Our Journey Pitch by Pitch!
Start! - Off we go, motorway stop, first night, near Portsmouth at CCC site Southbourne. The ferry :-(, not the best crossing experience!
The ferry was a fast crossing catamaran which was very rough - Sandra was actually sick at one point. We got that over with and drove south down the Cherbourg peninsula. The route got a bit mixed up as a section of road was closed and the journey got too long, but after a lunch stop at Montebourg we batted on arriving at our first campsite at Château de Lez-Eaux. This was a lovely site but we think we were put on the ACSI pitches which wern't very nice. We had a nice cycle around the site and tea at the chateau cafe. The fuel situation put us off a little so rarther than take in Le Mont St Michel and sit it out for a few days we decided to head south through Nantes to St Jon de Ment. We camped on a very not quite open site just outside the town with easy access to cycle trails and a fabulous promenade. Two nights here for a rest, then south again to Royan, although we did have a look at some sites near La Rochelle as we went past but they were uninspiring. The campsite in Royan was outside of town but in the suburbs. There was an easy back entrance to a local beach and a coastal cycle track into the main town. We had a lunch in town and a meal locally - moule et frites. At this point we decided to cross the Gironde estuary by ferry rather than drive round and get to wherever! The ferry was a short crossing and we drove on to Hourtin which was a town I had holidayed in many years ago in another life.
From Hourtin we went inland heading for the picturesque Lot valley and then the Gorges du Tarn. First stop was at Camping du Vieux Château near Rauzan, havsing negotiated Bordeaux ring road and getting wonderously low on fuel! We stopped for lunch at Branne. The weather changed and heavy rain came whilst at the Chateaux so we moved onto to start exploring the Lot. A diversion due to a broken bridge and some evidence of floods were the result of the continuing rain, but it had been much worse further north. Lunch at Aguillon then onto our second choice campsite where we had to park on the track as the grass was too wet at Le Ch' Timi. The next day we were in the Lot proper and followed the swollen river upstream as close as we could and crossing it several times, sometimes on narrow suspension bridges. Another campsite with wet grass and track only parking at Camping Flagnac. We had a nice cycle ride into Flagnac. Next day we headed towards the Tarn leaving the Lot behind. Spectacular descent into the valley then camped right by the river at La Galinière near Boyne. Weather improving somehwat now, but we fancied the warmer Med so after some lengthy exploration of the Tarn, Lozere and Aveyron valleys we went to look at the bridge in the sky at Millau then hit the A75 for the Med.
The Mediterranean was warm and inviting - we picked a site next to the sea with east access to the beach and although it was not in the ACSI book it was only 21 Euros an night. We stayed at Camping Club Farret Yelloh Village near Villas. We stayed 4 days then moved south, heading for Spain. Traveling south we took in a Safari park and followed the road we had traveled up the previous year in torrential rain and thunder storms before we broke down. We were aiming to camp at the last site in France before Spain. Certainly it was the last site in the ACSI book. We ended up at Camping Les Amandiers near Colliours and stayed a couple of nights.
And so to Spain
We stayed as long was we could on the Spanish Med. We had wondered about Barcelona, but preferred the sea to a city and we had a lot of driving through Spain to do so we stayed 3 nights at Càmping La Gaviota Costa Brava. Easy walk across dunes to a massive beach in the Bay of Roses.
Then its into the Spanish Pyrenees! We'd little choice of campsites on our route in this direction so we picked the one we were headed for and set off. Quite soon we were in the foothills and saw a twin peaked mountain in the distance. It kept popping up on our journey on increasingly challenging but very quiet roads. Finally we reached our campsite to find we were parked opposite the twin peaks of Pedraforca at wait for it ... Camping Repòs del Pedraforca. Stunning views and fabulous scenes of mist lifting in the morning as we got off unusually early for us with a long day in the saddle ahead. Unfortunately much of this photography was lost as many pictures from the posh camera were corrupted when we got home. The long day was even longer as John (the Sat Nav) let us down badly despite careful programming and checks adding 60 kms to the route and even longer because the first target campsite was unsatisfactory and the backup was 2 hours more driving!! We became fascinated by the changing landscape and the clouds. The landscape changed because we were dropping out of the Pyrenees into the foothills. About 10kms from the end of the journey Heidi had her statutory overheat! It was at the end of a lot of climbing and pushing on type of driving as I was tired, and the last straw was a 9km straight up hill road which was a steady 7% but went on and on and was 4th/5th gear. Result - boiling engine! The reward was a lovely quiet campsite, Camping Bellavista, overlooking a massive turquoise reservoir near Graus.
We stayed two nights at Camping Bellavista. The first night we had a strange meal at the restaurant on site and a wander round the site, but having such a hard day getting there we needed a break. The following day was gorgeous sunshine and we had a long bike ride to Grauss and a beer in a bar. In the afternoon we sunbathed by the lake and even though it was cold, a dip was essential. Next day was pushing across Spain and away from the Pyrenees. Spectacular clouds but barren landscape. It felt almost industrial. Strange lunch stop at Ejea de los Caballeros where we couldn't find anywhere to eat so had a sandwich in the van. Impressed by the storks on their nests. Onwards to a new campsite near to Villafranca - Camping Bardenas. Weather hot but thundery. Nice bar but for a variety of resons were not serving food. Too far to go to town on such a busy main road. Next morning went to explore an Aire we had passed and were intrigued by the cliff cave dewllings at Arguedas, then a fairly easy journey to Harrow. Camped near another Hymer (S660). Walked into town for a meal. Had trouble finding a nice place, lovely place to walk around. Next day was a fairly easy drive to the coast passing Bilbao. Camping Playa Arenillas near to Islares on the north coast. Raining now. Lovely beach and bay - big waves. Final journey to our last campsite - Camping Las Arenas - which had been on the list since Sandra found it months ago. We found a spectacular cliff space overlooking the Atlantic and the weather was improving. Final day was my birthday and was had a long walk to Pechon for a late lunch but took in a bay next to Pechon and the estuary next to our campsite. Knackered at the end, but the walk was worth it. Final evening pebble balancing on the beach. Then Santander, ferry, Porstmouth and a campsite - Budds Farm near to Highclere house. Then home!
France and Spain via Choco BN
