Thanks for the input everyone.
I am looking at making an initial stop in Le Touquet to clear customs and assess the weather for the onward journey. From there plan A is to fly east to Koblenz (EDRK) then Halle-Oppin (EDAQ) near Leipzig, stopping overnight as required. I intend to base myself from there and fly around the local area to use up the hours before making a similar return leg.
Plan B, should the weather prove unsuitable to continue East, is to fly South into France, the route is undecided at the moment. I am looking into several of the suggestions on here alongside visiting friends near Bergerac as I previously mentioned.
The main reason for choosing Germany as a plan A is that both my passenger and I speak reasonable German (my passenger is almost fluent) so I foresee experiencing less language difficulties in Germany than in France (a language both of us have very limited skills in).
Steve - Do you happen to have visited LEJ before? I have a vested interest in the area and would quite like to pay a flying visit (excuse the pun) to the airport whilst I'm there. Do you know if they are GA friendly?
Thanks again guys appreciate the input and any further will also be gratefully received.