Data summary - to be added

The final leg of this trip – From the Loire to the coast at Dieppe- and the ferry home!

Waking to another hot and sunny day at our bargain campsite on the Loire, we had a leisurely breakfast, safe in the knowledge that Google Maps had given the journey time at about four hours – so we reckoned about five for us, as our driving style might be described as ‘leisurely’ at best!

As it turned out, it was nearer six with some roadworks, but still with plenty of time to take an afternoon tea stop at Montville, our very first overnight stop when we started almost ten weeks ago. We’d done some of the ‘home’ shopping in the Loire to benefit from some of the local wines there, and someone had sneaked in a very lush fruit tart – just right for tea in the park!

The Aire was undergoing an upgrade with a new layer of gravel being added by a team who were very patiently working around vans as they came and went! This reduced the amount of spaces, but we were OK – so we could have stayed, with about an hour’s drive left to get to Dieppe. Unfortunately, Mr B missed Mrs B’s cues that this might be better than a noisy night at Dieppe, as he was (uncharacteristically!) maybe a bit focussed on the ‘last supper’ of the usually excellent Normandy cuisine around Dieppe harbour…

So after the customary shop at the nearby Auchan (but without diesel this time as it was still more expensive than the UK) we pulled up to the harbour-side Aire on the seafront with still a few places left. This Aire is not cheap (€12) but it is literally within sight of the Ferry – and walking distance of a number of pretty good restaurants. We’d noticed a motley assortment of vans and old campers in the gravelled area next to the Aire, but didn’t think much of it as we scampered into the port to have that last supper…

Walking from the Aire, pretty much the first proper French restaurant you come to is ‘Le Juquin’, one we’d been to before and with a very good value fixed price menu we were straight in! Proper moules et frites at last!

With time to catch the last bit of daylight as we walked the short distance back to the Aire, we could hear quite a commotion from the occupants of the vans we’d seen earlier, and as we rounded the corner we could see that the Aire had become a playground for a raggle taggle bunch of kids tearing around on scooters and bikes, weaving in and out of the campers and making a lot of noise. Imagining our night was going to be banjaxed until the Ferry woke us at 0400 anyway, we were pretty surprised to a) see the local Police turn up and b) start enforcing the law so that within 45 minutes, all the vans and occupants had been moved on – there were a few raised voices from the group, but all in all, a relatively measured departure and impressive calm professionalism from the French police.

And so indeed we did get some shut-eye until the 0400 ferry arrived and disgorged its cargo of trucks, vans and cars… And Mr B had forgotten that once it’s in port, its engines keep running… Oops – Montville or similar it will be next time!

Dawn broke with our hopes high of a sunny day to buck the trend of most of our ‘final day’ photos over the last few years, however…

Luckily, as we queued at the ferry, the sun came out and stayed with us all the way back to England! And we were very lucky to benefit from a fascinating talk by the on-board wildlife expert working for the ORCA charity, who have extended their partnership with DFDS to include the channel crossing! We’d never heard of them, but they have been offering interactive talks and wildlife spotting on boats all over the world, including 12 years with DFDS. We learnt loads of things, so if you are interested in what and where ORCA do their stuff, look here.

As we neared the English coast and Newhaven hove into view (still in sunshine!) we reflected on our trip and both were of the same view that we’d certainly go back to both the islands of Corsica and Sardinia – as well as plan some extended and structured time in France itself!

And on our way back to the van as we disembarked, we saw this very quirky and unusual trailer made from an old Land Rover – pretty cool we thought!

So – thanks for reading and we hope you’ve enjoyed the blog – we’ll certainly be dipping in when we try and remember in a few weeks where we’ve been!

The next and final entry will be a brief data summary of costs, distances etc (which hopefully we’ll actually get round to doing this time!)

S&J

Cuisery, Apremont, Chateauneuf-sur-Loire – (and more of M. Perdu and his barge, Lulu)

As we descended from the Haute-Loire and headed in a north-easterly direction towards Cuisery, we realised that we’d be able to continue our homage to see another of M. Perdu’s moorings by taking a ‘small detour’ when we left the town – more of which later!

As we left the hills behind us, and the temperatures settled back into their now normal low 30s, we benefitted from a stretch of free autoroute (A77) that meant we arrived at Cuisery with enough time to pitch up and then explore the town. Having both enjoyed a wander around Hay-on-Wye and its bookshops many years ago in England, we were aware that we’d need sufficient time to wander and do it justice…

The site was an interesting one (another Campercontact find), sited right alongside the river Seille, with a short run of public moorings where M. Perdu would have tied up. No sign of any Dutch barges or Lulu lookalikes though, just a selection of leisure boats enjoying the evening sun as we nabbed a pitch right by the tow-path.

The site, whilst small, had a little pool to cool off in (of course we did) and a small bistro that specialised in frogs’ legs (we didn’t!)  It also hosted a charming older Frenchman, who dropped by to offer his compliments to Mrs B, whilst Mr B was in the van getting ready, putting a smile on her face and a spring in her step as we headed into the village!

The town (a short walk up the hill) turned out to be a little bit smaller than we had expected – and the ‘book town’ epithet turned out to be more of a 1990s local authority attempt at marketing to try and keep the high street alive! Had we arrived on one of the days that the book shops were actually open, we’d probably have enjoyed it a bit more – but it made a pleasant enough wander as the skies filled in.

We had thought we might find somewhere to have dinner, but along with the closed bookshops, the town had clearly closed early to watch France play Belgium in the World Cup. So, what better place to have dinner and listen to the excitement of France win, than back on our pitch! Compared to other times we have been on French campsites during a major football tournament, the evening passed relatively quietly and before long we were tucked up, with a starry sky replacing the earlier cloud.

As we left the next morning, we spotted an info board that explained that the campsite and moorings had benefitted from recent updating, funded by the local authority and the EU, with public access to the water and riverside – which explained the pool, bistro and pretty swish ablution block!

With the temperatures set to rise (again!) we made an early start for our ‘small detour’ to another place of significance for M. Perdu; the little village of Apremont-sur-Allier, where Lulu had been tied up for the night on a bend in the river.

Well, this all seemed straightforward as followed the route on our (so far) reliable 2013 AA road atlas of France. We were heading north past Nevers so it looked to be a short hop across from the N7.

Except, as we got to the bit where the road crosses the regional boundary line (purple on the map) the road just stopped in a dead end L. Maybe a result of some inter-regional disagreement, or just poor mapping by the AA – either way in meant we had to back track and head north and then south to get to our destination!

By the time we arrived, the clouds had as well – and to add insult to injury, no vehicles were allowed into the village unless you were a resident! So, taking advantage of the nicely manicured grass just outside the boundary line of the village, we parked up and had a picnic before joining the many tourists who were also here to admire the village (more for its choclolate-box-tweeness than the antics of M. Perdu we guessed!).

As if prompted by the historic outdoor laundry opposite, Mr B went into cleaning mode, taking advantage of the cloud cover to get our telescopic ladder out to get up on the roof and clean the solar panels. He’d noticed they’d acquired a lovely brown patina over the course of the trip, and that solar output was lower than normal in bright sun, and sure enough, after two washes and rinses, output was back to normal – a useful reminder of the importance of solar panel maintenance when you need to rely on them!

The village was more interesting for us for the location of the fictional berthing, even if currently home to a slightly smaller boat than Lulu…

…than the assortment of mediaeval buildings, now owned by a dwindling population of under 100. It must be an odd place to live – beautiful homes and surroundings – but with lots of tourists wandering around for much of the year. Still, we enjoyed it and it was easy to see why it was one of the ‘most beautiful villages in France.’

After our less than successful route planning to get us to the village, we were pleased that we would benefit from rejoining the free bit of the A77 until we headed off towards Orleans and the banks of the Loire.

We could see on the Campercontact app that there were not only loads of campsites en-route, but that many of them were on, or close to, the river itself. And so, with the clever knack that Mrs B has developed of choosing the ‘right site for the night’ we drove into the municipal camping ground of Châteauneuf-sur-Loire, with a free choice of pitch enabling us to park up along the river bank and enjoy the evening sun that had greeted us as we started to track the Loire westwards.

The site is lovely, with modern amenities and a very relaxed vibe and when we’re back in this area (as we’re sure we will be) it would make a good base to explore, or just unwind for a while. Especially as the first night has an ‘introductory’ price of jut €9 for a camper and two people!

Proximity to the river meant we enjoyed a coolish night after we’d had dinner (and England went out of the World Cup to Croatia without a peep from our fellow campers!) and we set to the task of planning the final leg of this trip up to Dieppe the next day – an easy drive with plenty of time to do the obligatory goodies-shop of food and wine. And it even looked as if we might buck the trend of recent years and arrive into Dieppe in sunshine!

S&J