{"id":5182,"date":"2024-06-24T06:48:58","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T06:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=5182"},"modified":"2025-12-24T22:26:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T22:26:46","slug":"8-cote-de-fumel-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=5182","title":{"rendered":"8. C\u00d4TE DE FUMEL (PART 1)."},"content":{"rendered":"

We are really into short distance towing trips this year.\u00a0 And the trip to the C\u00f4te de Fumel would have been one of the shortest on record if we had follwed the sat nav!\u00a0 Did I really<\/strong> just say that???!\u00a0 Instead, we took the route explained to us in great detail by the site.\u00a0 The crucial bit was “stay on the D246”.\u00a0 That’s all very well and good until, at one fork in the road, the signs said D246 keep right – D246E, left.\u00a0 So we went right – obviously!\u00a0 Well, right was wrong – and that became apparent when none of the promised campsite signs appeared.\u00a0 The road got narrower and twistier and started climbing what, with hindsight, was the wrong hill out of the wrong valley.\u00a0 Luckily, after five hours on the single track D246 we found a gateway which was just wide enough to reverse into.\u00a0 Then five hours back to civilisation.<\/p>\n

The D246E was the business.\u00a0 Proper signs at the appropriate junctions until we were almost there.\u00a0 When the last sign failed to appear, we stopped at the White Cross Farm.\u00a0 One of only two places we might be able to turn round.\u00a0 We phoned the site for assistance and were assured that we were on track.\u00a0 If we had driven literally just another 100 m, round one more bend, we would have been there!<\/p>\n

The biggest, little gem of a campsite.\u00a0 Big, as in three Ha (30,000 m\u00b2).\u00a0 Small, as in only six official pitches.\u00a0 Big, as in 5000 m\u00b2 per pitch.\u00a0 (For reference, 100 – 150 m\u00b2 is a fairly sizeable plot!)<\/p>\n

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(That’s a 180\u00b0 panorama of the site with all six pitches occupied!)<\/p>\n

It’s little, as in everyone is on first name terms, even if we can’t pronounce some them!\u00a0 The site is run by two lovely ex-Netherlanders, Saskia and Riem.\u00a0 Here they are with their son Nick who flew in from Taiwan specially to see us while we were there.<\/p>\n

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They cater mainly for Dutch campers (and now us!).\u00a0 They also have three gites.\u00a0 I only mention this because it’s important later in the story!<\/p>\n

The pool is the warmest (least cold?) we have encountered yet!\u00a0 And it has a spectacular view of one sixth of the camping population – us!<\/p>\n

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We can afford to take things easy – the water-point and the facilities are less than 50 m away.\u00a0 Some of the far-flung customers have to schedule their visits carefully to make sure they can get there and back before it gets dark.\u00a0 Most pack a light snack for the trek.<\/p>\n

The reason we have come to this wonderful site is to meet Hetty.<\/p>\n

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A Dutch lady we met under “interesting” conditions almost exactly eight years previously.\u00a0 That meeting was a whole other story, but as it was pre-blog, I’ll summarise it here.<\/p>\n

Camped on a very Dutch site on the banks if the River Lot, there was a tiny enclave of three British caravans and one Kiwi motor home.\u00a0 We were having (very quiet) parties every evening!\u00a0 A lone, Dutch camper, Hetty, decided we were having much more fun than all her country-mates and asked if she could join us.\u00a0 After a great evening, I walked her back to her tent at the very far end of the site.\u00a0 Just to make sure she didn’t get lost on the way or spooked by a frog and fall into the river in the dark.\u00a0 And, as I recall, to carry her chair!<\/p>\n

Well that was fine and dandy.\u00a0 I couldn’t possibly comment on the rumour that I was rewarded for my chivalrous actions with a peck on the cheek!. (Well, I can always fantasise!\u00a0 You may have noticed!)<\/p>\n

We later learned a little about what Hetty did for a living.\u00a0 She worked for the Dutch police and was deployed with the Dutch army on anti-terrorist duties in war-zones with peace keeping forces.\u00a0 Places like Afghanistan, Sudan, Serbia and Ukraine.\u00a0 Places where a lot of seriously nasty people were using guns, mortars and IEDs!<\/p>\n

The second night when I took her chair back to her tent, Hetty came with me BACK to our caravan, to make sure I was safely home before she set off back to her tent again armed as she was with night vision goggles, her emergency GPS locater, a whistle and possibly an AK47 concealed somewhere on her person.<\/p>\n

The third night, she took her own flipping chair back to her tent!<\/p>\n

OK.\u00a0 So that was the background.\u00a0 I’m not even going to mention how she decorated our caravan with twenty rolls of loo paper on the occasion of our 46th wedding anniversary!<\/p>\n

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Typical police activity in the Netherlands, apparently.\u00a0 With her co-conspirators …<\/p>\n

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Back to 2024!\u00a0 The first day at the C\u00f4te de Fumel, Hetty took us to Penne d’Argenais.\u00a0 Well, she has room in her car.\u00a0 Ours is full of awnings and BBQs!.<\/p>\n

Penne is a hilltop village surmounted by the Byzantine-Romanesque-style Notre-Dame de Peyragude Basilica, recognisable from afar by its silver dome.<\/p>\n

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However, the parking was near the bottom of town, some 2,500 m below the summit.\u00a0 Lovely town.\u00a0 Very pretty.\u00a0 Somewhat “gentrified”.\u00a0 Steep.<\/p>\n

Resting for a photo …<\/p>\n

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… we experimented with Samsung’s special effects and “Magic Eraser”.\u00a0 The latter makes unwanted things disappear from your photo…<\/p>\n

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Now you see em …<\/p>\n

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… now you don’t!\u00a0 Clever stuff!<\/p>\n

There were lots of lovely little alleys (but they must be a nightmare for furniture removers).<\/p>\n

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When we do eventually reach the summit, several hours later, we found a viewing platform – raised yet another twenty steps.\u00a0 From here the view of the Lot valley was truly magnificent.<\/p>\n

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As you can see, our sherpa was carrying the oxygen supplies and the tent!<\/p>\n

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On the way to the Basilica, we found this small cave.\u00a0 Allegedly occupied by hermits in years gone by.\u00a0 Now it’s just a resting place for pelegrins who have just hiked up one side of the mountain – before they wend their way back down the other face on their way to Santiago.\u00a0 Yes!\u00a0 We are back on the Camino Trail.<\/p>\n

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I think if I was going to stop for a rest and a marmalade sandwich, I’d hesitate in the Basilica rather than the cave.\u00a0 It’s another fabulous building.\u00a0 And it’s got rows and rows of empty seats on which to relax.<\/p>\n

Another day, another hilltop village – Roquecor.\u00a0 It was Sunday and we chanced on the restaurant La T\u00eate d’Ail.<\/p>\n

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Sadly, we were ten minutes too late to join the happy throng of more punctual visitors.\u00a0 It’ll have to be another day.\u00a0 (It was – and it was really good.)<\/p>\n

Anyway, we wandered round the back streets a bit and read a lot about the history of the place.\u00a0 In times gone by it had clearly been a bustling little enclave with a busy market and flocks of sheep wandering through the centre of town – and people – lots of them!\u00a0 Now the town only bustles at lunch time on Sundays.\u00a0 But you have to be on time if you want to bustle!\u00a0 Maybe it gets a bit busier in high season (14th July to 3rd August?).\u00a0 But I wouldn’t hold my breath!<\/p>\n

The thing about hilltop villages is that they do offer commanding views.\u00a0 I guess that’s one of the main reasons for sticking settlements onto such difficult places to build them.<\/p>\n

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Scanning the surrounding countryside from another custom-made viewing platform.\u00a0 You can always tell when these two are plotting something …<\/p>\n

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Surprise!<\/p>\n

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Well, I’m ready for you this time!<\/p>\n

A good POINT to end this episode!\u00a0 But we stayed a long time at the C\u00f4te de Fumel.\u00a0 There are more adventures to report including how we.didn’t celebrate our 900th night in this caravan with thousands of others!<\/span><\/p>\n

_________________________<\/p>\n

PS.\u00a0 Environmentally responsible readers will be delighted to know that we did recycle Hetty’s loo paper!\u00a0 (Or was the paper nicked from the campsite, Hetty?)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are really into short distance towing trips this year.\u00a0 And the trip to the C\u00f4te de Fumel would have been one of the shortest on record if we had follwed the sat nav!\u00a0 Did I really just say that???!\u00a0… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spain-and-france-2024"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5182"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5221,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5182\/revisions\/5221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}