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France 2025
  • The Pollards
August 2025

France 2025

A 16-day adventure by The Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 2, 2025
    The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    Plymouth

    Aug 2–3 in England ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    As we had an early ferry crossing, we had decided to spend the night in Plymouth. We arrived around midday, parked the car in the hotel car park and headed into the city centre. After a quick lunch, we headed to The Box, an art gallery & museum which I'd read about online. The first thing you see when you enter are some enormous ship's figureheads (one one of them weighing 2400 kg) suspended above you, when you reach the top floor you can read about their history and the ships they were a part of, as well as the restoration that was carried out. There were several different art exhibits, some natural history (including a life sized mammoth) and lots about Plymouth's history, including the many famous ships that set sail there and a section on Devonport dockyard. Definitely a worthwhile trip if you're in Plymouth, and entry is free too. It was well laid out with plenty to see, but not too much that you lose interest!

    So, the dreaded drive to Plymouth, I absolutely hate this drive with passion. Always have, always will.
    Driving 49 miles to the hotel took nearly an hour and a half and there were no particularly bad hold-ups. Just the usual drivers bumbling about, unable to drive to the speed limits (safely) and to the conditions (dry and clear skies).
    Of all the cities, towns etc I have driven in (USA, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and all the Canary Islands) I absolutely loathe driving in Plymouth. There is just something I hate that I cannot put my finger on. Perhaps it is down to the road layout, quality of mine or others driving skills, I dunno but it really grinds my gears (well it would if I had any)
    Anyway, enough of the unusual moan from me.
    New car since the last blog, we now have a Tesla Model 3 Highland Long range – miles per kilowatt hour (m/kwh) was 5.83. The Mercedes EQE we used to have would have been lucky to get 4 ish.
    Obviously, no need to charge as hardly used anything – starting range was around 350 miles from home.    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler
    nice sounding v8, shame it broke down leaving the ferry

    Ferry crossing

    August 3 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Hi Elliott here, today we boarded the ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff. I was a bit anxious to get on the ferry but once we got on, took our pills and put on our wrist bands we were fine. (It was a very calm crossing as well). We watched “Elio” in the cinema which was on the boat. 4.5/5 movie. But as always there was a catch… we were sat next to some big ass wipes, two of them were teenagers and one was about six. The teens obviously didn’t want to be there but their parents probably made them take the little one. Their phones kept lighting up, all the chairs were creaky and the little girl wouldn’t stop talking and getting up and down. The good thing is that they left half way through the movie. Some people were in our booked seats in the lounge area, but we let them have them because they were a big family and didn’t have seats altogether and we found other places to sit. The quiet area was very nice because the boat was very noisy. All in all a good crossing.

    After waiting to disembark the ferry for 45 minutes, none of our 3 bladders (that’s 1 each) would last the full drive to Saint Nazaire so after about an hour’s drive, we found some Tesla chargers at a town called Quimper which was on the route. We didn’t need to charge but you may as well when you are stopped. No need to wait for the car to charge you see, it is always charging while you do other things.
    As the food on the ferry was pretty disgusting, Elliott was a bit peckish, so we nipped over the road to KFC so he could get a burger and a drink and we could all unload our bladders.
    With everyone and the car feeling satisfied, we completed the journey to Saint Nazaire. All beautifully tarmac’d, smooth with no potholes.
    Top efficiency from the car again, around 4.5 m/kwh at an average speed of 60ish mph.The Mercedes would have been at low 3’s here.    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler
    Jean Bart? Nah mate - Elliott Pollard

    Saint Nazaire

    Aug 3–5 in France ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Sunday

    We arrived in Saint Nazaire around 7pm and found there was a small supermarket just accross the road. Luckily it was open and as we were staying in an apartment, we were able to grab some bread, goats cheese, and ham for our tea.

    Monday

    We had pre-booked tickets to some interesting attractions in Saint Nazaire, so we headed out on foot to our first destination, Escal'Atlantic.

    Many great French transatlantic ocean liners were built in Saint Nazaire, and in part of the old submarine base in the city, there is an immersive exhibit detailing the history of these ships, while being laid out just like you are on board one of them. You can explore the different classes of cabins, learn about how many provisions were needed for a journey and even have a go at managing a ship yourself. On the promenade deck you can feel the wind in your face and at the end of the visit, you climb into a lifeboat and are winched back down to 'dry land'.

    The next stop was the Espadron submarine, which we walked through, marvelling at how it is ever possible to live and work in such cramped conditions, and how on earth anyone ever knew which button, lever or valve did anything!

    Our third stop was Ecomusee, the museum of the history of Saint Nazaire. The guide was apologetic that there weren't many English translations for the exhibit information but said he would answer any questions we had. Of course, we couldn't think of any when he asked us again, but we had enjoyed looking at old photos of the city, models of the great ocean liners built there and some other interesting artefacts.

    This area was very industrial, still with many shipbuilders and also an Airbus factory nearby making plane components. We could see what looked like a huge rig, and later learned that it was where the turbines for offshore windfarms are made. From a viewing platform on top of what was once the fortifications defending the submarine base on the opposite side of the river, we had a good view of the ' Le Pont de Saint Nazaire' which we hope to drive over tomorrow, as well as the sea and many boats and a cruise ship which was travelling up the river.

    On the way back to the hotel, we spotted a restaurant that looked good, so after a swim in the hotel pool and a freshen up, we headed there for dinner.

    No driving today, however It suddenly occurred to me that if you aren’t a bit geeky when it comes to electric cars like me, none of these figures will make a lot of sense. So, I thought I would compare some figures to miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe)

    The calculation of MPGe is based on the energy content of a gallon of petrol, which is approximately 33.7 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. Determining how far an electric vehicle can travel on 33.7 kWh of energy gives us the MPGe of the vehicle.
    So, when I say we achieved 4 m/kwh this equates to approx. 135 MPGe. 5 m/kwh is approx. 168 MPGe    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler
    New shoes

    Bordeaux

    Aug 5–6 in France ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Well, we can officially say we have driven over the longest bridge in France as we needed to cross the Loire river on our way to Bordeaux (not strictly true but we wanted to go on the bridge) it is approx 3,500 metres long. That means we have now driven on the highest bridge in France (Millau Viaduct) which stands at 350 ish metres tall and the longest. I want to try and find the shortest and lowest but Laura won’t let me.

    Drove the first leg of our journey to a massive shopping centre at La Roche Sur Yon which has Tesla chargers. This was always the plan as we like a good shop and as it was about 1 and a half hours from Saint Nazaire, the toilet would be needed. The car was charged way before we were ready to leave which is pretty much always the case, so it needed to be moved to a normal parking space after, no biggie – helps get the steps in!
    For the next leg, we drove another 1hr 30 mins or so to Tesla chargers at a town called ‘Saints’ all the chargers are easy to see on the route map, so no planning is needed but as I am an overthinker, Laura and I would have already had this stop half planned in our heads. As it was near the shops, we used the loo and Elliott went Lego shopping as this has become a bit of a holiday tradition. After grabbing a few snacks as well we were ready to hit the road.

    The final leg to Bordeaux was pretty uneventful unless you count the massive near accident as another car had unfortunately hit a deer and it was lying dead in the road so cars were swerving to avoid it or slamming on the brakes causing cars to nearly enter the car ahead from behind.
    Total miles travel today were 262 at an average of 69mph – it was noticeably hotter today, so air con was on a pretty high speed as well as my ventilated seat. All this means the m/kwh was 3.8 – The Merc in similar conditions last year was around 2.8.

    We arrived at the hotel in the early evening and ate dinner in the restaurant.

    Our plan was to explore the city in the morning before heading to our next stop, so after breakfast we caught a bus into the city centre. The trams which ran from near the hotel weren't in service, but the bus route was simple enough and got us to where we needed to go from right outside the hotel.

    We looked around the cathedral first and then wandered the streets down to the river where we took in the grand buildings, monuments and reflection pool before a ride on the big wheel. We made our way back to the bus stop, confident that by waiting at the stop on the opposite side of the road to where we got off, we would catch the bus back from whence we came. After waiting for ages and not seeing any buses with the number we needed, we saw a sign with our bus number that pointed around the corner from where we were waiting, little did we know that because the buses were replacing the trams, we should have been waiting at the tram stop for the bus! Just as we turned the corner, our bus arrived so we hopped on and headed back to the hotel to pick up the car and head off.    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler
    1Dinosaur bones visable at low tide'entertainment'

    Camping La Rive

    Aug 6–13 in France ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    As today we were driving to our lodge, we knew we would need supplies for the week – we chose a supermarket at Biganos (what did you call me?!?!) that also had Telsa chargers and was pretty much halfway along our route. From leaving Bordeaux we were pretty much stuck in slow moving traffic for 30ish miles – this is pretty unusual as we have never encountered this on our previous road trips around France.

    After a successful shop and charge, we completed the final leg of the journey to Sangiuinet on some of the longest, straightest roads I have seen since being in America. However, they were also some of the slowest as they had a really low speed limit and were pretty busy, meaning overtaking was nigh on impossible – still it was good for the efficiency – averaging around 4.5 m/kwh even with the air con and ventilated seats on.

    It also gave me the opportunity to look at the architecture, where the buildings all had an ‘alpine’ taste, which is strange as the Alps are a good 500 miles away and the Pyrenees are approximately 200 miles from here.

    Total miles since leaving home 550. Energy used – 133.40 kwh. So average miles per kwh = 4.12. This is hugely impressive and means I am getting about 300 miles per full charge using a battery that is a quarter smaller than the Mercedes was for the same distance.

    Time we have had to wait for the car to charge = ZERO
    Time car has waited for us to be ready = HOURS!    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler
    Hobbit sand

    Le Lac

    August 7 in France ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Elliott here again, today we went down to the lake, the sand was very bumpy and I had to use my inner hobbit to walk across (even Frodo would have trouble navigating it). We also went quite far into the lake as it was so shallow and it was a lot warmer than the one at my year 5 residential. We might be going on a pedalo one day but I’m not sure.Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    Around the local area

    August 8 in France ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Our aim for today had been the seaside town of Arcachon, but after driving around for quite a long time, we realised we weren't going to find anywhere to park, so we just followed the coast road, taking in the enormous villas which vary so much in styles. We ended up in a smaller village which had plenty of parking and a nice looking restaurant, where the moules, confit de canard & pizza didn't disappoint!

    I had read aboout the Dune de Pilat, the highest sand dune in Europe, but as everywhere we had driven through today was so busy with no chance of parking, we didn't think we'd get to see it. Then we rounded a corner and there it was!

    Just had a leisurely drive today, on some extremely straight roads, next to a military base where we saw a low flying helicopter and suddenly 3 parachutists jumped out which was a little distracting. The road and the fence around the basement on for miles (well kilometres)
    Due to driving through a few towns, the average speed for the round trip of 56 miles was pretty low, still this means great efficiency – around 4.9 m/kwh.    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    The pool

    August 8 in France ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Went to the pool complex today. We went into the wave pool first but we soon had to evacuate from there because a little child had evacuated in there, shame.

    The next pool we went into was one that had narrow lanes and many inlets with bridges spanning gaps. It was okay. We then went to the outside pools which had slides and splashing things and people playing stupid ball games getting in the way having fun. How dare they?

    Mummy then went down the big chute of water fall it is called an easy river or something. She kept getting stuck, me and daddy were scared of it.

    Eventually, I was a big brave boy and I went down some slides things.    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    Sanguinet & the lake

    August 9 in France ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Short drive and back today to the closet town called Sangiuinet, not very far at all so nothing to report. Efficiency 4.5 m/kwh

    When we reached the town we discovered it was market day so we had a little wander around the stalls and sampled some locally made nougat, which was very nice and also, as we discovered once we'd said we'd buy some, very expensive. Even when I asked for a 'small' piece I ended up with "un demi kilo de nougat" setting us back 35 euros! She did assure us it has a shelf life of one year, so I think it had better sit on a shelf for 1 year so we feel like we've got our money's worth!

    As the day was hot and the pools overcrowded, we decided to head down to the lake after lunch. This turned out to be a good decision, the water was beautifully clean and warm but not too warm. We could wade out a good 50 m or so without the water being higher than our thighs. As the lake is so big, a nice gentle breeze blows across it which also makes waves.

    In a strange case of excitement, I decided we should all go on a pedalo. Big mistake! Due to the lake being so shallow where the pedalo could go, it made for extremely hard cycling. It was like putting an exercise bike onto King of the Mountain Tour de France setting. Mental. The size of my thighs has now reached thunderous. I’m not entirely sure Laura was pedalling as well. Not doing that again. Elliott enjoyed the experience so much he put the life jacket on!    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler
    1red squirrel on the fence

    Zoo du Bassin d'Arcachon

    August 10 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The animals were very good because there were some I've never seen before, like the Okapis and Giant Anteaters and even a red squirrel - although that one wasn't an exhibit, it was a wild one and we were very excited to spot it.

    We also went on a safari which drove through the habitats of rhinos, ostriches, some weird cow things I don't know what they're called and hippos. I didn't like walking through the bits with the massive birds, because I don't like massive birds. They had big beaks and looked like dinosaurs.

    The highlight of the trip was when we got very close to some giraffes, who were licking the fence and we also didn't even have to pay 140 euros for the experience. Daddy compared his tongue size to the giraffe's tongue.

    At the end of the day, we got some ice lollies to cool us off. My favourite ice lolly is Haribo ice cream as it contains sweets in the stick. Mummy & Daddy got Soleros, which I don't like.

    Little day out to the superb zoo. A round trip of around 30 miles – great efficiency – around 4.9 m/kwh.

    Also the great benefit to owning an EV, is the capability of cooling the car down via the app, so after our hot little walk around, you can get into a nice cool car and it hardly uses any energy to do it.    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    Paddleboarding

    August 11 in France ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    This morning we went back to the lake & beach. The weather has been much hotter over the last couple of days and you could definitely tell this today as it wasn't even much cooler by the lake. The water was still lovely - once you've waded through the deep, boiling hot sand to get to it (good workout for the legs though!)

    I had a try at paddleboarding, and once Elliott had given me a quick lesson in the skills he learnt on his school residential, I was surprised how easily I found my balance. I only fell off once- and that was when I started drifting towards where we got stuck in the pedalo and I didn't want a repeat of that so I tried to turn too quickly and in I went! It was good fun but very hot work so it was soon time to return to our lodge to cool off and have lunch.    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    Biscarrosse Plage

    August 11 in France ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    In the evening we headed to nearby Biscarrosse Plage, a lively seaside town with a long beach, lots of shops, restaurants and market stalls, as well as our favourite... a big wheel!

    Little drive to the seaside town of Biscarrose Plage, a round trip of 24 miles. m/kwh was 4.45. HOT HOT HOT so air conditioning and ventilated seat very much on.Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    Last day at La Rive

    August 12 in France ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    On our last morning in the area, we decided to go to the Musee Hydraviation... Seaplane museum. The lake near Biscarrosse had once played a major part in the development and and launching of seaplanes and had lots of interesting exhibits and information.

    Little drive to the lakeside town of Biscarrosse, a round trip of 17 miles. m/kwh was 4.6. HOT HOT HOT so air conditioning and ventilated seat very much on.

    That night we were all packed up and I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard this massive thunder so I came outside with Mummy and Daddy and watched the immense lightning that went from sheets to forks and back again. It also got really close and it was quite scary outside. In the end, I went to bed, even though it hadn't stopped being stormy, because I was so tired.    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    Biarritz

    August 13 in France ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    After the thunderstorms it was time to say goodbye to the campsite and make our way to the dump of a place known as Biarritz. We had taken the opportunity to charge the car at the onsite charger near our lodge before we left – top result this as it is a destination charger rather than a supercharger, it cost around 8 pence per kilowatt added. So, to top up the car and add around 150 miles it cost us £3.18.

    Smashing journey this, 100 ish miles on quality toll roads, lovely average speed of 66mph which reduces the m/kwh to only 3.7 (with the aircon etc on) but this is still so much better than the Mercedes and lets be honest so much better than a petrol or diesel car could manage (still way over 100MPGe)

    Hotel had a charger, so topped it up to 100% again while we had a swim and a three course meal.    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    Pau

    August 14 in France ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    After our disappointing visit to Biarritz, I looked at the map to decide where to head to for our next stop. Although we needed to head north towards La Rochelle, we wanted to avoid travelling up the same roads we'd come down on. We'd had a quick glimpse of the Pyrennees yesterday, and after a bit of research, I settled on a stop in Pau, overlooking the mountains with great views. Unfortunately, the weather on the forecast and the reality were very different, so we drove through cloud and mizzle all the way there with not much chance for any views. Still, driving into Pau was quite enjoyable, as it was really quiet for a fairly big town/city and we got to the centre and parked up with no trouble at all.

    We sat at a cafe and had a quick coffee & cake, and Gareth had a close encounter with a pigeon while Elliott and I were in the toilets, all that was left of my mocha when we got back was a table/ tray covered in cream (luckily I'd drunk most of it already!)

    We wandered around and although the mountains were still totally hidden, it was a lovely place to spend a morning and we all agreed we'd like to come back for longer.

    Typically, just as we set off again the blazing sun made an appearance, just in time for us to head away from the mountains!

    Lots of driving today, first stop was Pau – at some points we didn’t pass another car for a good 5 miles, the toll road was so quiet – nice relaxed journey.

    Then on to La Rochelle, again roads super quiet until nearing La Rochelle. Stopped for a charge at Saint Andre De Cubzac on the way while we wandered around the shopping centre and I have finally found a pair of shorts that wasn’t mentally expensive (I am a tightwad you see)

    Average of nearly 60mph even after the heavy traffic, the roads here are so easy to drive on, you only get the one occasional idiot in an Audi or Renault Clio that wants to see the contents of your boot, so they practically enter you. As I am now maturing, I only annoy them for a little bit before letting them pass. M/kwh just under 4.    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    La Rochelle

    Aug 14–16 in France ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We arrived in our hotel in La Rochelle around 6.45 and on the way from the car park, we had seen a nice looking Steakhouse just around corner, so after a quick freshen up from the long, hot drive, we headed there for dinner. It was cool and shady in the street where we sat and there was a live band playing some really good music, including Oasis, The Jam & Stereophonics. The food was excellent, as were the wine, Irish coffees & ice cream sundae with Baileys!

    The next morning our first port of call was the Bunker of La Rochelle, where the commanding officers of the German U-Boat base spent their time during the many air raids in the city. It was a very interesting visit, with some of the rooms housing informtion and artifacts from the war, but some - including the art, having been left exactly as it would have been at the time.

    We spent the rest of the morning wandering the streets of this beautiful town, looking at the buildings, churches and the three towers at the entrance to the old port. After lunch, we sought out the coolness of the hotel lobby, as the temperature was around 36 degees and the aircon in our room appeared to have given up the ghost the night before!

    We headed out again in the evening, to yet another big wheel and another wander around the old port, before heading to a quieter quay area to enjoy some Aperol Spritz, cheese & charcuterie.

    La Rochelle was amazing, and definitely somewhere to come back to, preferrably if the temperature was around 10 degrees cooler!    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    Morlaix

    August 16 in France ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    When we left La Rochelle, our plan had been to drive for a couple of hours and the stop off somewhere for a wander around, but as we started putting routes into the sat nav and seeing how many of the roads were congested, we thought better of it. Especailly as the temperature was still around 34 and we were getting pretty short of clean clothes (even after packing enough undies to cover soiling ourselves twice a day)!

    Instead, we just hit the road towards our final overnight stop in Morlaix (and final supermarket trip for any goodies we wanted to take home!)

    As Laura has already eluded, the roads were extremely busy today. Lots of stop/starting and crawling along for mile after mile. Not a fun drive at all, the ventilated seats working overtime cooling my important bits.

    Nearly 6 hours of driving to travel 290 ish miles. Charged while we pee, ate and shopped. Average of about just over 4 m/kwh.    Read more

  • The PollardsFrance 2025Traveler

    Home

    August 17 in England ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    The film on the ferry this time was Lilo & Stitch, film rating 4.5/5

    It was a bit windier on this crossing so the water was a bit rougher, but we were brave boys & girls and even went up on deck a couple of times. It was a much bigger ship this time and we were all a bit surprised when we got in the car to disembark and the whole car deck tilted to let us off (so our noses were lower than our asses) It all made sense then why they had put chocks by our wheels when we parked up.

    Drove to the ferry and then home. All super easy. Arrived with plenty of charge left in the tank so don’t need to plug it in.

    Driving Summary
    We drove 1,474 miles with an average m/kwh of 3.96. I was hoping for 4 if I am honest but my right foot was too heavy at times! This is still way better than the Merc EQE which would have done it in about 2.8. A big improvement.

    Total cost for using the chargers was £92.44 – We left home with a full tank so that would have cost £5.25, giving a total bill of £97.69.
    We did arrive home 48% battery so theoretically we can deduct some of the last charge costs from the total – lets deduct £5 for that – so its back to £92 roughly for 1500 miles. Bargain!    Read more

    Trip end
    August 17, 2025
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