Website: https://www.camping-
We woke early on Monday morning, had a shower and packed the van. We planned to leave at 8am, but this slipped a little so we didn’t really get underway until nearly 9am. Our next destination was Lake Annecy which we had seen our friends visit previously. This was all the inspiration we needed as it looked stunning if their social media photos were anything to go by . The journey from Troyes to Annecey was going to be one of the longer ones of the holiday, covering a distance of approximately 430km and taking the best part of 5 hours so we knew we were in for a bit of a slog. As we set of from the municipal site we could tell that we were in for another stunning day. The sun was out and it was already getting warm. A few miles onto the motorway toll a fog encompassed us, but we were soon above it as we climbed a gentle incline leaving the soft clouds settling in the fields.
Our journey continued unhindered by traffic, with brilliant sunshine and the camper seemed to gliding effortlessly on the smooth French roads. We stopped around the mid way point at an aire to have a bite to eat and snack consisting of roast beef and mustard salad cobs (remnants of Saturday evenings cob cooked meat).
We chose to travel via toll roads so that we could reduce time between locations, but even so the travel from that point on became increasingly steep in parts as we entered the Alps. The vista was breathtaking in parts, with long elevated sections of road, and longer tunnels. We finally dropped towards the lake and skirted it for a few kilometers until we found our campsite. Although the drive was nice, I felt I had probably reach the limits of acceptable time at the wheel an hour or so before we reached the campsite, so I was just wanting to park the van and cracked open a beer.
We had requested a lake side view when booking Annecy so after checking in we left reception and started to navigated to our pitch. I’ll be honest there was an element of tension as I was directed past the road we should have turned down, and leveling the van became a bigger issue than it should have been. I guess I’ll have to take the responsibility for my short temper, but an hour later the van was set up and we were enjoying an amazing view across the lake. My paddle board was stored on the roof of my van, but it was soon off, inflated and out I went.
Day two at Annecey started sunny but became increasingly overcast and unsettled and eventually rain and thunder arrived. We were happy to chill in the van and watch some of the downloaded Netflix content we had on our tablet. We were monitoring our friends, Debs and Marks travels as they departed for Calais from their home town in Leicester as we had agree to meet up for one night at Annecey just before moving into Italy. An oil leak on their campervan a couple of weeks previously had been fixed by a garage, so they had been on tender hooks as to weather or not they would actually have it back in time. However, oil had started to leak again so the whole trip for them was hanging in the balance. They took the decision to carry on, but monitored the oil at regular intervals. With this worry they decided to simplify their schedule with one stop in Troyes, and an earlier visit to Annecey. After the rain cleared we took a walk along the lake to stretch our legs
Day three was very warm from the start, and this would prove to be the case for some time to come. I couldn’t resist more time on the paddle board, and the lake was a pleasant temperature to swim in. The elevated terrain around the lake meant it was perfect for parascending and a steady stream of daredevils ascended across the lake, landing close to our campsite. Booking for this activity, along with mountain bike hire, and boat hire could all be done close to the entrance / reception. I thought about booking, but in the four days we were staying, I felt there was more than enough to do without paying for activities. Later on Debs and Mark arrived, but couldn’t be allocated a pitch next to use due to a booking error. Their initial disappointment soon subsided when they realized their allocated pitch was every bit as good, as it was also right on the lakes edge. As the sun began to disappear behind the mountains and day became dusk, bats began to dart around catching insects. We wandered over to Mark and Debs to share opinions on Troyes, find out more about their mechanical woes on the way (This was certainly something that I could sympathize with, due to my gearbox issues in 2017), and what their plans were for the rest of her holiday once we go our separate ways after the VW Bugaloo. After a few beers and an open water swim it was time to retire.
Our fourth and final day at Annecey was a combination of swimming, paddle boarding, drinking 😉 and socializing with Mark and Debs. Tomorrow we would depart for Torino, Italy, so we made sure most of the packing was done ready for the morning. Paddle board and associated equipment was secured back on the roof, chairs tables etc were in the boot box, and the mat and awning were rolled up and retracted . We loved Annecy and we would be sad so leave, but the holiday was in its infancy, and we still had lots to look forward to.
Leave a Reply