Meander Through Western France

In 2010 we were only able to have an autumn trip to France because earlier in the year I had, had my right hip replaced. We decided that a gentle trip down through western France would be the best therapy. We stayed a few days in the Loire Valley at Saumur before heading for a first time visit to the Ile d’Oleron, one of the islands off the west coast. We had been to the Ile de Re on a previous trip but unlike Oleron it’s quite expensive to get onto the island so we were looking forward to our free passage! The long and the short of it was that our intended stay of 7 days turned into 12.

Moving further south we decided to stay near to St Emilion which is a delightful town. The campsite we used Domaine de la Barbanne nestles in the middle of Grand Cru vineyards. This was our furthest point south, just, as we made a sideways move to the Dordogne staying at a campsite in Le Port de Limeuil. In terms of fellow campers it was quite a contrast from the site at St Emilion which was well over half full to a site where if we had more than a dozen fellow campers it was positively crowded! The Dordogne is always a delight, perhaps it reminds us of the best of rural England. Time was moving on so it was back north to a site very near to the wonderful Chateau at Chenonceaux. It was a return visit after many years absence. It is a place full of history. Further north again this time not far from Rouen at Jumieges famous for its massive Abbey, unfortunately in ruins thanks to the French Revolution!  Our final stay of the trip was at Montreuil where we found a site that was still open in early in early October. A delightful town and also within striking distance of Eurotunnel and the journey home.

The full blog can be found on my website here, http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/meander_through_western_france.htm there are also lots of photographs to accompany the text.

David