Blog 4.6 - From Confolens

Tuesday 26th September 2023

Another warm morning for our onward leg to Saint Coutant.

A quiet park-up

We called at Lidl for a few supplies, and then Carrefour (as Lidl didn't have any fresh milk - can't be doing with UHT in tea, although it's fine in anything else) before the fairly short and straightforward drive.

Rob drove us over to Chassenuille, some kilometres to the south, so Admin could finally get some medication via Dr Perez - who was fairly confident that the worst was past and now it was a matter of clearing the remains of the infection.

On our return, Rob served up a superb Thai curry, which Admin managed to eat. A first for a few days.

Wednesday 27th September

Unfortunately, part of Admin's prescription was not available at the pharmacy yesterday, so Rob once again became chauffeur so she could pick it up.

So off we popped, and the inhaler was available, so the next step was to drive to Rochefoucauld.

Square keep not visible from here!

The first view we have while approaching the town is of the chateau with its unusual square keep (unusual in France, it seems). The town itself is certainly worth a visit - even if most establishments seemed to be closed with the proprietors taking a break after what was, no doubt, a manic August holiday period. Who can blame them?

The Carmelite Nunnery's cloisters

We did manage a coffee, but even then were practically shooed off the premises as Madame wished to close. Ah well.

Lunch was taken, walnut bread, Brie, and Comté, back at the van, and we prepared ourselves for the evening's visit to Café de la Paix and another sure-to-be-memorable meal.

And it was...

Thursday 28th September 2023

Headed off in the early PM towards Ruffec and the Leclerc to pick up some LPG, our first since the Spring tour. It just shows how far it goes when all it's used for is to fire the fridge (and one burn because Admin needed a little more searing heat for one meal than the induction hob could provide). Getting it, though, proved to be a minor trial.

Why oh why do they tuck the dispenser away in the most inaccessible bit of the forecourt, meaning you have to squeeze past concrete bollards into a gap little more than adequate, then shuffle back and forth to line the intake up? And then the dispenser nozzle flat refused to engage, and when it did, it wouldn't dispense gas...

Anyway, after several attempts we finally got there. I'm so glad it's not a regular requirement as it always seem to be awkward.

Oh well.

The run was over 200 miles on mainly minor D roads, through countless villages, and some dual carriageway, so took a fair old chunk of time over a leisurely drive, and including a lengthy lunch stop.

We arrived at St-Mars-la-Jaille at something after 6pm, and had our pick of most of the spaces at the village's free aire.

It's dead level, which makes a nice change, and is next to a large attractive park and reservoir/lake.

It remains to be seen how peaceful it is, but ain't that always the case?

Cuppa, and a quick stroll beckons!

And, so far at least (11pm) it's totally silent apart from the very occasional passing car 30 metres away. Just the ticket.

Friday 29th September 2023

The night passed very quietly, although we were both rather restless.

What I assume was the feet of Storm Agnes trampled through in the early hours - not enough to disturb the suspension, but certainly making herself known. It seemed quite odd after such a prolonged period of incredibly settled weather.

She had well and truly blown past by up time, leaving a calm, if cloudy, start to the day.

We mooched until late morning and then set off northwards again with vague notions of the Baie de Mont St Michel (or thereabouts) in mind.

There's a CC-P site at Carolles a few miles northwest of Avranches, and maybe that'll be the one.

We'd have liked to do a bit more of the Breizh coast to be honest, but with our return ferry being closer, timewise, than we'd like, we've opted for the Normandy coast instead, and a relatively gentle drift north then east towards Dieppe ready to sail the seas again. Boo!

Admin loves a bit of coast, and to be fair, we haven't seen the briney since we left Dieppe nearly four weeks ago, so this should go some way towards plugging that gap.

Laughably, the site advertised as at Carolles, that we eventually got into (that's another story) was well past there and actually at Edenville, and it'd be at least a one and a half km hike uphill to get there (Carolles)...

Still, ne'er mind; apparently there's plenty in the village here, and the sea is just over the way, so we'll have a wander in a few minutes.

Yep. Definitely Edenville.

Arrival here was fun. We pulled up at the barrier, Admin swiped the card as usual, and - nowt. The barrier stayed ferme.

Several attempts later, she called CC-P, who as always communicate impeccably in Anglais if required, and a code was eventually acquired to allow us in. Seems the terminal is up the shoot, but we're in, so no worries.

Then, oh then... I went to retrieve the hook up cable from the boot only to be greeted by a huge spreading pool of sticky lemon drink syrup, spilled from the broken top of the container. Oh joy.

And then, while emptying everything out to clean up, muggins here dislodged a pack of beer bottles which crashed down and smashed one to add to the mess.

I think the relevant term refers to the air being blue.

So, an hour later, off we go to explore a bit. There's really not too much here to be honest, but it's a great beach, and lots of it, with views across to Granville (pronounced Arkwright-fashion apparently - according to Admin) in one direction, and towards Brittany in the other.

Looking east; Granville in the far distance. Not Arkwright in the foreground

And the other way with, person hanging from large handkerchief

As nice as it was on the beach, there was a slightly cool onshore breeze, meaning that we eventually vacated vanwards to take on more sensible attire before repairing to L'ilot Gourmand for dinner.

Fish! That's what we needed. So we ordered Cassoulette de la Mer, and boy, was it delicious? Oh yes. Lightly curry-flavoured, creamy, and packed with mussels, shrimp, and large chunks of haddock and salmon. Mmmm.

We followed that with crépes for a totally French feast. This place is definitely one to note for the future.

Saturday 29th September 2023

Much brighter today, and the forecast for the rest of the weekend is good too, so we've decided to have another night here. Why not? It's very pleasant after all.

We have another nine nights before sailing day, so we have plenty of time (more than expected; I was anticating it all being a rush after Admin's illness, but it's not so bad after all. Guess I was just overthinking it and slipping slightly towards panic mode. I don't like targets, and I do get stressed by them. It's in my nature I'm afraid!).

Anyway, we lazed and read for a while before taking a long walk along the beach and coast road to Jullouville - via a stop for strong coffee - where we picked up milk and bread, and treated ourselves to some excellent ice creams.

The walk back seemed very long, and it was only then we realised how far we'd strayed!

Enjoyable though. I miss the long beach walks we had at Chapel St Leonards with our beautiful Bryn when we lived there.

The only downside here has been the nearby bar that has hosted someone's 30th birthday all afternoon and evening - very loudly on their front terrace. Thankfully, though, it all calmed down at 11.30, so no real complaints.

October tomorrow. Where's it all gone?

Mileage so far: 1477