Kiwi on the Road - Our Motorhome Adventures: 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.