15 May, 2015

We managed to get to stroll into town last night in between the showers.  The centre of town was bustling – there was a market selling local produce, an antiques market, fairground rides and a multitude of shops.  Even on a national holiday evening such as this though, everything closed promptly at 7pm.  Walking back to the campsite through the backstreets was a good opportunity to admire the architecture of the houses, which we had not seen before in other regions.

During the night the wind and the rain built up into a fearsome storm, threatening to flatten the tent.  Fortunately, by the morning it had calmed down to a strong breeze, with sun and clouds and cool temperatures.  As we set off through Soulac there were diggers on the main road moving heaps of sand that had blown there during the night.  Cars parked on the road were buried in ‘sand drifts’ .

The start of the ride today was a quick run up to Pointe de Grave to catch the ferry across the Gironde.

Once we landed, straight away we could feel a totally different atmosphere – gone was the isolation of the past few days, replaced with a lively, buzzing ambiance.  The cycle path was lively too, with lots of holidaymakers out on hired bikes.  The route started off by following the rocky coastline, along clifftops and around sandy bays, but by mid-afternoon we had left the holiday resorts behind and had moved into an area of fenland.  A beautiful landscape brimming with bird life – buzzards, harriers, herons, egrets, lapwings, stilts and wagtails – to name but a few.  Two coypus swam across a dyke right next to the road.  We criss-crossed the fens for another 20 kilometres or so making our way to St Agnant where we hoped to stay for the night.

However, when we reached the small town, there was no sign of camping or a hotel, or of any people to ask, for that matter.  Interestingly, there was a road sign pointing to the ferry terminal at Royan, where we crossed the Gironde, saying 28 kilometres.  We had covered over 70 kilometres since we left Royan, which demonstrates just how much extra distance is added by following the twists and curves of the coastline. We cruised up and down a few of the main routes in and out of St Agnant trying to spot somewhere to stay, but had no luck.  We did spot a poster giving a plan of the local area which pointed to ‘camping’ up a road we had just been along.  We go back that way and spot a builder working on a house.  When we ask if he knows the campsite, he says he is not from the area, but suggests we knock on the neighbour’s door to ask.  A very helpful couple answer the door and when I tell them that we are looking for the campsite, they suggest we stay with them for the night – an excessively kind offer to two complete strangers knocking on their door!  When we politely decline their offer, they make a ‘phone call to a farm up the road that offers camping.  Yes, they are open and so we pedal about 4 kilometres up the road and camp in a farmer’s field.