HOW TO GET TO LA RENAUDRIE

BY CAR

From Calais
Michelin’s website says that the journey takes seven and a half hours from the Channel Ports mainly via the north/south A10 motorway. It is probably best to allow for it to take a bit longer.

From UK to St.Malo
The shortest way to get to La Renaudrie by car from UK is to use the St.Malo ferry route. Brittany Ferries operate crossings from Portsmouth all year round. The overnight crossing for which it is best to book a cabin, depart, Portsmouth around 20.30, arriving at St.Malo 08.15. You can be at La Renaudrie after a five hour drive.

AIRPORTS – FLY AND HIRE

Bordeaux Airport is just under an hour to the south. It is easy to hire a car on the Internet when booking your flight but make sure you rent the car from the airport, not from the town centre location.

La Rochelle is about 1 hour 20 minutes to the north. RyanAir have a tie-up with Hertz, who are perfectly good but there can be queues of other RyanAir travellers at the Hertz desk.

The local traffic police are hot on enforcing the local 90kph speed limit on the dual carriageway particularly through and past La Rochelle. Otherwise the speed limits on autoroutes are 130kph in good weather or 110kph if it is raining.

TRAIN – AND HIRE

There are TGV high speed rail services to Angouleme, La Rochelle and Bordeaux (www.raileurope.co.uk). Angouleme is slightly closer.