Le Grand Tour Advent Calendar: Day 14 – La Réole, France

By Andrew on December 14, 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

I descended the hill in the direction of the river with expectations lowered but then, as I turned the corner, was presented with an impressive suspension bridge. I could also see the campsite on the other side of the river. The bridge – designed and built by a certain Gustave Eiffel – was closed to motorised traffic. Nothing to do with Alain Juppé this time. It was simply because it too was suffering from a severe case of neglect and could not take the strain of heavy vehicles.

Once I had pitched the tent on the elongated riverside campsite and the sun had begun its slow trudge towards the horizon, I settled down to eat my cheap Proxi meal and sip my cheap Proxi wine. From a distance, as the light dimmed and as my mind drifted off into an alcohol-induced fuzz, I could see La Réole on the opposite bank of the river. It was framed by the two metal uprights of the bridge. Its houses and its church tower were crammed along the riverbank, overgrown greenery softening the hard edges of the scene before me. Despite what I had experienced earlier, it struck me that faded glory might have its attractions after all. Perhaps there was a message there for us all.

Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda recounts Andrew P. Sykes’ journey around France, into the Alps and down the Rhine in the summer of 2022. It is available as a paperback and as and eBook from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com (and other international Amazon sites). The paperback is also available from Waterstones or Foyles and the eBook from Apple iBooks. If you would like to gift a signed copy of the book, please complete the form below:

Le Grand Tour on a Bike Called Wanda (signed copy)

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