BELLE

We decided to fore-go our summer 2010 cruise in BELLE this year and opt for a ten day motorcycle tour of France and northern Spain instead.  A major decision factor was the ongoing intense canal traffic around here (and probably everywhere else on the UK canal and river network).  Our next cruise in BELLE will be early October 2010 when the waterways hullabaloo will have in all probability diminished.  It was a long, but nevertheless, very enjoyable ride on the whole and we are already minded to do something similar next year. 

Having ridden from Lichfield to Folkestone, we crossed the channel via Eurotunnel (thoroughly recommended) and made our way generally southward, via the Normandy and Orne regions, La Rochelle and Bordeaux on the west coast, then back inland to Saint Beat in the Pyrenees.  We stayed at a really good B&B in Saint Beat for 5 nights, radiating outwards on a daily basis to various locations, including Carcassonne.

We arrived at Carcassonne complete with seriously fatigued derrieres, hoping to come across a boater or two that had followed the ‘Terry & Monica Darlington trail’ here.  In a funny sort of way, we thought that this would make our suffering worthwhile.  Alas, there was not a single narrowboat to be seen anywhere in the canal basin, so we had a good look around the nearby castle instead.  This was followed by some really good ‘gut-busting’ nosh to take our minds off our rear ends for a while!  Anybody that has had an authentic Cassoulet in this region will know exactly what I mean by this.

Thereafter, our ride was generally west along the Pyrenees via Pau, Orthez and Bayonne and then we headed further south into Spain until we ended up at Santander.   The main boating event was of course our return journey on the MV Cap Finistère from Santander to Portsmouth.

This crossing took around 23 hours or so and it was a fantastic experience.   Our cabin was more than big enough for the two of us (well anything wider than 6′-10″ is a good start, isn’t it?) and it came complete with en suite and a porthole incorporating an impressive view across the briny.

Dinner on board was really nice and at no time did we feel anything other than relaxed.  The journey across the Bay of Biscay was a bit of a rock ‘n’ roller at times, but nothing we would consider excessive.  Unfortunately no blue whales seen on this trip but we did see a few porpoises.  We certainly would not hesitate to make the same crossing again.   

This is a boating site, so I shall refrain from describing the ‘biking nirvana’ we encountered en route. Those wanting to know some more about the biking side of things should feel free to drop me an email or leave a comment on this site.  Those seeking recommendations for some pretty good B&B’s can do the same.