We woke up after last nights thunderstorm and everything was wet! Drummer Pie got up early while I snoozed for a little longer, he popped back in to Marennes and picked up food for the day, and treated himself to a sneaky coffee!
We packed up camp very slowly, trying to dry everything as much as possible before putting it away. We rolled out of the campsite at about 12 midday. On our way out of town we had a cross a massive bridge- it had a partially segregated bike path on it, but it was busy and pretty high. Also after the previous 'SPD top of the hill almost disaster', i wasn't keen to have both feet clipped in in case i had to make a sudden stop, it was harder work climbing it without being clipped. As I mentioned before Drummer Pie is not the biggest fan of heights but he said he actually enjoyed this bridge because the view was incredible!
We rejoined the Eurovelo route at Ronce les Bains and got on to a lovely bike path through quite dense woods, after following this for around 18km we had enough of trees and were itching to see some scenery! Luckily it was sunny and dry, and our kit was airing out on the back of our panniers.
For lunch we stopped at a massive lighthouse called 'Phare de la Coubre', we didn't go in for a look around, but instead found a little picnic area in the shade and stuffed our faces with crisps, brie and baguette. Just as we started to leave a french family sat down next to us and unpacked a picnic feast that put ours to shame.
We continued along the path through the woods and at La Palmyre we started to see the sea again! The path was winding and we had our first taste of le petit hills, they were fairly energy sapping, but we were soon at Royan to catch the ferry over the estuary. The ferry cost 9.80 for both of us and we managed to cycle on right before it left. Just before we got on I bought some cans of ice cold fizzy drink and we very much enjoyed cooling down with them whilst sitting on the top deck of the boat enjoying the view over the water. The journey was really quick and before we knew it we were on the other side of the channel.
Following another stop at another tourist information for camping directions we were on the bikes again heading towards a bike path, this was VERY well signed and easy to find. The path followed the line of a small tourist railway and was very cute. About half way down the path Drummer Pie had a bit of a meltdown, which was quickly solved by a load of water and a banana. This happened to us both throughout the trip, sometimes as we were cycling so much and it was hot we would just kind of forget to keep ourselves fuelled properly, by the end of the holiday we got much better at avoiding this.
After some helpful directions we finally found the campsite, Le Royainaisse. Supposedly an eco friendly campsite, it had a special price for cyclists (yesss!) and was quiet and leafy. We had another great pitch and took the time to wash a load of clothes that evening, to avoid getting any stinkier.
We had a home cooked dinner on the trangia stove, and headed to the campsite bar. So far we had avoided the campsite bars and cafes, but this one had a nice feel and fairly cheap wine. We also had a portion of chips, as everyone else had them and we couldn't resist the smell.
I have to admit I think this was the first really good nights sleep in France. No thunderstorms, not too hot or cold and very quiet, delightful!
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