words by Williams

Tuesday June 13

We’ve realised we have only one week left in France. We’ve booked a ferry from Dieppe to Newhaven for June 20, so we need to get a bit further north sharpish. 

It seems that everyone gets that realisation at Macon. The site fills up during the day and virtually empties in the morning. Relatively few Brits here, but plenty of Germans and Dutch. Fair play to the city of Macon for keeping it municipal, it’s a credit to the city.

We’re heading for the Flower Camping Les Jardins de Sully on the opposite bank of the River Loire to Sully sur Loire.

It’s a long hike - and expensive. Taking toll roads is taking toll on the kitty and that’s another 50 euros down the track, our most costly trip so far.

The upside is that we can stay three nights back on the banks of the Loire - and the bar’s open, even if the restaurant isn’t.

The pitches at our end of the site are arranged in groups of four. When we arrive there’s a Swiss camper van and a small French caravan.

A bit later another British couple pull up with a caravan. They’re travelling with friends - who park up on a pitch in the next group of four, alongside another pair of UK caravaners.

The friends both appear to have bought their caravans from the same dealer in Kent.

My joke to them about establishing a ‘British quarter’ goes down like a fart in church. In three days that’s the only communication we have with the miserable Kents, who seem to talk to no-one outside their group.

Felix and Marianne, on the other hand, couldn’t be more friendly. Being Swiss they have a choice of languages, but speak mainly German. Felix has a bit of English and Marianne almost none, but they give us more of a welcome than the three UK couples put together.

They’re cyclists, both tanned and trim as whippets. They’re travelling the Loire valley.

We head into Sully across the near-kilometre long footbridge over the Loire which sits a few hundred metres from the edge of the campsite.

The bridge is striking, green painted steelwork with a wooden slatted platform. Even more striking is the Chateau just over the road bridge into Sully.

Felix and Marianne come cycling over the bridge and stop to take a picture for us. Other than selfies its probably the first joint picture we’ve had on the trip.

French lunchtime is between 12 and 2pm, so we’ve become accustomed to looking for somewhere around midday. 

Today’s choice is a bit of a surprise. Cal gave me an ear-bending in Carcassonne about wanting to sit at a bar on a busy corner.

Her choice this day sees us sitting at Sully’s busiest corner, across the road a bit from the Chateau, with all sorts of traffic passing by, negotiating a sharp bend either onto or off the road bridge into town.

We’ve done that ‘get there early, attract a crowd’ thing again at Restaurant des Arts, which starts to fill with lunchtime diners as soon as we’ve sat down.

I’ve gone conservative with a chicken in creamy mushroom sauce, but Cal’s been upsold to a whole Dourade - a gilt-head bream - having first flirted with scallops.

Amazing how little you notice the buses, trucks and tractors when you’re stuffing your face.

Wednesday June 14

We’d half planned to go to the chateau today. Felix had described it as ‘cool’. He meant it as a temperature reference, not an assessment of hipness.

Instead Cal spends a lot of the day by the pool. I catch up with some writing.

In the evening we chat with Felix and Marianne, who are leaving tomorrow.

In broken English and Google Translating along the way we talk about families and travelling. Marianne offers some of her special brew. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s in a blue bottle. Very nice.

Thursday June 15

The pigeons have been having a rare old party in the eaves of the shower block overnight by the look of it. They’re open to the elements, which gives great natural light, but means if they’re dancing a tango in the rafters, bits of pigeon tend to go everywhere.

I manage to find a shower cubicle that’s relatively clean. One thing about the showers on this trip, they’ve generally been really good. Some you have to lean against to maintain a flow of water and sometimes judging the hotness takes some doing. All in all, I’ve been really impressed.

Felix and Marianne leave early, so we wait for our new neighbours.

Another day chilling, as seems to be the case as we head for home. I think we’re going to miss this.