A Train, Mountains and a brush with the Law
- Caroline & Garry
- Jul 9, 2019
- 6 min read
What an utter disappointment Biarritz was! On our wish list from day one of this road trip, we could not hide our dismay at what we found there. I suppose our first experience didn’t start well when the building of a new tramway connecting Biarritz and Bayonne threw the roads into utter chaos and as always the alternative direction signs lead you round and round in circles.
We did venture back into Biarritz a couple of days later determined as we were to explore the town. After finally managing to find a roadside parking place some distance from the centre, we were greeted by a wall of graffitied concrete up the steep sides of the cliff. These led down to one of the many surfing beaches around the town. Very popular with surfing schools and very busy. Suffice to say the rest of the town was uninspiring. There was the odd art deco building like the Le Musee de La Mer and an interesting church, but to be honest there are much better seaside places to explore along that coast. ‘ Oh. How the mighty have fallen.’
We also had our only run in with the law whilst here. We had parked Hygge along with other camping cars on a pay and display road above the beach. On our return we were greeted by a youthful looking police officer examining the van. (He looked about twelve and a half to me). After asking us if we spoke French and we acknowledged a limited understanding he then proceeded to tell us we were parking in a no camping car zone and could be fined - BIG!! I smiled and apologised explaining that we hadn't seen a sign but we had purchased a ticket. He then went on to explain that we probably hadn't seen the sign as many people don't because it is at the beginning of the road only and not that obvious!! So for a second there was a bit of a stand off, so I smiled a bit more and he eventually smiled back and let us go on our way, without a fine. We left him and several other officers examining the other parked camping cars. You know you are getting old when the police officers look so young, so a big thank you to that lovely young police officer.
However back to our trip. Our campsite in Arrugne, Camping D l’bardin was wonderful. Partly wooded with a lovely stream running through the middle it proved to be a delightful place to stay and well located for exploring the area.
We took a trip on ‘La Petite Train de la Rhune, which slowly climbs its way up the tallest peak in this area of the Pyrenees, The Rhune with a summit of 905 metres. We were lucky to see several swooping and majestic condors riding the thermals (see the video on our youtube channel) and the views from the top were breathtaking, to the north you can see way past Biarritz and to the south along the Atlantic coast into Spain and then east to the snowcapped mountains of the Haute Pyrenees. The train itself is wooden and was built in the 1920’s for the tourists. The day we visited there were many people climbing up the mountain, including parents with young babies strapped to their backs. We were suitably impressed as we sat on the train.
The Basque Country felt very different to other departments we had visited in France. Like the people of Brittany, Basque people are very proud and independent. Their language and dialect is very different to the rest of France but unlike Brittany where they were forbidden to speak their own language the Basques’ have retained theirs. Many of their houses are painted a particular Basque Red and many fly the Basque Flag.
We visited Ainhoa a picturesque village with houses dating back to the 1700’s, all immaculately maintained and in the Basque red. The Church of the Assumption is an interesting 13thcentury church to look around, with its balcony and rather impressive outside staircase. The pretty main street holds the usual tourist shops and restaurants. We enjoyed afternoon tea and the Basque speciality - Gateaux Basque, you can choose either a crème or cherry version, crunchy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside, delicious.
We could have stayed longer in this area and explored more but we had to move on and so we made our way to La Foret Campsite just outside Lourdes. We booked through the Caravan Club.
In the Haute Pyrenees the scenery became even more majestic. Our campsite was at the foot of a spectacular mountain and from the pool area you had a view over the fast flowing and crystal clear waters of the river Gave du Pau and down into Lourdes.
A family run site we shared our temporary home with two geese, some chickens, two dogs, an indeterminable number of cats and a family pig, who liked to roam around the campsite and often disappeared, which resulted in a search party being formed on a daily basis. We rather liked it here, Victor – the owner had taken over the site from his father and it was obviously his passion and it showed.
Lourdes
It’s difficult to know where to start when describing our impressions of this very famous town. An important pilgrimage site since a 14 year old Bernadette Soubrious claimed to have been visited several times by the Virgin Mary in a rocky grotto in the town. Lourdes is now considered on of the holiest sites in Christendom known collectively as Sanctuaires Notre Dame de Lourdes, their wealth and opulence clashes spectacularly with the tatty run down town that is Lourdes. We were amazed by the sheer volume of people queuing to bathe in the healing waters and the hundreds of parked coaches lining the riverside.
Aside from the architectural interest of the religious buildings we found the town to be full of neon lit souvenir shops and rather uninspiring eateries. There was an interesting set of stone sculptures depicting the Crucifixion of Christ and we enjoyed the walk along the river to the campsite.
Le Cirque de Gavernie (a UNESCO world heritage site) was recommended to us by Victor and involved a beautiful drive through the mountains and a 1.5 hour walk following the crystal clear waters of the river from Gavarnie. Set in the Pyrenees National Park this is the largest curved amphi-theatre of mountains in Europe, with numerous waterfalls cascading down. If you don’t fancy the walk you can hire a pony or donkey to take you up the valley. It was beautiful if not a little exhausting as it was very hot that day. The huge size and age of these mountains oozed with the raw power of nature and made me feel very insignificant indeed. A truly spectacular experience and one we won’t forget.
We stopped off on the way back down at one of the little cafes and enjoyed a tea and of course cake whilst admiring the wonderful view and getting our breath back!
We also took a drive up to the ski resort of Cauterets where we were hoping to continue along the valley of waterfalls but unfortunately as with some high passes early in the season, the road was closed. However on our return we stopped at a roadside café in an old Citroen Van parked next to the River and enjoyed a rather delicious burger and chips lunch sat in the sunshine. We were getting to rather enjoy these two hour lunch breaks!
Time to leave we packed up after a tremendous thunder storm when we nearly lost the sunshade and got soaking wet trying to take it down and ended up eating our dinner in our underwear. Theres an image that won't leave you for a while.
It was at this point we had to decide whether to continue down the Pyrenees and on towards Carcassonne or head back northwards towards Gascony. A detailed look at the finances dictated we should probably head North and so we drove up towards Auch and Condom and the beautiful village of La Romieu where the UNESCO Collegiale St Pierre is located and La Florence Campsite, which I will write about in my next blog.
Next time:- D’Artagnan, yet more stairs, and the smallest fortified town in France.
We hope you have enjoyed this blog as we travel further on our France Road Trip. If you would like to see and hear more about our adventure, don’t forget we are on Youtube – just search for campervanhygge.
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