Road to Saumur & Ancient Town of Airvault
Went off around 10:30, towards Niort & Saumur. Saw a sign advertising Supermarket on Poitiers road at Parthenay, decided tp find it as cafe was mentioned - but it must have been much nearer to Poitiers, so stopped on the way to have lunch at a little cafe before retracing our steps to take the Saumur road again. Had a very nice lunch, all beautifully cooked and served - very cheap - around £7 for the two of us, and that included 2 large coffees - these have been costing between 7.00 & 9.00 francs each! Saw an area which looked promising, where there is an enormous lake, and ‘views’ on the map. Found a campsite at Airvault - Pont de Vernay - very old bridge - but a super site - once more - new facilities - a permanent site - not many here, only a few garrulous Frenchmen. I have a choice of superb loos - and douches chaudes. The guardian lives in a caravan on site, all emplacements have electric points, it’s near the river (Bill is fishing there now!). Bill says it’s about £1 a night! It’s ridiculous - here’s this site in the middle of nowhere, with better facilities than any in England - certainly not at that price! Weather warm but dull. We went into Airvault, a most ancient town with a huge covered market square - all stone pillars. It was next to the Romanesque church, and further down the road was a very comprehensive museum, including a visit to the souterrain, dungeon, and lots of rooms with many artifacts of the old ‘vie’ of France.
FRANCE 05 JULY - 05 AUGUST 1987 holiday overview
- Tennis and Journey to France
- Optician and Chartres
- Brou, Nogent, and Fishing
- Grottos and Château at Châteaudun
- Meeting Dutch people in the heat
- Buying new chair for Bill
- La Vallee de Creuse and le Château de la Prune au Pot
- Getting lost in Medieval towns
- Flea market and Feu D'Artifice
- Limoges and Ladignac-le-Long
- Expensive meal at Montignac near Lascaux Caves
- The grotto to end all grottos at Domme
- Bill's Lumbago and phone calls
- Castelnaud at Beynac
- Rocamadour and Moulin de Cougnaguet
- Trilobite in Sarlat
- Lots of rain at Cognac
- Boozy day in Hennessy cave and playing cards
- Rochefort and camping on pavement
- Hot lazy day looking at boats at the port
- La Rochelle & Tour des Quatre Sergents
- Naval Museum in Rochefort
- Road to Saumur & Ancient Town of Airvault
- Hunting for Fossils
- Leaving Airvault for Durtal
- Château de Durtal
- La Flèche and St.Germain du Val
- West of Durtal, a toad, and a féte
- Last round of tennis in Falaise
- Arriving back home