June – 2022 | capetocarpe

1st. The first stop today was to be the underground church in the village of Gurat. Unfortunately it was closed to the public for repairs so after visiting the lavoir and a walk through the village we moved on.

So we moved on to Aubeterre to visit the cathedral like underground church there. The earliest parts go back to the C12 and it is truly impressive. The access is along a lovely flowered walkway above the ramparts.

After lunch at the riverside Airte we took Cassidy for a walk around the town before settling down for the evening.

2nd. We set off for the scenic route home stopping for lunch at Port Maubert on the Estuary where there was a sailing school of Oppys (Optimist beginners sail boat) in progress

In the evening we wandered down to the Port de Meschers and had ourselves a very indulgent Sea Food Platter before walking home in the setting sun.

3rd. A day of reflection on good times spent together, of laundry and packing for Sandi in preparation for her departure tomorrow morning.

7th While we were on the road I had received a call from Patti Longden’s Tutrise to say that she would be moving to La Coraline in Le Gua, 24kls from Meschers which sure as hell beats the 8 hour round trips to visit here in Nontron. So this afternoon I went to prepare her room and await her arrival. All went well and I was impressed by the level of staffing, attention and welcome that Patti received. She was also more responsive than she had been for a long time.

8th. Work started today on our roads and with the overnight rain it is a muddy mess for the moment but looks promising for the future, However if I can detect and plug the leak in the van roof now might be a good time to hit the road again while the work continues.

12th. set off in the general direction of Burgundy this morning with the intention of the first night stop at Confolens on ther river Vienne. Somewhat over 100K into the journey I had a call from my hostess to say that her daughter had tested positive for Covid and that she was looking after her and also her grand-daughter. We agreed that under the circumstances it would be better if I did not go. I decided to continue to Confolens as it is a village I have always wanted to visit. It would seem that the Aire has closed so I checked into the Camp site and have a lovely river front pitch.

Once the worst heat of the day was passed C & I headed into the village to do a first “reconatre”. It is a town scaling the high banks of the Vienne, with timber framed buildings and cobbled streets a nod to the Medieval past. The two Medieval bridges, one earlier than the other are still extant but only as pedestrian bridges now.

An arch off the High Street marks the spot where a ford used to cross the river before the wier was built and elevated the water level.

Images of the second Medieval Bridge.

The decision is to stay in this camp site tomorrow night and explore the town in greater depth. Then spend time with the maps to work out by what route we go home but rest assured it with be the LONG/SLOW route.

13th Cassidy and I set off early to take advantage of the cooler tempretures with three main objectives in mind, The Donjon

the old Tannery Mill

and the Chapell de la Commanderie.

This last objective was selected because the term “Comanderie” is usually used to refer to Knights Templar posts and if it was such it would be of special interest to Sandi. I have forwarded her photos and await her coments.

Back in town, this being Monday and France, most things were closed, including the Office de Tourism. I did find an open Tabac to buy a postcard for Patti and a cafe to drink coffee while I wrote it. A nice vantage point to look out over the rooftops…

….and a couple more interesting and well restored timber framed houses.

There is a pleasantly cool breeze today making it difficult to imagine the week long heatwave that is forecast starting tomorrow. As we are some way inland here it is destined to be longer lasting and hotter than at the coast, so I will stay one more day to explore the environs before heading west towards the Atlantic.

14th. Took a circular drive this morning along the river to St Germain de Convolens and through the beautiful and gently hilly Vienne countryside.

Looking down on the village from the castle and its adjoining church.

The church has a grave yard with views to die for…..Oooops! Sorry!

The town from the river.

This pretty little street used to be the main road before it was surpassed by a marginally wider one! The name derives from the occupation of the street’s residents which was to make “Gris” wine by mixing red and white grapes, hence “Glass of Gris” not to confused with “verdigris”, they were vintners not metal workers. Oooops! What am I like? and I haven’t even started on the bear yet!

From St Germain I moved on to Esse

This town also has a booze connection with its own grape press and still which allowed it to produce the so called “water of life” a pure, colourless, high alcohol spirit that is the base for Brandy, Whisky and fortified wines.

There is still a forge in the village today and outside it there is the contraption that was used to control beasts when they were being shod.

Parts of the Church are very old and other than the alter piece with its C17 wooded columns carved with vines (Healthy reference to booze again) it is pleasingly simple.

It was now starting to get hot so I wended a slow way back to camp. After lunch I took a kayak out on the river and had a swim. I could not persuade Cassidy to come in the boat with me, which is a shame.

15th Hot day spent lounging around camp with a good paddle in the afternoon and a pretty sunset.

16th. Decided to move on today and do so via Decathlon at Rochfort to inspect their range of canoe/kayak. Firth stop on the way was the delightful village of Pressac. The Church was originally a triple arched Romanesque style edifice dating to the c12th. However it has been butchered by the addition of two brutal buttresses and despite what the story board claims I can’t help but wonder if it had more to do with the widening of the two adjacent roads!

17th. After a sultry night at Tonnay-Charente I was pleased to be heading home to the relative comfort of a well insulated house and A/C as a last resort. However having so enjoyed messing about in the canoes at Confolens a detour via Decathlon was mandatory. I left with a very smart inflatable Kayak, paddles, pump, booties and shorty wetsuit, so I am ready to rock’n roll (well hopefully not too much of the “roll”!)

As we arrived before opening time Cassidy and I took a stroll along the broad expanse of the Charente Estuary at high tide.

17th It was almost 10pm by the time it was cool enough to take Cassidy out for his evening walk, the advantage was “catching the sunset in the Rye” with apologies to J. D. Salinger!!!

20th went to Saujon with the intention of launching my birthday gift to myself only to find that the pump that I was sold with the inflatable Kayak is not compatible with it! Sod’s law states that the invoice will be at home. So nothing for it but to turn round and go and get it, returning to Decathlon tomorrow morning to change said pump. However I will visit Patti prior to going home as her new home is less than 10K from here making this an ideal day out to please both of us.

21th SUMMER SOLTICE. Back in Saujon in the camping car Aire that is on the banks of the Seudre with direct access. So armed with a working pump. Had a good paddle, a nice walk around the village and an ice cream on the quayside. The Police called by the Aire earlier to warn us all that there is a big storm with winds up to 100KPH expected at about 11pm. It certainly doesn’t feel like it at the moment but this was enough to make me deflate and pack away the kayak. However getting it back into the bag it came in (OR NOT) is another story!

Views up and down the Seudre River this evening.

22nd. The threatened storm did not materialize. so I could have avoided deflating the kayak afterall. I re-inflated the kayak and had a good mornings boating on the pound between the two bridges. I could not go further to explore the route shown on the board because following the extensive overnight rain the river was to high to allow safe passage under the bridge and onwards up river.

When I came ashore the man from the adjacent Canoe and Kayak club saw me struggling to cram the inflated boat into the van and asked me if I would like to store it in the club house till I returned. Very civil. I took him up on the offer and will investigate the benefits of becoming a member on my return.

In the afternoon Cassidy and I took a long walk. We encountered the site of another abandoned railway with its small Halt waiting room which has been converted into a mini museum. A fine job has been done of it too.

Wall plaques show how it looked, where the route went, the schedules and tariffs and tell the history.

23rd/24th. After a morning walk we left Saujon for Port D’Envaux, a lovely spot that I last visited about 4 years ago at the time of Sandi’s previous visit and just before my boat was sold. It is as charming as ever with the lovely waterside park, Ship Owners Mansions, and restaurants in the village centre.

Hidden corners….

C1755 Gate House….

The Lavoir…..

Somehow it even managed to look good in the persistenty rain.

24th. On to Taillebourg today for plug in to charge everything up, hot shower for me and work tomorrow morning. As there is more rain forecast I will loose nothing!

An alleyway in Taillebourg, a solar generated electric powered trip boat and the waterfront.

25th. Following a night of solid rain and a showery morning during which work was accomplished I moved back to Port d’Envaux. Rain continued till after 2pm and even then it was heavily overcast.

In the afternoon C and I took a walk to try and locate the Sculpture Park. It was quite a relevation but I decided to go back in the morning because I had the impediment of Cassidy and only my Cell Phone to record what really needed a proper camera to do it justice.

26th. Back to Les Lapidialles which is best described by a note attached to a tree at the entrance, which says, “I am more that ten million years old; I was born this morning”, referring to the ancient sedimentary rock and the modern sculptures. The overall impression is of the sheer scale of the place,some of the work is quite brutal and reminded me somewhat of the scale and work of Diego Riviera’s murals in Mexico cities municipal buildings.

To try and give an impression of the scale….

And in some more detail…..

And my favorite…..

From the Park we moved onto the quarries secreted away in woodland they have been worked continuously from Roman times till the 1940’s

Different exploiters leased lateral lots running in parallel to each other and quarried horizontally at about a depth of ten meters. The water table is too high for quarrying to a greater depth.