2024 Hendaye to Halle
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When we started our 2024 cycle trip in Lisbon, we were not sure yet if we would have enough time to cycle all the way back to Belgium, or we would be short of time in order to reach home by the middle of july. Being at the French border and still having 30 days available, we knew this was going to work and that we now had to decide on which route to take.
Some of the possibilities were the Vélodyssée up to Brittany followed by the EuroVelo 4 to Belgium, the Camino of Compostella from Spain to Belgium.
We decided to do a mix and follow the Vélodyssée upto Royan, followed by the East Camino going around Paris.
A total of around 1400 km so time enough.
Video on DILISTUFF YouTube channel
Hendaye to Royan - The vélodyssée
It just feels like known territory when we are crossing the bridge in to France. Suddenly we can understand everything people are saying. It even feels a little as coming home.
While we still can see Spain on the other side of the bay, the houses, vegetation and roads seem more familiar.
There's also a downside, it's all going to be more expensive also.
One exception: In France, campsites are more common and as we are planning to stay mostly in "Les Camping Municipales", the cost for 1 night will mostly be between 15 and 20 euro's a night.
Just outside the campsite in Saint Jean de Luz, there is a nice beachbar where the DJ is playing 60's and 70's music. So strange as all the songs are in English and during the 60's and 70's, you could only hear French songs on the local radio.
After apero, we went back to the campsite for our first "camp cooking" after the 2 weeks of restaurant food in Spain.
On a campsite, it's also easier to do some maintenance work on the bikes and we started replacing the brakepads. We're always using organic brakepads and they do not last as long as the sintered ones. Benefits are that they brake slightly better and make less noice with rainy weather.
First morning in France means croissants for breakfast. In our case with a "Grand Chocolat chaud".
Continuing direction Biaritz, this is seems clearly also a surfers paradise.
When you see the Rocher de la Vierge, you know that Biarritz is just around the corner. The rock is connected to the mainland by a footbridge only and gets its name from its statue of the Virgin Mary.
A little further is Bayonne, best known in the gastronomy for the Bayonne ham which is the most widely consumed ham in France. When we stopped for a drink at a summer bar near the river, another cyclist suddenly called our names as she recognised us from Linda's instagram account. Carlijn, a Dutch national living in Australia, was heading towards the Camino del Norte and started following our Camino del Norte story just 2 days ago. And yes, we were the ones getting her day sticker. Thanks Carlijn.
The next 300 km is probably the easiest part of our entire trip from Lisbon to Belgium. Most of the way is flat or mildly up and down. Most of it is also on dedicated bicycle path and there is also an abundance of affordable campsites.
We've been here before visiting our youngest daughter when she was a volunteer in a surf holiday camp.
Remembering a nice restaurant in Contis-plage, we just stopped here again for lunch and a "Café Gourmand".
Checking the weather forecast, predictions were stormy weather, thunder and lightning, pouring rain, extreme wind, etc...
The camping where we wanted stay also had a few "Campetoiles", a little tenthut on stilts. For 10 euro's more, we did not have to pitch our own tent and were safe for whatever weather was approaching fast.
Easy decision.
Just before reaching the bay of Arcachon, you're passing the Dune of Pilat, the tallest sand dune in Europe.
We continued to the Jetée du Moulleau for crossing the bay to Cap Ferret.
Arriving at the pier, we were told to remove all panniers and bags from our bicycles.
When we saw the ferry arriving, we understood why we had to do this.
Arriving at Cap Ferret, we immediately continued via the Velodyssée towards the next campsite, totally forgetting to first visit the lighthouse, one of the most well-known landmarks on this trip. No problem, we'll do it another time.
Our campsite for the night was just next to the beach. When the tide goes out, vast expanses of sandbanks and mudflats emerge.
Perfect place for an evening walk on the beach.
While it probably does not come as a surprise, all this natural beauty comes for free. Staying a night on Cap Ferret is not for free.
The price of our Camping Municipal is double the price we paid the day before and also the most expensive campsite of our trip.
From Cap Ferret, it's just another 120 km on the Velodyssee before we reach the river Gironde. Campsites will be getting more scarce once we leave this cycle route, so we better enjoy all the facilities while we're still here.
We're not the only ones loving this long distance path.
Some even use it to walk the full circle around France.
In Verdon-sur-mer, we board the Bac La Gironde for a leisurely 25 minute boat trip to Royan. In high season, it only costs 5 Euro per person and bicycles go along for free.
Royan to Poitiers
We are now in the old Charente-Maritime region, now belonging to the Nouvelle-Aquitaine which stretches from Hendaye to La Rochelle.
In the landscape, you now see the vineyards with the grapes used for the Pineau de Charente.
Pineau is made by mixing 3/4 fresh grapejuice with 1/4 of cognac brandy from the previous year
The pineau is than aged for at least 1 year, after which it is again kept in oak barrels for minimum 8 months.
Saintes is on the banks of the river Charente and used to be the first Roman capital of the Aquitaine region. The Arch of Germanicus was the entrance to a bridge where the Roman road crossed the Charente.
We love eating Crêpes Bretonnes and whenever we are in France, we just cannot resist. This crêperie was offering a fixed menu with a savory buckwheat crepe as a main, followed by a sweet wheat crêpe as dessert, accompanied by a Breton Cider in the typical stone cup.
After Saintes, it's about 150 km to Poitier where we will take a day of rest, the first one since we left San Sebastian.
The roads are flat, the weather is good and nearly no traffic on the roads. 2 Leisurely days of cycling in front of us.
In Aulnay, an information board at the church confirms to us that we are indeed again on "Les Chemins de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle".
A little further, you're passing the Colombier du chareau d'Aulnay, a dovecot dating back to the 15th century
We decide that 80 km is enough for today and are looking for a camping around Melle. Nothing, so 2nd option is a hotel or B&B and yes, we're in luck. La maison Fossemagne, owned by a dutch male couple still has rooms available.
After 7 nights of camping, let's go for some luxury tonight.
After passing the Chateau d'Aigne and endless fields, plus flat tire number "Too many", we're reaching Poitiers.
Poitiers
We had no specific reason to stay for 2 nights in Poitiers, except because we had been cycling now for 9 days in a row without a day of rest. Our muscles felt like they needed a day off.
Also, we received a message from our friends Jacinta & Frank (SpinningSouth) asking if we were cycling via Orléans.
Jacinta's brother, Johan Creten, is a sculptor and is having an exhibition in Orléans, in the Musuem of Fine Arts and several spots in the city. A good idea for which we were going to redraw our route for the last 750 km back home.
Happy again that we are not booking anything in advance.
We had a little studio with a spot outside. Time to relax, having a healthy homemade breakfast and while Dirk is planning the route, time for Linda to do some crochet work (which she was carrying already since we started our trip in Lisbon)
Not expecting anything special, Poitiers turned out a good choice for a rest day. With a nice old city center, not an overload of tourists (like us) and many cafes and restaurants.
On the square near the Notre-Dame-La-Grande, we had a nice set lunch at Les Fines Gueules. It's amazing how much value for money you get here and on top of it, they're super nice people.
Finishing the day with a walk in the Parc de Blossac, the largest park in Poitiers and dating back to the 18th century
Poitiers to Orléans
The first 120 km to Tours is still the same as with our original route. It really looks like we are not going to have any real climbs anymore until we are reaching the Ardennes and that's still a long way to go. The average km's is easily going up to around 90 km per day.
We're now in the Loire valley which is a region with fertile soil and a favorable climate for a wide variety of crops.
Vineyards, grains like wheat, barley and corn, sunflowers and endless fields of poppies.
No shortage of castles or fortified villages. Even the smallest village seems to have their own stronghold.
Prices for hotels are getting more expensive the further north we cycle, so we always revert to camping whenever we can. We're also coming in an area where there must have been a lot of rainfall during the last couple of days as most rivers have a rather high water level.
We're arriving in Tours just before lunch time and we're heading immediately to the Place Plumereau, one of the city's most iconic and lively spots. Unfortunately, we did not find a place to park our bicycles so after taking some photo's, we looked for a place for lunch in one of the neighbouring streets.
Tip for lunch: Le Comptoir de Mamie Bigoude, yes, it's a Crêperie Breton again.
Leaving Tours, we're still on the Camino de Compostella and we are taking the route via Orléans instead of the originally planned route via Chartres. We were expecting that the Camino would be the same track as the "Loire a Velo" but this does not seem to be the case. After Vouvray, we're mostly cycling in the countryside and we decide that as from tomorrow, we will go via the other side of the river.
The plan is to go camping at the Camping Municipal in Onzain but when we pass the Château de Perreux, we cannot resist to check the prices for a room with table d'hôtes.
Prices are around 250 euro a night, without breakfast and without table d'hôtes.
Thats about 20 times the price for our campsite so the foolish idea to sleep in a castle tonight was quicly gone.
After pitching our tent, we just crossed the river for some food in the local Guingette, a typical pop-up bar/snack which you find everywhere in France during the summer season.
After a quick stop in Blois for some "Mirror"-photo's and groceries for the day, we are now cycling on the Eurovelo 6 which is a 3.250 km route from Saint Nazaire at the Atlantic Ocean to Constanta at the Black Sea.
The part along the Loire, " la Loire a Vélo", is 900 km and is a popular cycling route for cyclists who prefer organised tours whithout having to carry their own luggage.
These tours usually also go downstream making it really easy to do.
Orléans
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