Poole, Dorset, England

There's something about an early morning walk along a beach. Not intending to rise early, especially after watching most of last night's world cup football final, Angela took a stroll out. Boats sat drunkenly on the flat sands, washed smooth as the tide slipped far offshore. The only sound was the flapping of flags in the garden of a nearby property. It was idyllic. Our last day in France, and Angela wanted to savour every moment of it. So we packed up quickly and drove a few miles to the supermarket to buy a few provisions and of course wine.

We probably won't be coming to France again this year, thanks to Brexit, so wine for Christmas was on our shopping list. We are going to really miss French supermarkets, they never fail to deliver or entertain.

And of course our next stop had to be the pretty fishing village of Barfleur. We've visited here many times, and are always very happy to stop for coffee and walk around. This time we parked Marge on the far side of the harbour, where most of the visitors don't venture, and ate lunch at a picnic bench by the water feeling very French, especially as some men  nearby were playing boules.

Except for breakfast on our very first morning, all our meals have been prepared, cooked and eaten outside. Sadly, in no time at all it was time for Marge to take us on our final drive down to the ferry port at Cherbourg with Angela feeling beyond sad. Sad because this trip was almost over, sad because she was leaving her beloved France, and sad because this would probably be the last time we sailed on the Brittany Ferries ship Barfleur on the Cherbourg to Poole crossing. 

The ship is being sold, and the sailing will cease as it's no longer economical. Angela remembers sailing on the Barfleur when it came into service, she can't remember how many times we've sailed on her over the years. When we lived in Poole it was convenient for us whether we were cycling or driving. It is still convenient for us now, as we can easily visit our rental houses when we are en route to France. None of us like change, and the sailing ending is the end of an era Angela is very unhappy about. She knows change is good, and that we'll adapt to sailing from Portsmouth, or other ports, discovering new overnight stops. Crossing Poole to Cherbourg she likens to wearing a pair of old slippers. It feels comfortable. As the coastline of France disappeared into the horizon, with Angela squinting her eyes trying not to lose sight, a chapter is closing, and a new one is beginning. A little like our trip. As this one comes to an end, another one awaits. The Barfleur may not be part of it, but at least we will always have the memories of sailing on her. For the record today's temperature in France has been a chilly 19c. How have we gone from 43c down to this? Did we really complain about those hot debilitating days in Morocco, Spain and France?

Carpark, Route du Phare, Reville, France

No animosity on the campsite this morning after England beat France at football last night. We think the French were not interested in seeing who would be awarded third place, and to be honest we felt the match wasn't really necessary either, obviously for financial reasons, Fifa did. Really, at this stage of the tournament it's all about the final two teams. This is our last full day in France, and despite a very late night we left relatively early this morning wanting to head right up to the north coast of the Contentin peninsula. 

A lunch stop at a pretty village by yet another picturesque church and then we proceeded onto Le Goeland Plage at Jonville, just near to Saint Vasst la Hoque to park overnight for free right by the beach.

Live music was on at the nearby restaurant.

(You can check them out on YouTube)

 We wandered up to listen, deciding to stay for some drinks and a charcuterie and cheese platter.

The restaurant was busy, so Angela invited five French people to share our table, they showed their appreciation by buying us drinks. No hard feelings over the football then.

camping municipal de la Sélune, Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët, France

We can't believe that today we have been away from home for sixty days. And before we set off on Marge's Moroccan road trip we'd been in Scotland for three weeks. If we didn't have to return home because of responsibilities, we think we'd just keep driving, especially as Marge hasn't missed a beat in all the time we've been away. We already have plans for next year's travels, but as yet nothing is confirmed. At the moment, it's 'destination unknown'. We were sad this morning to leave the Loire river. Some morning views just stay with you, and this morning was one of them. But we needed to move up the country, and although we didn't leave until almost midday we decided to drive slightly further up to Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouet.

We stayed at the campsite here last year, and not only was it cheap, the town was nice to walk around. It is high season in France now, and the campsite for tonight cost us just under eight pounds. Bargain.

The reason is, they have no swimming pool on site, and are not on the coast. Now we are nearing the end of this trip we decided to treat ourselves to a meal out. The Italian restaurant looked too posh for us, but that aside we decided to give it a go.

Inside, just normal French folk. It was also, surprisingly very reasonably priced, so we treated ourselves to a main course, desserts and coffee. The ice cream menu was extensive, and John, who's still learning the lingo, was surprised to see potato ice cream available. Green apple, actually translates to green apple, potato, well that'll be potatoes!

Motorhome Parking Area, Mauges-sur-Loire, France

It's always with a tinge of sadness that we leave the little campsite at Monbert. It really is a special place to rest and relax amongst nature. Passing a field of cows as we left, we have to say, of all the cows we've ever seen, we've never seen one with pink horns.

Oh well, anything goes these days. We can't believe how quickly our last week is passing by. The time to return to England will soon be upon us, so we must be sure to enjoy these last few days. Originally we planned to return back to England yesterday, but the ferry cost was a fair bit more than we are paying on Monday, probably because it is the start of the school summer holidays. We don't mind, four more days in France, what's there to complain about. The Loire is a particular favourite area of ours, so we headed to a free park up where we intended to spend the night.

Angela immediately remembered it. As lovely as the town was, it was noisy overnight.

So after a pleasant lunch sat under the plane trees we moved on to a little to a camping area right by the river with views across the bridge to Ingrandes-le-Fresne-sur-Loire a pretty little riverside town, which we walked over to for an ice cream.

Because of the ongoing hot weather the river is devoid of most of its water. In the past we've actually seen sections of the river Loire that have been so dry you could walk right across from one side to the other.

This evening, with a storm threatening, we sat and took in the view. This area holds special memories for us from our cycling days. When travelling was slower and simpler. Life before all our various Marges came into our life, not that we regret owning any of them, they've taken us on some fantastic adventures!