27th July 2015
Medreac (France) Section 50 miles
Total 5466 miles
Following a
some what cool and mainly wet week camping at Erquy - fortunately interspersed
with occasional better weather with local walks and visits to the beach - I
started a trek south towards the Lot and the Tarn in SW
France . Headed south through Brittany
passing west of Rennes del
 |
| Alignements de Lampouy |
 |
| Menhir del la Pierre Longue |
 |
| 'Just ahead, turn right' - Don't always rely on your SatNav! |
 |
| Chateaux Couellan |
28th July 2015
Messac (France) Section 51 miles
Total 5517 miles
Another very wet grey day through Britttany to end up at an Aire next to a marina and la Vilaine. Found a supermarket with a washing machines and drier on the way so managed to catch up with the laundry. Also a jet wash - so the van got its first reasonable clean (apart from Graham's good work with the Bug-Off) the first time since
29th July 2015
Mauleon (France) Section 115 miles
Total 5632 miles
Brooooommmm..Vrooomm..Broooommm..Vroooooommmm.....A TGV went flying past full pelt on the railway line about 30m from the van at 5am! No chance of getting back to sleep after that rude awakening! The day looked a bit more cheerful and I had an early start on the route south. Passed out of
 |
| Mauelon - Abbey Gate |
30th July 2015
Boisme (France) Section 12 miles
Total 5644 miles
Onwards and
southwards into Poitou with its endless fields
of wheat and sunflowers in shallow valleys and open plateaux. Stopped off at
Bessuire to wander round a huge and dominating medieval castle that belonged to
the Duc de Beaumont. Quite typically there was a large 18th century house
within the main part of the castle. The Beaumont
 |
| Bessuire - Chateau de Besssuire |
 |
| Boisme - Park and Lake at the Aire |
31st July 2015
Celles-sur-Belle (Section 54 miles
Total 5698 miles
Another hot
day - middle thirties. Arrived in Celles-sur-Belle at lunch time, parking in an
Aire, at the bottom of the village, adjacent to the impressive Abbaye Royal with its ornamental gardens.
Interesting circular walk through forestry and fields in the afternoon.
 |
| Celles-sur-Bel - Chapelle Royale |
1st August 2015
Burie (France) Section 84 miles
Total 5782 miles
South into
the Saintonage. Passed through a small village called Aulnay and stopped off to
look at its UNESCO listed and amazingly ornately decorated Eglise St Pierre de la Tour. Wanted to stay at a very shady Aire at
Matha (with free electricity) but it was going to be closed overnight for a
Brocante (Car Boot Sale) so I ended up a bit further south at a small grassed
village aire in Burie. Passed an Abbey on the way into the village and spent
about two hours walking along a blazoned route from the village looking for it
- never found the bloody place.
 |
| Aulnay - Eglise St Pierre |
 |
| Aulnay - Eglise St Pierre |
 |
| Aulnay - Eglise St Pierre |
 |
| Burie - Church Just about 20km from Aulnay and absolutely basic |
2nd August 2015
Cadilac (France) Section 100 miles
Total 5882 miles
Crossed the
Isle at its confluence with the Isle at Libourne to finally end up in the Garrone Valley
 |
| Cadilac - Chateau |
3rd August 2015
La Section 69 miles
Total 5951 miles
Finally,
after stopping off at the medieval town of La Reole on the Garonne and the
bastide at Montsegur for lunch, including a hot circuit on foot, I ended up at
the confluence of the Lot with the Garrone
at Aiguillon and stayed overnight at an aire in a park adjacent to and
interesting village with a restored Knights
Templar Commanderie. This part of
the world is covered by plum trees and famous for prunes! All the farms have
large slatted wooden drying sheds that must have been used to dry the
plums. Bloody hot again with no wind. I tried
cycling in the evening to get cool! But it didn't work. Odd architectural note:
As you go up this part of the valley there is a lot of medieval brickwork
combined with stone or half-timber construction.
 |
| La Reole - Market Hall founded by Richard I (Lionheart) |
 |
| Sunflowers, Wheat, Woods and Hills |
 |
| La Temple sur Lot - Knight's Templar Commanderie |
 |
| La Reole - Townscape from the Lot |
4th and 5th August
2015
Prayssac (France) Section 50 miles
Total 6001 miles
Stopped of
at Fumel to take a look at the hillside Chateau and have lunch. Hard to believe
that there was formerly a huge steel works here in what is now a dominantly
agricultural area. After lunch I wanted to visit the impressive Chateau de Bonaguil; only to find when I
arrived that it was bursting with visitors to a medieval Festival. So sadly it
just became a photo-opportunity. Ended up at a pleasant village, Prayssac, for
a couple of nights in a neatly laid out
aire at the edge of a park. The temperatures have got silly. In the afternoon
it was 39C at the van and 41C in the village square when I crawled in to get
some provisions at 5pm. However, with an early start the next day I managed to
get a blazoned walk done before midday -
the Circuit de Dolmens - three of
four different types of stone burial chambers mainly lost in the trees.
 |
| Bonaguil - Chateau |
 |
| Fumel - Chateau Now the town hall. |
 |
| Prayssac - Trying to keep cool in the shady town square |
 |
| Preyssac - Circuit des Dolmens Domed masonry interior roof |
6th August 2015
Albas (Section 4 miles
Total 6005 miles
East along
the Lot to a Aire adjacent to a barrage and
small hydro-electric power station. Still in the mid thirties and struggled on
a 20km walk along the Lot and deep wooded
valleys. As often happens I lost the signage and had to do an extra five or so
kilometres to get back to the van.
 |
| Abas - le Lot next to the Aire |
 |
| Abas - Church, Chateau and le Lot |
7th August 2015
Cahors (France) Section 20 miles
Total 6025 miles
Further up
the valley to the town of Cahors within a huge
meander if the Lot . Braving the sun walked
around in the afternoon. Interesting cathedral with the nave composed of two
domes and no aisles. And, of course, the famous fortified bridge the Pont de Valentre. Followed footpaths up
the steep valley side to eventually get back to the van via another long
diversion.
 |
| Cahors - south side |
 |
| Cahors - Interior of cathedral with the double domed nave |
 |
| Cahors - Cathedral |
 |
| Cahors - Cathedral Cloister |
 |
| Cahors - West side of town and Pont de Valentre |
8th August 2015
Cajarc (France) Section 49 miles
Total 6071 miles
Complete
change in the weather overnight to have rain and low grey clouds down Lot Valley
 |
| Near Cajarc - another hillside village in the Lot Valley |
9th/10th August 2015
Montsalvy (France) Section 56 miles
Total 6127 miles
Had
intended to stop at Figeac; only having arrived to find a huge cycling event
and the place packed out so went on to Montsalvy. A fortified village with an
abbey church. Leaving the limestone scenery Lot
valley behind for a while and passing through schists and granites at the
southern extreme of the Cantal. Greener and much more rounded hills. Stopped a
couple of nights at the hilltop aire on the edge of the village with extensive
views to the west. Interesting walk up to the local view point, le Puy des Arbes, the Cantal to the north
and the Cevnnes and Grand Cause to the east. Unfortunately, dense heat haze
making photos a waste of time.
 |
| Montsalvy - Walking back from le Puy des Arbes |
 |
| Montsalvy - North Gate |
11th August 2015
Villeneuve (France) Section 19 miles
Total 6146 miles
Back down
to the Lot at Entraygues-sur-Truyeres, the confluence of the Truyere and the Lot . I travelled up stream to close to the source through
the impressive limestone Gorges des Lot last
year. So turned right and headed down stream back towards Cajarc to pick up the
section of the Lot that I missed out with the
diversion to Figeac and Montsalvy. I hadn't realised that this part of the Lot is cut down into granites, gneiss and schists - as
opposed to the limestone both up and down steam. Makes a darker, wetter and
more densely wooded landscape to the steep valley sides. Overnight at a
landscaped aire at Villeneuve with its chateau and church. Hot sun continues,
biked up the valley for a few kilometres in the 'cooler' evening.
 |
| Villeneuve - From the Lot |
 |
| Like above |
 |
| Villeneuve - Slates, Church and Castle |
12th August 2015
Boisse-Penchot (Section miles
Total 6161 miles
Down stream to Boisse-Penchot to a very hot 38C afternoon hiding in the shade in Boisse-Penchot at another neatly landscaped aire adjacent to the
13th August 2015
Peyrusse-le-Roc (Section 37 miles
Total 6198 miles
Driving
down stream for a few kilometres, before heading south, I finished my route
along the length of the Lot . Recommended to
others especially upstream of Villeneuve-sur-Lot. The rain cleared up a bit in
the afternoon and it was strange to end up at this hill top aire, with its
partially ruined village and castle, that I had stayed at in June last year. I
didn't realise until I arrived that I had been here before. Not sure if it was
due to too many aires or just plain dementia?
 |
| Peyrusse-le-Roc - Chateau Inferior |
 |
| Peyrusse-le-Roc - Town Square, Boules and Church |
14th August 2015
Monteils (France) Section 25 miles
Total 6223 miles
Awoke to
another wet, grey and cloudy day - reminiscent of Edinburgh
15th August 2015
Sauveterre-de-Rouegue
(Section 35 miles
Total 6258 miles
Weather
improving as I went up and down steep wooded valleys and hidden streams to the
bastide at Sauveterre-de-Rouegue. Stopped at a free municipal campsite, they
just ask you to pay 2 euro a day for electric hook-up at the Tourist Office.
But based on honesty - you don't get a receipt and no one checks up. Like
European campsites in general - where you pay when you leave regardless of
whether you have been there for a night or a month. I only recall once having
to pay upfront last year in he Dordogne . Met
up with a couple from the UK UK van since I was with G&V in Brittany Portugal UK
 |
| Sauveterre - Market Square with complete arcades surrounding it |
 |
| Sauveterre - Menagerie of Ducks in the Town Moat Never before seen so many different species in one place |
 |
| Sauveterre - View from a Walking Circuit |
