After a couple of lovely days in Bayeux, it was time to move on to Mont St Michel. We’d pre-booked a place at the campsite behind the hotel close to the Mont and were very glad we had. Good facilities and a pleasant 30 minute walk to the Mont.

It was very hot, about 35 degrees, so we were glad of a little shade when we got inside the buildings. I thought I’d walked into Diagon Alley, lots of quirky shops and cafes offering refreshment. We wandered round for a while and then went back to the campsite, planning to return early the next day to climb to the top.

It was worth waiting till the following morning, it was still very hot but it made the climb up to the top more manageable and there were slightly fewer people. The abbey is stunning. It’s built over the top of the original church and some of the old church’s cloisters can be seen deep within the buildings. The abbey was used as a prison for a time and there was a human powered hamster wheel, used to winch up supplies from below.

We took our time exploring the abbey and the ancillary buildings before going back into the town for a light lunch. By this time we were melting and so took one of the courtesy buses back to the campsite for a cold shower and relaxation for a while. The courtesy buses are packed, but if you’re in one of the outlying campsites/aires you don’t have a lot of choice. Think of human sardines and you’ve got it.

After some cooling off time we went back in the evening when it was both cooler and quieter. Again, exploring the streets was nice and we returned, hoping for a good nights sleep. We were woken early next morning by a terrific thunderstorm. One thunder clap was so loud it sounded like a bomb going off and a tree falling on one of the motorhomes. No more sleep was to be had, so we reluctantly packed up and headed off to Laval for a quiet overnight stop at the municipal campsite.

It was still meltingly hot, so we sat in the shade until it had cooled enough to walk by the river before we had dinner. The site is on the side of the hill in a wooded area with lots of paths and cycle paths. Very pleasant for an overnight stop before we set off for Angers.