It’s 4am. Suddenly I’m awake. Someone is throwing pebbles at the van. Not so awake, as it took me a while to realise it was raining. And with that, I can safely say the heatwave is over. I did manage to sleep, waking up at 6.45 and remembering that kids and friends are aiming to leave at 8. I was expecting tearful farewells from the children again, but they all had their emotions under control. Once they had all gone, I went back to Willma and had a cup of coffee, feeling somewhat empty again. The campsite is quiet – it’s a Sunday – and missing the energy they all brought to the holiday.

As we began, so we ended: by commandeering tables in the bar area, we sat together most evenings; though being sensible I tended to leave about 10pm most nights. Jon and Gill left a day early, to a site in Rocamadour, where the erst of the family will join on Sunday. And he kindly donated a fan he’d lent me for the week, which was a godsend.

Eating and drinking seem to be the main highlights for the week; finishing up with dinner for eleven in the square, while the bar was showing the Champions Cup final, Arsenal versus Paris Saint Germain. The children were burning off energy playing Tag in the empty market place, while Sim was distracted by a series of motorbikes arriving. He has eight at home in his garage, so it’s understandable. When PSG got the final victory, on the last penalty, we were treated to a wonderful display of Gallic exuberance (apart from the poor chap in the Gunners T-shirt. Last weekend, in the TV room on the campsite, it had been rugby equivalent: Bordeaux Begles versus Leinster, with most of the locals being Bordeaux fans, complete with face paint. I watched for a while: they asked me which team I was supporting. Neither, I replied, I support Bath (who had been closely and controversially beaten by Bordeaux. That’s OK, they said. NO, it is not! was the only possible response, which got a laugh.

I spent my last day here productively, finally tidying the van and trying to make some sense of the storage. I push myself, knowing I needed to fill the water tank at the motorhome point across the site, and while it was in travel mode, took it to LeClerc for a tank of diesel, and a bit of a jet wash to get rid of mud and bugs that had accrued during the holiday. Then sat down and did some serious travel planning, and deciding which places to go to, after visiting Mike & Jan. Tours looks interesting, and worth a couple of days; and I worked out it was feasible to take in a coupe of chateaux, including Ussé, supposedly Perrault’s inspiration for Sleeping Beauty. I’ve decided to miss out Rouen, and instead pop up to the cliffs at Etretat. Three hours sees me near the Tunnel for a night.