It was late March, the weather had been all over the place, but a period of warm sunny days beckoned and as Horatio finally has a fixed exhaust system, his French MOT and a new valve fitted to his boiler, we thought it was time for the first trip of the year – known as a “shakedown”.
As campers know, this is the trip where you try to remember all the things you need – being me, that means looking at multiple lists – and when you find out if all the onboard systems and human operators are functioning as they should!
I consulted my book of camping Aires as no campsites open this early in the year even without the pandemic. I searched for one with a view and within reasonable range. I found one next to a lake, not far from Argentat in the Corrèze – basically approx. 80 miles northeast of Sarlat and about 3 hours in Horatio (it’s a very hilly drive). We set that as our destination and spent 2 days running in and out of the van loading bedding, clothes, easy- or no-cook food – and most importantly wine and beer 😉
B filled the water tank, checked we had plenty of gas for cooking and heating (warm days but cold nights) and made sure the leisure battery was fully charged. The targeted Aire had a service point where you can empty your loo and pay a couple of euros to get water or a 1 hour charge up so all back ups in place. Perfect!
Horatio – all packed, and ready to go from his new parking platform with a spot of guidance – got the walkie talkies?!
We set off on a Sunday – the roads were almost eerily quiet, so much so that I rechecked that we hadn’t missed an instruction to go into the predicted next lockdown. Fortunately, it wasn’t the case. Phew! We drove through Martel in the Lot, which is a pretty town and on my list for a visit when restaurants and bars are open again, and then stopped in a picnic area just after Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne.
At Argentat we took the road to Servières-le-Chateau and from there followed the satnag – and signs – to Lac du Feyt. We pulled up into a spot with a lake view, as promised in the book – and it was – Perfect!
Lac du Feyt is one of many in the Massif Central which have been created by EDF damming a river valley for hydroelectric power generation, so instead of being a basin full of water, it’s a series of fingers joined together, which we quickly discovered meant my idea of walking around it was not going to happen – not only due to distance, but a lot of marshy areas at the tip of each “finger”, not all of which were passable without wellies.
On the second day we had to up sticks and backtrack to Argentat for something B had forgotten (lets leave it at that!). It’s a pain when that happens as you have to pack everything securely away, and someone could pinch your perfect parking spot before you get back. We left our ramps and a couple of chairs in our spot and told a neighbouring van we would be back in a couple of hours. Then B crossed his fingers tightly that the level of doodie he was in would not get any worse and off we went.
Argentat is also on the Dordogne and very lovely as it turns out. So, it is now another place on the list for a visit when its possible to sit out and eat at one of the riverside restaurants. I like my lists, in case you hadn’t noticed…..
A rather unsual roof pot
Funky street lights line the riverbanks
Reflections in the now tranquil river which just a couple of months ago was flooding along its length – right down to our area.
On our return our ramps and chairs were still there, and still on our preferred spot so B could breathe again 😉 Back to reading, eating outside, listening to the birds, watching sunsets, and walking by the lake. Very peaceful and good for the soul.
On our last day we cycled into Servières-le-Chateau only to find that the chateau perched on the hill next to the church is in fact some sort of sanatorium. The only commerce open was a pharmacy (I guess that is rather well utilised!) and the obligatory boulangerie was closed for renovations so we didn’t stop for long, but we did spot a very pretty house with a bird apartment attached!
By the 4th evening we lost all power to the internal systems as we had drained the leisure battery completely! Macron had also informed the nation of our next lockdown timetable. It was time to go, so after a chilly night with no heating we were up and off uncharacteristically early for us, had breakfast at the river picnic spot, and lunch at home. Back in time for Easter and “confinement”. At least this trip broke up the feeling of Groundhog Day for a short while and now we look at our lovely home, garden and view through refreshed eyes 🙂
