Trip the 1st
It was mid-canicule and powerfully hot at home so Mr Snail thought now the new van had arrived, the thing to do would be to go in search of cooler weather. He found some, down in the Dordogne and we packed up and took off .
We had chosen a CCP aire on an ex-municipal campsite that had good tree cover for shade and was away from roads (thank you, Nevilley) in case of cat escape.
Tauriac, Le Mas de la Croux
A nicely tended former Municipal Campsite. The trees are mature, as are the privacy hedges between pitches. The pitches themselves are spacious and unexpectedly feature flat concrete pads for parking.
A Plan d’Eau adjacent to the site features a small beach, supervised swimming (in season and in fixed hours) children’s play area, crazy golf and a bar/restaurant. Naturally, some noise is generated until late hours when the weather is clement.
The site is also bordered by a shallow and slow-running arm of the River Dordogne. There are smaller, unhedged pitches on concrete pads overlooking the river, lightly shaded by trees.
A rarity for motorhome aires – there are Sanitaires. Somewhat basic but better than no facilities at all. These are seasonal. Also the aire is shared with tenters and tuggers in high season.
There is no commerce in the village other than at the Guinguette but shops may be found at the next village, about a mile away. These remain untested by ourselves.
The site is very pleasant and we might have stayed there quite happily (and will probably return sometime) but the weather, although 7 degrees cooler than at home, remained too hot to be at all comfortable.
Cats escaped.
Tempers frayed.
It was too hot to do anything other than to sit outside with a cooling fan running to generate some breeze – which is why I have no photographs to share.
We packed up early the following morning and fled home to our stone-flagged floors and air conditioning units.
The Verdict
Taking this under consideration as an Aire rather than as a Campsite, I think that we might rate it as a 4 star stop. Bear in mind that we did not explore the area at all, for fear of expiring from heat exhaustion.
Van Nessa
Performed well. We had a comfortable ride of three hours there, and thoroughly appreciated her efficient cab cooling especially when we encountered roadworks in Limoges en route.
We did not cook, only prepared a salad.
The bed proved to be capacious and comfortable – we slept in a transverse configuration.
So far we are having trouble in adjusting to the more cramped conditions.
The Cats
Importantly, we had failed to register how much more difficult it would be to deal with cats when we have a wide sliding door rather than a narrow hinged one.
Dusty seems quite happy to be attached to a line and to sit under the van in the shade, watching the birds.
Chloé popped outside for a look but fundamentally prefers being inside. Not a good choice in that extreme heat.
