We spent a week or so sampling the delights of the Dordogne including a night with Charlotte and Tim, Gus and Nicky and Barney near Riberac. St Emilion, Sarlat-La-Caneda and Bourdeilles all impressive and a welcome change from the heat of the beach.

Some time taken out for a spot of canoeing…..



(sorry guys, we don’t seem to have taken any pictures of you except for a distant shot of Tim in a supporting role.)

Then back to the beach for more of the surf…..







I only took pictures of Sarah’s good waves…..although the same can’t be said for her record of my efforts….



We skipped the crowds of Biarritz and ended up in Spain by accident, only to find the best camping spot yet on top of a cliff…..



Since then we have been zig-zagging across the France-Spain borders through the Pyrenees for some hiking, river swimming and sheep rugby…..



Above the Port D’Espagne near Cauterets on the French side of the border....





and the Ordesa National Park near Torla in Spain..



Water temperatures in mountain rivers not exactly tepid but glorious on a hot day....air temperature approx 35 degrees most days….



Spain does give good river and is ahead in the free camping stakes although France has the yellow jersey on wine and supermarkets.....

Random facts….

Marmotts 2
Vultures at least 32
Chamois 2.5
Miles driven since leaving home 4231
Snakes 1
Other Brits 2
Ice creams 4 (really)
Successful cartwheels 1



(just)


Heading east in the next few days along the south coast of France before Italy, more soon…..

After Scotland we took a quick trip to a very wet Wales, an equally brief stopover with our friends Ben and Jaime in Redditch and then onto Cornwall to see Sara and Danny, try out wetsuits etc before heading to Poole for the ferry to France.

Dinan in Brittany was our first stop, a very pleasant old town with winding cobbled streets and a parking spot right next to the river.



Then onto the Ile de Noirmoutier for a couple of days of light seasoning and gentle frying on the beach. The island is also famous for shellfishing by locals and visitors alike at low tide, and for the harvesting of sea salt.



The night before taking the ferry across the Gironde estuary we stumbled across the annual town fete at St George de Dedonge for some impromptu bbq, dancing, and the local red for under a Euro a bottle. Perhaps not a vintage wine to say the least but more than drinkable……..



Heading south from then on was beach to beach chasing the surf, riding the waves, living the dream etc etc etc. In reality the Atlantic is very cold and sand gets absolutely where it shouldn’t ever go but great fun nonetheless. A couple of days then spent with friends Oli and Renate at Lacanau Ocean.



We made one more coastal stop at Cap Feret, in time for a particularly dramatic thunder storm and some welcome rain, prior to a swerve inland to the Dordogne for some culture…and wine.........

Van behaving well, although what seemed to be a big vehicle at home appears to be something of a minnow on the continent...



More soon.....