Caravan in the Loire to escape from the Brits - Not!

Many, many years ago when our caravanning experience was pretty slim and foreign touring almost non existent we took the plunge, booked a ferry crossing and set off for the Loire. When you want to escape from the English and try a foreign holiday you always head for the Loire valley – I think not!

We arrived without incident at a campsite near Saumur, dropped the legs, plugged in the electrics etc and opened the inevitable bottle while listening to the foreign tongues all around us. Brilliant, just what the doctor ordered.

The area is fantastic with so much to see and do from the fairytale chateau and the troglodyte dwellings, to the spending of an hour or three sitting, lunching in any of the gorgeous town squares.

Returning to the ‘van after a day out we noticed another British outfit to the side of us. Brilliant – come all this way to be next to a Brit! I can be miserable! Of course we got on well and chatted away. We eventually found out that we originally came from the same town, Barnsley, South Yorkshire and had attended the same Holgate grammar school, only to move away from the area in later years. In fact at school we were only a year apart – yea I was the old beggar! After a few more glasses of vinno we even managed to annoy our neighbours by singing the old school song.

When it was time to move on, down to La Rochelle I was almost sad to say ‘au revoir’.

Still love the Loire and so have to put up with the odd (occasional) Brit or the odd (strange) Brit – that’d be me!