France 2018

Well our next trip was to France.  I will keep this piece quite short as we followed the same as last year and even stayed on the same campsites, boring I know but we just wanted to enjoy the heat and the French lifestyle.
We went down to Poole on the Tuesday evening and pitched up along with a few others in the ferry lanes. We were roused by the Brittany ferry people at 6.00 am and were soon proceeding through the booking and Passport control. Security did not bother with us as we were waved straight through. We were loaded on the ferry at 07.45 and were leaving Blighty at 08.30.

We arrived in France at 13.45 local time and straight through on our way to Camping Les Chevaliers  de Malte at Villedieu-les Poeles.  Absolutely lovely site. Up and away the following morning by 10.00  and headed for Montreuil Bellay, for another one nighter.

Our setup for a one night stop.

Then onto Camping de Montreal, at St Germain Les Belles, where we were going to base ourselves for six nights. We relaxed there for 6 nights whist I recovered from nearly 400 miles of driving.. I spent time exploring the village and the surrounding area, making good use of my bike!  A bit sore and stiff to start with, but my body soon got used to cycling again.  We used the restaurant on site a few times, as the food Hans and Leone serve is remarkably good.

Early morning at Camping de Montreal

It was soon time to move on again, and we headed down the A20 , to Camping de Montech, just north of Toulouse.The nice new Tag worked perfectly on the toll booths and we were soon using the 30 kmph booths.   Again a one nighter.  Good little site, but the internet is only on when the reception is open. Good job we carry a dongle, as I was able to download the papers in time for breakfast..

Our pitch at Camping de Montech

Then with great excitement we were up early and heading South, heading to Camping le Floride et embouchure, Le Barcares, where we have a fully serviced pitch booked for 5 weeks. We were on site by 13.00. As we arrived we were greeted by various Dutch, Belgians and Germans who like us book the pitch from year to year.
 Despite the 30 degrees of heat we were soon fully set up by 17.00, and then it was time to relax, and that we certainly did!

The beach at le Barcares

The view from our pitch

Our pitch is on the edge of the beach, so each morning I cycled up the front to Barcares to collect croissants and bread. At some time during the day we wandered, well metaphorically speaking as Lizzie went on her very posh mobility scooter and I was on my bike, to one of the local bars for coffee, wine and maybe a snack.

One of our coffee stops

Probably once a week we got the Discovery out to go shopping and also for a trip into the local area.

A trip out to  St Cyprien

We are only a couple of hundred yards from the funfair, which opens on 1st July and closes on 31st of August. We watched it being erected, and a couple of nights before we  left it opened up! Fun to watch but the din was horrific.

Five weeks of this lazy French  life soon passes and it was time to clear up for our return journey, which was identical to our journey down.

We only stopped at Camping de Montreal for three nights, as we were aiming to stay at Villedieu-les-Poeles for a couple of nights so we could get the final shopping done.

Dinner at Camping de Montreal