Wednesday 17th

Yesterday we had our first cycle ride on the island, riding from Le Bois Plage to Loix which was about 11 miles return and was Ray’s longest ride on a manual bike since the Achilles affair of December 2025. All went well and was helped considerable by a coffee and cakes stop at one of Rosemary’s favourite cafes in the centre of Loix. The Ile de Re is a relatively small island being about 20 miles long and 2/3 miles wide but cycling is complicated by the large number of salt flats covering a fair amount of the island as you will see from the map below.

We were struck by the very significant increase in e-bikes on the island which is generally very flat and probably e-bikes now outnumber manual bikes. Whilst the island is not that busy with visitors there are a lot of cyclists and evidence of grandparents on e-bikes, probably day trips from La Rochelle,  looking after grandchildren.

The leg muscles needed a short rest when we returned to our apartment before we headed down the nearby beach, La Plage de la Gollandiers for our first swim in the sea. It was lovely; the beach was very quiet and the sea really warm but with some strong waves.

Back to the apartment for a dinner of quiches, cheeses and a baguette followed by a walk along the seafront in glorious evening sunshine. A lovely day!

Tuesday 16th June

Yesterday we docked on time at Ouistreham but there was an hour delay getting through customs and passport control. Nothing to do with EES as there was no attempt to use facial recognition or fingerprint checking. The upshot was that having expected to leave the port at 07:30, it was 08:30 before we left.

Eventually we were on our way and after heavy traffic around Caen we were soon paying the tolls and making very good progress down the autoroute network. For the first part of the journey Rosemary joined a Stafford Board meeting via MS teams, which worked perfectly until close to the end when she was unceremoniously ejected as someone had put s time limit on the meeting and when it overran nobody told Microsoft!

The intention had been to stop at a service station near Alencon for the meeting but the delay at the port of Ouistreham put an end to that 

Soon after the meeting ended we did have a pit stop to change drivers and to purchase coffee and croissants. After we left the autoroute network there was some heavy traffic but no delays and about 14:00 we were crossing to the Ile de Re on the bridge from La Rochelle. 

Upon arrival at our destination of Les Bois Flottais in Le. Bois Plage en Re we discovered we were a few minutes early before reception opened for the afternoon. However, we soon had the keys to our apartment and everything was unloaded from the X3. We have stayed at this hotel 2 or 3 times before but this is the first time we have booked the apartment or studio as they refer to it. It is very nice and perfect for our needs

Having settled in to the apartment we visited the local Carrefour and purchased the immediate necessities before resting in our small but perfectly formed garden.

A walk down to the beach, which was quite busy since it had reached 35C today, and it was time for dinner at our residence.

B

Sunday 14th May -off to the Ile de Re

Tonight we take the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to  Ouistreham (Caen) and it is due in port at 07:00 French time on Monday. We have used this route on many occasions and we are usually on the Il de Re by early afternoon. The French motorways are very quiet and as long as we are prepared to pay the tolls progress is normally quick. 

Today is also the day for Amberley Open Gardens where local resident open their gardens for visitors to view and to raise money for a charity Action Medical research. It is a biennial event and is always hugely popular and this year even more so as the organisers publicised it widely.

Going Home

We had to vacate the apartment by 10:00 so were up fairly early to tidy up, get the luggage etc down the 27 steps and to load the bikes on the bike carrier. Loading the bikes takes a while since they weigh 25kg+ each and have to be well secured before starting off. 

We had arranged to meet our very good friend Jane Maxwell for lunch at the Chesil Rectory in Winchester. Those of you who know Winchester will be aware that parking is not easy and is tightly regulated. The nearest car park to the Chesil Rectory is a multi storey and Ray definitely did not like the idea of negotiating its narrow bays and sharp turns with 2 bikes on the back of the X3! A decision was taken to use the "Park & Ride" to the east of Winchester and this worked well.

As we were ahead of schedule, we took the bus into the centre, had a coffee and cake and then took the opportunity to visit M&S where Jane had a similar idea and we met with her at the checkout.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Chesil Rectory which is a very traditional restaurant and all the better for it! Jane dropped us off and the Park & Ride and of we drove to Rackham where we arrived home at 15:45. Overall a very enjoyable weekend and Ray was delighted with his cycling progress

Sunday 10th Sunshine and ponies

Sunday lived up to its name and we set off on our bikes to explore more of the New Forest. The first section was quite hilly and the LLW had a quiet complain that e-bikes would not do all of the work!

We cycled through Hungerford, Hyde and Frogham before turning south back to South Gorley and New Town where we visited Hockey's Farm Shop which was a hive of activity. We enjoyed coffee and cakes whilst lots of children were entertained in the menagerie and aviaries. 

Eventually we ended back at our local, The Royal Oak, where we sat outside in the warm sunshine and enjoyed watching the ponies graze.

Time to head back to our apartment and put our feet up for a while. Ray was very happy with his progress in cycling since this was by far the longest distance he has cycled since late August 2025.

Both exploring on our e-bikes

Saturday 9th May, was very sunny and warm and after a good breakfast of boiled eggs and coffee we both set off on our e-bikes. The plan was firstly to head north into Fordingbridge to have a look around and to acquire a couple of items needed. As with so many towns now, Fordingbridge is looking a bit sad with lots of shops closed. Nevertheless, it was quite busy.

Having bought the few items needed we cycled south along a lovely country lane and arrived at an area of lakes on both sides of the road. We stopped at a bird hide, occupied by two avid bird watchers with very fancy binoculars and telescopic camera lenses! I spotted, tufted ducks, shell ducks, mallards and the ubiquitous coots but overall it was relatively quiet.

On the way back we stopped at a farm shop and the LLW decided that sausage rolls were required. A local pub beckoned and we ate our sausage rolls in the garden and enjoying the lovely warm sunshine.

By now we were both feeling tired, Ray because this is by far the furthest he has cycled since the Achilles episode and Rosemary has also done very little cycling recently.

Ray was keen to watch the ladies Rugby with England playing Italy in Parma. A comfortable win for the red roses but Ray was of the opinion that improvement is needed if England are to beat the French next weekend.

Arrived at Bickton Mill

On Friday 8th May, we had a very straightforward journey from Rackham to Ringwood but finding the local Waitrose was a little tricky! However, having found it the parking was even trickier. Parking with two e-bikes on the back of the car is never easy but this Waitrose car park was quite small and very narrow in places. Having sorted that out, the LLW headed off to the store to obtain the requirements for the weekend.

The journey to Bickton mill was short and very easy so in no time we were parked outside our appartment block.

We knew that there were 27 steps up to the apartment and this required 3 ups and downs to offload all that was needed.

The bikes were taken off, the carrier stowed in the boot, the bikes parked in a garage belonging to our apartment and we were soon enjoying a cup of tea and doughnuts!

Ray decided to go for a short ride and was surprised to discover that the New Forest National Park started on the eastern side of the A338 which runs north from Ringwood to Fordingbridge and beyond to Salisbury. Having crossed the main road it was immediately easy and quiet country cycling only interrupted by a few cattle and rather more New Forest ponies. It was a beautiful evening and the countryside looked stunning.

Back at Bickton Mill, Ray was stunned that instead of showing calories expended, his bike computer, showed a message saying "do you realise that was less than half a doughnut".

There was no alternative but to head back up the stairs and open a bottle of red!