It is a five-hour drive from St Malo; it takes us ten hours from the Channel Ports mainly via the north/south A10 motorway. It has been made far easier since the new motorway was opened near Alencon. Michelin’s website says that the journey takes seven and a half hours. (Wow).
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 to St.Malo. All year round, they depart Portsmouth 20.30, arriving at St.Malo 08.15. You can be at La Renaudrie in five hours - in time for a late lunch! Condor Ferries also operate on this route.
Directions to La Renaudrie when coming by car from the North.
Take the A10 from the North (Paris / Poitiers / Saintes). Leave the A10 peage at junction 37 signposted to Mirambeau. When leaving the peage, turn left towards Royan along the D730, after about four miles you go under the wires of a line of pylons, immediately you have passed under these you turn left down the D146. (If you get to St Ciers-du-Taillon you have gone too far), and after two miles on the D146 you come to a small hamlet, (mind the chickens and geese loitering in the middle of the road – this is rural France). La Renaudrie with blue shutters is on the left.
Note for SatNav users – When navigating by keying in La Renaudrie’s post code you might end up in Semoussac – about a mile away.
Airports – fly and hire
Bordeaux Airport is under an hour to the south. Flybe, BA and Air France all use this airport. Flybe is our recommendation. 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).
If you rent a car at Bordeaux airport take the first roundabout immediately you leave the airport follow the exit sign with the BLUE sign ‘ROCADE’ (meaning bypass) and head north, always following the BLUE signs towards ‘ANGOULEME/NANTES/PARIS’...you will pass through a toll booth where you take a ticket... the road E5 eventually becomes the A10 and you stay on it, always following 'ANGOULEME/NANTES/PARIS' until you turn off towards Mirambeau on EXIT 37.
When leaving the road from the peage, turn left towards Royan along the D730, after about four miles you go under the wires of a line of pylons, immediately you have passed under these you turn left down the D146. (If you get to St Ciers-du-Taillon you have gone too far), and after two miles on the D146 you come to 60kph sign then a small hamlet, (mind the chickens and geese loitering in the middle of the road – this is rural France). La Renaudrie with blue shutters is on the left.
Note for SatNav users – When navigating by keying in La Renaudrie’s post code you might end up in Semoussac – about a mile away.
La Rochelle is the other airport nearby and is about 1 hour 20 minutes north mainly via the A10. RyanAir, Easyjet and Flybe all use this airport. RyanAir have a tie-up with Hertz, who are perfectly good but there can be queues of other RyanAir travelers at the Hertz desk. Try Budget or Europcar or look at a cheap car deal website where you will probably end up with a Europcar with about £3 off.
Immediately you leave La Rochelle airport, at the first roundabout follow the exit sign with the BLUE sign - ‘ROCADE’ (translation: bypass) - towards Bordeaux keep going on this (although you don’t actually join the autoroute until near Rochefort) and keep heading south (indicated Bordeaux) and this will take you to the A10. You leave at Exit 37. When leaving the road from the peage, turn left towards Royan along the D730 after 4 miles you go under the wires of a line of pylons, immediately you have passed under these you turn left down the D146 after two miles you come to a 60kph sign then a small hamlet. La Renaudrie, with blue shutters is on the left.
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.
On the subject of speed limits dual carriageways are 110kph (or 100kph if wet) in the country and 90kph (or 80kph if wet) in towns. Other roads are 90kph (or 80kph if wet). We mention these as French speed cops love to ‘bag a Brit’.
Train – and hire
There are TGV high speed rail services Angouleme and La Rochelle (www.raileurope.co.uk). Angouleme is marginally closer.
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