After a great sleep we were up and ready to head off on our bikes. We went out straight away and stopped at the supermarket to get pasties on route.

We headed through the outskirts of La Rochelle and found our way to the bridge over to Ile de Re. It’s a long climb but we were all doing well… with the occasional whinge from penny who had tired out legs!

From the bridge we went in the direction of Rivedoux-Plage where we know a great beach bar. We settled on the beach for an hour to chill and penny and Fraser found some friends to play beach volleyball with.

Although it wasn’t sunny it was really warm and so stew and I went in search of refreshment. Luckily there were plenty of tables free and we were soon joined by the kids for some drinks.

The children had hot dogs, and we had some oysters before a play in the sea.

We got back On the bikes and headed back to La Rochelle centre. We were headed for the best place for an ice cream in La Rochelle… and the queues always tell us that everyone knows this is true!

A cycle through the streets of the city heading for the bike path along the canal and a dip on the pool was waiting! A long day on the bikes with 24 miles covered. The pool felt so refreshing and once we were all showered we had bbq’d chicken and salad followed by crème brûlée.

I’m sitting with a glass of wine enjoying no “entertainment” with tired legs and a happy family wondering what tomorrow will have in store as we move on from La Rochelle and head to Royan for the next 2 nights.

Sadly the pack up this morning was a bit of a pain with heavy rain showers making it messier and hard work. After an hour or so we were ready to go.

We headed first to the salt makers, to buy our cooking and table salt. This really is the area for it and they use the sun to naturally dry the salt out. The couple on the pitch beside us were taking some back and they were from Maldon!

Fuelled and with the additional stop for a bed improvement (2 swimming pool noodles) we headed down the road.

Freckle was going well and we stopped and took the paddle boards off the roof which improved the rise as the wind was quite strong.

We were all totally pooped and so the planned cycle into La Rochelle was abandoned With the children opting for ravioli and an early night, whilst we just had some fresh prawns and baguette. And then the karaoke started! It was dreadful and loud but somehow we all managed to sleep through it! A very much needed sleep!