June 2015 – France

We began our holiday in France with a meander to Canterbury via Scotney Castle and Sissinghurst Castle Gardens.  We had visited both National Trust places last year but returning was well worth it.  The gardens at Scotney were absolutely full of colour.

After a delightful stay at the Canterbury Holiday Inn Express we set off for Dover knowing that there was bad weather in the English Channel.  Our fears were confirmed on arrival at the port when we were told we could travel on an earlier ferry but that, because of delays, we would leave around noon (nearly an hour later than we should have any way!)  At least we were luckier than those who had been waiting since before 6am.  Despite warnings from the Captain that the crossing would be quite rough, it was in fact very smooth. Exiting the port of Calais we had a pleasant and uneventful journey to our overnight stop at a delightfully modern Best Western hotel in Evreux. The journey to Moulin La Geneste the next day went smoothly and we were greeted by site owners Sharon and Steve who made us very welcome.  Our home for the stay was the same static caravan that we had in September 2013.

We had brilliant weather for all but one of our eight days and, despite temperatures of 30 degrees C and above we managed to walk at least 8km on most days. Although we re-did some walks from our two previous stays, we also found some new ones. What was really noticeable was the absence of people and the fact that the French footpaths were mostly well maintained although a few were very overgrown and required some detective work to determine the correct direction and then a bit of hacking at the brambles to clear a path – all great fun.

Our first walk was from the town of Segur Le Chateau, one of the most beautiful medieval villages in the Limousin.  We had been to the very sleepy town several times before and it felt a bit like going home as we sat on the bank of the river enjoying a coffee.  The walk was our first of the holiday and a bit of a test as neither of us had walked in the 32Cplus heat for a long time. However, we both thoroughly enjoyed it and paced ourselves such that the heat was not really an issue.

We also travelled to Turrene a pretty village, dating largely from the 13th – 16th centuries and sitting on the edges of a hill. It was quite a steep walk but we made it to the top of the hill and were treated to some lovely views from the top of the village across the countryside and forests to the mountains beyond. Another day we drove down to the Dordogne area and the town of Cahors.  However, Cahors was busy, noisy and full of people and although the river looked very pleasant, we very quickly decided to head home.

We treated ourselves to several half bottles of champagne and enjoyed a KIr Royal most evenings.  We know it was a luxury but we really did enjoy them.

Our food was generally very simple but Annie made a wonderful fish soup one evening and special salads most other evenings. In fact we ate very well and thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the fresh air to eat – we only ate one dinner and one breakfast inside the caravan during our entire stay.

One other walk of note started in the town of Uzerche and followed the line of an old railway for some kilometres before we crossed over the river and walked back along the river bank to the centre of the town.  We were treated to some lovely views looking up from the river bank at the old town itself.

Reluctantly, we left our temporary home after 8 nights and headed to Montreuil sur mer the town we stayed in a couple of months ago.  We again stayed at l’Hermitage Hotel and enjoyed a wonderful supper at Le Darnetal Restaurant which was just as good as previous visits. The next morning we took an early morning stroll around the ramparts before visiting the Wine Society shop and filling what space we had in the car. Our journey to Calais and the ferry crossing went smoothly but the drive from Dover to home was a bit of a Friday evening nightmare. We were therefore very pleased to be invited for supper by our neighbours Glenda and Keith.

Our longest holiday for 18 months and one that we had both been looking forward to for some time we were not disappointed.  Hopefully, buoyed by our success we can put the health issues of the last 18 months behind us and do some more overseas travel in the intervals between Gerry’s 8 weekly hospital appointments.