Most Beautiful Villages of France

Sunday 4 September 2022

Nido's amongst the trees in a park-up in the small village of Aigrefeuille-d'Aunis in the Charente-Maritime region. It's very quiet here.  The parking area was quite full with cars earlier as it's 'le weekend' and opposite two lakes called Lac de Frace. There's a restaurant and lots of picnic sites, many like wooden bandstands. Large family groups were together, with enough food and wine to probably feed the whole village! It's now much quieter, just half a dozen motorhomes, three of which are from the UK.

We left our park-up on the coast yesterday, stopping off on the way out for a baguette (and some patisserie of course!) at a boulangerie, then at a van just off the road selling local sea-salt, next to some salt-pans  The 'lady in the van' was very helpful and we bought a couple of types of rock sea-salt plus a salt cellar to store it in. This local, hand-produced sea salt is excellent, created from solar evaporation as the brine dries out in the sunshine. They skim it off and pile it up with long, wide wooden scrapers.  On the way we stopped for lunch at St Jean de Monts, parking by the beach and having a good walk along the surf line.

I'd plugged in an aire that looked and sounded good in the apps and books, but on arrival it was four pitches in a small village (bon), but facing a huge sportsdrome building (pas bon).  Luckily I had a plan B and we drove on to the village of Vouvant.  I have the 'Most Beautiful Towns and Villages in France' book and if I'd checked it, I'd have realised that Vouvant is one of these villages, in fact the only one in the Vendee.  There's an excellent aire in the village - €10.90 including all services and wifi.  We parked up on the grass next to a tall beech hedge, plugged in the electric and got the kettle on!

A little bit of history about Vouvant (from my friend's Beautiful Villages book - he sent me a screenshot):

Deep in the forest of Vouvant-Mervant, the Mere river winds through a landscape that has inspired both art and mystery. William V - Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030) discovered the site of Vouvant whilst out hunting. Struck by its strategic position, he built a castle, church and monastery here in the 11th century. The castle has retained only its keep, the Mélusine* tower, sections of the ramparts and a 13th century postern gate, which was used by Saint Louis (King Louis IX).  A Romanesque bridge straddles the river Mere, linking the two riverbanks. 

*Legend has it that Mélusine was a fairy who built the tower overnight.

We thought we'd save the exploration of the village for the next morning, so after dinner we had a long and slow walk following the footpath between the ramparts and the river.  There were lots of small potager gardens in this gap between walls and water, but sadly this year's drought meant they weren't looking their best.  But there was plenty of wildlife in, under and above the water.  However, we didn't see a single bat as dusk moved to darkness, which is really unusual for a place such as this.  Which reminds me that over the time we've been in France, we've had no days when the van windscreen was splattered with flies and insects, unlike previous visits.  This, coupled with the vast, desert-like fields and dying sunflower and corn crops, is a stark indicator of climate breakdown - very, very worrying.  On our way back to the van in the dark, we heard plenty of owls though; Salty's not a fan of the owl call - perhaps he thinks he's small enough to be plucked from the ground by sharp talons!  Although dark it was still warm so we sat outside to have a cup of tea and our patisserie; this time a Tartlette Mirabelle (gooseberry tart), which was crisp, light and full of flavour - a well deserved 9/10!

I'd set the alarm for 0700 this morning so after a quick cup of tea, we set off to explore the village, leaving Salty in the van for some 'me time.'  The sun rises at about 0730 so and we walked around in the cool of the morning, exploring the ramparts and small lanes, wandering past lovely stone built homes and secluded gardens.  Early morning is a great time to explore; the shops might not be open (although the boulangerie was - "une tradition s'il vous plait"!) but having the place to yourself to wander before the crowds arrive is the best way to see somewhere as lovely as this.  We met a local French man on our walk. He told us (in French) that he liked to get up and walk around the village when everyone is still asleep (he mimed sleeping and snoring as he spoke which helped!).

Breakfasted, showered, van serviced, we drove for an hour past the dry dusty fields and increasing heat to reach our current park-up. We had a lazy afternoon in the shade of the trees, lunching, reading and snoozing. Later we took a walk around the lakes.  It was still pretty hot so we kept to the shade of the many trees.  It was lovely to see families out enjoying themselves, fishing, picnicing and generally having a relaxing time.  The lakes were about 1 metre below their normal level though.

The alarm's again set for 0700 tomorrow morning - an admin day.  The plan is to drive to a supermarket in Rochefort to make use of the onsite launderette, have breakfast while the machines are running, top up the food and probably also top up the LPG tanks.  We've used about 3/4 of one tank (we have two) but it's worth topping up when the opportunity arises, although it's widely available in France.  After that, we'll probably drive to one of our favourite places - the island of Ile d'Oleron, aiming to get on an aire or campsite with electric hook-up.  I hope to get online tomorrow night for a Mon Search and Rescue Team Training Group meeting on Google Meet; I might be away from home and the team for an extended period, but there's still lots of training planning to be done, ready for our new recruits starting in October.

Pre-lunch walk at St Jean de Monts

Mélusine Tower, Vouvant Medieval Village

Prayer area by the cave

Aigrefeuille-d'Aunis by Lac Frace

Blaye - Gironde Estuary

Friday 9 March 2018 - Day 5

It’s the weekend - yay!

We’re parked up in Blaye, on the Gironde Estuary, under the imposing walls of the Citadelle de Blaye.  It's a basic aire with no facilities, €3 for 24 hours, with a great view over the estuary and town, plus the Citadelle behind.  Our friends Steph and Ian (who got us into this camper van life!) recommended it as a good place to stay.  Plus it avoided the stress of driving around (or in to) Bordeaux.  There’s a ferry just one minute away (I can see it from here) that will take us over the Estuary to Lamarque and onwards to the Atlantic coast, then we’ll bimble down to Spain in slower time.

Last night’s aire was supposed to be €7.70 per night, with someone coming around to collect the money….only they didn’t!  So we had a lovely, quiet overnight, with free electricity and water. The money saved will go towards the cost of tomorrow’s ferry - all part of the adventure.  This was the first morning the cab windows weren’t covered in condensation, an indication of the increasing outside temperature.

We arrived at Blaye at about 1130 and after lunch explored the Citadelle, which is free to enter. Although the shops and tourist information office inside the walls were closed, the hotel restaurant and small bistro were open and doing a good trade.  There’s also a campsite inside the walls (for tents) open from 1 April until the end of September.  It was a bit cloudy and grey with the odd ray of sunshine, but still warm enough to wander around in a t-shirt.  The Citadelle has stood the test of time and it’s clear to see how easy it would be to defend any attackers.  It was built by the great military engineer Vauban, but has never seen action.  It was however used as a military HQ in WW1.  It’s definitely worth a visit.  Blaye is a typical ‘waterside’ town, with plenty of places to eat and shop, although many are closed at the moment until the new season kicks in.  Blaye was a port of the Gaul Santones in pre-Roman times and the Romans built a fort on the current Citadelle site.  The town played a crucial role in the wars against the English and the French Wars of Religion.  

The aire is now rammed with very large motorhomes, all French except one Brit - in a massive Concord towing a smart car.  Our little Nido looks tiny in comparison.  Most are driven by the older generation, who gather in small groups to have a chat and a look around. An older, beaten up but obviously well used motorhome pulled up alongside us. We had a very friendly smile and wave from the young, boho couple.  Their cat, sat on cushions in the window at the back, gave us a bored look before settling down again and their two dogs have taken charge of the cab seats.  The neds have been flying past the adjoining road in their tinny hatchbacks, yelling out of the window and doing doughnuts at the end of the road….before going home for their tea!  It just goes to show that it takes all sorts to make a world; there are clearly some characters gathered here tonight.  For dinner, Cathy made a lovely tuna, potato, egg, onion and lettuce salad, accompanied by the last of today’s baguette and a glass of rose.  I suspect we’ll be tucked up with a good book by sundown - that’s how we roll!  The alarm’s set for an early start tomorrow, so we can catch the 0900 Ferry and keep heading south.  Onwards to the sea!

Can you see Nido?

If not this might help

This aire is now full with huge motorhomes

Soldiers' barracks - nice gaffs!

Re-calculating......

Monday 10 June 2013

We're parked up on a large Aire just outside the village of St Denis d'Oleron, on the Ile d'Oleron, an island on the Atlantic coast, between Rochefort and Royan.  It's lovely to be beside the seaside again - it's where we belong.  I think our next trip will be coast hopping rather than inland.
Ile d'Oleron is joined to the mainland by a bridge just north of Marennes.  It's France's largest island after Corsica, a laidback, unaffected fishing island and coastal resort. It's a peaceful retreat of a patchwork of little villages, vineyards, pine forests and gleaming muddy tributaries lined with fishing boats.  This is exactly the sort of place we like to visit - it's similar to Ile de Re, but less pretentious - more shabby than chic but in a chilled out way.  Judging by the colour of some of the locals, the weather here has been much better than in some places.  When we arrived the sun was shining with a warm breeze.

That we made it here by 1800 is a bit of a miracle, as "That Woman" inside the Garmin decided to stop recognising lat/longs.  I thought it strange last night when I checked how long it would take to get here by plugging the lat/long into the satnav.  It said 2 hours which seemed too short but a quick look at the map showed a few dual carriageways, so I thought that was bringing the time down. When ready to leave the campsite in the morning I set up the satnav and off we went.  We had music playing as we went so I just followed "That Woman's" directions.  But after a couple of hours I felt we were heading in the wrong direction - I wasn't seeing the road signs I expected to see.  We pulled over and I checked the coordinates again for this Aire - all good.  But "That Woman" was telling us were were only 15 minutes from our destination, yet we were just south of Limoges, way off course by many tens of miles! Luckily I had downloaded a free satnav on to my iPhone - Nav Free France.  This is brilliant and was a life saver.  It even allowed us to set up as an RV to avoid the tiny roads "That Woman" kept taking us down.  We used this to redirect us to Ile d'Oleron and I also kept "That Woman" switched on (but muted thankfully) to compare - by this time she seems to have recognised where she should have sent us. However, she has this annoying habit of taking us through the centre of every town, rather than the 'Autres Directions' by-pass, plus she seemed to want to constantly take us off the main road into shortcut single-track roads.  The rest of the time she was "Re-Calculating"..... But the free iPhone satnav performed well and eventually we reached the Aire. The first one we chose was for 100 vans and facing the sea.  But entry was via credit card payment and it didn't accept my cards, so we had to find another, which is where we are now.

This Aire is very large - it takes up to 170 vans and in fact it's an ex-campsite, so has showers, toilets, washing-up facilities, washing machines and electric hook up - and all for just €9 per day - a bargain. We're pitched close to the facilities which is handy for washing up.  There are about 120 vans here at the moment but it doesn't feel like it as the pitches, although unmarked, are large.  And as it's an Aire, it's all motorhome people - friendly, relaxed and laid back - not like the TCPs!  Also, the emptying and top up facilities are easy to use and accessible - no Relais boxes or Jeton tokens needed.  We will certainly return to this one.  But the thing we love the most is that we're the only British in over a hundred, nearly all being French. And it's been lovely that they're friendly and talk to us and we try to understand and respond.

The Aire is about half a mile from the village of St Denis.  After the stress of being directed off course  by about an extra 3 hours driving, we arrived, plugged in, had a brew and then headed out to find somewhere for a well-deserved drink and dinner.  We walked down into the village, which was very quiet, but by the port and marina a couple of bars and restaurants were open.  We plopped down into chairs outside the first one, overlooking the marina.  Cathy ordered the local aperitif - Pineau, and I ordered the local 'abbaye' blonde beer called Grimbergen.  After a couple of those the world seemed a much softer place! Cathy had an entrecôte steak and I had longed-awaited Moules Frites.  We washed this down with some local Ile d'Oleron rose wine.  By then it was quite cloudy so we walked back to the van for a brew before turning in.

Oh, and to finish off today, I dropped and broke my camera! So after today there won't be any photos until we get home and I can upload from the iPhone camera.  But we hope to have a chilled out day tomorrow, even if the weather is a bit rainy it's still warm enough for shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops.  Plus Cathy is desperate to give the van a good spring clean.  We need a day with no driving.  After this relaxing day we'll be heading north, to reach Calais by Friday night.

Lovely translation!

A lovely local beer

The large Aire in St Denis