France - part 2

On our second day, we hired a boat for a few hours. It was hard to take photos, so mostly we took memories - the coypu, a little wild deer, the small overgrown channels and the larger more open canal where we managed to get a good rowing rhythm going. When we had our guided trip, the guide used the traditional pole, more like a punt. And the traditional boats are quite like a punt too - very shallow bottomed. Originally they were used a lot for transporting cattle from one field to another, so they have a flat front where the animals could step on and off easily, and a curved stern. We just had paddles - and since we're more used to rows with rowlocks, it was a learning curve. But as a totally relaxing way of starting the holidays, it's hard to imagine anything better.

Our tent, seen as we rowed past

We brought a picnic lunch and tied the boat to one of the trees along the canal

Embarkation point on the camp-site, where we hired the boat

On the second evening we thought we'd go for another walk, along the canal starting at the bridge (photo in previous post). On the map, it looked shorter than the walk we did the first night, so we were hoping to get back reasonably early. It rained a little bit, and then brightened up. But we felt that the sketch map we were using was most definitely not drawn to scale. At the end, we were walking pretty much as fast as we could in order to get back before the on-site restaurant closed. Checking the route out on Google Maps afterwards, what we were expecting to have been about a 3 1/2 to 4 mile walk turned out to be well over 5 miles. But - we enjoyed the scenery and we got back in time to get something to eat. Away from the canals and channels it is very heavily agricultural, with field after field of wheat and other crops, and plenty of birds of prey soaring overhead.

the church in St-Hilaire-La-Palud

France Part 1

As usual, the weather when we left Cork wasn't great, so I only took a few photos as we sailed past Cobh before we retired to our cabin, I think that last year it was too miserable to even stay on deck that long, because I certainly don't remember the Titanic Memorial, and it must have been there.

Our first stay was in the Marais Poitevin, near Saint-Hilaire-la-Palud. The Marais Poitevin is known as La Venise Verte - the Green Venice. A quick look at this map, and you will see why - there are more waterways than roads.

A few years ago we had taken a guided boat trip along some of the canals/channels, and had always wanted to come back and hire a boat ourselves; this seemed like a good opportunity as it was about halfway down from the ferry to our first longer stop in the sunny south. The weather had, apparently, been unseasonably wet and cold - but our little tent is quick to set up and for a two-night stay we weren't doing more than pitching the tent and setting up the cooker. We were camped right beside one of the smaller channels.  We had a lovely walk along one of the signposted trails on our first evening.

Marais Poitevin

A windmill near Marans. Being off-season it wasn't open at the time we were passing, but it does still operate (primarily as a tourist attraction) and produces flour which I would definitely have bought to try if it had been open. The sails are wooden slats which fan out - I think you can see in the second photo. And the weather vane is a hen and chicken.

Photos from our boat trip along the canals in the Marais. As posted in an earlier post (the one with the storks video): according to Wikipedia it covers about 970 square km , and according to our guide there are about 6000km of man-made drainage canals, as well as some natural ones. This work was started during the reign of Henri IV (1553 - 1610), who called in the Dutch experts, (just as the English did  with the Norfolk fens in the early 17th century). We saw a lot of wild hops and teasels, there was also a lot of willow, ash, birch, alder and hazel. In the old days, according to our guide, they used to transport cattle from field to field on flat-bottomed "barges".  I saw a night heron perched in some bushes, and a quick glimpse of a kingfisher. You can pre-book dawn or dusk boat trips which would probably be much more fruitful in terms of wildlife spotting. Introduced animals include the coypu - we saw their holes in a bank, but not any out and about.

The tiles on the roof of this little hut are typical of the region. They're made from local clay - at intervals along some of the canals you could see excavated areas at the edge where the clay had been quarried. Our guide could remember either his grandfather or father (I should have made a note, as at this stage I can't remember!) working in the clay pits. My recollection is that the guide told us the tiles were called dames (ladies) because originally they were shaped over the thigh, but quick research hasn't yet confirmed this.

Teasels

Wild hops

We really enjoyed our boat trip - it was shaded enough that we enjoyed the sun without getting burnt, it was very peaceful and there were no flies. We'd certainly do it again if we're back in the area, although having had a guide this time and learnt about the area we'd probably hire our own boat next time. The poling certainly doesn't look as arduous as rowing, although I am sure there's a knack to be learnt before being able to do it smoothly and evenly.

Quick post

Just back from two weeks in France, still trying to catch up with everything.
The first half of the holiday we stayed in Brittany, borrowing a house from friends (that's where we were for a funeral last summer, and it was Pierre's house we stayed in, as his daughters still have it). Second half we camped in two different sites. This little video was from the third area we visited - the Marais Poitevin., a large marshy area also known as La Venise Verte or Green Venice. According to Wikipedia it covers about 970 square km , and according to our guide there are about 6000km of man-made drainage canals, as well as some natural ones. This work was started during the reign of Henri IV (1553 - 1610), who called in the Dutch experts, (just as the English did  with the Norfolk fens in the early 17th century).

After our trip along the canals we visited a bird park - mostly waterfowl, and a great way of using the natural landscape. These storks were some of the birds we saw, and we were lucky enough to be treated to a real sight. When we passed by their enclosure on the return to the car, they were all just standing around quietly. The sound from their beaks was quite amazing - like very fast castanets. After all that display, that pair settled down to a mutual grooming session - I don't know if they were picking some sort of mites out of each other or what.



More will follow as I get organised during the week...