C'est la vie!

A long-awaited journey to France proved a mixed blessing for Elaine and Joe Ormerod, following a breakdown. But in true caravanning style, they more than made the most of it

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Robert Burns once wrote about “the best-laid plans of mice and men...”, but perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. For a variety of reasons, over more than a year we had seen several false dawns in our plans to enjoy a caravan holiday in Europe.

So when we at last arrived at Portsmouth Ferry Terminal, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. We celebrated getting this far with a lovely three-course meal in the restaurant on board the Brittany Ferries vessel MV Bretagne. It was just as good as the one I remember enjoying many years ago on the same ship.

Island life

The next morning, we shared the towing from St Malo, arriving at our destination, Île d'Oléron, in the late afternoon.

We were catching up with site managers we have come to know well over the years, having first met them at another campsite on the island and now at Les Seulières, which they've transformed from a rather run-down two-star campsite into a truly four-star touring destination.

We waited until next day to put up the awning and go shopping. We've visited the island's towns many times, so our aim on this tour was to get fitter by using the many traffic-free cycle tracks that criss-cross the area. Indeed, on arrival at the campsite, you are handed a map of the cycle trails.

However, there was one newly opened attraction that we wanted to see - we had been unable to do so on a previous visit because it was closed for restoration.

Le Moulin de La Brée, one of the last mills on the island to have retained a large part of its original mechanism, dates back to the 17th century. It produces flour for sale in the shop, and there's also a museum and a restaurant for visitors to enjoy.