WEEK 4: Caumont-sur-Garonne to Les Sables-d’Olonne – 335 miles

Saturday 13th April 2019 – Caumont-sur-Garonne to St. Emillion. 40 miles

We came down through the middle of France to get to Spain, now we are zig-zagging our way up and as close to the west coast as we can to get back.

The birds this morning are noisy as we sit outside by the canal for a lazy breakfast. It’s lovely here, but we have to get a move on. Today we are going to St.Emillion and to a vineyard called Chateaux Arnaud de Jacquemeau. We are welcomed by a very kind elderly chap in his 70s who kindly shows us to our pitch and Hayley manages, in her best French, to arrange a tour.

It’s very quiet here and we are given a short tour. It’s lovely.

We buy a bottle of their GrandCru 2012. We have learnt a lot today about how wine is made, and happy with our knowledge we head back to Jess for a short rest.

The town of St. Emillion is not far from here so we set off for the short walk to the town. It’s a Saturday today so it’s packed with tourists. It’s nice, though and we spend an hour or two walking around this lovely town before heading back to Jess for a traditional French dinner of steak and frites, with a bearnaise sauce followed by a very nice runny brie.

Later we sit in the setting sun, next to Jess with a glass of the 2012 Grand Cru and watch the sun setting over the vineyards. Once the early evening chill sets in we go inside.

What a great day.

Sunday 14th April 2019 – St. Emillion to Blaye. 47 miles

You just can’t trust the weather at the moment, it’s spring of course so it’s very changeable. Today we wake up to grey skies and drizzle, completely different from yesterday. Time to leave this lovely vineyard. We are going to stop at a lighthouse on the Medoc spit of Bourdeaux. We desperately need water in our fresh water tank for showers and washing up, but we are having trouble. It’s a Sunday so we can’t get the tokens required to pay for the water at the aires, so we change our plan, and take a small ferry across the Gironde.

It’s a bit tricky this ferry as the entrance onto the boat is at the side rather than the traditional front or back of the boat, and it’s quite a small ferry to boot. We are taking the 15 minute ferry to the citadel town of Blaye, so after a bit of shuffling about to get on the ferry and we cast off. The weather has cheered up as well which makes al the difference. Once again we are going to a winery where we can get free water and electricity. We need water…

We disembark only to be in the thick of some heavy traffic in the town, it’s chaos. We soon find out that there is a wine festival on, which is quite popular. We slowly make our way through the town and finally we have arrived at the Chateau Marquis de Vauban and we are just in time for the 5pm tour. With enough time to get in to our pitch, plug into some power and more importantly, we fill up with water.

The tour was interesting and of course, as tradition dictates, we purchase a couple of bottles which we try in the sun next to the vineyards.

(This drinking wine next to the vineyard is becoming a habit. A very good habit!) We meet a lady travelling alone in a little red VW campervan with her dog.

Monday 15th April 2012 – Blaye to Bignac. 71 miles

Our toilet needs emptying, but we can’t do it here, the facilities are broken so sadly we do need to move on to somewhere where we can refresh the toilet. Sometimes camping life can be disruptive by simple things like this, things we take for granted at home or at a hotel.

We spend some time with our next-door neighbour in the VW who had a cold night last night. We had the heating on! We have breakfast together and say goodbye to Deborah and her cute little dog whose name we can’t remember!

Today we are going to a campsite which is run by an English couple. It’s supposed to be very nice with a nearby lake. We both feel like we need a campsite stop, and so does Jess. We like the free aires and being off grid, but you can only do it for three or four nights before you really need to get plugged into some power, take on fresh water, do laundry and just stretch out for a while, and that moment has now come.

We arrive at Camping Marco de Bignac. It’s lovely here, out in the middle of nowhere. The site is very green and meadow like with a lake, all the facilities that we need as well as some goats and geese.

Lovely. Once parked up on our pitch we get everything done, plug into some power to get things charged up, drop the grey water, fill up fresh and recharge the toilet. Even Jess gets a good cleanout. She deserves it. We all get a good airing!

We are located in an area that’s quite close to Cognac, our destination tomorrow. In the meantime, once we have taken advantage of all the facilities and given Jess some fresh air, we go for a walk.

We must come here again, it’s so peaceful and the walk around the lake is smashing, just what we needed. Hayley makes us a brilliant dinner of quesadillas, nice and hearty.

Tuesday 16th April 2019 – Bignac to Segonzac. 48 miles

The peace and tranquility of this lovely place was shattered last night by heavy rain. It’s really loud on the roof of the van, It kept us awake for most of the night, tired today so we got up late. After breakfast the rain has gone and it’s brightening up so once again we take a short walk around the lake, do another complete service on Jess and set off in search of a car/van wash. Jess is absolutely filthy. The rain and long drives have left her looking a right mess, we could also do with some diesel and LPG.

We find a supermarket that has both, the diesel fill up is fine but the gas stops after only dispensing 2 euros worth of gas, even though the bank has shown a pre-authorisation of 103 euro! We walk back to the supermarket to find a a manger or someone who can help us. It’s hard, very hard. Finally Hayley gets to speak to a customer service rep and with her limited French explains what has happened at the LPG pump. Hayley is then put in touch with a man on the phone, she has to explain it all over again about what happed at the pump, we think he understands what she is saying but unfortunately Hayley doesn’t quite understand his reply! We are in the middle of nowhere, nobody speaks English, why would they? The clue is in the name, pre-authorisation. We will just have to wait and see what happens over the next few days, hopefully it will only show the 2 euros.

Deborah, our lady neighbour at Chateau Marquis de Vauban, the one with the VW camper and the dog, recommended that we go to the Michel Forgeron Cognac house, where you can stay, get a tour of the Cognac brewing process and they will of course sell you some. We have to go…

After a short drive we arrive at the Cognac house, near Segonzac. It’s a beautiful old house with outhouses, a small green in front with a huge tree. We’re welcomed by a very friendly guy, who is the son of the family and he is accompanied by his puppy who is so very friendly but also scared. A lovely little thing who follows us. He follows us to our pitch but when we make a move to stroke him he runs off barking at us, then comes back again. Eventually he settles down and becomes our friend spending the afternoon with us. Del rolls around with him in the grass and he even get up on the step of the van for a little nosy inside. We like Sammy very much. He can come with.

Later in the afternoon, we are escorted by the lady of the house to a tour of how Cognac is made.

Very interesting and it’s all done at this place, grown, distilled and bottled. We try many different vintages of Cognac including a 50 year old one but we settle for buying a bottle of an 1989 vintage that we tried directly from the barrel. We also tried and bought a bottle of Pineau an apéritif of grapes mixed with a splash of brandy. Very nice.

It’s a lovely calm and peaceful place, we sit in the sun at the side of the van. It’s warm. Dinner tonight was a lovely pasta followed by a swig of our 30-year-old Cognac. The French know how to do it…!

Wednesday 17th April 2019 – Segonzac to Coulon. 65 miles

We had a lovely peaceful night last night, but there is always something. If it’s not raining it’s agricultural machinery rumbling about, and what a racket. Well it is what they do, they are not on holiday. It’s what they do…

Finally, at 9 am, we are up and having a lovely breakfast, we say goodbye to Sammy the dog and one of the sons waves us off. What a great place. It would be really good if we could come back here again next year. It’s so… French…!

We can’t come to the Cognac region and not visit the town. So we set off and find the town and get parked up in an aire for a couple of hours. The town of Cognac is beautiful, well of course it is… We have a coffee in one of the pretty squares and spend a good hour walking around. We still have a good drive ahead of us to get to Coulon. Coulon is supposed to be another one of those prettiest towns in France places. We shall see.

The journey feels like a slog. We encounter a couple of roadblocks and the roads are all ‘D’ roads (small), some are even single-track and not in the best of condition. Finally, we arrive at Coulon, feeling a bit beaten, but glad all the same to be here. The aire is huge, there is space for up to 80 vans and for 10 and a bit euros, you get a nice space with all of the facilities.

The town is a good walk down the river, so after we have settled in and serviced Jess we set off. It is very pretty, but is it one of the prettiest?

We are not sure yet. The river has lots of punts for hire, single, pairs or groups but they are very expensive to rent, not on our budget anyway. It’s a bit of a tourist trap really, it’s nice, doesn’t take long to get around but everything is so expensive. We manage a small beer and head back to Jess.

We need some exercise so we get the bikes down and do a 5km ride past, canals, fields and some swamp land that has the bike track on an elevated wooden route, brilliant.

A very enjoyable ride, but we are getting hungry.

Back at Jess, we get talking to the only other Brits here. Peter and Kay are from Poole and they are doing a short EU trip in their Romahome which they bought on the Isle of Wight… A great dinner tonight. A great day…

Thursday 18th April 2019 – Coulon to Les Sables-d’Olonne. 78 miles

We are not sure that Coulon is one of the prettiest towns in France. Yes, it is pretty, but we have seen prettier. The fact is, you can’t really move anywhere in France without stumbling on a pretty town. Another quick van service and we are off.

Today we are going to a campsite near Les Sables-d’Olonne. This campsite is one of those ‘family‘ campsites. Dubious. It’ll be full to the brim with families and kids. Loads of kids. Loads of noisy kids. We’ll give it a go.

We arrive and it’s a big complicated weaving mass of small roads and paths with pitches. The pitches are generous enough and it’s actually not too bad, and not too noisy. Quite pleasant really.

Time alone today. Del does a complete Jess the van clear out and clean up while Hayley gets her bike down from the back of Jess and sets off and does a 24km bike ride! The views are spectacular and she manages to cycle to the Port where the Vendee Globe boat race starts from.

The town is a very classy place with lots of long sandy beaches. It’s busy today, it’s the Thursday before the easter weekend.

Exciting day tomorrow. We were too late to do it a the start of the trip, but now we have our tickets for the Airbus tour at St. Nazaire. Yes….

Friday 19th April 2019 – Sables-d’Olonne to Fegreac. 78 miles

Busy day today. Lots of driving to do today. today we are going to see some German submarine pens, and an aircraft factory then after all that we need to find a nice quiet place for the night, so we are up early and we are away. It’s Good Friday today and we are warned that everywhere could be busy, so we need to be quick but at the same time make sure that we see everything.

We set off for St. Nazaire, but first, we need some fuel and food. We find a place but it just takes forever to do these two simple jobs today. We arrive at the aire, which is busy, but there are some spaces spare so we are in luck. We are parked near to the submarine pens and once parked up, we secure Jess and set off to have a look around them. They are quite impressive and imposing. Massive concrete structures that form huge entrances to loading bays for submarines. The Germans built them this way so that the allies couldn’t bomb them. They would be loaded with fresh crew and ammunition and then set off and be submerged and straight off into the Atlantic. The Germans were very good with concrete during the war. They built a lot of impressive stuff.

There is an old sub here from the 60s and for an extra fee, you can go on board. A crazy idea. Build a metal tube, fill it with torpedoes and men, and then let it loose underwater for days at a time! They are so basic inside but complicated. Full of tubes and wiring going off in directions. It’s very claustrophobic in here, you have to be made of tough stuff to be in here for days and underwater. Not for us…

There is a bus that leaves here rather conveniently for the Airbus factory. The only ticket we could get at short notice was conducted in French, no matter, Hayley will see us right. To be honest the tour is so impressive you don’t really need to listen to the tour guide. It is just amazing to see airliners being built from a green aluminium shell at one end to a gleaming, brightly colour painted aeroplane at the other end. We move from building to building and see the different processes at work. It is fascinating. Especially the wiring that goes on under the floor of an aircraft. We like it. Very good and highly recommended. More so if you can understand what’s being said.

It’s late afternoon when we make our way back to the rather industrial aire where we are parked. The smell from the factory is wafting over. We are very close to a major town and we are not that keen on staying here any longer now that we have seen what we come to see. It would be nice to set off and look for a place that’s green and clean. Hayley gets to work to see if she can find something.

At 8 pm we arrive at an aire with space for 10 vans. We get a space and it’s nice and quite a contrast from where we have just been. We are parked next to a river and a canal. It’s very peaceful, there is the added bonus of a couple of goats wandering around.

It’s going to be a peaceful night as the sun sets over the river and all we can hear now are croaking frogs. A perfect end to an interesting day.