Three Go Adventuring Again

[vwalan]

when i was going through france i headed to angouleme then perigeuux then sarlat la canada then gourdon .
perigueux park by the football round near the river . gourdon park near the lakes or up the hill towards the town a small lake on the left as a good car park.then down to montaubon . i do miss that route its really nice but now we go straight to spain .

 

[vwalan]

when i was going through france i headed to angouleme then perigeuux then sarlat la canada then gourdon .
perigueux park by the football round near the river . gourdon park near the lakes or up the hill towards the town a small lake on the left as a good car park.then down to montaubon . i do miss that route its really nice but now we go straight to spain .

 

[vwalan]

said that twice . ha ha . adventure with dementia . wake up in a new place every day.

 

[DBK]

when i was going through france i headed to angouleme then perigeuux then sarlat la canada then gourdon .
perigueux park by the football round near the river . gourdon park near the lakes or up the hill towards the town a small lake on the left as a good car park.then down to montaubon . i do miss that route its really nice but now we go straight to spain .

Thanks Alan, I'll have a look at that on the map tomorrow. The planning today was very quickly done as I wasn't expecting to be driving through France until today.

 

[vwalan]

rennes,angers,poiters angouleme , mind i might go across country on small roads . you know me .
if there is a small road i take it.

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[DBK]

rennes,angers,poiters angouleme , mind i might go across country on small roads . you know me .
if there is a small road i take it.

Rennes and Angers I was going to do then midway between Angouleme and Limoges through the Limousin. Then Bergerac and finally Auch to meet my cousin. We'll just see how it goes but will probably do two or more long days so we can have a day off - don't want to drive every day, this is supposed to be a holiday!

Which is why we are now both currently seated in "Le Bar" on the Amorique.

 

[vwalan]

there is so many ways . i have done josselin . pontchateau ,nantes etc . its all an adventure .
there is no wrong road. i dont do toll roads though.
just have a nice time . do a different route another time .
remember to drive on the right side .
in uk you have to drive on the right side . the other side is the wrong side . hee hee.

 

[DBK]

Arrived in Roscoff this morning, 8 o'clock local which was 7 o'clock to us still attuned to UK time, so we didn't bother with breakfast on the ship, just a cup of tea.

Pets travel in your vehicle on this crossing and Charlie seemed to have slept solidly the whole way I think and seemed unaffected by the experience. We stopped at the area in the port set aside for MHs, which is the last car park on the right just before the hill which bends to the right. It is on the left in the picture, we are parked two to the left the blue van with pop up roof. You can overnight here if you want but it won't be quiet I suspect.

Here we had breakfast after I took Charlie on his much appreciated walk.

Next it was a short journey to the Super U in Pol de Leon for some French bread, cheese and wine.

Then some steady driving via Morlaix, St Brieuc and Rennes through intermittent drizzle to Pouancé and Campercontact Aire #1471 which is very pleasantly situated by a lake and is completely free including water as an added bonus. That's water out of a tap, the water in the Lake was a bit muddy to drink.

The downside of this aire is the local village doesn't seem to have a bar but we made do for lunch.

Afterwards, with the sun now shining we wandered around the lake on the well made path.

The aire is between the lake and the church in the picture above.

This being France the lake is a popular with fishermen and fishing platforms have been built all around the shore. Most are just wooden structures but some had wheels from old carts! There were several pairs of Greater Crested Grebes on the lake but none showing signs of nesting, which seemed odd for the time of year. Perhaps they are much later?

Tomorrow we will stop somewhere near Poitiers although the forecast is for rain, so we might just keep going!

 

[Anthea M]

So glad you finally got your crossing ! Lovely photos and is Charlie Boy behaving ? Not eating French flora and fauna I hope?! Happy and safe travel towards the sun!

 

[DBK]

So glad you finally got your crossing ! Lovely photos and is Charlie Boy behaving ? Not eating French flora and fauna I hope?! Happy and safe travel towards the sun!

He started eating the grass when we put him in the pen you can see in one of the pictures. This is a new innovation (the pen) and apart from his keeness to do some grassland management it seems to be successful so far.

Oh and he did surprise a frog by the lake but he was on the lead so didn't follow it into the water!

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[Anthea M]

Never heard of a vegetarian dog!!

 

[DBK]

Never heard of a vegetarian dog!!

I think he would have preferred the frog!

 

[Eeyore]

Our dog used to eat grass when he had an upset tum. It used to make him sick and all then was well. Just watch him when you put him back in the van....!

Glad all finally got sorted.

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/why-do-dogs-eat-grass

 

[pyro]

Glad to see you arrived safely after all that worry, , which is still more than can be said for Pont Aven (cancelled tomorrow as well)

 

[laird of Dunstan]

I think he would have preferred the frog!

i dont think that the locals taste to good john

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[DBK]

Our dog used to eat grass when he had an upset tum. It used to make him sick and all then was well. Just watch him when you put him back in the van....!

Glad all finally got sorted.

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/why-do-dogs-eat-grass

It's more fun when it comes out the other end. Dog owners will be familiar I am sure with the "string of sausages" effect!

 

[Debs]

It's more fun when it comes out the other end. Dog owners will be familiar I am sure with the "string of sausages" effect!

Oh yes.......hope the rain doesn't follow you too much this trip.
Have a fab time, looking forward to reading & seeing your pics

 

[DBK]

i dont think that the locals taste to good john

Add enough garlic and more or less anything is edible. Hang on, the locals come with garlic already added!

 

[bellabee]

I think he would have preferred the frog!

We had a bitch who just couldn't stop herself from catching frogs - even though she knew she would regret it. There seems to be something in the skin of frogs which tastes horrible and makes dogs froth at the mouth, before spitting them out. I don't know whether they're mildly poisonous, but they obviously taste revolting.
Probably better to stick with the grass.

 

[Just smiffy]

He started eating the grass when we put him in the pen you can see in one of the pictures. This is a new innovation (the pen) and apart from his keeness to do some grassland management it seems to be successful so far.

Oh and he did surprise a frog by the lake but he was on the lead so didn't follow it into the water!

Have you had a dog before ....? I think you've bought a goat...

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[yodeli]

I think he would have preferred the frog!

Let me tell you I know some frog who tastes awful..... but smells quite nice... something like Chanel N°5....But I doubt this is of any interest for Mister Doggy!

 

[gus-lopez]

We are in the queue at Plymouth. Charlie wants to drive. Seconds after this shot, paws on the steering wheel he sounded the horn! Time for his cage I think.

View attachment 105103

I had a Jack Russell years ago who used to do that. He'd wait for you to have your head under the bonnet before he pressed the horn though.

We had a bitch who just couldn't stop herself from catching frogs - even though she knew she would regret it. There seems to be something in the skin of frogs which tastes horrible and makes dogs froth at the mouth, before spitting them out. I don't know whether they're mildly poisonous, but they obviously taste revolting.
Probably better to stick with the grass.

many toads are poisonous to dogs & you should always flush there mouth out if they get one.
Dogs also eat grass to get vitamins if their diet is lacking in some.

 

[Just smiffy]

Dogs also eat grass to get vitamins if their diet is lacking in some.

Have you tried giving him a fag paper to roll it and smoke it....

 

[DBK]

We left Pouancé in sunshine but soon the rain came and we drove the rest of the morning in heavy rain which fortunately dried up as we arrived at our destination, the aire in Nieuil l'Espoir a few miles south east of Poitiers, campercontact #1689. The aire is free to stay but water is €2 with a jeton from the town hall, which we probably won't bother with as we can last until tomorrow night easily.

Pre-lunch drinks, some Ventoux rosé.

I have some previous with this wine. A few years ago my brother and I cycled up Mt Ventoux and in our hotel we shared a bottle of Ventoux rosé and declared it one of the best we had tasted. I am not sure this is exactly the same one but it is very drinkable.

Tomorrow we will try and find the site of the Battle of Poitiers which is close by. There is supposed to be memorial but given it was a site of a significant French defeat it may not be well advertised!

And Brittany Ferries have sent me a voucher for £105 to spend on our next ferry trip. Added to what they have already paid me the ferry cancellation looks like good news, except I was disappointed not to have any whale watching.

 

[gus-lopez]

They must be losing 00's of 00's with this problem.

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[DBK]

The Pont Aven is still in dry dock it appears from the marine traffic website.

Tomorrow, after finding the battlefield the plan is to drive on to Parc Verger and stay there a couple of nights. We haven't booked but hopefully they will have room for us, otherwise it will be another aire somewhere.

 

[DBK]

This morning we drove the short distance to Nouaillé-Maupertuis where there is a very old abbey and the site of a not so well known battle.

The Abbey de Nouaillé-Maupertuis was first mentioned around 790 although it was built on the site of an even earlier abbey. Over the centuries it has been much changed and bits added or taken away. Unfortunately, it looked firmly shut so we just walked around the outside. The abbey was designed as a fortified building with arrow slits in the corner towers and a moat around the entire site.

There is a small car park at the Abbey, which is signposted from the village centre and the car park was fine for a MH but I wouldn't recommend using it in high season or possibly at weekends.

The 1356 Battle of Poitiers was the second of the three major battles where the English defeated the French during the Hundred Years' War, the first being Crecy in 1346, then Poitiers and finally Agincourt in 1415.

To find the battle site just look for the sign "Champ de Bataille" in the village and drive a couple of kilometres or so, crossing the l'Omme river after which on the left is the memorial to the battle where there is room for just one vehicle to park.

The memorial has a number of stands each describing a stage of the battle. The first gives the background.

And a map of France at the time.

Then a description of how the French forces found the English.

The Pope's emissary tried to broker a peace but was unsuccessful. In hindsight the French made a major error as the English fearing they would lose a battle offered to return all their plunder and agree a seven year truce. The French knowing they had superior numbers refused these terms and so the die was cast for a battle the next day.

The English archers were to prove devastating again but poor command and control of the French forces were the main reason the battle was lost.

Both sides manœuvre into position.

The aftermath.

Of course it all came to nought in the end and the English were eventually expelled from France, the last big battle being the Battle of Castillon in 1453 when the French were victorious. France and England remained technically at war for another 20 years but the English were not in a position to make any more forays into France.

Our day has ended at the renowned Parc Verger campsite where we were warmly welcomed by the owners Frank and Lisa. We are going to stay two nights here, catch up with the laundry and go for a walk or two.

 

[DBK]

From another website I found this map of the battle.

There isn't much to see at the memorial other than the plaques shown above, but it is a worthwhile trip.

 

[DBK]

The rain seems to have settled in for the afternoon, as it did yesterday, but this morning we only had very light rain, plue de Ecosse, or something like that. So we walked the 4 km along the old railway track to Oradour sur Vayres where we visited a green grocer and bought some expensive salad - tomatoes, courgette and lettuce.

I recorded the walk on my GPS and after much fiddling I have managed to display the track on Google maps. Don't ask me how it was done, I need to do it several times before I feel I can explain it! I've done this before but Google keep changing things and what works one day may not the next.

This is our route, about 8 km in total. The walk starts in the bottom right, turn left outside the campsite the after a short distance turn right onto the voir vert.

There's nothing special about the walk but it was a useful mental exercise working out how to show it!

 

[Anthea M]

Scotch mist! Yay I know French!! Will be useful for me in the summer! Love the photos and history . Rob loves a battle field or two! He even went up that ridiculous mound at Waterloo a couple of years ago and waved at me!!
Keep it coming thank you and hope your weather picks up!

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