26 nights! That’s how long it’s been since we left Camaret-sur-mer and we have stayed at 7 places on our journey, heading slowly south.

We arrived at Concarneau on 31 August and stayed at Camping Les Sables Blancs for 4 nights.
Followed by Tharon-plage on 4 September and stayed at Camping de Vieux Château for 7 nights.
Noirmoutier-en-I’lle, La Guérinère on 11th September and stayed at Caravan’I’lle for 3 nights.
Bressuire on 14th September and stayed at Camping Puy Rond for 3 nights.
Ile de Ré, La Flotte on 17th September and stayed at Camping Le Bel Air for 4 nights.
Chef boutonne on 21st September and stayed at Camping Le Moulin for 2 nights.
Parentis-en-Born, Lake Biscarrosse on 23rd September and stayed at Camping L’Arbre d’Or for 3 nights.

So I will write a little about places we visited, people we met and old friends we got together with along the way.

So Concarneau first. The site was very good. It was very close to the beach and only a short walk or cycle into town. Situated on a hill so the view was amazing. The pool area was lovely and this is where we first met our little friend Felix, 3 years old (but don’t forget he’s nearly 4!!) and his sister Eleanor who was 2. He would pop in to us for a chat many times on his way here and there as they happened to be in the caravan opposite. We also met Glynis & Dave, a couple from Carlisle who were holidaying in their motor home.

Concarneau itself is split into two main areas, a modern town and a medieval Ville Close (a walled town on a long island in the harbour) Its a lovely place to browse around and then sit and relax in the sun with a drink.

The coast is made up of sandy beaches with rock pools everywhere and a safe cycle path of course.
We said goodbye to new found friends and had a big hug from Felix 😍 before we were on our way once more.

Tharon-Plage was our next stop. A small place between Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef and La Plaine-sur-Mer. 😂😂 Now I’m sure everyone knows exactly where i mean.

The site was small but had modern and very clean facilities including an indoor swimming pool. It was 500metres from the beach and the same from the town centre.
There were cycle paths and routes everywhere. A wonderful sea front with a nautical school. Sand yachting, kayaking, paddle boards, hobby’s and even a dinghy or 2!
After a couple of days I received a text from Glynis & Dave who were in Vannes. They were not happy where they were and so the following day they moved on site and the next pitch to us. It was great going off exploring the area ourselves but meeting back up at wine o’clock for drinks and nibbles in the evening sun. 😍🍺🍷😍
In a morning hundreds of people would head down to the beach at low tide to collect cockles, mussels and oysters. There are strict regulations of what they can use and collect. They should only collect a certain size and only what they can eat. On site there was an outdoor sink specifically for cleaning their fish/shellfish.

I was watching a man clean his oysters when he suddenly opened one with his knife and offered for me to try it. I wouldn’t say they are my favourite shellfish but it was good.

Andy took some wonderful sunset photos down at the beach. The fishing huts on stilts made a gorgeous focal point in his shots.

We once again said our goodbyes to Glynis & Dave as they left the site.

We finally made it to Noirmoutier. Some friends of ours, Sue & John Dowson, had recommended the island a couple of years ago but it has never fit into our travel plans before. The island is accessible by road at low tide but we missed that. Not surprisingly as we are never up and away early unless we have a ferry to catch 😂😍
So over the bridge we drove and onto our site. The site is large but very good. It is by the beach, literally. There are gates from the site directly onto a long sandy bay.

The funny thing was that Glynis & Dave had gone to La Rochelle…….. or so we thought 😂😂😂😂 they were actually just along that sandy bay! We met them the following morning as we cycled to the market that was near their site. After a browse we sat and had beers in the sun. The swimming pool area on our site was quite amazing. It had indoor and outdoor pools, an indoor activity pool, water slides, a sauna & steam room. Brilliant for a chill at the end of the day.

There are cycle paths everywhere on the island so we made good use and cycled to Noirmoutier en I’le. The town itself is a lovely pedestrianised area where you can browse around the shops or just sit with a drink and people watch. (One of my favourite activitie

More goodbyes were said to Glynis & Dave 😂 This time we were going different directions.
On our last evening we drove to see the road that gets covered when the tide comes in. A very surreal experience as I’m sure the photos show. It will have to be on another visit that we cross over on this road at low tide.

Bressuire is another place that has been on the radar for a while. The site has just 20 touring pitches. We were the only people there when we arrived and during our stay just a few others came and went. So this was a very relaxing few days. There was a beautiful little outdoor heated swimming pool to relax by. The weather was gorgeous so we made the most of this. Another lovely French town ticked off the list 😍 after we had cycled into town and to the Chateau de Bressuire. Thank goodness for electric bikes!!

We were heading south slowly but as we left Bressuire we knew that Sue & John and Glynis & Dave were both on the same site in La Flotte on the I’le de Ré. We hadn’t seen Sue & John for years but through Facebook we had kept in touch and always said we would meet up somewhere on our travels and catch up over a bottle of wine. So I’le de Ré it was 😂😍 As we drove over the bridge and saw the island with its whitewashed houses and sandy bays once more I knew 2 nights would not be enough 😍 Dave & Glynis had sorted out a booking for us at reception and we were given a pitch number. How funny it was to find out it was the pitch next to Sue & John! We cycled into Saint Martin and climbed the stairs to the top of the church tower for a magnificent view.

The following morning the pitch at the other side of us emptied and Glynis & Dave quickly checked at reception and were able to move on to it. So that made wine o’clock time easier and in general, longer 😂🍷🍺😍 The island is gorgeous. We cycled everywhere, from one fishing village to another, browsed around the market stalls and then following cycle paths through the salt pans and marshes made our way across the island to Loix, we then took the cycle path that follows the coast right along to Saint Martin and La Flotte.

It’s good to meet up with friends you haven’t seen for so long but that isn’t an issue. Realising it’s midnight and you’re still chatting away 😂😍 Andy set his alarm one morning and went down to La Flotte to catch the sunrise.

We decided to stay 4 nights on this delightful island and I’m sure we will be back in the future too.

It was final goodbyes to Glynis & Dave as they left the I’le de Ré. They were heading north and back to the UK. We enjoyed their company over the last few weeks and I’m sure we will keep in touch. Goodbyes too to Sue & John, our paths will cross again, hopefully quicker than the last time 😘😘

Chef-Boutonne is a small market town with a lovely small campsite. The sign when we arrived told us to choose a pitch and someone would come and check us in later. That was easy and we were soon settled. We had a drive around the area the following day looking at property for sale. There were some lovely little villages but the area was not inspiring by any means.

The caravan site had a restaurant on site so we booked a table for that evening. We had the 3 course menu of the day and it was very enjoyable along with a carafe of house red.

We drove south and arrived at Camping L’Arbre d’Or at Lake Biscarrosse on Sunday afternoon. We had a stroll down to the lake, it was huge! There was a sandy beach but it was rather windy so we decided a swim in the indoor pool on site would be best. The swimming pool area was great on site. There was an indoor and outdoor pool with sun loungers and chairs around it.

The following morning we drove to Arcachon and it was certainly worth the journey. It’s a beautiful seaside resort famous for oyster harvesting. The beach was amazing and the harbour was full of boats of all types and sizes. Andy was drooling over them.

We sat in a lovely old square in the sun relaxing with drinks and nibbles, just happy watching the world go by. We then went a few kilometres south to visit the “Dune du Pilat” This is the largest sand dune in Europe. It is more than 110 metres high and over 3 kilometres long. The views from the top are stunning. Out to sea and over the forests.

We had one more day at this site and we had a washing and chill by the pool day. For €13 a night this site was amazing and it had a bar & restaurant, fresh bread and croissants available, boules court, play area, laundry room plus all the usual sanitaires and always clean & tidy. With the pool area too you just can’t beat it.

We will continue our travels south and next stop is Lourdes.

May every sunrise hold more promise, every moonrise hold more peace.

Carol & Andy