We were due to move to the bigger van today but it would not be until later in the afternoon. So we got what we could ready for the move and then set off for another drive.
We had come over a large bridge to get to the peninsular we are on, so I headed to the coast, close to the bridge, to see if I could get a photo. We parked up and went for a short walk along the shore in the sun.
From the beach there I could see an even longer bridge over to the island of Oléron so after our walk we sett off in that direction. We had to pass a McDonald's on the way so we pulled over, just to use the free WiFi but we did also have lunch there.
After lunch, we continued to the bridge, we had to pass the Lidl we had used on the way, so we knew where to get anything we needed for tea on the way back. As we drove over the bridge we could see what looked like the remnants of a previous bridge and as soon as we were on the the island, I pulled over and parked up to have a look. On closer examination, it was obvious that the structures hadn't been a bridge at all but were actually the old ferry terminals (more photos are on a day we went to the other side of the bridge, later in the holiday). From where we were parked, we could see over to the right, a town with fortifications, so drove there for a look.
The first place in town we came to was the fish quay, we arrived just as a boat was rushing up the channel with its catch of the day.
After watching for a while, we continued on to the fortifications and parked alongside the huge walls. There were several ways through the walls to get inside the fort of Le Château d'Oléron, we just took the first one and followed the path along the walls the sea.
After taking in the views from there. we doubled back and crossed the bridge through the royal gate into main part of the fort.
We spent some time exploring the fort and walking around the top of the walls, it was very warm in there (not complaining) but we had water with us. I took lots of photos and rather than trying to describe everything, I will just continue with the pictures. As the old saying goes, a picture paints a thousand works and I wasn't going to write that much anyway.
When we came out of the castle, Mick and Bren went off to take photos of the shacks around the port, while Dot and I drove round to pick them up there. Just as Mick and Bren went out of sight, I got a call to say our mobile was ready. We drove round to meet then but because of the one way system and poor road signs, we ended up back at the car park we set off from. By the time we got to them they were stating to wonder what had happened to us.
On the way back we did call into Lidl and stocked up for the rest of our time here in Charente Maritime, we bought loads.
With the keys for the new van, we dropped off all the shopping first and then set about transferring the rest of our belongings, very hot work, thankfully I had a cold beer. It took a couple of runs in the car to get everything moved, and then the sat dish needed setting up again.
Finaly we could relax in comfort with an ice cream and or a cold beer or two.
Day Five or Day Seven
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