Day 7: Rochefort to Royan

After a wholesome breakfast at our hotel in Rochefort, the Caravelle, we headed south out of the city to cross the river via the Pont Transbordeur. Turns out this thing (see cringe touristy photo above) is auite  structure, and basically consists of a flat deck suspended on wires, which then shimmy across the river. I could only think that there must be an easier way to cross 30 metres of water! Anyway, we travelled along cycle paths from here, out of Rochefort, through Soublise and then through Bourage, town situated within the walls of an old fort. At this point, we sensed an impending downpour, so took refuge in a coffee shop. The weather was still distinctly overcqst qnd miserable, and constantly threatened to throw a shower; Dad's exlamations of the sweltering conditions we would face and my supposed 'madness' at packing a pair of long trousers, were an increasing source of amusement. Our judgement proved shrewd, and rain began to fall almost instantly upon entering the cafe. Sitting it out, the woman serving us told us to expect worse later on in the day, not exactly music to our ears.

Leaving Bourage, we continued south, having to deal with high speed winds again prevailing from the ocean, till we reached Marennes. Here we took a slight detour, along a road laden with oyster farms. Stretching some 2 miles, the road eventually became sand and then a wide bay, with no ferry crossing available. The only option was to turn aruond, and head back through the so called 'Cité de l'Huitres' back to Marennes, and find another way across. The only point of crossing it turned out, was the highway bridge, over which the wind made cycling almost impossible. Nevertheless, we reached the other side eventually, and picked up cycle paths again first through Ronce les Bains, and then through the forest headed for La Palmyre. On this route, the heavens opened again (see below), forcing us to take shelter temporarily under some rather large pine trees, before we could set off and complete the last few miles to La Palmyre, where we stopped for some lunch.

Heavy rain forced us to take shelter in the forest before La Palmyre

The beaches at La Palmyre, after the storm had passed!

Lunch it turned out was perfectly timed in La Palmyre through, as the storm returned

Eventually reaching our destination at Royan after over 50 miles, we were amazed at firstly the amount of places open on a Sunday, and secondly the number of people wandering around. Our hotel was average to say the least, with the room looking like something out of a 1950s timewarp, but we ate well in town and were able to catch a few drinks afterwards despite it being so late on a Sunday evening.

Distance: 56 miles