Roll back the calendar to September 2021, when the world is still in the grip of Covid, but the recovery is beginning. Restrictions are easing and travel is allowed - thus a band of intrepid explorers unite at Portsmouth docks with a mission to board a car ferry to St. Malo and take a leisurely meander through the French countryside. Our destination is Angoulemê, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France and not a million miles away from Le Mans.

The aim of the trip was an organised long weekend with “Classic Grand Touring” for like-minded people to convoy across, indulge in vehicular activities, eat great food and make new friends. Amongst this was the Circuit Des Remparts, Angoulemê’s annual classic and historic motor racing event. Angoulemê itself is partly an old castle, a fortification from back in history and is now a city of around 42,000 people. Its mediaeval origins mean streets can be painfully narrow (more about that later) and the streets very busy, but that does not stop a motor racing circuit being constructed each year on the public roads to provide a weekend of incredible fun. It's an experience that every petrolhead must experience – add it to your bucket list now.

But first we have to get there, so it's back to Portsmouth. My son and I did the trip in our Bentley Arnage and on arrival at the docks we found a few cars already waiting and in minutes the group had grown to a list of desirable motors that would make interesting reading in any group situation. Already waiting was a Porsche 911 Turbo S, parked alongside a very conservative Mercedes C300 AMG Coupe, accompanied by a Ferrari F430, 356 Speedster, TR5, Ferrari F360 Modena, 812GTS, 328GTS, more Porsches and even a TVR. The list was incredible and we were to be joined, on the continent, by a Jaguar E-Type and an Alfa Romeo 1750GTV. Quite the convoy.

All boarded the ferry with no drama or mishaps, and we overnighted arriving in St. Malo the following morning. Armed with our directions and a sense of purpose the itinerary for the day was to end up at the Hotel de France, where we would be spending the night, via the Manoir l’Automobile Museum. What a treat this was. French media agency tycoon Michel Hommell built the car museum in 1985 on land belonging to his farm at Lohéac. The museum houses more than 400 vehicles. One of my very few complaints of this trip is that the two hours allotted to the museum was probably about two hours too short. The rooms, the vehicles and the themed areas demanded much more study and enjoyment in my opinion. At least I know where to head next time I am over that way.

A marvellous lunch later – all the food will prove to be incredible on this trip – and we begin enjoying some amazing French country roads on our way to the historic Hotel De France. Anyone with an interest in Le Mans will know that this hotel was a favourite of drivers and teams for many years, with the square in front of the hotel used for preparing cars before driving them to the circuit for the day’s racing.

The run on the roads was leisurely with plenty of scope for some safe, spirited driving. My son was driving the Bentley and pushing 2.5 tonnes of Britain’s finest on the wrong side of the road was proving reasonably effortless for him. Considering this was his first driving on the right, my fears that he would be all over the road were completely unfounded.

The Hotel De France nods to the racing heritage with rooms named after famous drivers; Jacky Ickx, Sir Stirring Moss, Mario Andretti, Derek Bell, Jochen Rindt and others. The rooms were classically decorated and the beds comfortable. Dinner provided the perfect opportunity to get talking to fellow attendees, and the fabulous weathermeant that some of us were up sitting out of the front of the hotel until way past our bedtimes. Chatting with Alec and Barbara Hammond, who had joined us at the hotel, was one of the highlights of the trip. They arrived in a beautifully restored Jaguar E-Type (after some issues with their alternator) and Alec has some wonderful stories of his past racing exploits, particularly with one Brian Johnson of AC/DC fame.