Saturday 9th December 2017

With the Eurotunnel booked for early on Friday 15th the time had come to start the 1300 or so kilometres long haul north back towards Calais. The original plan was to retrace our steps back up the coast toward Perpignan, but the lure of mountain passes called. I checked the weather and decided to give the direct 350 km route towards Toulouse, through the Pyrenees, a try. This would effectively give us a spare day enroute if we needed it.

After once again saying our goodbyes to Lutz & Rudi, and agreeing to meet somewhere in Spain or Portugal to watch the Superbowl together, the trip started in mild temperatures and clear blue sky. We followed the E9 which climbed steadily as the views grew ever more mountainous.

Towing Kilometres – Today: 351 Cumulative: 5,969

We stopped for coffee at the roadside with snow and ice outside with a temperature of 5° C.

The road continued ever upwards, sometimes requiring a change down to 3rd gear on some of the ascents to maintain the speed of climb.
As we emerged from the toll tunnel near Bagà, we were met with temperatures of -3°C and the remnants of more extensive recent snowfall.

As we started to descend the northern slopes the road conditions became quite slippery in places shadowed from the sun. This slowed progress for a while but I was heartened to note that it in no way hindered the French drivers urgent need to tailgate even if they have no desire to pass 🙂

We continued on past our planned campsite and finally pulled up at our chosen site for the night, Camping Toulouse Le Rupé, with about an hour of light left to set up. This is another Camping Card site and cost €17 for the one night including electricity. The toilets & showers were clean and with plenty of hot water. Kim was delighted when I was able to report that we could receive BBC HD, therefore Strictly Come Dancing, on satellite with our 85cm dish even this far south.

A longish and tiring towing day, but well worth it for the mountain views that always fascinate me. Time for a G&T or two.

Sunday 10th December 2017

We rose to cooler, damper, weather than had been the norm for us the last few weeks. We got showered and packed up ready to continue or trek north. This was a straightforward, if very wet, 250 km run up the autoroute to our chosen stop for the night, Campsite De Montréal, Saint-Germain-les-Belles. The site is set on the side of a lake. €15 a night with electricity & clean, serviceable facilities. The rain had been falling for some time and continued to do so for most of our time here and we didn’t explore the surrounding area at all, a shame.

Towing Kilometres – Today: 252 Cumulative: 6,221

Monday 11th December 2017

Another day planning to cover 300 km north. I had decided before we set off that we would definitely be stopping for two nights at our target for the day which was Campsite Le Jardin de Sully. This would give us a free day to visit nearby Orléans.

Towing Kilometres – Today: 298 Cumulative: 6,519

Although travelling large numbers of kilometres per day was enjoyable travelling south in October towards the sun, it’s charm was wearing thin travelling north towards incessant rain and cold temperatures in December and must be quite boring for Kim, who doesn’t tow.

The trip went well and after a friendly welcome from reception we chose a pitch overlooking the Loire. A full service pitch for €17 a night. The toilet and shower facilities consisted of a portakabin, (the usual facilities were closed for rework) but this was clean and well heated, with plenty of hot water.

It was nice to set up knowing I could have a lie in tomorrow 🙂

Things improved even more after setup as Kim invited me out to an extremely enjoyable 3 course meal at a local brasserie with a splendid bottle of red. She even volunteered to drive back to camp after, her first drive since October 🙂