Wednesday 10th to Friday 12th January 2024
Over the next three days we made our way north through France, staying a little north of Chinon, then in Le Mans city centre and finally in Lion sur Mer, on the English Channel coast, before catching the ferry back to the UK on Saturday morning. The weather is, to say the least, cold, which has limited our ability to enjoy exploring en-route, but we did do some seeing of sights.
Chinon (Wednesday)
The town of Chinon sits on the River Vienne in the Loire winemaking region. This area of France has many Chateau and Chinon has what is described as a “Royal Fortress”. It was also one of only a few which were open to the public at this time of year.
The castle sits high-up over the town with many buildings restored, it is an interesting visit (we just wish it had not been so cold as the site is exposed to the elements, making us wish that we had chosen to look around the town instead).
According to the website: “Great historical figures are associated with it, including Eleanor of Aquitaine, King Henry II of England, his son, Richard the Lionheart, the Dauphin Charles, Joan of Arc and even Jacques de Molay, the last grand master of the Knights Templar.”
We spent the night on an aire in Avoine, a small town to the north of Chinon (see the “Visiting with a Motorhome” section at the end of this post), before heading further north to our night stopover at Le Mans. Of course, we took in some “off the beaten track” places of interest along the way, including the Abbaye de la Boissiere, where we stopped to explore a little:
We passed a few other interesting places:
Le Mans (Thursday)
After parking up on the Le Mans motorhome aire, wandered across to the river. Le Mans has the River Sarthe running through its heart.
The city is very old and still has evidence of its fortifications with the ornate brickwork and towers.
After climbing up the (many) steps, we arrived behind the cathedral. This is somewhere we have visited before, but a long while ago and it did not disappoint. Le Mans cathedral is one of the most impressive buildings I have seen, both inside and out.
The front is more impressive with is multi-layered flying buttresses, pinnacles and gargoyles:
The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Julian, the first bishop of Le Mans, who estabilished Christianity in this area, in the 4th century. Around 900 years in the making, building commenced in the 6th century and was completed in 1430 after many revisions and additions. Inside, the overall impression is of height and light:
…and like on the outside, there are stone grotesque figures and heads, but I do not know their meaning:
The cathedral is adjacent to the old part of Le Mans (also known as Cité Plantagenêt) and is full of medieval half-timbered buildings, many with strange, highly decorative ornamentation:
There is also some more modern art:
Lion sur Mer (Friday)
After a restful night, we again journeyed north for lour final night’s stay on the Camping Car aire, in Lion sur Mer, which we had pre-booked. The town is just along the coast from the Caen ferry terminal at Ouistreham, but we had never visited before. The aire is just behind the Hotel de Ville.
At the time of our visit, it could be described accurately as “sleepy”. We hardly saw a soul, but then, this is a small seaside town, out of season, in -2 degrees. Unsurprisingly, there was no-one staffing the beach lifeguard station.
There are some quirky and unusual buildings in the town:
…and some interesting artwork:
The church also had some interesting features:
We were up early on Saturday morning to catch the ferry which arrived in Portsmouth around 1.30pm. Getting through customs was slow, but without a hitch. We eventually arrived home around 8.30pm.
Visiting with a motorhome:
Chinon: We parked-up on the designated motorhome aire, above the castle. It is free to park for the night, but reviews on “Search for Sites” suggest that whoever designed the space, had never spent a night in a motorhome as it slopes severely. They were absolutely right; it also sits right next to a large car park which is level, but has a height barrier. We moved on.
Avoine: Having moved-on from the aire at Chinon, we found another in the small town of Avoine,, charging 6€ for an overnight stay and a further 2€ for water or electricity, which we did not need. The aire has a bollard which slides down, making the aire one of the most secure we saw. You need the code which is printed on your receipt (card payment), for the barrier to drop and be able to leave.
Pitches are flat and well spaced-out. A quiet and pleasant stay, definitely recommended.
Le Mans: The designated area for motorhomes is at the end of a large car park, which is clearly used as an overflow area when the aire itself, is full. It is very close to the centre of the city, but it is next to a main road, which did not disturb us as it became quite quiet after 10pm. You are parked on a slight slope, and to stay overnight is free. If you need services (other than emptying grey water), you will pay 8€ (still a bargain). I did not check whether electricity is available.
Lion sur Mer: This is another automated aire, run by Camping Car Park. As members, we were able to book this in advance at around 14€ for the night, including water and electricity (though we found the electricity to be a bit flaky, having a few power cuts during the evening …it was not just us, other vans were out too).
If you arrive late and all spaces are taken, you can park on the adjacent car park, but obviously there are no services. If you have a Camping Car Park card, you can access just services though, at a reduced cost.
A quiet night, which we appreciated as we had an early start. It is a popular stop, due to the proximity of the ferry terminal (about 10 minutes away).
To sum the whole trip up:
We left home the 12th December and returned on 13th January, so 32 days. In that time, we have driven 2,595 miles, using 376 litres of diesel, yielding 31.4 miles per gallon. (for our total distance travelled, we would have to include 550km (341 miles) in a hire car and the distance travelled by ferry (233.4 miles) so a total distance of 3,170 miles).
Our site fees were mostly in Calpe (367€ for the 2 weeks), but we have also spent a total of 56€ on other overnights, but these were mostly free.
The ferry costs were £287 return, but we are Club Voyage members, which gives a good discount on fares, however this costs £85 per year.
French motorway tolls came to around 117€, but we avoided most of the motorways on our return journey, preferring to take in the scenery.
We used about 46 litres of LPG for heating and cooking etc. but I have not included shopping for groceries, as this would be done at home anyway. What I can say based on our experience, is that prices are generally dearest in France, then the UK and cheapest in Spain.
And did we have a good time? Was it worth it? …absolutely! We now fully understand why many Brits clear off to southern Spain or Portugal every year. …and good luck to them. Nice weather and avoiding all the Christmas hype in the UK.
Would we do it again? …Perhaps, but spending Christmas away like that, also has its down sides. Previously we have headed away immediately after Christmas and spend the New Year holiday away. A happy compromise, perhaps.
"See-u-Later" 