Hello folks. Thought I’d post a few photos of our two van summer epic round France. Two vans, four of us (we’re with @Christian Kenny) and up to six weeks. First stage complete - Portsmouth-Caen and straight to one of our fav sites near Le Mans, Chanteloup. It’s changed hands and has lost a little of of its je ne sais quoi, but still a lovely spot in the grounds of a chateau. It’s a one nighter before heading further south. Weather is set wet. More to follow over the coming days.
We left Chanteloup in the rain. Just approaching the motorway going south, Christian in the van behind me radioed to say that his generator light was on - uh-oh! We skipped the slip road to the motorway and pulled up for a looksee - I don’t understand the wiring on his van but a spade connector had come lose on a fuse box on a wire from the alternator. Quick fiddle and we were back on the road. The good thing about missing the turn for the motorway was we had to go round the south end of Le Mans which involves driving down the Mulsanne straight and through Arnage - cracking fun. Next stop is the citadel of Loches south of the Loire. Another fav campsite just a short walk to the historic town centre - can’t recommend it enough. Again it’s changed hands and it’s been over-developed with many more chalets with jacuzzis, sun terraces etc.. but some of the pitches retain stunning views of the old royal city.
Yet to find out - C fixed it whilst I was 1/4 of a mile up the dual carriageway! But also accepting calvados and Pernod.
Great, are you coming down south, I can mow the grass for ya both... Good luck and have fun Sent from my ART-L29 using Tapatalk
This is what it is about - sticking to the ‘D’ roads - mile after mile of empty, flowing and billiard-table smooth bliss. Puts our UK roads to shame even before they were covered in potholes. After a quick warm-clothes shopping trip in Limoges (turns out we didn’t pack well enough for the cool evenings and the rainy day coming up tomorrow) we’ve pressed on south and into the Dordogne to one of the very best campsites ever - Le Paradis near St Leon-sur-Vezere. Family run, beautiful floral pitches, some on the riverside, great facilities and karaoke only once a week. Local town of Montignac is spectacular. Great neighbours too.
Le Paradis lived up to its name and we stayed there nearly a week; one stormzy night, a day of drizzle and back to heat and blue skies. Lots to see and do there - troglodyte caves, canoeing on the river, unreal towns and villages. What a spot. But now we’ve pressed on a couple more hours south to Carhors - another historic town on the Lot. Camping Rivière de Cabessut is good and spacious with a 20min walk to the town centre with its cracking cathedral and medieval bridge. A boat trip is a must but disappointed not have been able to find the Resistance Museum - looks like it’s gone back underground…. Only technical failure so far has been Jane’s work laptop which has got a squished screen and is unusable. Can’t get it fixed in time before we move on and buying new here isn’t really an option (French keyboards are QXERTY rather than QWERTY - who knew?)
Get the same model and swap keyboards? Just change the settings to English and type? Who looks at the keys anyway. enjoy the trip. It looks fab!
Cahors is just down the road from me, Puy l eveque.. Just got used to frog keyboard Have fun Sent from my ART-L29 using Tapatalk
Next stop southeast was Millau, famous for its viaduct. The Les Rivage campsite is run by Yelloh Village so is a bit Butlins with exhaustive karaoke the first night. But we had loads of space around us by the River Tarn and the setting in the gorge was spectacular. The town of Millau just up the road was a short walk passed one or two other campsites that reaffirmed we had chosen well. The town was a pleasant surprise with its old narrow roads and stunning views or surround stony hills.
Update: bumble-wasp bitten wife on arse. Upped-sticks again and headed to St Remy de Provence. Our friends in the blue van have peeled off to start their trip home as planned - going via Normandy where they’d hoped it would be cooler but is probably even hotter than down here. Lesson learned: be wary of iPhone Maps offering shorter journey but takes a little longer. Had a ridiculous drive through a mountainous gorge; miles and miles at 20mph down switchback hairpins with vertigo-inducing steep drops through to Ganges. Saved 30 miles but added about 3 hours! New location: St Remy is a fantastic little town - so scenic with lovely bars and chi-chi shops. Monplaisir is a superb campsite just on the outskirts. Fresh cock-up: under no circumstances send a new laptop to France using DHL - won’t bore with details but it’s a French farce. Strange custom of the day: letting a bull run through the streets being chased by the local young steeds (and vice versa).
Yep, we did. Didn’t do any good as it still hasn’t been delivered (to the campsite we left three days ago now). DHL’s tracker has gone backwards and is no longer predicting a delivery date - we’re planning on looping back to pick it up if it gets delivered next week. Delivery was supposed to be 1-3 days but now at 8 days and no sign of it. And all DHL customer interface systems were designed by Kafka!
Next stop was the absolutely stunning Aix-en-Provence - what a city. And we were were there for Bastille Day so jazz and jive in the streets as everyone enjoyed the weather. Best meal out so far too - I didn’t know raw tuna would be so good in a salad. Our campsite (there are only two to chose from in Aix) was quirky, small and a little scrappy; a proper old style one that opened in the 50s before the elevated dual carriage overhead had even been thought about. After that it was time to head to the coast. Camping Les Jardinbe de Pascalinette near Hyres turned out to be a disappointment; apparently ‘a stone’s throw from the beach’ to a french-person means put the stone in a car, drive for twenty minutes then throw. This, coupled with the Mike Reid’s Runaround-style children’s entertainment all night and being bitten to buggery by mozzies made it a one-nighter. But we did have a trip out to la Londes-les-Maures for our first glimpse of the Med which was fab. We’re now staying at Camp du Domaine further up the coast at Le Lavandou. A massive campsite with its own beach, we are thankfully a little off the front with lots of shade. The walk up to the harbour is picture perfect. We are a bit heat-trapped now - we’ll start the return leg in a few days but if we go west again the temperatures are off the scale. So thinking of running up towards Grenoble -if anyone knows whether this is a van-friendly route (how hilly can it be?) I’d love to hear from you.
Love that stretch from Monaco westwards I'd stick to the coast for as long as possible and head North when you hit Bandol , there's a very good campsite about 15 minutes drive up from Bandol and if you get lucky there's circuit de Castiller (?) AKA Circuit Paul Ricard which is mega historic and may have an event on - the road up is fantastic, good , sweeping , scenic but deadly if you get it wrong , you'll be fine in a van Enjoy reading the updates and keep them coming - love France, the driving is so easy . Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
Cheers for that Chris. I see what you mean about west to Bandol. Happens to be French GP at Circuit Paul Ricard next weekend so may have to avoid the area! Have you driven up towards Grenoble from there before?
Dom, hopefully this won't affect you (edit, they look like there more westerly), but it might be worth while looking to see if there are any Forest fires on you route options. This link might help. https://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/list-of-components/EMSR592 You look to be having a great trip.
