Wednesday 3rd August,  Chuce to Saint Pere en Retz, Loire Atlantique (44)

One of todays jobs was to pop into an Aire to dispose of our unwanted waste water (black and grey) and to top up with fresh water and fuel too.  This we managed just outside Cholet and was part of a bus depot but next to a SuperU. Aires are fantastic places situated all over France enabling travellers to keep going off grid for longer.

Heading in a westerly direction we had to circumnavigate Nantes, well that was the plan.  However diversion after diversion, with multiple road works saw us drive around in circles doubling up on ourselves, driving through bus depots, down streets with cleverly installed street calming furniture we gradually became more fed up and frustrated. Of course Tom Tom was of no use as he tried several times to take us back onto the road that was closed!  Now Nantes has not endeared itself to us at all and it will be a push to say to anyone go there!

Still rather annoyed at the waste of time we eventually found ourselves on the far side of this huge place going West.  Calling in at one of our chosen France Passions we were greeted by 3 dogs and did an immediate u turn out. The Boys and us could not cope with that environment no matter how convivial the host might have been.

Only ten minutes later we came across Ferme de la Gougillais, slightly by mistake, thinking that we were further west than we were and feeling we would have to travel much further to an ACSI site.  These France Passion sites are really brill, although being limited in size and facilities, they give a whole new meaning to travelling “laid back” in France. Later we were joined by another 3 French camping cars on a pitch about the size of a large tennis court.

As the rain started to fall we ensconced ourselves in Zygies spacious interior with a bottle of wine for the evening.