Along the Loire and South to Bordeaux

A quiet aire at Le Thoureil on the Loire provided an unexpected opportunity to watch what we thought initially to be beavers but turned out to be coypu fishing, washing, playing and relaxing around an old boat that had been moored out in the shallows to act as their lair. We cycled in to Angers stopping en route for lunch at a small restaurant with a sunny patio. It was the young couples first business and we enjoyed an excellent meal so hope they do well.

The castle at Angers was well worth a visit - the beautiful formal gardens lying at the base of the impressive walls whilst in a huge display area the remarkable 600 year old Apocalypse Tapestry depicts scenes from the Book of Revelations.





Further along we cycled in to Saumur to admire its castle and enjoy a Thai meal in the old town before heading south to Bressuire at the junction of 3 cycle routes. Here we got our first soaking as we returned from a ride but the Eberspacher soon had us and our clothing dried out.
The following day was much brighter so we headed south on the old railway line towards Parthenay then cut west to join another line that returned north to Bressuire passing at one point a huge barn roofed entirely in solar panels - it looked very neat and must surely be part of our low carbon future.

At La Rochelle the conveniently placed Aire de Pont Neuf provided secure parking with hook up for £10/night so we walked down to the main part of town to see the three towers that were part lighthouse and part defensive structures before enjoying the old streets lined with arches that provided shade to the many shop fronts. A display of pink umbrellas as part of a blood cancer campaign adorned one area whilst back on the harbour front buskers played a variety of music and we were amused at how the many cyclists and pedestrians just adapted to the traffic in a random manner. We dined well as the sun set and walked off the excess back to the aire.
From the aire we cycled over a graceful bridge to the Ile de Re and took traffic free routes right out to the lighthouse where for £3 we climbed the amazing spiral staircase to the observation platform for spectacular views out over the Atlantic. Ice creams in the cafe below set us up for the return journey which after a detour back to La Rochelle's marina added up to a hefty 63 miles.

South of La Rochelle we parked at Bourcefranc Le Chapus which used to be the quayside for the island boat and has Fort Louvois standing prominently a few hundred yards offshore. From here we cycled over another lovely bridge to explore the Ile D'Oleron which is a centre for salt production and again cris crossed by numerous cycle tracks. It was a sunny day and we stopped for a while on the west coast at a sandy beach before returning as we had a ferry to catch.

This was the link from Royan over to the peninsula north of Bordeaux between the Gironde Estuary and the Atlantic. It was a short crossing and would avoid passing through Bordeaux itself later in the week and we were soon parked up in a new aire alongside the marina at Verdon Sur Mer. As this is a popular summer destination camping is very much controlled to protect the sandy dunes and pine woodland so aires are charged with a barrier system and card payment but the rates are reasonable enough.

Moving on down to Hourtin we cycled through the woodlands and dunes out to Hourtin Plage where a vast expanse of almost empty sands stretched away in both directions. Some kite surfers were enjoying the roaring seas and we enjoyed the warm sunshine before returning to Hourtin via the shores of the large lake.

So yesterday was the final day for Mandy on this part of the trip. An easy hour took us to Bordeaux airport from where Easyjet returned her to Manchester for the train back to Sheffield. I tracked the flight as in two hours it retraced the route we had taken over the last month and passed over the Peak District where we have walked and cycled many times. I will return in mid November, probably from northern Italy but will now enjoy six weeks heading generally east now I am down near Toulouse. 
I am booked an the Airbus Factory tour later today and will also visit the Space Centre tomorrow before heading to Castres for more cycling opportunities and then down to the Canal du Midi.

Photos sit here.