Monthly Archives: October 2017

France

Pont du Gard

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Monday 9th October

Sunday was a lazy day catching up with those dreaded domestic chores and ‘chilling’. Late in the afternoon we took at stroll along the River Rhône to the barrage de Vallabréques. A huge hydroelectric power station commissioned in 1970. A round trip of 8kms.

Monday, and on our itinerary today was the Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct, listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Ray had been here on a previous motorbike trip, but his visit was all too short and he had always wanted to return.

The Pont Du Gard

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England, France

A Catch Up Post

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Friday 29th September to Saturday 7th October

On our return from the drink fest that was the Devon holiday, interspersed with National Trust visits, steam train rides and longish walks, we camped on Kims’ folks lawn for two nights. I took advantage of the time to properly fit the 240v inverter & rewire the solar panel so that it charges without the caravan power having to be switched on.

On Sunday we moved on to Apple Acres Caravan & Camping Farm, near Tunbridge Wells for three nights to meet up with my folks & my brothers, Steve & Geoff.

01.10.2017 Route

Towing Kilometres – Today: 95 – Cumulative: 2,796

We have used this site before and received a warm welcome from the owners. On Monday Kim & I visited NT Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, the former home of Vita Sackville-West, poet & writer, & Sir Harold Nicolson. They had a rather interesting marriage described in her book Portrait Of A Marriage.

Sissinghurst Castle Gardens
Sissinghurst Castle Gardens

On Wednesday we packed up ready to leave at 9am for our ferry crossing from Dover to Calais.

04.09.17 Route

Towing Kilometres – Today: 331 – Cumulative: 3,127

The plan was to get to the South of France as soon as possible as the weather was good & forecasted to stay like that for at least two weeks. I suggested making a base around Avignon, as I had been there a few years earlier and knew The Pont du Gard was nearby. A stunning place to visit.

The ferry crossing courtesy of P&O was smooth & on time and we made good progress on the autoroute system down to Camping du Viviers aux Carpes, near Saint Quentin. This is a Camping Card site and cost €17 plus local taxes for the one night we stayed. We wandered around the town and found a bar then returned to the van as darkness fell.

Thursday dawned dry & a reasonable temperature and we packed up and got on the autoroute again making our way to our target that day of Macon.

05.10.17 Route

Towing Kilometres – Today: 510 – Cumulative: 3,637

We arrived in reasonable time at Macon Municipal Camping, a large site that suited us for a stopover but not sure I’d want to stay there for long. It was very noisy from very early on Friday morning.

We packed up ready to move on after breakfast to our target for a few days, Campsite Lou Vincen in Vallabrèques.

06.10.17 Route

Towing Kilometres – Today: 322 – Cumulative: 3,959

Good progress was made on the autoroute. Then, within 15 miles of the site, my sat nav guided me down the most unsuitable of roads on which to tow a caravan. A few hairy miles followed with a suitable amount of cursing on my part. On arrival we were given a warm welcome by Hèlène & Myriam. In glorious weather, we set up with the caravan windows open for a change & put up the awning without the prospect of it getting wet. As I write we have been here 6 days and the temperature in the afternoon has been above 22 degrees every day, and no rain at all. What a change from Wales & Ireland!

All set up at Lou Vincen

Saturday dawned bright and it happened to be Kims’ 60th birthday! We ventured into Avignon to try and locate a restaurant that I had visited in 2008, but couldn’t find it. The search concluded when we were ‘attacked’ from all sides by a medieval re-enactment of some sort and a fleet of noisy, horn blowing, wedding cars. At this point we headed back to the van to change for a birthday dinner at Le Vintage in Avignon. Happy Birthday Kim x