Avignon

Avignon

After Chusclan aire  we drove about 30kms in to Avignon to a campsite in the ACSI discount scheme.  There are no suitable free aires in Avignon and if you are going to pay for overnights then I reckoned we might as well spend a few pounds more and have a proper  campsite with electric hookup,  a proper  pitch and on onsite laundry. We arrived at 11:30am and booked  in for three nights.  This is our first proper break having moved

Ardeche Gorge

Ardeche Gorge

We had a quiet night at Vallon Pont d’Arc and since the exit barrier was still raised in the morning we took this to indicate that the site was free out of season. The sun was shining and the forecast was good.  The first stop was the car park where we had hoped to stay last night as this is right beside the famous rock arch. We parked up and walked down the path on to the river beach. The

The South at last!

The South at last!

What a change today. We slept late this morning as it was too cold to get out of bed! Eventually I got up and unpacked our electric heater. We can use this as we are plugged in to mains electric. With the thermometer showing 8c indoors and 3c outdoors Eileen agreed that this was definitely a porridge morning. Still the sun was trying to come out and it looked hopeful. We serviced Bertie and were were on the road by

A High Point

A High Point

A peaceful night in Brioude but we decided against staying longer. We sat up late last night reviewing our progress so far and thinking about how the next few weeks will go. We are going to press on with the plan but perhaps have a few days break on the campsite in Avignon. We have been travelling for eight days now and it will be at least two more nights before we get to Avignon. We enjoy reading a motorhome

Sunny day in the Auvergne

Sunny day in the Auvergne

What a change again. We woke to a lovely sunny day although quite windy. I seemed to have got fixated on the weather lately. I guess this whole trip was about trying to escape winter at home. Having never done this before we do not know what to expect and I think I now know why everyone else heads south much faster and does not hang around in France at this time of the year. It seems that the first

Lezoux and the Ceramics Museum

Lezoux and the Ceramics Museum

No rain at all today!! I am sure there is a humourous remark to be  had about driving through Vichy on dry roads but perhaps a little contrived. In fact the bit of Vichy we saw was rather rundown and tatty and nothing like the grand spa it once was. The sun shone as we serviced Bertie at the free services at Creuzier le Vieux and the temperature at 10am was 15c (it can’t last). The drive down the hill

First glimpse of Mountains.

First glimpse of Mountains.

The rain eased off last night and we slept quite well. Sadly it was just regrouping for another attack! It has rained quite a bit today and I could wax quite lyrical about the joys of wet French roads but I am passed wanting to dwell on the subject of the wet stuff. It is raining even as I write this. We took the opportunity to get the laundry done at the Intermarché this morning. Today is a public holiday

Wet day in Burgundy

Wet day in Burgundy

Soon after leaving Saint Julien-du-Sault we passed the point where we were 1000 miles from home! Shortly after that as we entered the small town of Appoigny near Auxerre we were flagged down at a Customs road block. The lady was very polite and asked where we were going and whether we had anything with us of interest to customs. She accepted my assurances that we did not have any contraband although she seemed to struggle with the idea that

A Grey Day in Champagne

A Grey Day in Champagne

Champagne is a marvellous wine but I am not a huge fan of the scenery of the eponymous region! This is the France of the stereotype. A high rolling plateau cut by wide deep valleys. The roads are straight, very straight and the fields are big, very very big and there are no hedges at all and very few trees except for the glorious mature plane trees lining many of the roads. The day was grey, misty and gloomy and

A change of plan

A change of plan

Another cold morning this morning. 6c is not really cold but cooler than we would like. It made us rethink our rate of progress southwards! The new plan is that we tweak the profile in the satnav from “slow and pretty” to “fast and cheap”. This means main roads but no toll motorways and no town centres. We have also chosen new stopovers for the next week that are around 120kms apart instead of 80kms. This will get us to