Our camping holiday in Roses and Bouzigues, June 2011
Date
Activity
Km
Tue June 7th
Hitched the caravan and drove to Roses in Catalonia.
We drove down through France, crossing into Spain in torrential rain, but hoping the weather was due to the Pyrenees. It wasn’t… it got worse as we continued south. We arrived at Santa Margarita near Roses accompanied by thunder and lightning. We’d booked a pitch at Camping and Bungalows Salata.
First thing we found was that the French power cable had a different plug on it, so I found the local hardware store where they charged 17 euros for an adaptor – must be a nice little earner for them! Got everything hooked-up and walked to the sea front in search of a restaurant. Found the pizza and pasta restaurant La Tagliatella and had an excellent pizza even though it took an age to arrive.
527
Wed June 8th
Stayed around Roses
Rain over night, had breakfast on the campsite. Drove into Roses under grey skies, wandered along the waterfront and empty beaches. Checked out the underwhelming Citadel, then had a beer and lunch.
Back in Santa Margarita, we went for a walk to kill some time. We found a bar for a beer, and then a restaurant where we had an unmemorable meal.
22
Thu June 9th
Did the megalithic trail in the hills behind Roses.
Woke up to bright sunshine, so decided to do a walk we’d read about, up in the hills behind Roses where there are megalithic remains with menhirs and dolmens. It was a nice walk with butterflies and lots of wildflowers, and it stayed sunny, but was clouding over towards the end.
By the time we got back to the campsite it was grey and rainy again, so we went to the campsite cafeteria and had a nasty burger for lunch, and stayed in and around the caravan.
In the evening, we went back to La Tagliatella and had another excellent pizza.
38
Fri June 10th
Santa Margarita to Marseillan Plage, Languedoc
The forecast for Catalonia was bad and it looked like the south of France was getting the better of the weather, so we phoned around and found a slot at Camping Beauregard Plage Marseillan near Montpellier. Rain and grey skies for most of the way. When we got there, we were not impressed… the caravans were shoe-horned in together.
But it wasn’t actually raining, so walked own to the sea front and had a beer. We walked back via the canal but didn’t like what we’d seen. The town was crowded and down-market… like a French Southend, but without the charm(!).
We found a touristy restaurant in the evening and had an unmemorable meal.
197
Sat June 11th
Drove to Sete, and returned via Bouzigue and Marseillan town
We woke up to bright sunshine, so we decided to go for a drive. Marseillan Plage was at the western end of a large saltwater lake called the Bassin de Thau, which was also part of the Canal du Midi. We headed along the coast to the town of Sète, where we drove up to the top of Mont Saint Clair, which had extensive views of the town, and the Canal du Rhône towards Frontignan Plage.
We then headed north to the topside of the Bassin de Thau, where we stopped for lunch at the pretty village of Bouzigues. We had a little explore, and found a much nicer campsite, Camping Lou-Labech. They had a nice spot, and the price was right so we booked in for the next day.
We returned to Marseillan Plage, told them of our change of plan, and had another indifferent meal in another touristy restaurant.
76
Sun June 12th
Hitched the caravan and drove to Bouzigues
Hitched the caravan, packed up and drove around the Bassin de Thau to Bouzigues. Settled in our new spot, and walked into the town for beer and lunch. As well as being an attractive village, in a nice location, we discovered that Bouzigues is famous for it’s oyster production, and there are many oyster beds on the Bassin de Thau.
Back into town to one of the many waterfront restaurants for dinner.
42
Mon June 13th
Drove via the Gorges de l’Hérault to the pretty village of St Guilhem le Désert.
A nice day, so decided to have a bit of a drive. We drove first to the Gorges de l’Hérault and the Pont du Diable and took a good few pics, and the onwards to one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, St Guilhem le Désert. Spent an hour wandering around the village, before returning to the car, and finding a bar in the next village Saint-Jean-de-Fos where we had beers and snacks.
Returned to Bouzigues and found a good restaurant, where Lin had her first taste of oysters. On our walk back we found a street light with dozens of bats picking off the bugs attracted to it.
119
Tue June 14th
Morning in Bouzigues, and then a short drive into the town of Marseillan
Warm and sunny. Walked into Bouzigues for bread in the morning. Had lunch at the caravan. We drove into the town of Marseillan and spent an hour or so wandering around. Then found a reasonable beach in the town of Mèze.
Dinner in our new favourite restaurant.
48
Wed June 15th
Visit the town of Mèze, then Béziers. Cap Agde on the way back.
Sunny with blue skies, becoming hot. Drove to the harbour town of Mèze, just along the coast from Bouzigues. Then onwards to the mediaeval city of Béziers, where we enjoyed the view of the old bridge and the cathedral.
On the way back we stopped off at Cap d’Agde and drove up to the naturist village, but the security people turned us back. I guess they thought we’d lower the standards of beauty. Took photos of the oyster platforms (Tables ostreicoles) out on the bassin.
133
Thu June 16th
Cabanes des Aresquiers, Cathédrale de Maguelone, Palavas-les-Flots, Plage naturiste de Maguelone?
Warm and sunny. Drove to the quirky Cabanes des Aresquiers; a hamlet on an island by a canal in the middle of a lake! We’d noticed on the map that there was a causeway across the Étang de l’Arnel to the Cathédrale de Maguelone. When we got there the causeway was closed, so we had to drive the long way round. Then we found you couldn’t take the car… you had to drive into Palavas-les-Flots, park, and take the shuttle. Which we did, but we needn’t have bothered… apart from it’s nice isolated location, the (former) cathedral was a little underwhelming. Had lunch and a little exploring in Palavas-les-Flots.
We thought about checking out the Plage naturiste de Maguelone on the way back, but by that time, it had become overcast with a bit of a breeze, so didn’t bother.
94
Fri June 17th
Drove to Minerve with a detour to the Etang de Montady, Cave Coopérative La Minervoise on the way back.
Overcast and cooler. Went for a drive, first to the Tunnel de Malpas on the Canal du Midi for a quick photo, and then to the archaeological site Ensérune; there wasn’t much to see there except a party of school kids, but the escarpment it was on was a good vantage point for the Etang de Montady, a striking circular array of fields drained and recovered from salt marsh.
After this, we drove to the pretty village of Minerve where we had lunch with views of the old bridge. On our way back, we stopped at the village of Aigues-Vives and bought a case of wine at the Cave Coopérative La Minervoise.
204
Sat June 18th
Back to Correze
Decided to go via the Millau viaduct over the Tarn River Gorge. Stopped for pics.
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