Since we have been together we have always had a big family holiday every couple of years, usually hiring two caravans by the seaside where we would sleep in one with the grandchildren, leaving the other one for the children to stay up all night if they so desired. This was the first time our five children and now three grandchildren have all been out here together so we decided to close the lakes to guests for the week so that we could accommodate them all comfortably.
Emma, Tony and Izzy were the first to arrive on Sunday afternoon on the Manchester flight with Paul, Janine, Ste, Scarlett and Mason following a close second from East Midlands. Sophie, Matt and little Dot came on the Monday from Stansted. With 10 adults and 3 children around we knew the week was going to be manic but there is plenty to do, both at home and in the surrounding area, and plenty of space for everyone.
Monday was spent at home, catching up on the latest news from the UK and enjoying the pool in the sunshine with some new inflatables. Maisie was delighted to see everyone and having the little ones to throw her ball for her whenever she chose. They were all glad to have some proper baguettes again and Mason followed in grandad’s footsteps by wearing socks with his new Lion King crocs. Dot just wanted ice cream…all week!
On Tuesday we had booked to go to La Vallée des Singes (https://la-vallee-des-singes.fr/fr/) near to Poitiers, only just over an hour away. This was a good day out and seeing a variety of apes outside of cages was amazing and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. There was so much to see and do and watch the monkeys jumping through the trees over our heads and walk along the wooden railings in front of us. Matt nearly lost his phone to one of the little monkeys but we were left alone whilst we enjoyed the lunch that we bought there.
After we had got home and had some tea, Nigel decided he would have a play with his drone over the lakes but he completely misjudged the height (he never wears his glasses as he is too vain!) and before we had had a chance to see anything it ended up in the tree. Despite several attempts, strapping long pieces of bamboo together, the lads could not reach it but it was very entertaining watching them and it gave them a great team building exercise and great entertainment for the others.
On Wednesday Janine, Emma, Paul, Sophie, Izzy and Dot went off to Piegut Pluviers market and to pick up a few things from the supermarket, leaving us to supervise Scarlett and Mason. Matt and Tony, with Ste’s help got some fishing tackle set up on Lac Lucie. Matt is the only experienced carp angler amongst the family but Tony has had a go a few times and they wanted to spend the rest of the week by the lake. Ste was happy just watching and enjoying the peace and quiet.
We took Scarlett and Mason round the new footpath on the meadow. Rather than cutting it all back regularly with our 1959 tractor, we have decided to leave most of it to be wild, for the bees and butterflies and other insects to enjoy whatever they can find there. Our guests will be able to go for a little wander and it will be wonderful to see the different wild flowers we get there throughout the season. Hopefully next year we will start keeping bees up there and it will be a great environment for them. We also went round and emptied all the crayfish traps, and pleased that the numbers seem to be dropping off now. Scarlett has decided that she wants to visit us every Wednesday and Saturday so she can help grandad!
After tea the anglers went off, Nigel to Kingfisher dam wall for a couple of nights, just with his bed under the stars and Matt and Tony onto the main bank at Lac Lucie, sharing a bivvy. At 9.15pm Nigel had had the first fish out and called on the others who were down there to go and take a photo for him. A lovely 24lb 9oz common. Whilst they were photographing it, Sophie spotted that another rod had a line running from it…Nigel had not turned up his alarm properly, so it was all action stations and that one was bought to the bank, a 25lb 5oz mirror. A great start but not sure that Matt and Tony were very pleased and we are not sure that Emma, Paul and Sophie were much help but Izzy certainly got stuck into the action.
Nigel ended up with another 3 carp on Thursday night, a 41lb 8oz mirror at about 1.30am, a 42lb 8oz mirror at 5.45am and a 29lb common at 6.30am,
There were no fish for Matt or Tony on Lac Lucie on Wednesday night but they stuck it out and whilst the others went off to Dreamwork Alpacas (https://dreamworkalpacas.weebly.com/) on Thursday morning they stayed at home. The alpaca visit was great and Jules gave everyone loads of information about the animals there. We all got to do some feeding and Scarlett enjoyed a cuddle with one of the chickens and we took the donkeys for a walk round the path, even though the temperatures were rising quickly. Even Dot enjoyed herself, mainly by chasing the chickens round and round.
The anglers had seen no action in the morning and were starting to get despondent but around 2.30pm Tony had a run and for a third time in as many weeks ‘little Matty’ came out, weighing 5lb 5oz.
Later that afternoon Matt caught a 32lb common and Izzy also had a go at holding it
Nigel had another 2 carp out by Friday morning, a 29lb mirror and a 17lb common so he decided to pack up and call it a day, having also lost 3 other fish, including a cat which took a lot of his rig away.
So a quick 2 night session for him on the dam wall resulted in 7 fish in total – 0 babies, 1 at 10lb+, 4 at 20lb+, 0 at 30lb+ and 2 at 40lb+.
Matt and Tony were running out of time as new guests were expected on Lac Lucie on Saturday morning but they decided to carry on fishing in the hope that Friday would see some more on the bank, despite the temperatures that were rising quickly.
At about 11.30 Friday morning Tony caught his second fish, and a new PB for him, a 33lb 8oz mirror.
Not long after that we had a shout that Matt was playing a fish so we all went down to the lake to watch him land a 18lb mirror. Not huge but big enough for the grandchildren to enjoy being a part of.
And the final fish of the session was also from Matt overnight, a 29lb mirror.
Final catch summary from Lac Lucie was 1 baby, 1 at 10lb+, 1 at 20lb+ and 2 at 30lb+. Not bad at all and Matt will be back out in March with a friend to catch some more we are sure.
Saturday came round very quickly and we spent the morning moving everyone around and getting the chalets ready for the new guests. In the afternoon the temperatures were up to the mid 30s so some of us decided to go down to the Base Nautique (https://www.basesnautiquedeverneuil.com/) at the big lake and have a go at paddle boarding. After 5 minutes the technique had been mastered and they had great fun jumping off and hauling themselves back on again before their hour was up. Those that stayed to watch enjoyed yet another ice cream and the entertainment.
So we reached the end of a fun and action packed week with all the family without too many squabbles and with lots of laughter. Jo’s daughters etc were heading back to the UK on Sunday to get back to work, with Janine and Paul etc staying until Wednesday to have some more good times at the Base Nautique and the Aventure Parc (https://www.aventureparcmassignac.fr/).
This has to be the photo of the week though – what family is all about. We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our adventures whilst we have been closed for the week and until the next time à bientôt….
