A circuitous route, along the smaller regional roads, from Limoges, brought us to the town of Dax, where we spent a couple of days before crossing into Spain.
I had never heard of this town but it is quite large and famous for having thermal baths. The city centre is rather nice, buzzing with cafés and shops and having a tropical feel due to strategically planted palm trees.
Camping Les Chenes
The campsite is along the river under some very tall oak trees from which it derives its name. It is large, with a central pool, mobile homes, caravan pitches and a grassy field where we could pitch our tent.
There are no hedges here for privacy if you like that kind of thing. Chalets are dotted about making us feel rather conspicuous as one of the few tents. But there is a lot of shade and the site is fairly quiet – at least down the back where we were. I can’t speak for how it is at the front near the road and restaurant.
Next door is a large private field that seems to play host for the local scouts or school trips. Nearby is a walking route along the river and a large nature area to picnic in.
We ordered some car parts from the local branch of Feu Vert. Of course, this meant we were obliged to stay a couple of extra days waiting for the parts to arrive.
This was no great hardship, but beyond some shade, there isn’t much in the form of character to this campsite. Yes, there is a pool but no mountain vistas or the soothing sounds of a stream nearby.
There’s a restaurant on site but we chose to do our own cooking – testing the trailer, of course. This is working very well and the oven manages to push out some pretty good meals. What we DID manage to do, was to be quite productive in our little ‘office’ and, it must be said, enjoy the quiet surroundings.
Then it was time to make the final push. Are we going to make it to Spain this time?