Sometimes, we find that when we’ve stopped in Aires or been wild camping for a while, it’s really nice to drop into the familiar routines of a campsite. So that’s what we did.
It’s approaching Halloween at the end of October and despite our best efforts, the summer sun has finally given way to Autumn here. To chase the warm weather further south would mean more days in Europe than Brexit allows us, so we begin to set our minds to the journey back to England.
A super short trip across the Cap Ferret finds us making camp in one of the few sites that are still open, in the small town of Claquey which overlooks the Arcachon Bassin. It’s fun to get the ‘patio’ out and it feels cheating somehow to enjoy some outdoor time so late in the year plus it’s perfect timing to top up electricity, water and do some laundry. Infact Sally, who has become a bit of a launderette connoisseur and checks out the laundry facilities at each site even if we don’t plan to use them, declared these to be the best we’ve come across. High praise indeed.
We had hoped to get the kayak out whilst we’re here as although the Bassin is tidal, it’s pretty calm compared to the coast but unfortunately the high tide times aren’t friendly for us and the coast around this northern part is actually quite marshy so it’s not practical. We settle instead for getting ‘Sons of Anarchy’ (our scooter) out of the garage and heading out to see the sights along the Cap.
It’s an eclectic little place which is simultaneously a bit shabby, run down and closed up with several vibrant eateries and beach bars full of people. We’re totally out of season now but it’s Halloween weekend which combined with All Saints Day means it’s also the last long holiday weekend in France before Christmas so there are actually lots of people here. For some reason I’m reminded of Key West in Florida, it just has that feel to it.
We reach the tip of the ‘Cap’ and the beach here is stunning. It’s being protected to allow new planting to grow which will help to stabilise the sand but the view across the bay to the Dune Du Pilat is amazing. It’s fun to see the dune we had been scrambling to get up a few weeks ago.
Getting back to the campsite and the holiday weekend reminded us of the worst bits of being on a campsite too. It had really filled up with vans, parents, children and dogs everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy being around people and lots of the Aires are busy too, but it comes as such a shock after the last few weeks of quieter living that we’ve enjoyed. It’s time to head out again.
With the time we have, we plan to enjoy a few stops in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, that you can see on the map at the end of the post, and our next destination is an Aire at the mouth of the Gironde River which creates one boundary of this region. On arrival, we found that the barrier has been removed because the fancy electronic ticketing system is broken. Unreliable technology means another free night for us it would appear! Even better, we manage to park Beatrix right at the front of the Aire where she’s able to get her front tyres in the sand.
The Medoc region represents
15% of the Bordeaux area
and produces 100 million
bottles each year. The main grape
varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon,
Malbec and Merlot.
It’s fair to say that we really love
the wine from here.
The views from our window and sunset are so spectacular that we just couldn’t move on after only one day, so we decide to stay a second night and to get a run in and then explore the town a little bit.
Another realisation that the end of the trip is approaching is that this will be our last Atlantic beach stop and our last proper view out over the Atlantic Ocean. Not sure when we’ll see it next, so we say goodbye and head in land.
Our next stop is a vineyard called ‘Chateau Pierre de Montignac’ and as today is actually All Saints Day and we feel a bit uncomfortable turning up at someone’s home/workplace on a bank holiday.
Thinking we might be able to sneak, as best as Beatrix can, into the marked spaces and we decide to keep ourselves to ourselves and not disturb our hosts today. Typically though, we didn’t fit into any of the spaces!
Sally popped into the reception to check it was ok to stop where we were and got a noncommittal shrug from two kids that were manning the fort. Taking this as a good sign, we settled down for the night.
Continuing the slightly standoff-ish relationship with our hosts, the following morning we were walking past a small group of workers and our friendly ‘bonjour’ was met with a few gallic shrugs. It looked like they had tv cameras and perhaps we were parked in the way so we thought it might be best to get out of the way.
As the French Passions don’t charge you to stay over, we really like to buy something local whilst we are there and not wanting to be rude, Sally went over to the group to thank them for letting us stay and asked if anyone spoke any English. It turned out the owner was there and after a bit of Franglais back and forth, it emerged that he spoke excellent English, which was very helpful.
Romain is the third generation of his family to farm this vineyard and he explained, whilst showing us over to the tasting room and cellar, that the film crew was in fact here for a French news channel. Of course, it emerges that we have totally misread the situation and in fact Romain is incredibly warm and welcoming. With justified pride he shows us the cellars, which really are a work of art, where Oak and Concrete casks are used to condition the different wines they produce here. Everything is dimly lit and pristine, so that the cellar looks more like an art gallery, which I suppose it is. Romain proudly tells us that the larger oak casks used only French Oak and, lasting ten years, are made specifically for this space.
Taking a bottle of Médoc with us to enjoy, we say goodbye and set sail for the Lac D’Hourtin and an Aire there at the port.
I can’t explain why but some places feel immediately welcoming and like being at home as soon as you arrive. When we stop the engine and start getting Beatrix set up into ‘Home Mode’, I feel relaxed and unwind.
This was not one of those places.
It wasn’t unpleasant at all, but it just didn’t click right away. However, as it most definitely wasn’t one of those places that you stop at and have an allergic reaction to, we knew we’d settle in after a bit of time.
We plan to stay for a couple of nights here as Sally has a workday and it’s a good spot to fill up the water and dump the waste.
One of the other missions for us was to start to think about our route north to Calais so it’s time to get the maps out again.
We have the travel date for the tunnel fixed but there are still reports of fuel shortages in northern France and Merlin needs an appointment at the vets before she’s allowed back into the UK so there are a few things for us consider as we do this.
There is almost certainly one more vineyard that we will need to visit too but that will be a tale for next time.
Thanks for reading, please add a comment if you enjoyed it as we love reading them.
Toby, Sally and Merlin
Links to some of the information we used
https://www.pierredemontignac.com/
Leave a Reply