The next morning we
took the mostly straight main roads across the
Centre region to Valençay which was busy with a street market. We
managed to park near the massive chateau for a short stroll into the
town then continued on a maze of back roads through Fougieres and after
negotiating yet another deviation due to a Route Barré we reached
Chaumont sur Loire to visit the annual garden festival. This year's
theme was Sensations but we felt the show gardens weren't so attractive
with wild areas of planting and lots of quirky hard landscaping
with
sound and lighting effects. There were several motorhomes parked by the
riverside but overnight parking is now banned. Now heading north
with only a couple of days to our ferry we stopped on the outskirts of
Vendôme at a large Brico-marché to look for some housewares and kitchen
gadgets for our new home if we ever sold our house (we did a few months
later!). Didn't find much but bought a bargain 25 metre non-toxic blue
hose for €25. The old town centre looked quite interesting but was very
busy so we drove around the ring road and through the Parc Naturel du
Perche with several pretty villages to Nogent le Rotrou and on to
Bretoncelles where we pulled in to the small free aire by the sports
centre just north of the town. How come we always seem to arrive at
these peaceful places on grass cutting day? After a peaceful night with
one other GB van, a couple from Sheffield (we later discovered we
have a mutual friend) we drove through l'Aigle and more attractive
villages stopping at la Ferrière-s-Risle where there was a large timber
framed market hall in the wide main street and several antique shops.
After passing the ruined priory at Beaumont le Roger the roads
became busier around Brionne where the autoroute crosses the wide
valley on a high viaduct. We followed the brown tourist signs to Le Bec
Hellouin, a delightful village - Plus Beaux listed of course, where we
stopped for lunch and a walk around the abbey grounds and the
impressive St Nicolas tower.
Le Bec Hellouin St Nicolas tower
From there it was a short drive to reach the River Seine at
Heurteauville and the pleasant private aire, Les
Cerisiers, overlooking the river with many ships and barges chugging
past. The aire which had fifteen pitches was like a British CL
with a good children's play area. (The popular aire at
Mailleraye-s-Seinne was apparently closed due to road
works.) There were two small car ferries (3.5T limit) across the Seine
nearby and the large Abbey of Jumieges was visible on the opposite
bank. On a stroll along the river bank we passed several old half
timbered farmhouses with thatched rooves which had plants (irises?)
growing out of the ridges.
Cable barge on the Seine
Our final day was grey and drizzly just to remind us of the
British weather as we crossed the now toll free Pont de Brotonne and up
to Yvetot where on the edge of the town we found a couple of discount
warehouses mostly full of tat and a new centre commercial for
our final top up of French food and wine and a look around a couple of
homeware shops including a branch of La Foir Fouille similar to
Wilkinsons and the Range in the UK. From there we drove a few miles
across flat countryside to the coast at Veules les Roses then turned
east through small resorts all looking rather desolate in the grey
weather and closed up despite it being the end of June. After a lunch
stop on the concrete promenade at Quiberville where we chatted to a
young German couple with a Possl van conversion similar to our Adria
Twin we sat around for a couple of hours before heading to Dieppe which
was very busy on a Friday afternoon. We topped up our diesel using our
remaining euros before taking the bypass to the ferry terminal for the
late afternoon ferry to Newhaven.