Post It from Camping Orpheo Negro, Douville, Dordogne, France. Wednesday 2nd September, 2015.

Best laid plans and all that meant we did not get to my intended stop for a couple of nights at the municipal site in Bergerac. At lunch time we read through the reviews of the campsite and Sharon was not impressed at all and did not want to spend a couple of nights with itinerant neighbours and geese fouling everywhere. There was not a single good review and one couple felt very insecure so we agreed we would not stay there.

I had not particularly wanted to stop at Bergerac but had wanted to break the journey around mid-way to give me a couple of nights rest without driving. Bergerac was a city I had heard of with a medieval past so it looked like a good location, and I am sure it is, but the site sounds dire.

After leaving the previous site we headed for a further 50 miles south along the toll free A20 before heading off through Limoges and onto Perigueux. The countryside was lush and green and the Limousin cows were to be seen in the meadows along with the adverts for the famous Foie Gras pate in the farmer’s fields. This was only our second time in the Dordogne region and previously it had been to visit a friend who had newly opened a guest house here back in April 2006. It was every bit as beautiful as I had recalled and Perigueux looked a delightful place to visit one day as we drove through the centre of town heading for Bergerac.

Lunch was in a layby on the N21 so a quick consultation of the ACSI App found us close to Camping Orpheo Negro which seemed to tick all the boxes for us and we stopped there instead. This campsite is situated around a man-made lake full of what I suspect to be Carp. There are large pitches set amongst woodland but we chose one right opposite the lake shore which would catch the afternoon sun. The ground was hard but you could see the evidence of recent heavy rain as it had run down the terraced site towards the lake. The facilities were quite good and after a stroll around the lake, taking advantage of the seats dotted here and there, we settled in for a relaxing afternoon and enjoyed the sun for a change. Smokee took advantage too of being able to laze on the seat backs in the sun since we were not moving. I could not get over the price at only 12€ a night plus the extortionate sum of 44 cents local taxes. A huge difference from the Austrian taxes we experienced last May and June!

Shortly after we had arrived we were joined by a 25 year old Airstream Classic motorhome owned by a Dutch couple. They were off into northern Spain and Portugal and were towing a Smart car on a trailer as well as having an old rough haired Daschund for a companion. I had never seen an Airstream motorhome before and only recognised the name as being synonymous with their classic style of modern American caravans.

From here into Spain via the Somport Tunnel there are not too many good campsites at suitable driving distances so we may well stop off at Aire Sur L’Ador in the town centre where we have stayed before and then see what the following days bring us after crossing the Pyrenees.

Regards, Roy

PS Update from Aire Sur L’Adour for the motorhomers out there.

We did stop off here and will stay for the two nights to give us a break from the driving and a chance to stretch our legs. Last time we were here was June 2014 when there was a big festival and fair taking place. Just down past the campsite is where all the fairground workers were parked but I now see it is actually an Aire du Campingcar. It has a Bourne on the road that takes euro coins to get the water and it is a very large car park with a sandy type surface. You are permitted to stay 72 hours and the charge is 4€ a night in July and August and 3€ at all other times. It is closed quite a bit in June for the festivals.

We prefer to stay on the campsite though with all the facilities and a little more security for Smokee when we are out. It is worth the 16€ a night we think. 4th September 2015