Last night we mainly packed everything away so that this morning we were able to get up and head off. Stew popped over to reception in the early evening and they told us that the french school broke up today and that the traffic on the road was expected to be busy.

As I mentioned previously we were headed to La Rochelle to have a look at the red bull cliff diving, so we wanted to ensure that we had enough time to set up and get sorted.

We set alarms for 7, and after a night of listening to an owl hoot close by and catching bug bites i was feeling less than energised. By the time we got up we were packed and on the road after washes and teeth in about 20 minutes. We hit the bakers down the road and headed for the ferry to Royan across the river.

We got to the ferry exactly as one left after having fought our way through the (non existent) traffic. So we had a wait of about 45 minutes whilst we ate our pastries. Getting on the ferry Freckle decided to stall a number of times, protesting at the early start and the need to move before running for a minute or so, so when we ended up blinking the exit to the ferry for all the passengers I was slightly nervous that we might hold up proceedings!! I allayed my worries with a coffee and looking at the lovely scenery. I have forgotten to add that at the port whilst waiting there was very nearly a moment of a caravan reversing into a Quashqi in a manoeuvre which took about 20 mins and added much entertainment!

We left the ferry and the landscape of the Aquitante and Medoc behind. We swapped the sandy fields of vines for a more marshy salt flat and oyster beds and some pretty fields of Sunflowers. I think we passed a famous cyclist/triathlete!

As we watched the mileage decrease on our approach to la Rochelle we were still in a very industrial area! I was particularly concerned when were were 0.1 miles away and in the middle of a large shopping centre. We arrived at the campsite and as I approached reception with some trepidation and a mantra that we could move on if we wanted after one night, i was pleasantly surprised. The campsite was well laid out with an amazing pool and restaurant and was very close to the local amenities!

After setting up quickly ( we are getting even better at it each time) we headed over to the swimming pool, a fab facility with hot tub, slides and a large swimming pool. We had lunch and prepared to go out, following a short trip to the supermarket to replace some lost sandals! They were not replaced due to artistic differences but a couple of bottles of wine and some orangina were bought along with some hairdye to deal with a critical roots issues.

We packed up and followed the instructions for the cycle path with lead straight into town so we could rendezvous with our friends. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite as obvious as it seemed and we took a detour, but found our way in eventually, with my improving french being required to ask two old ladies and a zig zag formation through the beautiful streets of La Rochelle as we neared the destination. The outskirts of the city are functional and not pretty, but once in the centre the buildings and streets are breathtakingly beautiful and we quickly found our destination.

After dropping the bikes off in a garage we headed into the marina, firstly to buy ice-cream and secondly to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the views of the redouble cliff diving championships. We found a shady spot and as the grounds and the atmosphere built the height of the 27m diving board seemed to grow in equal measure. A truly breathtaking spectacle to see… literally making you wince each time one of the divers took off for their performance, and then huge relief each time they landed and safely surfaced. We were keen to support the Southampton diver Garry Hunt and he didn’t disappoint with some spectacular dives, winning the competition.

After heading back for dinner with the Turners, we got on our bikes and hoped that the journey home would appear more straight forward! it did and there was even time to think about where we would go to look tomorrow if we made it back in.

The children wasted no time at getting into their beds tonight and I don’t think that I will be far behind. We have noticed with travelling 100 miles further north that the temperature has dropped a little.

A fabulous way to celebrate 11 years of happy marriage and with some lovely people seeing something quite spectacular!