words by Williams

It is Wednesday in Arcachon. One of the jewels of the south west of France, the resort town nestles on the southern shore of the Bay of Arcachon, below Bordeaux. We are sitting under tall pines on Huttopia’s flagship campsite. 

And it’s piddling down.

The boss, who has been reading in her PJs all morning, has been scolding me.

“We’ve been here two weeks now, and you’ve not done a blog. Don’t just sit there looking miserable. Do something.”

Then.

“Oh heck, look. There’s a great bulge in the awning. Do something!”

And so it begins: Adventures in Water Management 101.

Water is a precious commodity in this part of France and Huttopia are keen to press that message home with signs all over the camp. That and evacuation routes in (the very real) possibility of forest fires.

That might seem like a joke right now, but there was a piece in Monday’s local paper, Sud Ouest, talking about the government refusing permission for people to rebuild cottages nearby that were burned out last year.

Our pitch, as it happens, as well as the stuff that drops from the skies, attracts groundwater, which runs down the slope off the summit of the campsite’s main thoroughfare, just opposite the showers and loos. It soon turns our patio area into a mini Bassin D’Arcachon, and there’s no holding it back.

First job, of course, is to stick a broom up the awning (ooh, Matron) and push the collected water off. This clears the roof, but deposits many litres of water on the ground, much of which seems to want to settle right in front of our motorhome door.

Our welcome mat, is literally awash.

Still, it could be worse. I have a stick and with it I try to guide the flow coming off the campsite road so that it’s more ‘next-to’ than ‘all over’ our pitch. It’s a valiant effort, but water, as you know, gets places only water can get.

If we were kids on the beach, this would be fun. But it’s not, so it isn’t.

Yesterday evening was lovely, mind. Cal actually got intentionally wet in the pool.

Apparently it’s going to be fine again tomorrow. Here’s hoping.