigeons that are hoisted into the top of the tree canopy via some very Heath-Robinson looking contraptions. The idea being, that as a flock is sighted, the tethered birds are ‘activated’ via long lines and pulleys and the flock is enticed into the canopy – or close enough, to be shot by the intrepid hunters, themselves also perched precariously in the canopy!
The amount of feathers and shotgun cartridges we saw attested to the apparent efficiency of this way of hunting. Taken for their meat, Chris explained that the pigeon hunt is also as much about the men getting out into the woods and having a drink, sometimes staying out to eat in small cabins, as it is the gathering of a pigeon harvest!
Thanks for your hospitality both and good luck with the ongoing work at the house!
Oloron Ste Marie day 57
Once on the key trading route between Dax and Zaragoza and situated where two ‘gaves’ or mountain rivers meet, it’s a hat-fiend’s hot spot for a Basque beret, the txapela. It also has some ‘almost’ hanging houses Cuenca style.
We went there after leaving Chris and Sue to chill and plot our route across France, hoping to get a chance to try some of its regional delights, including the local ewe’s cheese.
However, after arriving in lovely autumn sunlight at Camping
Pyrénées Nature, our departure coincided with what turned out to be a trip north plagued with lots, and lots, of rain.
So, as became common on this part of the trip, we left knowing that there was plenty to come back for on another visit!
Septfonds Day 58
We saw, in between the bands of rain marching across France, some absolutely gorgeous autumn landscapes, none of which, unfortunately, we managed to capture on camera!
Taking us in a general north-easterly direction, our route enabled us to head for an ACSI site we had used once in the past, Camping de Bois Redon. On that occasion, we arrived late in the afternoon, in the dark, with hardly anyone else on site except the owner, a lovely Dutch chap who was really helpful in spite of us no doubt dragging him away from a nice cozy fire…
Oddly, for reasons we were never sure about, we managed to time our arrival in the dark again, and had an almost exact re-enactment of our last visit! The only substantial difference was that last time it was very, very cold with hard ground, and this time it was very, very wet with some extremely muddy pitches indeed!
Following the advice of the owner, we parked up sideways almost on the gravel road and settled in for the night, with the (just) heated shower block a short walk away.
St Germain les Belles Days 59-60
Setting off after a very quiet night, we set our route more directly north and onto the fabulous and free A20 heading for yet another ACSI site we had used in the past, Camping Montreal, where we had also arrived in the dark and were helped by a friendly Dutch owner we had dragged out into the night…
This time we made a better show of the drive though, and we arrived in daylight (just) to find a lot of activity in the on-site restaurant, where preparations were being made for some live music! Too tired from the driving to be tempted by some Australian/French harp-driven swing, we woke the next morning to a gap in the rain, and treated ourselves to a walk around the lake, which we remembered from our last visit…
Except, the lake had been drained just a few days prior to our arrival for maintenance! So instead, we enjoyed a walk around the empty basin of the lake, enjoying the left over memorabilia of the previous owners…
and, noting how the lake had probably been formed from what was once a confluence of many small waterways that were now beginning the task of refilling it!
A chat with the (now Anglo/American owners) confirmed that the lake was the idea of the Mairie back in the 70s, and the lake has been shared by the locals and the campsite ever since.
We really enjoyed our couple of nights here, giving a welcome break to the pattern of drive, sleep, drive that we were in danger of slipping into and would definitely stay again.
Lailly en Val Day 61
Slipping back onto the A20, we decided that as we had upgraded our stop with two consecutive nights on a site with hot showers, we could maybe rough it for a night and stay on an Aire – so long as we had some electricity, as the nights were getting as low as 2c, and although we have a gas heater, with electric, we can use our passive-heat radiator that is plumbed into the hot water boiler – a much nicer form of background heat if you have the luxury of choice!
We had already made a sort of ‘agreement’ with each other in the planning stages of the trip that, if the chance arose, we should try out one of the commercial Aires we had first discovered near Marseille, which are barrier controlled, with electricity, wifi and the usual water arrangements. And with the bonus that if using their Camping-Car Park App to find one, it tells you how many spaces are still free – a great idea if you are taking a punt on an unknown location.
Which is how we found ourselves, in the dark, heading for an unknown Aire that was just a short drive from the free one we had used in Jouy-le-Potiers on the way down.
The CCP App told us there were 20 free places out of 21, and sure enough, as we presented our card and paid for the night, there was indeed only one other camper there! The Aire was adjacent to a church which, the reviews on the App assured us, only rang its bells up until 11.00pm and then not until 7.00am – good enough for us having endured church bells every 15 minutes on our first night in Spain!
And, although the bells did ring twice at 11.00pm, they didn’t start until 7.00am as promised, and so, having heard them and knowing we could just sleep through the 8.00am ones probably, we settled in for a lie-in…
Except, as the 8.00am bells tolled, the only-too-familiar roar of the pointless and petrol powered leaf blowers beloved of all landscape maintenance contractors it seems, started up, and got closer and closer…
It was a bit of bad timing we’d arrived on the very day that the Aire, and its surrounding parkland, was due for a bit of TLC, not just from the leaf blowers, but a couple of ride-on mowers as well! We had to laugh, as we make regular comments about how much we admire French municipal pride and how neat and tidy everywhere is – now we know how!
After a quick wander around the adjacent lake and a grumble that the facilities here, apart from the electricity, were all turned off, so no water or emptying available, which is a bit cheeky for a charged-for facility, we raced back to the van just in time to dodge the next band of rain that was keeping us company on our return trip.
Usually, when we stay at an Aire, we’d pop out to buy croissants and a baguette from the local bakery but, partly as the CCP App had told us that the nearest boulangerie was closed (it was), and partly as we’d already paid for the night, we headed off with a plan to find a site with a nice hot shower. Clearly we are becoming used to campsite luxuries on this cold and wet final leg!
Port Authou Day 62
Which is how, after extensive web research using all our available Apps, we came to the realisation that this far north, there really aren’t that many sites still open…
Undeterred, and spotting an opportunity to swerve a repeat humiliation of navigating around Rouen, we ended up taking a wide arc to the north west of Rouen into uncharted territory for us, le Neubourg region.
With the familiarity of an old friend, darkness fell well before we were anywhere close to our destination of Port Authou, where, our Park4Night App reassured us, we would find a small municipal site that opens all year…
So you can imagine our dismay as we eventually turned into a long access road to Camping Les Marronniers, to see a very impressive but firmly shut gate blocking the site entrance…
No lights on in reception… and not much by way of any lights in the camp ground itself…
As this was a Mr B choice, he did the obvious thing and jumped out of Evie, muttering under his breath that there would surely be a sign on the gate and a phone number to call…wouldn’t there..?
Leaping about like a man possessed, he had struck lucky and sure enough, there was indeed a sign – and after a brief chat on the phone with the ‘Gardienne’ the gate magically opened and we could see a figure striding across the site to us – phew!
Signing in with no more formality that Mr B giving his name, and €16 in cash, we were guided onto a pitch that we were told in no uncertain terms we must reverse onto! Grateful that the Gardienne had assured us there were hot showers waiting, we would have happily parked in any orientation we were asked to, we were just so glad to be able to stop for the night!
(Noting the many ‘evacuation in the event of flooding’ signs, we figured the request to park that way was to allow for a quick and easy exit, perhaps!)
Pleased that we had a hot shower to look forward to, and intrigued that we had to use an entry code to get in, we decided to wander over before the next band of rain arrived.
Well, maybe Mr B’s muttered reference to ‘Xyklon B’ summed it up best, as we moved cautiously around the cold, airless, windowless and fetid rows of closed cubicle doors and the abandoned shaving kit at the one sink, lit dimly by a failing single light…
Needless to say, much as we were looking forward to a hot shower, we swerved it and beat a hasty retreat back to Evie!
Waking to another gap in the rain we could see racing in from the west, Mr B decided we just had time to empty our chemical toilet at, what he reckoned was an odd emptying point in the nearby field, clearly labelled with a campervan symbol but literally, just a manhole (but no more odd than the showers, surely...?)
In spite of Mrs B’s suggestions that maybe we should check up by the sanitary block (where there is usually a dedicated area) Mr B, remembering the many other French sites with manhole covers that needed lifting, ploughed on regardless…
Of course, as we emptied our recycling in the bins by the shower block, we saw the WC Chimique outside, much to Mrs B’s amusement…
With Mr B busy asserting that it all looked to be the same sewage network anyway, but afraid that we might have some awkward explaining to the Gardienne, we headed straight to the gate and escape onwards for our final night in France…
Touffreville-sur-Eu Day 63 – our last night!
Given the difficulty we had experienced in finding a campsite open already, it was with some trepidation that we started the search for our final night. Knowing only that we definitely wouldn’t be staying at the Aire in Dieppe itself (€12 and very noisy with the arrival and departure of the ferries) we were amazed to see that there was another municipal site just along the coast from Dieppe on the east side, at a little village called Touffreville, Camping les Acacias.
Mindful of our experience the previous night, we arrived mid afternoon only to find the site deserted, the barrier down, and the rain catching up with us to add to the now familiar sense of gloom…
By now a firm believer that all closed campsite gates in France must have a get-out-of-jail card Mr B was soon talking on his phone to another Gardien (chap this time) who promised to get to us in five minutes to register us… Sure enough, there was a sign, this time on the reception door!
The Gardien soon arrived, registered Mr B on the computer system, took payment of €13.40 by card and suggested we choose one of the hard standings further down the site…
Already confident that we were at a very differently run site, we were extra pleased to find that the sanitary block was heated, as well as the water piping hot – hurrah!
And so, after what was by some stretch the best shower we have had in France this trip, we settled in for our last supper, watching the warning lights on the nearby wind turbines twinkle through the rain splattered windows as we started chatting about where we might be planning to go next year…
Waking to another short gap in the rain, we headed off to spend a bit of time on the coast at Criel-sur-Mer, before the short drive down to Dieppe for our teatime ferry.
With the wind picking up and the rain continuing to lash the parked vehicles at the port, there was a brief moment of panic when virtually every single other waiting vehicle had been loaded, departure time was only five minutes away, and we wondered whether we had been bumped for some obscure reason…
But no – we had been saved for a very tight space at the back of the ship, surrounded by freight trucks – phew!
It was a long trip back – six hours tossed on stormy seas instead of the usual four, because of the deteriorating weather, but, with simultaneous sighs of relief, we arrived home at 0130 local time (so 0230 for our tired bods!) parked up in the drive and, knowing that the house would be cold until we went in and restarted the heating, we spent a very restful and quiet night in Evie – the perfect end to a perfect autumn trip!
Thanks to those of you who have been following our adventures, and for the comments! We will be posting a couple of reflective entries on driving and food in a little while, but for now, au revoir and ¡hasta luego! And thanks Evie for 3,144 miles of trouble-free travels!
S&J
04.12.22
