To start with, wild camping ๐๏ธ in Franceย is all together easier than wild camping in Spain. By a country-mile! Not at one point did I feel I needed to stealth camp. Some locations I was fairly visible, like a canal or by a lake ๐ฃ! It just seems widely accepted! I would still try and make myself as undetected as possible, preferably in a wooded enclosure. I love the protective feel of a canopy above. I particular like pineย ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฒ forests….
I’m getting to the stage in writing this, with this journey taking place well over a year ago and I’m starting to forget the details! Some might say that’s down to age, I say it’s down to time โฒ๏ธ but then they’re both inextricably linked! It finally feels this journey has come to an end and I’m slightly sad for it, but I’m soon to set off on another small journey further down south … whoop whoop! ๐ฆ๐บ En-route I pass…
After managing to untangle myself from a city ๐๏ธ ie. determine the exact direction out! I follow the river Erdre northwards. I subsequently also lost this cycle route as signposting was poor or I was poor! If it was there at all! I ended up cycling through, what I think was a kind of scout / brownies summer camp. I cycled passed them, they all gauped ๐ฒ I next had to cycle back as the gate was locked on the otherside … they…
I wasn’t in a hurry to leave La Garde. It was peaceful (except for a rooster ๐ !) and the wine flowed ๐ท Not sure my head was terribly keen after the previous nights wine! It didn’t help it was hot too โ! I was grumpy ๐ค This is central France, it’s relatively flat. It is a delight as one can leisurely cycle without any effort … what a novelty! The fields were been harvested and the sunflowers were out in…
Stage 4 – Saumur to Limoges After having seen in 2014 Le Grand Depart in Yorkshire ๐ดโโ๏ธ I was now fortunate to be staying near this years route passing through Le Dorat enroute to Limoges from Saumur. The most enjoyable part was the procession train before the race game through. And after all that, I forgot to capture a photo of any riders ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐ดโโ๏ธ๐ดโโ๏ธ as they passed! What a plonker ๐
I’d been made aware of an operation by the British Special Air Service SAS during WW2 while staying with friends in the tiny hamlet of La Garde. This was a behind-the-enemy-lines-operation to disrupt the German (Nazi) movements of troops and heavy armour en-route to the channel coast to bolster the defenses for the Normandy landings (D-day). 33 members of B sqn 1 SAS who were captured and later executed by German (Nazi) forces while on Operation Bulbasket which ran from…