Mr B was put in charge of choosing the next stop at La Rochelle, somewhere we have visited briefly but never stopped, and now we were on a mission to sample those saffron suffused mussels. We also wanted a shorter than usual drive, as Evie was still busy squeaking away…
As we sailed past La Rochelle (passing but not seeing our friends Matthew and Jenny in their motorhome heading in the other direction!) Mrs B quizzed Mr B about our chosen site. Given that seafood was part of the plan for our visit, Mr B had selected a site on the coast (we wanted some more beach time!) and where we could get a bus into town, he said…
Except, as Mrs B realised as she navigated Mr B towards the site, it was neither on the beach, nor likely to be a short and easy bus ride into La Rochelle…oops!
After a frank exchange of views on how the site had been selected, it transpired that perhaps Mr B had made a number of assumptions about proximity to both sea and town… which is how we found ourselves pulling in to La Grande Vallée in Tranche-sur-Mer, some 700m from the beach and no visible signs of catching a bus anywhere, let alone to La Rochelle…
Luckily (for Mr B) the site was lovely, very well maintained, enough shade without being oppressive, great facilities and, a restaurant that whilst not offering mouclade, was doing moules frites on Saturday night – which we had and they were delicious!
The beach (technically 700m, if we could fly in a straight line over the houses) was a lovely long stretch of sand opposite the Ille de Rey, and with Mr B in harness with the festival trolley and all our beach gear it was reachable after a hot (for the trolley hauler) 15 minute walk. It was such a treat to be back in the horizontal beach-bum mode, with each of us devouring our current books and maybe catching the odd little snooze…
With a substantial number of moules farms close by and visible at low tide at this end of the beach, along with much murkier water than we had been used to on the Med, combined with the absence of the big Atlantic rollers we had looked forward to, swimming was swerved for the two days we stayed!
Although this was only a two star site, it was very well run, and included the first site we have stayed at that offered a small poubelle for our compostable waste! If it were only closer to La Rochelle we’d probably use it again...
Taking note of the site choice at Tranche, Mrs B kindly offered to choose our next destination, inland and again not too far as we nursed Evie home. At about the right distance for a short day’s drive, we headed off towards La Flèche, somewhere we used to free camp with the kids in Daisy the Dodge on our way to the Portuguese coast many, many years ago!
We stopped off for a river-side picnic at Le Layon, where we learned of the Guerres de Vendée (a counter-revolutionary war fought by Royalist supporters), whilst we made use of a handy picnic table on yet another voie-vert – it’s a very pretty bit of France around here!
We could both remember the site at La Flèche, as it was literally across the river from our free camping area. If you look carefully behind Mrs B, you can just make our Evie’s awning on the other side!
After settling in and admiring yet again a good value and well run municipal site (Route d’Or at €15) we had time for a quick wander around the edge of town before treating ourselves to a swim in the lovely outdoor heated pool.
As we drove off, still
squeaking and with two more nights before the ferry, we both agreed that this
part of France was well worth more exploring on another trip. We need more time!!
S&J 30.06.23
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