3948 miles
Left the campsite and drove around Olbia to the coast near the ferry poet at Golfo Aranchi, before joining the ferry at 17:30. Stunning coastline, the Costa Smeralda, on the north east coast. Looks like all the rich set hang out around here! Crossing to Nice stopped off at Porto Vechio, on Corsica, to pick up more cars, then overnight to Nice. Ferry was like a cruise ship and had a comfortable 4 berth cabin to myself. Reasonable cost at 135 euro, considering the price of cross channel ferries is about 60 euro or more and the trip is about twenty times the distance!
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| Costa Smeralda, Sardinia |
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| Golfo Aranchi, Sardinia |
4000 miles
Arrived at 06:00 is Nice, which made an easy drive through the town from the docks without any morning traffic jams. Headed up into the Maritime Alps to stop at an Aire at Puget-Theniers in the Durance valley. Went for a walk in the hills late morning, got totally lost on a wooded crest, with innumerable ridges. And staggered back to the van about eight hours after leaving it not a great idea when it's about 34C!
Visited some nearly villages in the van the next morning and chilled out in the shade in the afternoon.
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| Sigale |
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| la Penne |
16th June 2017 - Lurs
4098 miles
An early start so that I could climb to the citadel at Entrevaux, a few miles up the Durance, bfore it got too hot. And then spent ages and miles trying to find a service station with LPG, l must have been on fumes as the gas tanka took just over 30 litres! Ended up at an aire at the hill top village of Lurs, near Sisteron. When it eventually cooled down in the evening had a slow wander around.
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| Entrevaux |
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| Durance Valley from the Citadel at Entrevaux |
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| Lurs from near the Aire |
17th to 18th June 2017 Villeneuve
4108 miles
Short hop to a shady aire at Villeneuve, managed an early start the second day to do a circular walk into the local hills. Got the washing done at the nearby Intermarche, where there was a laundry in the car park.
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| Lurs from the hills above Villeneuve |
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| Villeneuve |
19th June 2017 Branon
4181 miles
Another very hot day, ended up driving to the top of Mont de Lure, which at about 1880m at least had a cool breeze! Then down to a nearby aire that had been closed and an unplanned detour to the aire at the village of Branon. There was should have been a charge of 4 euro a night! But no one came round in the morning to collect the cash.
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| View from Mont de Lure |
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| Branon |
20th to 22nd June 2017 Montbrun-les-Bains
4201 miles
Left Branon around ten and headed towards the Drome, one if my favourite Departments in France. Parked in a shady roadside aire at the edge if the town with Mont Ventoux, which dominates the area as a backdrop. Extremely hot, especially in the afternoons, so decided to head north west towards Poitiers, where it should start to cool down a bit at some point on route.
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| Mont Ventoux and Montbrun Village |
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| Aire at Montbrun, Mont Ventoux in the background |
23rd June 2017 Etang de Farges, Hermant
4455 miles
Amazing change en route, in Clermont Ferrand it was 40C while 10km to the west, just north of the Puy de Dome the temperature dropped about twenty degrees with heavy grey clouds! Stopped and found a nearby aire at a large lake used by fishermen. Met an English couple from Blandford Forum in Dorset who were spending the night there as well. They did seventeen years working for a camping guide company inspecting campsites. Cycled up to the village the next morning.
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| Etang de Farges Aire |
24th June 2017 Crocq
4472 miles
Decided to spend some time in the Auvergne Region, as I seem to have just passed through here on previous occasions. Apparently, listed by Lonely Planet as one of the best regions of France last year. Loads of Aires around, drove a few miles through wooded hills and pastoral farming to the small hilltop town of Crocq, dominated by two towers of the ruined château. Pleasant hike the following morning along green tracks and gravel roads, before a late breakfast and heading on.
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| Château de Crocq |
25th June 2017 Aubusson
4497 miles
After finding the town where l was going to stay heaving and full of route barre signs and diversions, due tinthe summer fete, l ended up at the ancient tapestry centre if Aubusson, sadly a little run down, as a lot of the factories built in the nineteenth century, when the industry revived seemed to have shut. However, in the church, there were two huge tapestries hanging. It was Sunday and they had to substitute for the museum which was closed.
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| Vieux Ville, Aubusson |
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| Tapestry in the church at Aubusson |
26th June 2017 Peyrat-le-Chateau
4529 miles
Still in the Auvergne, about forty kilometres east of Limoges, in the Parc Natural de Millevaches end Limousine. Great area with rolling hills and mainly pastoral farming of small herds of Limousin cattle, brown ones, never saw more than twenty in a herd in small fields. Everywhere is a symphony of greens! Had parked at a village aire at Royere-de-Vassiviere in the afternoon, only to find after returning an hour later that it was shut the next morning from 0700 for the weekly market. Not being keen in being woken up and asked to move at that time l moved on a few miles to another aire, below the village church, at Peyrat-le-Chateau
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| Church above the aire at Peyrat-le-Chateau |
27th June 2017 St Junien-le-Bergere
4535 miles
A short hop north, to a pleasant parking area on the edge of the hamlet of St Junien (absolutely no idea who he was) where the church has a strangely partially complete belfry tower. Unfortunately, the weather has taken a turn for the worse, with heavy thunderstorms in the afternoon, the only benefit being that the van got cleaned!
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| Lake and village at Peyrat-le-Chateau |
28th June 2017 Bourganeuf
4542 miles
After a few kilometres landed at the town aire at Bouganeuf, essentially just below the town wall and old castle, also next to the Tourist Office and free Wi-Fi c/o the Post Office.
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| Château de Borganeuf, just above the Aire |
29th June 2017 Château-le-Marcheix
Writing this a couple if weeks later l really don't recall the place at all! So many places and stoo-overs! Ah yes, it was wet and miserable, but ended up in an aire at the edge of the village with open, all be it, grey views of hills and valleys.
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| Grey view from the Aire |
30th June to 1st July 2017 Bazaiges
4637miles
Weather not so good; so a diversion to Gueret, to Lidl and a service station with GPL(LPG) to top up supplies and gas. The aire there was a landscaped motorway service area, so l drove on to Bazaiges where there was a village aire next to the local fishing pond in the Creuse valley, with numerous castles. It turned cold and wet for a few days.
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| Mairie de Bazaiges |
2nd and 3rd July 2016 St Severe-sur-Indre
4673 miles
Having dropped down from the Massif Central the last few days to below 500m the landscape bus more if a mix of arable and pastoral. Wheat, barley, sunflowers and white Charolais cattle. Amazing his quickly the Limosin are replaced as you drop in altitude. Town aire with a huge parking area reserved for motorhomes with just me in it! Also free electricity at the service point and free, all be it, with pretty crappie bandwidth at times town wide internet. Stayed a couple of nights with a side trio to La Chatre the second day.
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| Pond adjacent to the huge aire at Bazaiges |
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| La Chatre - Memorial Garden to the novelist George Sands |
4th July 2017 Montaigut
4760 miles
Well parts of rural France are really suffering from closed shops, empty houses even deserted villages and hamlets. This town had definitely seen better days. Even so pleasantly shady aire provided on the edge of the place, very desirable when it was about 35C in the afternoon. Walked up to the ruined château when it cooled off in the evening
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| Lunchtime stop and walk - les Pierres Jaumatre |
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| Sadly repetitive in towns and villages Abandoned and empty shops |
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| Two monkeys and acanthus leaves - Medieval symbols of an Apothecary's shop |
5th July 2017 Paugnat 2017
4793 miles
Still making a very slow circuit around Clermont Ferrand; have slipped north into Berry for a few days, now back in the Auvergne. Having covered the west over the last few days, l ended up more or less 10km north of Clermont, a small village at the northern end of le Chaine des Puys. Made up of around twenty steep sided volcanic cones forming a north-south chain some 20km long. The aire was just below the villages eponymous Puy. Walking around and climbing it the next morning, densely wooded slopes precluded a great view south along the length of the 'chain'.
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| Château de Rouchers in the heat haze |
6th July 2017 St Dier-d'Auvergne
4834 miles
An afternoon drive through relatively open countryside, mainly arable and with the occasional impressive château. To a huge parking area near the stadium at St Died. Interesting, village with a fortified church, sadly no information about it available. After a walk the next morning and a lazy afternoon, the whole place was taken over by the weekly concourse des boules! Decided to move on, as a local English guy, who had been a Fire Chief for the UN in the Congo for seventeen years pointed out it would be noisy and carry on until at least 1am!
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| Le Chains des Puts - Puy de Dome at the extreme left |
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| Church at St Dier d'Auvergne |
7th July 2017 Ambert
4855 miles
Stopped off at a small hilltop village to replenish water etc; would have stayed but it was really hot and no shade at all at the aire. Headed down the main valley to another aire next to the train station in Ambert.
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| le Monestier - resupplied and emptied at the aire |
8th and 9th July 2017 Viverols
4919 miles
Spent ages looking for somewhere shady to park up for the afternoon before returning to the aire at Viverols situated next to the Camping Municipal below the village and its ruined château. Between thunderstorms and sunshine managed a hike through open country and wooded hills the next evening.
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| Typical village between Ambert and Viverols - wet and grey ... again! |
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| Viverols from the aire |
10th July 2017 Brioude
4965 miles
An ecclesiastical day! At lunchtime stooped of at la Chaise-Dieu, with its enormous Abbey. The tombs of St Robert de Turlande, the founder of the abbey, which eventually grew to have three hundred associated priories, and also that of Pope Clement VI, who was a novice here, are inside. The latter sits in the chancel surrounded by 144 fourteenth century choir stalls. Behind the choir there is a 2m high by 26m long fifteenth century fresco depicting the Dancing Dead. Later on to Brioude, where l spent to night at an overflowing aire just below the town walls and the massive Basilica. The outside of the Basilica has polychromatic and geometric masonry work; while the very high columns of the nave and St Michael's Chapel have extensive remnants of medieval wall paintings; some are quite abstract and have a modernist appearance. The internal architecture blends well with the very modern stained glass windows.
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| la Chaise-Dieu - Section of the Dance of Death Mural |
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| la Chaise-Dieu - Tomb effigy of Pope Clement VI |
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| la Chaise-Dieu - The abbey church |
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| St Julian's Basilica, Brioude |
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| Medieval decoration in the Basilica |
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| In contrast, modern stained glass |
11th July 2017 Blesle
4988 miles
A few miles to the west of Brioude to the village of Blesle, with its two castles and churches, at the bottom of a steep sided valley cut through a plateau formed of lava flows. Now more or less south of Clermont and in the edge of the Parc Naturel des Volcans. Glimpses of the Puy de Dome and some if the other higher cones driving from Brioude this morning. Very helpful, and attractive young lady in the Tourist Office; l wanted to know if she had any information on local walks. 'Only in this book, but to save you buying it l can photocopy some pages for you', well actually in our combined franglais. I just couldn't imagine anyone offering to help like that in the UK. I bought the guide, as it was only a few euros and l planned to be here for a couple of days. But that's true customer service! Probably around more of the Auvergne for the next week or two.
