Harriet Springbett's Blog, page 3

Creative Writing Workshop

I’m delighted to tell you that I’m leading a workshop at Le Texte Libre bookshop in Cognac on Wednesday 8 June from 4 to 6pm. It’s a Creative Writing Workshop in English, designed for French people aged 16+ and will be followed by a Q&A session in English from 6:15 to 7pm.

If you’re interested, or know someone who may be interested in attending, here are the posters with all the details. You’ll need to scroll down to see the whole poster.

writing-workshop-harriet-springbett-8-june-22Download

Flow Vélo 4: Swimming Snakes and Castles

La Flow Vélo from Cognac to Bassac:

Tax returns? Done. Coughs, colds and flu? Done. Weather check? Sunny. Flow Vélo cycleway: here we come.

Given that we were both recovering from minor ailments, my husband suggested a gentle bike ride today. Actually, I think he wanted his lazy Sunday lie-in, because our bike rides are always gentle. So while he lazed until eleven o’clock, I pedalled to the new village bakery for fresh baguettes and prepared the picnic, sun tan lotion and hammocks. Oh, and the bikes.

A couple of weeks ago, a Flow Vélo cyclist told us that the towpath along the river Charente upstream of Cognac had been resurfaced over winter. We wanted to see the improvements for ourselves.

The Flow Vélo guide books send you along roads for the section from St Brice to Jarnac, rather than along the pretty towpath.

This is a pity but hardly surprising: we knew from our cycling trip three years ago that the rutted, pot-holed, narrow track upstream from the Gademoulin lock made for uncomfortable riding.

Crossing my fingers that my bottom wouldn’t regret our choice of route, we decided to test the towpath. A quick calculation showed that we had four sets of friends along the alternative road route. If we stopped to see them on the way, there would be little chance of us cycling any further so we agreed to do the road route on the return journey.

We joined the Flow Vélo at Châtenay bridge. On the far side of the bridge, beside the River Charente, lies Cognac’s campsite. On the Cognac side lies what was to be the first castle of the day: the Château de Châtenay.

If you’re coming by car, there’s a small car park beside the castle. Alternatively, you can park a kilometre away at the Base Plein Air, which has the advantage of toilets and a snack bar.

We were on home territory today but this didn’t stop us discovering some new spots and revisiting some much-loved, familiar places.

This, I’m sure, is why it took us an hour to cycle the first 6 km.

First up was Les Jardins Respectueux (the Respectful Gardens) at La Trache, near the St Brice bridge. It’s a beautiful hillside woodland and flood plain run by an ecological association and is open to the public (with composting toilets). Free, shady, educational and fascinating, it also holds regular events. Don’t miss it!

We parked our bikes and strolled around, admiring the exuberant spring growth. We talked to the chickens, promised ourselves to come here for the next event and examined with interest (and, I suspect, with intent on my husband’s part) the hop plants. Yes, hops, as in beer. I think my husband came away with some new ideas for our own garden.

At the St Brice bridge, which has a car park, picnic tables and water point, we ignored our Flow Vélo guide book and followed the towpath. From the path you get a great view of St Brice’s 14th-century chateau; the second of the day. The third chateau, in Gothic Revival style this time, came a few kilometres later at Gademoulin.

I was pleased to see that a new barrier at the Gademoulin lock barred entry to cars along the towpath. And even more pleased when I realised that the days of dodging brambles and nettles, of skidding in mud pools and bumping across car-tyre ruts were over. The towpath had indeed been resurfaced. What a pleasure it was to whizz along the shady riverbank, side by side, past woodland and vineyards until we reached Bourg Charente.

Bourg Charente is an idyllic village where you’ll find the Michelin-starred La Ribaudière restaurant. It’s out of my league but I did have a fleeting wish for a glass of rosé when I saw the customers enjoying the sun and river views from the patio. One day, when I’m a rich&respected author…

This isn’t a castle. It’s the Romanesque church in Bourg Charente.

Bourg Charente is also where you cross a bridge and continue along the towpath to Jarnac. Again, a new surface has replaced the former potholes, though cars can also access this part. There are three or four picnic areas, accessible for those who fancy a meal beside the water but whose bicycles are out of order.

We stopped at a log bench beside the river for lunch. It proved to be a good spot, since we were treated to the flash of a kingfisher’s bright blue wings over the water.

This was followed shortly after by the appearance of a viper. It slithered into the river from the bank under our feet and braved the current to swim in squiggly ripples to the far side. I must remember the shape it makes in the water when we take out our canoe in a few weeks’ time.

The entry to the little town of Jarnac is one of my favourite moments along the towpath. Today didn’t disappoint. Oh look, another chateau – or at least a grand house!

There were further temptations at the main square in Jarnac, beside the Courvoisier chateau – and I don’t mean the display of polished, antique cars that were parked there. More people were drinking rosé on café terraces.

We slurped a mouthful of plasticky water from our bottles and cycled valiantly on, out of the town along rue des Chabannes.

If you’re looking for chateaux, this is the road to take. I saw at least three of them, including this one – Château St Martial – and the Château les Chabannes, a little further along, which offers bed-and-breakfast.

I wonder what the Fête des Voisins (national neighbour party day) is like in this street?

We were soon back beside the river, which is much more our scene than castley get-togethers. What joy to smell elderflower from the proliferation of flowering bushes and to see yellow irises beside the water.

When we reached the Vinade bridge near the village of Bassac, we decided it was a good point to turn west and see if our friends were in check out the Flow Vélo road route.

Our friends in Gondeville weren’t in.

Our friends in Jarnac weren’t in.

Luckily, the fruit and vegetable outlet in Jarnac – La Charentaise – was open, as it is every day. We were able to console ourselves by buying some locally grown Gariguette strawberries. We would share with our friends in La Maurie. If they were at home.

No day of cycling is complete without an ice-cream. As we pedalled back to Bourg Charente, I remembered passing the village campsite on the way. We’d approved of the public air pump provided for cyclists in the car park beside it. I’d noticed a new snack bar there. And tables on a grassy terrace. And a board advertising ice-creams.

We leant our bikes against the cognac barrels and went to choose our refreshments. It’s worth noting the existence of this simple campsite with its convivial ambiance, as it’s not yet listed in the Flow Vélo guides.

With nearly 40km on the clock, we made a brief stop in La Maurie to see if our third and fourth sets of friends were at home. To our surprise, they were. Both sets. Perhaps this explains why the last 6km of the day took us four hours to complete. Such are the (very pleasant) dangers of Doorstep Cycling.

Swimming Snakes and Castles

La Flow Vélo from Cognac to Bassac:

Tax returns? Done. Coughs, colds and flu? Done. Weather check? Sunny. Flow Vélo cycleway: here we come.

Given that we were both recovering from minor ailments, my husband suggested a gentle bike ride today. Actually, I think he wanted his lazy Sunday lie-in, because our bike rides are always gentle. So while he lazed until eleven o’clock, I pedalled to the new village bakery for fresh baguettes and prepared the picnic, sun tan lotion and hammocks. Oh, and the bikes.

A couple of weeks ago, a Flow Vélo cyclist told us that the towpath along the river Charente upstream of Cognac had been resurfaced over winter. We wanted to see the improvements for ourselves.

The Flow Vélo guide books send you along roads for the section from St Brice to Jarnac, rather than along the pretty towpath.

This is a pity but hardly surprising: we knew from our cycling trip three years ago that the rutted, pot-holed, narrow track upstream from the Gademoulin lock made for uncomfortable riding.

Crossing my fingers that my bottom wouldn’t regret our choice of route, we decided to test the towpath. A quick calculation showed that we had four sets of friends along the alternative road route. If we stopped to see them on the way, there would be little chance of us cycling any further so we agreed to do the road route on the return journey.

We joined the Flow Vélo at Châtenay bridge. On the far side of the bridge, beside the River Charente, lies Cognac’s campsite. On the Cognac side lies what was to be the first castle of the day: the Château de Châtenay.

If you’re coming by car, there’s a small car park beside the castle. Alternatively, you can park a kilometre away at the Base Plein Air, which has the advantage of toilets and a snack bar.

We were on home territory today but this didn’t stop us discovering some new spots and revisiting some much-loved, familiar places.

This, I’m sure, is why it took us an hour to cycle the first 6 km.

First up was Les Jardins Respectueux (the Respectful Gardens) at La Trache, near the St Brice bridge. It’s a beautiful hillside woodland and flood plain run by an ecological association and is open to the public (with composting toilets). Free, shady, educational and fascinating, it also holds regular events. Don’t miss it!

We parked our bikes and strolled around, admiring the exuberant spring growth. We talked to the chickens, promised ourselves to come here for the next event and examined with interest (and, I suspect, with intent on my husband’s part) the hop plants. Yes, hops, as in beer. I think my husband came away with some new ideas for our own garden.

At the St Brice bridge, which has a car park, picnic tables and water point, we ignored our Flow Vélo guide book and followed the towpath. From the path you get a great view of St Brice’s 14th-century chateau; the second of the day. The third chateau, in Gothic Revival style this time, came a few kilometres later at Gademoulin.

I was pleased to see that a new barrier at the Gademoulin lock barred entry to cars along the towpath. And even more pleased when I realised that the days of dodging brambles and nettles, of skidding in mud pools and bumping across car-tyre ruts were over. The towpath had indeed been resurfaced. What a pleasure it was to whizz along the shady riverbank, side by side, past woodland and vineyards until we reached Bourg Charente.

Bourg Charente is an idyllic village where you’ll find the Michelin-starred La Ribaudière restaurant. It’s out of my league but I did have a fleeting wish for a glass of rosé when I saw the customers enjoying the sun and river views from the patio. One day, when I’m a rich&respected author…

This isn’t a castle. It’s the Romanesque church in Bourg Charente.

Bourg Charente is also where you cross a bridge and continue along the towpath to Jarnac. Again, a new surface has replaced the former potholes, though cars can also access this part. There are three or four picnic areas, accessible for those who fancy a meal beside the water but whose bicycles are out of order.

We stopped at a log bench beside the river for lunch. It proved to be a good spot, since we were treated to the flash of a kingfisher’s bright blue wings over the water.

This was followed shortly after by the appearance of a viper. It slithered into the river from the bank under our feet and braved the current to swim in squiggly ripples to the far side. I must remember the shape it makes in the water when we take out our canoe in a few weeks’ time.

The entry to the little town of Jarnac is one of my favourite moments along the towpath. Today didn’t disappoint. Oh look, another chateau – or at least a grand house!

There were further temptations at the main square in Jarnac, beside the Courvoisier chateau – and I don’t mean the display of polished, antique cars that were parked there. More people were drinking rosé on café terraces.

We slurped a mouthful of plasticky water from our bottles and cycled valiantly on, out of the town along rue des Chabannes.

If you’re looking for chateaux, this is the road to take. I saw at least three of them, including this one – Château St Martial – and the Château les Chabannes, a little further along, which offers bed-and-breakfast.

I wonder what the Fête des Voisins (national neighbour party day) is like in this street?

We were soon back beside the river, which is much more our scene than castley get-togethers. What joy to smell elderflower from the proliferation of flowering bushes and to see yellow irises beside the water.

When we reached the Vinade bridge near the village of Bassac, we decided it was a good point to turn west and see if our friends were in check out the Flow Vélo road route.

Our friends in Gondeville weren’t in.

Our friends in Jarnac weren’t in.

Luckily, the fruit and vegetable outlet in Jarnac – La Charentaise – was open, as it is every day. We were able to console ourselves by buying some locally grown Gariguette strawberries. We would share with our friends in La Maurie. If they were at home.

No day of cycling is complete without an ice-cream. As we pedalled back to Bourg Charente, I remembered passing the village campsite on the way. We’d approved of the public air pump provided for cyclists in the car park beside it. I’d noticed a new snack bar there. And tables on a grassy terrace. And a board advertising ice-creams.

We leant our bikes against the cognac barrels and went to choose our refreshments. It’s worth noting the existence of this simple campsite with its convivial ambiance, as it’s not yet listed in the Flow Vélo guides.

With nearly 40km on the clock, we made a brief stop in La Maurie to see if our third and fourth sets of friends were at home. To our surprise, they were. Both sets. Perhaps this explains why the last 6km of the day took us four hours to complete. Such are the (very pleasant) dangers of Doorstep Cycling.

Flow Vélo 3: Easter Ices

La Flow Vélo from Rouffiac to Saintes:

Easter Sunday found us alone at home with no eggs to hunt nor lamb to roast. On the positive side, what possible reason could there be for my husband to refuse a little exercise along the banks of the River Charente?

He mumbled something about watching insects in the garden / planting tomatoes / counting the apricots that had survived the recent frosts. I replied something about starting on the tax returns.

Within seconds, he agreed that our priority was to complete the missing part of our Flow Vélo journey between Cognac and Port-d’Envaux: the section from Rouffiac to Saintes. It was only a short ride of 20km. We could do the other stuff afterwards.

I knew it was going to be a good day when a deer strolled across the road in front of us. We parked beside the river near Rouffiac, at the site of Les Clapotis guinguette.

Here, a chain-ferry carries cars/bikes/people from the Rouffiac side to Dompierre-sur-Charente. Sometimes. There was still no sign of it today.

If you read my blog post ‘First Spring Ride’, you’ll know that this is where our journey stopped a couple of weeks ago.

Off we set, along winding lanes and shady tracks, through woodland filled with birdsong, beside the railway and then along the river. At one point we met some cyclists who had stopped to ask advice from a couple of cyclists coming the other way so, naturally, we joined them. I love the way people along the Flow Vélo are happy to share like this.

There were more people along the river bank. They were mostly fishermen with tents, tables, chairs and even beds. I realised that ‘going fishing’ is actually a euphemism for ‘lazing beside the river’. However, I did meet a young artist, who’d spent an hour and a half creating this land art while she waited for her fish to bite. There’s nothing lazy about that!

We were careful when we stopped and left our bikes to relieve ourselves: the last cyclist seemed never to have returned to his/her bike.

Having been disappointed by the lack of ferry at Rouffiac, we were delighted to find another chain-ferry crossing – in service. We wheeled our bikes on board and chugged across from the Concoury side to discover the village of Chaniers.

I only knew the main road that runs through Chaniers, so it was interesting to discover the Romanesque church, narrow streets and stone houses in Chaniers. There was also an intriguing tree-house on the campsite, which I wanted to visit, and I was tempted to stop at a bar terrace for a glass of rosé. However, the ferryman’s lunch break was due and we needed to return to the far side of the river. This meant we didn’t have time to discover the Moulin de la Baine.

Back on the Flow Vélo track, we arrived in Concoury. Some friends have recently moved here and it seemed an ideal opportunity to catch up with them.

Unfortunately, there was no reply when we called, so we continued cycling through the village, past the pretty church and the L’Amaryllis restaurant.

There would be no restaurant roast lamb for us. Instead, we ate our picnic in front of the Charente Maritime branch of the Office Français de la Biodiversité (French Office for Biodiversity).

The office was closed but I could see exhibition panels through the glass doors. One of the advantages of Doorstep Cycling is that you can easily return to places that catch your eye.

After lunch we were accompanied by the hum of planes towing gliders to dizzy heights. We saw at least eight of them as we crossed woodland and meadows of buttercups dotted with little lakes, nests of baby storks and narrow bridges.

The Concoury area is also animal country and we saw fields of gambolling lambs and suckling calves, though there were no Easter bunnies. Just before Les Gonds, we discovered another riverside quay ideal for picnicking and lazing beside the river. I think it was the Prairie du Bourg. And in Les Gonds, my trusty steed found the tail that it had been missing all these years. How proud it looked when I fixed it into place.

At last, we left the countryside behind us and cycled up the sole hill of the ride, which took is into Saintes and gave us a magnificent view over the flood plains.

I know how to deal with hills these days. When I first started cycling, I hated them. Now, I put my bike into first gear and think about something completely different as I pedal. Can you guess what motivated me up this hill into Saintes?

We cycled along a little street past the St.Sorlin and Palue prairies, which form a long, grassy island between the two branches of the River Charente.

I’d never entered Saintes from this direction and it was surprising to see familiar landmarks from a different perspective. This is the true pleasure of Doorstep Cycling.

Strangely – nothing to do with my careful planning, of course – our arrival in Saintes corresponded with teatime. This meant I could legitimately eat the ice-cream that had grown bigger and bigger in my mind as I pedalled up the hill into Saintes.

No ice-cream tastes good unless it’s eaten in front of a pleasing view. Here are some we enjoyed in Saintes.

Fed and watered, we made our way back towards Rouffiac. You see different sights when you ride back along the same route, which means it’s never boring.

By now, we were quite tired, so imagine our joy when our friends in Concoury called and said they were at home and expected us for an aperitif.

What better way to finish a day than with a cool beer and a chat with friends? (Any excuse to avoid facing those tax returns).

Easter Ices

La Flow Vélo from Rouffiac to Saintes:

Easter Sunday found us alone at home with no eggs to hunt nor lamb to roast. On the positive side, what possible reason could there be for my husband to refuse a little exercise along the banks of the River Charente?

He mumbled something about watching insects in the garden / planting tomatoes / counting the apricots that had survived the recent frosts. I replied something about starting on the tax returns.

Within seconds, he agreed that our priority was to complete the missing part of our Flow Vélo journey between Cognac and Port-d’Envaux: the section from Rouffiac to Saintes. It was only a short ride of 20km. We could do the other stuff afterwards.

I knew it was going to be a good day when a deer strolled across the road in front of us. We parked beside the river near Rouffiac, at the site of Les Clapotis guinguette.

Here, a chain-ferry carries cars/bikes/people from the Rouffiac side to Dompierre-sur-Charente. Sometimes. There was still no sign of it today.

If you read my blog post ‘First Spring Ride’, you’ll know that this is where our journey stopped a couple of weeks ago.

Off we set, along winding lanes and shady tracks, through woodland filled with birdsong, beside the railway and then along the river. At one point we met some cyclists who had stopped to ask advice from a couple of cyclists coming the other way so, naturally, we joined them. I love the way people along the Flow Vélo are happy to share like this.

There were more people along the river bank. They were mostly fishermen with tents, tables, chairs and even beds. I realised that ‘going fishing’ is actually a euphemism for ‘lazing beside the river’. However, I did meet a young artist, who’d spent an hour and a half creating this land art while she waited for her fish to bite. There’s nothing lazy about that!

We were careful when we stopped and left our bikes to relieve ourselves: the last cyclist seemed never to have returned to his/her bike.

Having been disappointed by the lack of ferry at Rouffiac, we were delighted to find another chain-ferry crossing – in service. We wheeled our bikes on board and chugged across from the Concoury side to discover the village of Chaniers.

I only knew the main road that runs through Chaniers, so it was interesting to discover the Romanesque church, narrow streets and stone houses in Chaniers. There was also an intriguing tree-house on the campsite, which I wanted to visit. I was also tempted to stop at a bar terrace for a glass of rosé – but the ferryman’s lunch break was due and we needed to return to the far side of the river. This also meant we didn’t have time to discover the Moulin de la Baine.

Back on the Flow Vélo track, we arrived in Concoury. Some friends have recently moved here and it seemed an ideal opportunity to catch up with them.

Unfortunately, there was no reply when we called, so we continued cycling through the village, past the pretty church and the L’Amaryllis restaurant.

There would be no restaurant roast lamb for us. Instead, we ate our picnic in front of the Charente Maritime branch of the Office Français de la Biodiversité (French Office for Biodiversity).

The office was closed but I could see exhibition panels through the glass doors. One of the advantages of Doorstep Cycling is that you can easily return to places that catch your eye.

After lunch we were accompanied by the hum of planes towing gliders to dizzy heights. We saw at least eight of them as we crossed woodland and meadows of buttercups dotted with little lakes, nests of baby storks and narrow bridges.

The Concoury area is also animal country and we saw fields of gambolling lambs and suckling calves, though there were no Easter bunnies. Just before Les Gonds, we discovered another riverside quay ideal for picnicking and lazing beside the river. I think it was the Prairie du Bourg. And in Les Gonds, my trusty steed found the tail that it had been missing all these years. How proud it looked when I fixed it into place.

At last, we left the countryside behind us and cycled up the sole hill of the ride, which took is into Saintes and gave us a magnificent view over the flood plains.

I know how to deal with hills these days. When I first started cycling, I hated them. Now, I put my bike into first gear and think about something completely different as I pedal. Can you guess what motivated me up this hill into Saintes?

We cycled along a little street past the St.Sorlin and Palue prairies, which form a long, grassy island between the two branches of the River Charente.

I’d never entered Saintes from this direction and it was surprising to see familiar landmarks from a different perspective. This is the true pleasure of Doorstep Cycling.

Strangely – nothing to do with my careful planning, of course – our arrival in Saintes corresponded with teatime. This meant I could legitimately eat the ice-cream that had grown bigger and bigger in my mind as I pedalled up the hill into Saintes.

No ice-cream tastes good unless it’s eaten in front of a pleasing view. Here are some we enjoyed in Saintes.

Fed and watered, we made our way back towards Rouffiac. You see different sights when you ride back along the same route, which means it’s never boring.

By now, we were quite tired, so imagine our joy when our friends in Concoury called and said they were at home and expected us for an aperitif.

What better way to finish a day than with a cool beer and a chat with friends? (Any excuse to avoid facing those tax returns).

Flow Vélo 2: Sunny Sunday Cycling

La Flow Vélo from Saintes to Port-d’Envaux:

My elder daughter came home from university for the weekend and asked us to pick her up at Saintes.

Obviously, we couldn’t bring her home on our bikes, so we decided to make the most of our car trip to the historic Roman town.

Did we visit the gallo-roman amphitheatre? The Germanicus Arch? The 11th century Abbaye-aux-Dames?

No, we stopped at Décathlon. It’s my favourite shop (along with the bookshop Le Texte Libre) because it sells potential.

When you buy a trekking tent, you’re actually buying an itinerant cycle touring holiday. So we did. More about that later this summer, if we manage to pitch the tent and survive the holiday.

Anyway, I was happy that my daughter booked her return ticket for the 11:27 train on Sunday morning because it meant we could stuff our bikes into the car, along with our daughter, and spend the day cycling another section of La Flow Vélo. (Please note how well we have adapted to being abandoned by our children, thanks to our Abandoned Parent Training in 2020).

In contrast to our last Flow Vélo trip, I’d invested in a guide book so we could see exactly where to go. More importantly, it meant I recognised the guide in the hands of the cyclists we met along the way, so I was able to stop (any excuse) and chat with them about their experiences of the cycleway. We learnt that the part from Bourg Charente to Jarnac has recently been renovated, so we’ll definitely return there and assess it for ourselves.

Parking in the train station’s free car park was a great idea. To find the Flow Vélo, which runs along the left bank of the river. you just follow signs to centre ville and turn right straight after crossing the bridge.

I’d never been to this part of Saintes and was pleasantly surprised to discover that once we passed the riverside campsite, the route took us along a quiet, shady lane.

This soon became a track and we had regular glimpses of the river.

The Flow Vélo from Cognac to Rouffiac was pleasant, but today’s section easily surpassed it in terms of the variety of tracks and the number of interesting features. I’d recommend this day trip – a total of 45km for the return ride – to everyone. And not only because we found ice-creams along the way.

Having cycled close to the river for about 5km, the route headed inland a little. The lanes took us up and down small hills and through the hamlets of Narcejac, La Pommeraie and Port à Clou. There was so much to see. From the sighting of a stork on the ground – it was almost as big as my bike – to the beautiful stone architecture, something constantly caught our attention.

We were welcomed at la Basse Pommeraie by this sign, which directed cyclists to ‘Number 15’. When I stopped to have a closer look, I saw a notice in the window offering water, a pump and a smile.

Unfortunately no one was at home, otherwise I could have wangled a longer stop there.

As the Flow Vélo remains fairly close to the river, we often passed wetlands. Just before Port à Clou, we were treated to a boardwalk to cross the protected marshes. Some surprises awaited us there, including these fellows. There were a few more to meet too, but I’ll let you discover them on your own.

We left the Flow Vélo when we spotted the river at Port à Clou and ate our picnic beside the water. Had it been a little later in the year, we would have swum, since access to the water is easy in this spot.

Here are a few pictures of the landscapes we crossed after lunch.

The square bridge allowed the cycleway to pass under a viaduct, which we presumed was a railway. When we discovered it was tarmacked, we decided to follow it – hence the photo of my husband pushing his bike up onto it. Don’t worry, this isn’t a compulsory part of the route.

When I stopped at the end of the viaduct to read the inscription on the stone, a dog-walker informed us that the viaduct was actually an old Roman road. It’s used by the locals when the normal road floods. But as it’s only wide enough for one car – and there’s a drop on each side – this must lead to conflictual situations and lots of reversing.

The viaduct led towards the charming village of Taillebourg, on the far bank of the River Charente. The Flow Vélo doesn’t pass through it, but we wanted to visit and it was only one kilometre off our route.

What a good idea that was! I loved the little village, with its stone quay and the castle parkland overlooking the countryside. I recommend you stop there and discover it yourself. Here’s a slideshow of a few pictures to give you an idea of the treat you’re in for.

It was getting late by now, and with over 20km on the clock we decided we’d cycle as far as Port-d’Envaux before returning to Saintes. The cycleway took us along a couple of rather long, straight, flat tracks. A few kilometres later, we arrived in the village.

In fact, we arrived directly at a tranquil, riverside meadow which is actually the port. Although it’s a small village today, Port-d’Envaux used to be an important stop for the boats carrying stone from the nearby Crazannes quarry as well as pottery from La Chapelle des Pots.

And guess what? I finally got to eat my ice-cream.

Port-d’Envaux must be a lovely place to laze in the summer. You can hire boats from Les Canotiers, admire the stone sculptures, eat at Le Gabarier restaurant and visit Panloy castle.

I’ll definitely have to return. In fact, we might even camp for a night at Crazannes, which is 4km away, for our next stage of the Flow Vélo, from Port-d’Envaux downstream to St.Savinien-sur-Charente – and, who knows, maybe a little further.

Sunny Sunday Cycling

La Flow Vélo from Saintes to Port-d’Envaux:

My elder daughter came home from university for the weekend and asked us to pick her up at Saintes.

Obviously, we couldn’t bring her home on our bikes, so we decided to make the most of our car trip to the historic Roman town.

Did we visit the gallo-roman amphitheatre? The Germanicus Arch? The 11th century Abbaye-aux-Dames?

No, we stopped at Décathlon. It’s my favourite shop (along with the bookshop Le Texte Libre) because it sells potential.

When you buy a trekking tent, you’re actually buying an itinerant cycle touring holiday. So we did. More about that later this summer, if we manage to pitch the tent and survive the holiday.

Anyway, I was happy that my daughter booked her return ticket for the 11:27 train on Sunday morning because it meant we could stuff our bikes into the car, along with our daughter, and spend the day cycling another section of La Flow Vélo. (Please note how well we have adapted to being abandoned by our children, thanks to our Abandoned Parent Training in 2020).

In contrast to our last Flow Vélo trip, I’d invested in a guide book so we could see exactly where to go. More importantly, it meant I recognised the guide in the hands of the cyclists we met along the way, so I was able to stop (any excuse) and chat with them about their experiences of the cycleway. We learnt that the part from Bourg Charente to Jarnac has recently been renovated, so we’ll definitely return there and assess it for ourselves.

Parking in the train station’s free car park was a great idea. To find the Flow Vélo, which runs along the left bank of the river. you just follow signs to centre ville and turn right straight after crossing the bridge.

I’d never been to this part of Saintes and was pleasantly surprised to discover that once we passed the riverside campsite, the route took us along a quiet, shady lane.

This soon became a track and we had regular glimpses of the river.

The Flow Vélo from Cognac to Rouffiac was pleasant, but today’s section easily surpassed it in terms of the variety of tracks and the number of interesting features. I’d recommend this day trip – a total of 45km for the return ride – to everyone. And not only because we found ice-creams along the way.

Having cycled close to the river for about 5km, the route headed inland a little. The lanes took us up and down small hills and through the hamlets of Narcejac, La Pommeraie and Port à Clou. There was so much to see. From the sighting of a stork on the ground – it was almost as big as my bike – to the beautiful stone architecture, something constantly caught our attention.

We were welcomed at la Basse Pommeraie by this sign, which directed cyclists to ‘Number 15’. When I stopped to have a closer look, I saw a notice in the window offering water, a pump and a smile.

Unfortunately no one was at home, otherwise I could have wangled a longer stop there.

As the Flow Vélo remains fairly close to the river, we often passed wetlands. Just before Port à Clou, we were treated to a boardwalk to cross the protected marshes. Some surprises awaited us there, including these fellows. There were a few more to meet too, but I’ll let you discover them on your own.

We left the Flow Vélo when we spotted the river at Port à Clou and ate our picnic beside the water. Had it been a little later in the year, we would have swum, since access to the water is easy in this spot.

Here are a few pictures of the landscapes we crossed after lunch.

The square bridge allowed the cycleway to pass under a viaduct, which we presumed was a railway. When we discovered it was tarmacked, we decided to follow it – hence the photo of my husband pushing his bike up onto it. Don’t worry, this isn’t a compulsory part of the route.

When I stopped at the end of the viaduct to read the inscription on the stone, a dog-walker informed us that the viaduct was actually an old Roman road. It’s used by the locals when the normal road floods. But as it’s only wide enough for one car – and there’s a drop on each side – this must lead to conflictual situations and lots of reversing.

The viaduct led towards the charming village of Taillebourg, on the far bank of the River Charente. The Flow Vélo doesn’t pass through it, but we wanted to visit and it was only one kilometre off our route.

What a good idea that was! I loved the little village, with its stone quay and the castle parkland overlooking the countryside. I recommend you stop there and discover it yourself. Here’s a slideshow of a few pictures to give you an idea of the treat you’re in for.

It was getting late by now, and with over 20km on the clock we decided we’d cycle as far as Port-d’Envaux before returning to Saintes. The cycleway took us along a couple of rather long, straight, flat tracks. A few kilometres later, we arrived in the village.

In fact, we arrived directly at a tranquil, riverside meadow which is actually the port. Although it’s a small village today, Port-d’Envaux used to be an important stop for the boats carrying stone from the nearby Crazannes quarry as well as pottery from La Chapelle des Pots.

And guess what? I finally got to eat my ice-cream.

Port-d’Envaux must be a lovely place to laze in the summer. You can hire boats from Les Canotiers, admire the stone sculptures, eat at Le Gabarier restaurant and visit Panloy castle.

I’ll definitely have to return. In fact, we might even camp for a night at Crazannes, which is 4km away, for our next stage of the Flow Vélo, from Port-d’Envaux downstream to St.Savinien-sur-Charente – and, who knows, maybe a little further.

Flow Vélo 1: First Spring Ride

La Flow Vélo from Cognac to Dompierre-sur-Charente (nearly) and back:

The sun cast its springtime rays into the garage and woke my sleeping bike from its winter hibernation. To be honest, it wasn’t a true hibernation because I’ve been taking it out almost daily since January, feeding it a few kilometres at a time so that it doesn’t forget how to work.

But cycling 8km a day as a form of transport hardly counts as a proper outing to my ambitious steed. Spring beckoned and, before I knew it, my bike was pawing the ground, eager to make the most of the splendid weather. How could I refuse?

So off we set, my long-suffering husband and I, with a picnic, our hammocks and my 52-blade Swiss Army Knife: you never know what might happen when you venture into the wilds of the Charente. I wasn’t particularly worried, though, because my husband remembered to take his compass. It has saved us from many a dark ending in the past.

The objective of the day was not to set an objective. This seemed perfectly reasonable, given our experience of being ourselves on our bikes (as described in my cycling series Doorstep Cycling and Abandoned Parent Training). As long as we could stop every time we saw something interesting, and that I could fit an ice-cream break into the journey, it would be pleasant.

Our chosen route was the cycleway known as the ‘Flow Vélo‘, which follows the course of the River Charente downstream to the sea. I packed my bikini, of course: the sea is a mere 108 km from home. Ice-cream sellers proliferate there.

The 290km Flow Vélo cycleway joins Nontron in the Dordogne to Fouras and Aix island at the mouth of the River Charente. We actually discovered the Dordogne part of the Flow Vélo in 2020 when we cycled from St.Pardoux-la-Rivière to St.Jean-de-Côle and Thiviers, as I mentioned in my blog post Teas and Trees.

But enough of all this waffling and on with the action. After a hasty pumping up of tyres, we cycled through Cognac, admiring the magnolia and cherry blossom and the trees coming into leaf. The first challenge was to discern which side of the river we were supposed to cycle along. We couldn’t find any Flow Vélo signs and the route details on the website page had faded from my memory. So we trusted our instincts and cycled downstream along the Hennessy dock, past Cognac’s port and towards the village of Merpins.

The pretty, shaded path ran directly beside the river and then turned inland to join a grit track. This continued for several kilometres parallel to the Cognac-Merpins road, which was hidden behind a promontory of back gardens. On the right lay the fields and woods of the flood plain, with, unfortunately, no view of the river.

Ideal for runners, dog walkers and cyclists, the track had plenty of shade, with the added bonus of birdsong – and frog-song when we passed a pond. We even saw a man dragging a canoe-on-wheels, though the track was a couple of hundred metres from the river. I hope he hadn’t stolen it from one of those fascinating back gardens.

The track ended at the old centre of Merpins, where we discovered the cobbled Cocuron hump-backed bridge, built in 1777. The stones that sit inside the parapets were put there to prevent carriage wheels from rubbing against the parapets and damaging them. I love the way grass has grown between the cobbles.

After the bridge, we crossed the River Né and brushed the outskirts of Salignac-sur-Charente. There were more Flow Vélo signs now and it was easy to follow the route along winding tracks running through fields lined with ditches full of irises. At one point we saw a stork’s nest with a baby stork inside and spotted one parent soaring through the skies in search of food.

The river, however, eluded us until we arrived at the Port du Lys, which is about 9km from Cognac. This is a beautiful spot beside the river, with picnic tables and a barbecue. In the summer, a riverside guinguette sets up here and we love to lie in a hammock or sit beside the water and enjoy a beer and a meal. It’s run by the association Utopy – a ‘university of laziness’, to quote its website.

The track after the Port du Lys led across ‘La Grande Prairie’, an area we didn’t enjoy as much. It was a flat, open, flood plain of agricultural monoculture: sunflowers, by the look of the dried husks littering the verges. It was windy here, and in the summer there would be no shade.

After the Grande Prairie we were back on lanes and more interesting tracks, some of which ran alongside the river. The Charente had only a few trees on its banks here, which took away much of the charm that seduced us during our cycling trip upstream of Cognac in 2019.

Things improved at La Fosse – perhaps because we remembered that a friend lived there, so we stopped for a drink and a chat. Dropping in on friends is just one of the many advantages of doorstep cycling.

From La Fosse, a little track took us along the railway line and close to the village of Rouffiac. By now, we were flagging a little. We promised ourselves an ice cream at the village of Dompierre-sur-Charente, which was on the far bank and could no doubt be reached via a bridge. Meanwhile, we ate our picnic, supplemented by chocolate éclairs from the best patissier in Cognac (in my opinion).

After a siesta in our hammocks, we set off again, happy to find ourselves on a smooth tarmac lane, ideal for rollerblading. This road took us to Les Clapotis, another guinguette, which looked rather different in the winter without the marquees and bar. Luckily, there were more trees here, making it an enchanting place for a rest.

The Flow Vélo signs pointed us inland again, away from the river. But we were curious to see where the lane beyond Les Clapotis went, especially as it ran along the river and we planned to return with our rollerblades. Might it be a short cut to an ice-cream?

A few hundred metres later, the road led into the river. Yes, into the river! On the opposite bank we could see the village of Dompierre-sur-Charente. It looked like a pretty place to explore, and I was sure there would be at least one ice-cream seller there. But there was no bridge and no sign of the ‘bac à chaîne’ (chain-operated ferry boat) to carry us across. There wasn’t even a chain.

It was lucky I hadn’t set my heart on the objective of reaching Dompierre (or on enjoying an ice cream); otherwise I’d have been disappointed by the lack of boat. I later learnt that the ferry only operates from 15 June to 15 September, 10am-1pm and 2-7pm. It’s free and you can learn all about its history (in French) here.

We were now 25km from home. Although I felt motivated to carry on along the Flow Vélo – with a short detour to Dompierre as soon as we found a bridge – my husband reminded me that we had to cycle all the way back.

Promising ourselves that we’d return soon for an ice-cream the next section of the Flow Vélo, we turned around.

We lost ourselves once or twice but didn’t have to resort to either the compass or my Swiss Army Knife. Eventually, we arrived home saddlesore but happy with our five-hour excursion.

First Spring Ride

La Flow Vélo from Cognac to Dompierre-sur-Charente (nearly) and back:

The sun cast its springtime rays into the garage and woke my sleeping bike from its winter hibernation. To be honest, it wasn’t a true hibernation because I’ve been taking it out almost daily since January, feeding it a few kilometres at a time so that it doesn’t forget how to work.

But cycling 8km a day as a form of transport hardly counts as a proper outing to my ambitious steed. Spring beckoned and, before I knew it, my bike was pawing the ground, eager to make the most of the splendid weather. How could I refuse?

So off we set, my long-suffering husband and I, with a picnic, our hammocks and my 52-blade Swiss Army Knife: you never know what might happen when you venture into the wilds of the Charente. I wasn’t particularly worried, though, because my husband remembered to take his compass. It has saved us from many a dark ending in the past.

The objective of the day was not to set an objective. This seemed perfectly reasonable, given our experience of being ourselves on our bikes (as described in my cycling series Doorstep Cycling and Abandoned Parent Training). As long as we could stop every time we saw something interesting, and that I could fit an ice-cream break into the journey, it would be pleasant.

Our chosen route was the cycleway known as the ‘Flow Vélo‘, which follows the course of the River Charente downstream to the sea. I packed my bikini, of course: the sea is a mere 108 km from home. Ice-cream sellers proliferate there.

The 290km Flow Vélo cycleway joins Nontron in the Dordogne to Fouras and Aix island at the mouth of the River Charente. We actually discovered the Dordogne part of the Flow Vélo in 2020 when we cycled from St.Pardoux-la-Rivière to St.Jean-de-Côle and Thiviers, as I mentioned in my blog post Teas and Trees.

But enough of all this waffling and on with the action. After a hasty pumping up of tyres, we cycled through Cognac, admiring the magnolia and cherry blossom and the trees coming into leaf. The first challenge was to discern which side of the river we were supposed to cycle along. We couldn’t find any Flow Vélo signs and the route details on the website page had faded from my memory. So we trusted our instincts and cycled downstream along the Hennessy dock, past Cognac’s port and towards the village of Merpins.

The pretty, shaded path ran directly beside the river and then turned inland to join a grit track. This continued for several kilometres parallel to the Cognac-Merpins road, which was hidden behind a promontory of back gardens. On the right lay the fields and woods of the flood plain, with, unfortunately, no view of the river.

Ideal for runners, dog walkers and cyclists, the track had plenty of shade, with the added bonus of birdsong – and frog-song when we passed a pond. We even saw a man dragging a canoe-on-wheels, though the track was a couple of hundred metres from the river. I hope he hadn’t stolen it from one of those fascinating back gardens.

The track ended at the old centre of Merpins, where we discovered the cobbled Cocuron hump-backed bridge, built in 1777. The stones that sit inside the parapets were put there to prevent carriage wheels from rubbing against the parapets and damaging them. I love the way grass has grown between the cobbles.

After the bridge, we crossed the River Né and brushed the outskirts of Salignac-sur-Charente. There were more Flow Vélo signs now and it was easy to follow the route along winding tracks running through fields lined with ditches full of irises. At one point we saw a stork’s nest with a baby stork inside and spotted one parent soaring through the skies in search of food.

The river, however, eluded us until we arrived at the Port du Lys, which is about 9km from Cognac. This is a beautiful spot beside the river, with picnic tables and a barbecue. In the summer, a riverside guinguette sets up here and we love to lie in a hammock or sit beside the water and enjoy a beer and a meal. It’s run by the association Utopy – a ‘university of laziness’, to quote its website.

The track after the Port du Lys led across ‘La Grande Prairie’, an area we didn’t enjoy as much. It was a flat, open, flood plain of agricultural monoculture: sunflowers, by the look of the dried husks littering the verges. It was windy here, and in the summer there would be no shade.

After the Grande Prairie we were back on lanes and more interesting tracks, some of which ran alongside the river. The Charente had only a few trees on its banks here, which took away much of the charm that seduced us during our cycling trip upstream of Cognac in 2019.

Things improved at La Fosse – perhaps because we remembered that a friend lived there, so we stopped for a drink and a chat. Dropping in on friends is just one of the many advantages of doorstep cycling.

From La Fosse, a little track took us along the railway line and close to the village of Rouffiac. By now, we were flagging a little. We promised ourselves an ice cream at the village of Dompierre-sur-Charente, which was on the far bank and could no doubt be reached via a bridge. Meanwhile, we ate our picnic, supplemented by chocolate éclairs from the best patissier in Cognac (in my opinion).

After a siesta in our hammocks, we set off again, happy to find ourselves on a smooth tarmac lane, ideal for rollerblading. This road took us to Les Clapotis, another guinguette, which looked rather different in the winter without the marquees and bar. Luckily, there were more trees here, making it an enchanting place for a rest.

The Flow Vélo signs pointed us inland again, away from the river. But we were curious to see where the lane beyond Les Clapotis went, especially as it ran along the river and we planned to return with our rollerblades. Might it be a short cut to an ice-cream?

A few hundred metres later, the road led into the river. Yes, into the river! On the opposite bank we could see the village of Dompierre-sur-Charente. It looked like a pretty place to explore, and I was sure there would be at least one ice-cream seller there. But there was no bridge and no sign of the ‘bac à chaîne’ (chain-operated ferry boat) to carry us across. There wasn’t even a chain.

It was lucky I hadn’t set my heart on the objective of reaching Dompierre (or on enjoying an ice cream); otherwise I’d have been disappointed by the lack of boat. I later learnt that the ferry only operates from 15 June to 15 September, 10am-1pm and 2-7pm. It’s free and you can learn all about its history (in French) here.

We were now 25km from home. Although I felt motivated to carry on along the Flow Vélo – with a short detour to Dompierre as soon as we found a bridge – my husband reminded me that we had to cycle all the way back.

Promising ourselves that we’d return soon for an ice-cream the next section of the Flow Vélo, we turned around. We lost ourselves once or twice but didn’t have to resort to either the compass or my Swiss Army Knife. Eventually, we arrived home saddlesore but happy with our five-hour excursion.

Tree Sacrifice on Tour

If you hang out on social media platforms, you may know that my publisher, Impress Books, sent my third book – Tree Sacrifice – on tour to book reviewers in January.

Tree Sacrifice is the third and final instalment of the Tree Magic trilogy (or tree-logy, if you like puns).

After much nail-biting, I was relieved to see that the majority of reviewers liked the story. Many of them hadn’t read Tree Magic (book 1) or Tree Slayer (book 2). This made the storyline difficult for them to follow, since the trilogy must be read in order for it to make sense.

However, the reviewers were very complimentary about my writing, which made me feel all warm and mushy. My favourite reviews were those where the readers felt differently about trees and nature after reading the trilogy. Several said they wanted to go out and hug a tree, others liked the way the story inspired them to get out and do something to protect nature. And one reader has started drawing trees.

For me, the Tree Magic trilogy was about more than writing a story. It was about making people think about trees, about getting them to imagine what trees could be saying to each other, about inspiring them to want to defend nature. So I’m proud to think that the stories have had this effect on some people, at least.

Here are a few quotes from the reviews, plus the links to read the full reviews and see some of the amazing bookstagrams the reviewers created.

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“I could really picture Harriet’s writing and her descriptions, which makes these books a perfect escape from realty. Her writing is also very thought provoking at times and does have you questioning life. It also certainly makes me proud to be a tree hugger because this book is simply magical and beautiful, which I’m sure I’ve said many times now!” @hannahmaybookreviews

“This might not be a book written for adults, but there was plenty to keep my interest and keep me guessing as to how it would end. It deals well with complex adolescence emotions and relationships, as well as decision making and responsibility, along with an engaging storyline that touched my tree soul.” French Village Diaries

“This is a beautiful book, great plot, well written and I really enjoyed it. I also loved the underlying idea of this – save and respect the trees. Do all we can to protect the earth and nature. A great topic for the world we live in today.” @book_a_holic_17

“I loved the idea behind this book, gaining peace and knowledge from the world around us and protecting it as much as we can.” @tryingtomaketimetoread

“I love the idea of trees communicating, being all powerful advisers, it’s such a gorgeous story! I think it may have turned me into a tree hugger!” @thebookishhermit

 “A thrilling end to a unique and beautifully envisaged trilogy.” @Livinginmyownprivatelibrary

“Harriet writes with such beauty that the imagery created is breathtaking. It’s easy to envision what the characters are experiencing. In future I want to read the first two before rereading this book in the hopes I will understand it as it is meant to be understood!” @face_down_books_up 

“I adored the environmental themes, which were sophisticatedly weaved throughout the magical plot whilst also giving a realistic nod to the way humans often fail to respect nature It definitely got me thinking about the little changes I can make to help to protect our world.” @the_beautyofreading

“This was a fascinating read that really stretches your imagination… A fascinating YA Fantasy that brings nature to life with the turn of each page.” @bookshortie

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Sorry if this post sounds a bit boasty. I just wanted to share the goodwill that the Tree Magic trilogy has inspired. Oh, and encourage you to read the trilogy too!

If you’d like to purchase the books, they’re all available in both ebook and paperback format from your favourite online or local bookseller. Alternatively, you can click on the cover photos in the sidebar to order them in the UK.

Tree Magic : paperback ISBN: 978-1911293637, e-book ISBN: 978-1911293644
Tree Slayer : paperback ISBN: 978-1911293392, e-book ISBN: 978-1911293408
Tree Sacrifice : paperback ISBN: 978-1911293705, e-book ISBN: 978-1911293699

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I’ll be back this spring with a series of posts on a completely different subject. Meanwhile, happy reading.