I am very proud to announce that I have now met the quintessential pre-requisite for joining my continental cousins; perhaps doesn’t satisfy the british cycling ‘cool’, but already gave up on that long ago and more recently with a pannier rack, and non-mountain bike tyres on my mountain bike:
For the many, many bemused non-British readers, our bikes don’t come with such a helpful thing.
I love a good beach and go out of my way to see them, even if I don’t lie on one, or go in the water. Reminds me of the advert for the Bounty chocolate bar from my youth, where “they went in search of paradise”.
My journey to Benodet went via the Bay of La Baule, on the Loire-Atlantique coast past St Nazare, which I’d read on a French website was reputed to be one of the most beautiful in the world. This time I even went in the water at Pornichet, but didn’t linger when I saw a jelly-fish.
This is the coast at Pornic, and then the Bay of La Baule:
Landed at Camping du Trev which is like the wooded garden of a large country house, but just 200m from the main beach at Benodet. And NO HEATWAVE. A respectable temperature of around 25 – 28, whereas Courry in the Gard (southeast France) was 42 degrees yesterday!
This area is really lovely.
Took the little ferry across the river Odet over to Sainte Marine, and cycled along the coast to Ile Tudy, then back across and just around the headland to view the ‘Letty’ beach which had been recommended by a colleague:
Wanted to record that one of the things I’ve really missed now into the 4th month of being in the van, is the ability to blast out music and do some bopping to it. The first can obviously be, and is done whilst driving, although I feel this can then compromise somewhat my wanting to take in the landscape etc of the route. But the 2nd can’t, and given that I’m travelling out of season means that the opportunities afforded by village/town Fetes or larger campsite ‘entertainment’ are not there. Any live music events have also been missing apart from my own travel guitar strumming.
As a disco queen in my time, COULD REALLY DO WITH A GOOD SESSION OF GETTING DOWN! 😂
In my conversation with Holgier and Sabine at Amboise, they had posed the question about what happens if the van breaks down. Sure enough 2 days later, I was literally having one of my many moments of mindfulness re how well Monte2 was running, and giving the dashboard a thankful pat with verbal encouragement, when a van overtook me and indicated that something was wrong, about 30 miles from my Benodet destination. Fortunately, I was close to an exit from the dual carriageway, so was able to stop almost immediately and check to see a rear tyre extremely low on air.
Google to the rescue yet again, finding the nearest tyre place 3 kms away and for all of you who will be travelling in the vicinity of Quimperle, and needing tyre replacements/fixes, I recommend Vulco Tyres, who were so helpful, despite the heatwave and willing to diagnose the problem of a faulty valve there and then, and replace it for the sum of 21eu. I count myself very lucky, and continued with even more of a smile on my face. To top it all, given that Leclerc was on the same retail park, I decided once and for all, that if there was a long wished-for Lafuma recliner chair for sale, I would, and did, buy it. Result!
On the subject of tyres, I will also record here the very helpful teenager who appeared out of the blue, when I was trying to figure out how to use the not-working-anyway free bike air pump in Chambon-s-Lac and offered to manually pump up the bike tyres.
Never let it be said …..
As my outline plan had already been to visit southern Brittany, the forecasts of a major heatwave to hit most of France except there, was very convenient. But as France is vast, and given my preference for all the advantages of driving on non-toll motorways, the Loire area offered itself as an attractive stopover and my first visit to the region, so I made my way to the municipal campsite L’Ile d’Or at Amboise.
But the heatwave was now here. I had been advised that the best way to survive it was the proverbial white cotton, clean, but essentially cold-water- wet hankie, on one’s head. Knotting was declined in this case. Spending just one afternoon and evening cycling around Amboise, I decided that it was too hot for me, and the rest of the area would be best explored from an air-conditioned cab driving along the river, via the Loire Atlantique coast at Pornic, Camping La Boutiniarde, paying for the location, but more importantly 4-star swimming pool the next day.
The drive along the Loire to Saumur and beyond is really worth doing; the river is indeed majestic, there are many viable dwellings built into some of the gorges, beautiful little towns and the bigger ones like Tours and Saumur; of course warrants a decent re-visit
For this western odyssey, I had roughly planned to see alot of Spain, then Portugal, then back through France before returning to the UK for the high season period – ie to avoid the much more expensive, booking-needing weeks of mid July to late August particularly given that I’m targeting places that are on the holiday map – and then to depart again late August. But without any fixed plans, I was tempted by the option with obviously lots of advantages, of staying in the south of France at my Mum’s house for those weeks, or leaving the campervan in the campsite next door and flying back to the UK, to return similarly late August. What options to have!
But I decided that the other places were still calling me, and the weather forecast was looking very favourable – as the variable southern Brittany would be hot enough, and also avoid the heatwave of temperatures upto 40deg throughout most of France. So interesting, that after 3 months of travel, the original outline plan was still holding.
Therefore had a beautiful recommended drive north of the Cevennes and west from Les Vans through Villefort, then upto Puy en Velay on the D901, then 906, then N102. The ‘Val D’Allier’ looked stunning. There was even a tightroper who I spied high above a gorge, and by the time the van made it to the top on one of those roads I’m not keen on, they had either fallen to their death or made it across.
Continued to Clermont Ferrand, and then headed west into the Auvergne to Chambon-sur-Lac, to Camping Les Bombes – good reviews, which I confirm and so cheap for the place. Quick cycle ride around the area and resolved that I should push myself to use the van like a car – ie to drive to two locations around the area on route to my next planned stop to meet up with my Mum and partner at his daughter and son-in-law’s house they’re doing up in the middle of nowhere, just east of Limoges.
THE AUVERGENE IS GORGEOUS – mountains – ie extinct volcanoes above 1400, with ski resorts, so like the Pyrenees, Picos etc, loads of hiking/cycling trails, beautiful villages. I drove first to the ‘Vallee de Chaudefour’ and walked up the valley, through the alpine-like meadows to the ‘Cirque’ of mountains/volcanoes.
In the afternoon, drove via Puy de Dome, took the train upto the summit at 1450m to look down on Clermond Ferrand, and the volcanoes in this chain, before driving on another 70 miles or so on great ‘D’ roads to get to the hamlet of Mont Pigeaud near the town of Gueret . Unfortunately my photos don’t do it justice, but plenty on the internet.
Spent 2 nights parked outside the house of Nicola and Darren, just east of Limoges near the town of Gueret. Nicola is the daughter of my Mum’s partner, and so met up with them also as they were travelling down to Courry. Nicola and Darren have taken on a project with this house, not as far as re-building a ruin, but in terms of damp on a main wall, and lots of other basic maintenance, which they do in their holidays, driving down with car fully-laden, and the odd hire-van trip from Homfirth in Yorkshire. Very interesting, the challenges people take on.
The photo belies the amount of work to be, and already done by Nicola and Darren, and it is somewhat in the middle of nowhere, albeit about 20 mins drive on the usual good minor roads from Gueret.