The Loire and Dordogne 2026 - A visit to the beautiful Saint Emilion

 Monday 29^th September – Saint Emilion, Nouvelle Aquitaine
 
It rained during the night - big drops at times!  Fortunately, it had stopped by the time we got up. We left Rochefort and headed to Saintes, a 30 minute drive. Once again, I found a Lidl but the fresh produce was very poor.
 
Motorhome parking in Saintes is almost non-existent except for one huge space behind the Espace Pierre Mendès France  (The Modern Expo Hall).  I guess if there is an event on there would be no parking.

We walked to the Abbaye aux Dames, a former Benedictine convent founded in 1042.  It was the first women’s abbey established in the historic Saintonage region.  There are no active nuns living at the Abbey as monastic life at the abbey ended during the French Revolution in the 18th century when the religious order was disbanded and secularised.  The building is now used as a secular cultural centre.  The original, abbey was consecrated in 1047.  The abbey as it stands today was rebuilt and expanded between 1125 and 1140.

Next stop was the Arch of Germanicus which is a Roman arch built in 19AD.  It was built as a monumental city gate.  It is unusual as it has two arches, one for entry and one for exit across the Roman bridge.  Originally standing on the ancient Roman bridge across the Charente, it was scheduled for demolition in the 1840s when the bridge was dismantled, but a French novelist intervened to save it, and it was moved stone by stone to its present position.

We found pink ribbons round trees and along the bridge.  In France they have Octobre Rose, the annual breast cancer awareness campaign.

The town was dead, I know that a lot of shops are closed on a Monday but this was really dead!

Our last stop was the Basilica of Saint Eutrope, a UNESCO built church in the late 11th century and consecrated in 1096.  It is considered one of the major Romanesque masterpieces of western France.  It is situated along the Via Tyronensis and served for centuries as a major pilgrim station along the Paris route to Santiago de Compostela.  Interesting for us as we went to Santiago de Compostela earlier this year. 
 
The town  is charming and the old town especially.  The area is filled with narrow pedestrian streets and traditional cafes - though they were all shut today!!

These are general photos taken in Saintes.

Back at Kiwi we had lunch and then started our drive to St. Emilion, a place I am really looking forward visiting. 
 
We made a deviation to an Auchan supermarket as the air conditioning in Kiwi is smelling and I wanted to buy a “bomb” to try and clean it, but they didn’t sell them.
 
When we got to our aire for the night we discovered there had been a mix-up.  The owners, Jerome and Soda, had made it.  Soda hadn’t looked at the bookings before letting a campervan have our pitch.  They were mortified and let us park outside their house for the night and we can the best pitch tomorrow when it becomes vacant.  Oh, and our stay will be totally free.
 
121 miles
What3words
mewing.goal.asserting

 
Tuesday 29^th September – Saint Emilion, Nouvelle Aquitaine
 
It was the hottest night we have had on this trip and probably since last summer, when we had a weekend by the Thames at Henley. We had the windows and hatches open and even the fan on which was extravagant as were not on hook up.  We were also right next to the road which got busy at some unearthly hour so, all in all, not a good night’s sleep.

We walked through the vines into Saint Emilion - about 10 minutes. 

First stop was a coffee then we met up with a group to do a guided tour underground in French!  I had been given an English translation of the tour when I checked in, but it didn’t really help!  Sadly there was no photography allowed, however once underground it made perfect sense,  I found four photos on the internet.

First stop was Saint Emilion’s hermitage where he during the 8th century, performing miracles before attracting a monastic community that eventually founded the town.  Inside is a seat known as the Fauteuil de Émilion (Seat of Fertility). Local legend says that women seeking to conceive who sit on this seat and pray will become pregnant within a year!

 
Then The Chapel of the Trinity (Chapelle de la Trinité) which is built directly above the hermitage cave of Saint Émilion and features remarkably preserved 14th century wall paintings inside, illustrating scenes from religious tradition.
 
And finally the catacombs and the very impressive Monolithic Church of Saint-Emilion (Église Monolithe).  The catacombs were carved directly out of the solid limestone and were an area which served as a burial site for Benedictine monks and prominent local figures between the 9th and 12th century.  The church is one of Europe's largest underground religious monuments.  By the late 11th and early 12th centuries, the local religious community decided to build a vast place of worship to accommodate the growing influx of pilgrims.  Instead of assembling stone blocks, medieval stonemasons carved the entire structure out of the living limestone plateau. They excavated approximately 15,000 cubic meters of rock to create the sanctuary.  The finished cavern measures roughly 125 feet long, 65 feet wide, and 40 feet high, making it the largest monolithic church in Europe. Massive octagonal pillars were left in place from the natural stone to support the ceiling and distribute the immense weight of the limestone hill above.  These have now been strengthened by massive steel braces. 
 
I think that Rio was a bit confused as, not only was he underground, but there were no doggy smells down there!

 

After all that we decided we deserved some lunch.  We chose a restaurant in the square.  I had a Caesar salad and Richard had a galette.  They were both very good.

Next was the Cloître des Cordeliers.  In the 13th century, Franciscan friars established themselves in Saint-Émilion. Known in France as "Cordeliers" due to the knotted hemp rope (corde) they wore around their waist as a symbol of poverty, the friars initially built a small monastery outside the town walls around 1280.  Due to frequent regional conflicts and raids—particularly during the Hundred Years' War—the monks received permission from King Edward III of England (who ruled the Aquitaine region at the time) to construct a new, fortified monastery inside the safety of the town's defensive ramparts. Construction began in the early 14th century and featured a church, an enclosed cloister, residential quarters, a chapter house, and an internal garden.  During the French Revolution in 1789, religious orders were abolished, and church property was confiscated. The monks were evicted, the monastery was sold at auction in 1791 and stripped of a lot of its stone before falling into disrepair over the 19th century.  It was designated an official French Historical Monument in 1927, protecting its surviving Gothic structures and romantic ruins.

I had a postcard to send and finally found a letter box that didn’t look like a letterbox, so I hope it gets to its destination!

We were going to call it a day as it was so hot and we were both finding the cobbles quite tiring, when we saw a little train pass the end of the road.  If there is one thing we like, it is a little train or an open top bus!  The trip took us through vineyards - there were acres and acres of them and dotted in the middle were lovely chateaux, but not the type we had seen in the Loire, these were wineries.  The name covers the entire operation—the vineyards, the winemaking cellars, and the main manor house or building.  It was a beautiful trip.  The most astonishing thing was coming across a lady with a horse ploughing the gaps between the lines of vines.  Sadly I just didn’t get time to take a photo.  I found this on the internet.
 
Heavy tractors crush soil and kill beneficial microorganisms; horses tread softly, keeping the earth aerated and rich in organic matter. Working with a horse allows handlers to get right up close to individual vines without mechanical damage to the trunk or roots. Tractors create deep vibrations that can disrupt and damage delicate vine root systems over time.

One last stop was the Collegiate Church.  Built between the 12th and 15th centuries, it combines Romanesque and Gothic architecture and features one of the largest cloisters in the region.  It is quite impressive and, to be honest, more so than the two in Saintes.  Leading off the church is a very attractive 14th century Gothic cloister.

We walked back to Kiwi through the vines again and moved her to the premier pitch!  Out came the awning and we sat under it looking out at vines, vines and more vines!  Most of my evening was spent trying to find a campsite for tomorrow.  We have had a change of mind about our route and I need to catch up on the laundry, so a campsite is the best bet.  However, most campsites in the area close for the winter on September 30th and weren't interested in us.  I managed to find one that closes at the end of October and are happy to take us.  Phew!

On our way back we saw this enormous wall. which is known as Les Grandes Murailles (The Great Wall).  It is the last remaining north wall of a 12th to 13th century Dominican (mendicant) monastery.  The order of Saint Dominic swore vows of individual poverty, which usually meant keeping church and monastery buildings low and modest. However, the impressive height and style of this surviving wall suggest the monks were much wealthier than their rules allowed. During the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), French troops used the high structure as a military refuge, observation post, and defensive position. Because of this conflict, the Dominicans moved inside the safety of the town's official walls, and French forces intentionally destroyed the rest of the monastery.

Wednesday 30th September - Le Buisson-de-Cadouin, Nouvelle-Aquitaine

We had some rain through the night and the morning was a bit overcast, hence the rather dull photos of our personal vineyard as I completely forgot to take any last night.
 

When we walked through the vines yesterday, we noticed how the leaves were getting shrivelled and wondered if they prune as they are now or when the leaves have fallen off. Well, this morning we got our answer as they were busy pruning our vines.  Strangely enough we didn’t see any more pruning as we drove along.
 
We had planned to go to Bergerac today but after yesterday’s heat and the cobble stones, neither Richard’s knee nor my back felt up to another day of sightseeing.  So we chose to move on to just short of our next stop.
 
We drove south east to the Dordogne River. I hadn’t realised how far Saint Emilion is from the Dordogne, and, in fact, how close to Bordeaux it is.  We drove through quite a bit of woodland which, again surprised me, as I was expecting more and more vineyards.
 

We skirted round Bergerac before arriving at our site in Le Buisson-de-Cadouin. It’s a fairly small site and our pitch faces the Dordogne River, it’s really lovely. I could stay here for at least another night!

The village was formed in 1974 by merging several historic villages: Le Buisson, Cadouin, Paleyrac, and Cabuans.  Why merge villages?  France has pushed to combine (or merge) its villages and towns—known as communes—primarily to solve a unique historical problem: having far too many tiny administrative divisions for a modern’ state to manage efficiently.  At one point, France contained around 36,000 to 38,000 individual communes, accounting for more than half of all local municipalities in the entire European Union. Thousands of these villages had fewer than 100 residents.  In my mind, why couldn’t they have left the village name as it was and make a district council such as we have in the UK.  I can’t imagine our address suddenly becoming Hayling Island on Havant under Waterlooville!!

I spent the afternoon catching up on emails and other admin type jobs. Goodness only knows where it all comes from, but then I do seem to spend a lot of time at my computer at home. Oh, and I also got the laundry done.

As I am writing this, it is 8.30pm and is pitch dark. However, we are sat outside as it is so warm, oh and so far, no mozzies!!
 
65 miles
What3words
timeslot.clogs.hips

The Loire and Dordogne 2026 - Bridges both long and stable along with a swinging one!

Friday 25th September - L'Ile de Re, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
 
We left Les Sables d’Olonne and headed for the Ile de Re.
 
We were looking for a supermarket to get some fresh milk - Lidl in France don’t seem to have fresh milk and I really don’t like UHT milk.  We saw signs but never actually saw the store or if we did it wasn’t on our road - now that one is really frustrating!
 
As we approached the Ile de Re there is a really long bridge - 1.82 miles.  It is the second longest in France, with the Saint-Nazaire bridge being the longest at just over 2 miles. It reached a maximum height of 140 feet and was opened in May 1988.  As we now in the Low to Mid Season (September 12th to June 19th) the return toll is £6.90.
 
We finally found a supermarket, in fact there are two big ones on the Island.  I got the fresh milk and a few other things!
 
We decided to drive straight to our CampingCar Park and do some exploring tomorrow.  Its not a bad site but it isn't a campsite, its an aire and no camping behaviour is allowed, this means no chairs or awnings out etc, but quite a few people were ignoring that.
 
The village where the aire is, is called Saint Clement-des-Baleines.  There is obviously a rule that anything that is wood has to be painted a shade a green though there are a few grey doors.  I'm amazed at how many shade of green there are!  On doing some research I found that green doors are prevalent all over the island. Historically, island fishermen and sailors used leftover copper-based protective paint from their boat hulls to coat the wooden doors and shutters of their cottages. The anti-fouling paint helped protect the wood from harsh sea salt, humidity, and coastal weather.   Over time, these shades of green (ranging from dark forest green to soft sage and olive) became the visual identity of "Ré la Blanche"—contrasting against the brilliant whitewashed facades and terracotta roof tiles.  Today local architectural guidelines regulate exterior paint colors across Île de Ré villages to preserve the historic aesthetic. Homeowners must select approved muted tones of green, grey, or blue for doors, gates, and shutters. There were no blue doors in our village.

We had promised Rio a visit to a beach after his disappointment yesterday.  There was a path next to our aire which, supposedly, took us down to the beach, but there were deviations due to tree falls and we seemed to walk for ages before reaching the beach.  Sadly the tide was in so there wasn't much beach to walk on but Rio really enjoyed it and found lots of birds to chase - that was the whole point of the walk.

Back at Kiwi I spent ages trying to sort out our batteries.  I have a new friend who in the Techical Services Manager for Rolls Batteries in Nova Scotia, who had been helping me. I can't really explain what is going on as I just don't now!  I had to alter a lot of the settings through the app, now we just have to wait to see if they charge up quicker.  We will add an extra solar panel when we get home, so hopefully that will help a bit.
 
91 miles
What3words
unnaturally.midway.monologues
 
 
Saturday 26th September - L'Ile de Re, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
 
A day for exporing L'Ile de Re and, or course, our first stop was a ligthouse, and not just any old lighthouse, it is the most impressive lighthouse in France!  Le phare des Baleines (Whale Lighthouse) was built between 1849 and 1853 by Léonce Reynaud, a French architect and engineer.  It was built to replace the first tower constructed by Vauban in 1682. Whale Lighthouse is aligned with the Baleineaux lighthouse, which is smaller, 3 kms along the coast.  It is named Whale Lighthouse because a large number of whales are washed up on this part of the island.  it is 187 feet high and has 257 steps to the top, needless to say we didn't go to the top!
 

There is a large fish barrier by the lighthouse.  These were devised in the middle ages.  At high tide, the sea covers the walls and fish swim inside. When the tide goes out, the water recedes but the low walls trap the fish inside the enclosure for harvesting.  Local groups work to protect and restore the surviving fish locks, which can be seen along the coast during low tide.

When we got back to Kiwi, we had a parking ticket!  We were very neatly parked in a space, not upsetting anyone but we had driven past a sign which said no vehicles over 5 metre - we are 7.5 metres.  Silly mistake.  I will try and use the "we are silly Brits who just didn't see the sign and anyway the sign had a lorry on it, not a motorhome!).

 
I wanted to see the salt marshes (marais salants). There are, what feels like, hundreds of them.  Salt farming dates back to the 12th century, peaking in the 19th century when it covered nearly 18% of the island.  It  is harvested by local workers (sauniers) during the warm summer months between June and September.  Producers harvest coarse grey salt from the clay bottoms and also delicate fleur de sel that crystallizes on the water's surface.  The extraction process remains completely natural and relies on the sun and wind, using methods largely unchanged since the Middle Ages.  While the industry declined in the 20th century, a major revival over the last few decades has kept this tradition thriving. Today, around 100 professional salt workers (known as sauniers) manage approximately 400 hectares of active salt pans across the northern part of the island.

We then discovered that the Ile de Re doesn't really like big motorhomes.  We don't class ourselves as big but we are over 3.5 tons which, in France, makes us big.  Nearly all the towns have over 3.5 restrictions which meant we couldn't go everywhere we wanted to go.  In the end I set the sat nav to go to our aire for the night which is just before the bridge to the mainland.  We are right oon the beach and under a huge pine tree which is full of pine cones - I hope the wind doesn't get up in the night!

It is a beautiful tree.

However, the Ile de Re does like bicycles and there are cycle routes everywhere and lots of bike parking areas.  There is a cycle route just outside the site so we walked along it (pedestrians are allowed to share it) to Rivedoux Plage.  

It was a lovely walk and we rewarded ourselves with a beer before heading back.  The beer came in very strange wonky glasses which, in fact, we very nice to hold!

As we walked to Rivedoux Plage earlier we saw that dogs are allowed on the beach between 8pm and 10am, so we took Rio for one last beach walk before we head inland.  He becomes a different dog when he has sand under his paws.  He just ran and ran and almost forgot to stop whilst chasing a bird into the sea!!  He even had a great game of chase with a larger black dog - Rio was way out in front!

This photo is of a bike park at the lighthouse.  I wondered what on earth it was to start with!

We have enjoyed the Ile de Re but wished it was more large motorhome friendly.  I loved the green, grey and blue paintwork on the white houses and the villages, we were able to go through, are really pretty.

 
25 miles
What3words
populated.salary.hooter

Sunday 27th September - Rochefort, Nouvelle Aquitaine
 
We were going to La Rochelle but decided to miss it out - it was just too much to do in one day with Rochefort as well.  Another one for the “must return to” list.  I may have overestimated some days on this trip!!
 
It was only a short drive to Rochefort and to the Pont Transbordeur de Rochefort (Rochefort Transporter Bridge).  We certainly couldn’t miss it at 217 feet!  I was worried that, as it was a sunny Sunday morning, it would be really busy, but we were able to park quite close by and walk to the bridge.  I had read that the bridge has a gondola hanging under it, and French regulations do call it a gondola, but it wasn’t swinging around in the sky it was just above the River Charente, though the tide was out!  The gondola is basically a swinging road, though the only vehicles allowed nowadays are bikes.  The ride across was slow and gentle but generally unexciting!  Maybe if the tide had been in it might have been different.  On the other side is a small museum which we had a quick look round before catching the gondola back. 

The building of the bridge took 27 months and it was opened on July 29th 1900.  It could carry 9 horse drawn carriages and 200 people per crossing.  In 1967, growing automotive traffic completely overwhelmed the slow-moving gondola. The transporter bridge was abandoned when a modern vertical-lift bridge was built right next to it.  In 1976 facing imminent threat of demolition, local heritage campaigns successfully saved the bridge by getting it classified as a French Historic Monument.  Then in 1994, following a major restoration initiative, the bridge reopened exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists. Meanwhile, its modern replacements continued to cycle through—the 1967 lift bridge was demolished in 1991 when the high-speed Martrou Viaduct opened.  In 2016–2020 the French Ministry of Culture funded a massive €22 million deep restoration. The entire bridge was meticulously overhauled to safely restore its original 1900 aesthetic.  The bridge reopened on its exact 120th anniversary—29 July 2020—cementing its place as a fully functional crown jewel of European industrial heritage.  The modern swinging bridge no longer holds 9 horse drawn carriages and 200 people!

There are 9 bridges in Europe, three in the UK.  However, only four are still operational.  In the UK the Warrington bridge closed in 1964, the one over the River Tees closed down in 2019 and though the Newport bridge closed in 2025 for a multi million pound restoration, it is hoped to open it again in 2027.

We found our aire, an area provided by the council for 12 motorhomes, with no problem.  We aren’t far from the marina and the view out of the windscreen is of boats on the hard being worked on.

We walked to Les Arsenal de Mer a maritime heritage complex and former naval shipyard.  Founded in 1666 by King Louis XIV and his minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, it was designed to be the grandest military shipbuilding base in France. Often dubbed the "Versailles of the Sea," it constructed nearly 550 warships over nearly three centuries before closing its military operations in 1927.  

We passed the long Corderie Royale, the 1,227 feet long, 17th century building constructed to supply rigging for the French Navy.  It was a very impressive building. 
 
We came across a military re-enactment group and thought they were about to fire a cannon, but we were told it wouldn’t be until 3pm - 20 minutes time.  We did hear it later and were glad we weren’t standing next to it!

We found a bar and enjoyed a pint of local beer.   While we were there I discovered that Rochefort was celebrating the 400th anniversary of the French Navy and the 360th anniversary of its own naval arsenal.  There had obviously been lots going on over the weekend but at least we saw, and heard, the re-enactment.

We walked back to Kiwi and collapsed.  3 miles, mostly on cobble, and it has been a very hot day.

Oh, and by the way, the British Navy is 480 years old 🤣
 
34 miles
What3words 

satisfactory.behind.allowing