French tour - Day 7, La Vacarie to Millau

Sun was well up and temperature climbing when we got under way, the night before , on google maps, I had noticed a small pull in 3 mile or so further down the road. It had good reviews so we moved along to have a look. It was still early and the smallcar park only had a few cars so we gave it a go. Shoved some breakfast into the rucksack along with a couple of towels and followed the trail down through the woods to the gorge below. Fréjo was the name on the car park, apparently the name of the waterfall appearing half way out  of the side of a limestone cliff. We soon went in for a dip, so refreshing even at 9.00 in the morning. Stayed a while, ate breakfast then back to the van. Decided to give theGorge d'Heric a look. A lot of people had recommended them so we swung off the Main road onto a small lane that went straight between the  tables of a coffee shop, the van just fitted and the faces of the people drinking coffee was a picture ! It didnt get any better when we found d ourselves at the car park, a dead end with now way to turn. Car park attendant was very apologetic but the car park was full. She let us in to turn round ,it was rammed.  Note to self, never visit France in August again ! We continued to follow the gorge down to Clarmont before heading up the A75 towards Millau. We approached Millau on the D809 as I wanted to cross the bridge in the morning and the road has great views of the huge ravine with Millau far below and the bridge in the distance. Just as we pulled in the sky free heavy and dark, the a thunderstorm broke out and it rai ed for the first time for us in months. Driving in to Millau every site and Aire was full, we took the hard decision to stay on a local supermarket car park along with a handful of campers and motorhomes. Early start tomorrow morning, shopping for supplies then off to the bridge . Distance today 160km 

 

French tour - Day 6, Cépie to La Vacarie.

After another hot night we woke groggy and tired but wanted to get away early. We planned to have a quick stop at Carcassone , a walled city that we first visited back in the 90's with the Mini club! We soon changed our minds when we tried finding a car park space, no chance! It was extremely busy. With covid on the up in France we didn't want  to take any risks so decided to give it a miss.  Moving on and Still not tiring of the beautiful scenery in this part of the world we took the minor roads to the Haut- Languedoc National park. Following the river Jaur down a very steep sided wooded gorge. Temperatures now in the high 30's we stopped at a lay by, set down away from the road near the river. It was a cracking spot for a wild swim and with only a handful of other people about we swam in the deep cool clear waters and soon cooled off. Before we new it it was the end of the day so we rather than move on late in the day we put the kettle on and stayed. Brilliant day ! Distance 131 km

French tour - day 5, Maury to Cepie, wild camp.

Had a lazy morning, up about 9.30ish. Sun was up and deep blue sky. Decided to stay put for a while and give the van a clean along with a laundry wash and an open air shower for us, nobody was  around but it was weird to be showering outside 😊. By midday the washing was dry and we set off in the direction of Carrcassone  ut soon stopped for lunch by the side of a river in a deep gorge. Not longer after lunch we came across the small medieval village of Alet-les- Baines. A beautiful, unspoiled French  village with half timberd houses and a lovely market building. On again but soon stopped, this time for supplies at a Lidl. On again ( a lot of stop starting today) we decided not to head for Carrcassone today but stop just outside then have a whole days visit tomorrow 

 Found a wild camping spot above the little hamlet of Cepie with great views across the vineyards and valleys below. A massive 91 km today 😂

French tour- day4 Duilac to Maury

Up early after a very hot night. Decided to have a walk down to the wild swimming gorge, 2 mile down the valley. Picked up some fresh bread from the village and set off. It was hot and getting hotter but we had a nice cool swim ahead of us that kept us going. It was a long 2 miles. Arrived and couldn't believe our eyes. The place was rammed,  you couldn't get to the water without treading on somebody and not a mask to be seen. We found a shady spot out of the way and had lunch before setting off back to the van. No swimming  for us today !  Hard walk back up hill to the van, not enjoyable at all, far too hot. Back at the van it was 47 deg ! To make matters worse we couldn't shower as we had ran out of water and the aire supply had been turned off ! We decided to move on in search of water. Found a supply on a road side pull in, filled up and set off to find a pitch for the night. Found the perfect spot, wild camp on the D19 a couple of miles up the side of a mountain pass just outside Maury. Shower , supper and bed.     62 km today 

Having problems with Blogger, not letting me upload photos in off line mode.

French tour- day 3 ,

After  a very cold night (7 deg outside, 13 in the van) we set off around 10.00  out of Andorra ok, this time no que at customs and into France. Heading for a couple of spots for wild swimming. Beautiful drive over some very tight mountain roads and by 5 we had arrived at Duilac and parked up on the village aire. Cant get Blogger to upload photos for some reason. Km to day a small 148 but it took us all day!

French tour - day 2. Ginestar, Spain to El past de la casa, Andorra.

After a peaceful night with a much needed cool breeze we woke to another beautiful sunrise across the vineyards. Had breakfast in the sun before a walk along the river. Beautiful clear water and we still couldn't believe how lush and  green this part of Spain is. Eventually got moving around 11.00. Followed the C-12 to Lleida, a fantastic road, sweeping up the valley's to Llieda the a few miles of motorway before getting on the C-14 to Andorra,  another cracking road with breathtaking views. Slowed down in Andorra,  very busy and full of holiday makers, not an enjoyable hour or so, just way too hectic after the peace and quiet of spain. Things soon improved as the road climbed to the summit at El past de la casa. Pulled in for photos and a mug of tea. Realising it was 5.00pm decided to call it a day and park up for the night. Great views and the highest we've overnight at almost 8000 ft !

French touring Day 1 - Home to Ginestar.

Set off on time but decided to clean the van, cant drive round with a layer of Spanish dust ! Got on our way 10.30 then made a quick detour to Elche to pick up the van paperwork from Cruz. Uneventful run up the E15 turning inland at Amposta, heading for Andorra. Once off the E15 the route became very green for Spain as we followed the river Ebro up the mountains. With night drawing in we found a cracking spot in the little village of Ginestar. Overlooking vineyards down the valley to the river. A new overnight car park on the edge of the village, with water, waste point and electricity all without a charge ! Well done Ginestar. Today's leg  640 km.

Baza Lake, Spain

First proper trip out since buying the new camper. We tried one night down on the coast about 20 min drive from our home in Cortijo Grande, just check it out. Now this is the real thing. Perfect spot 2 hours drive from home, inland and up in the mountains. Beautiful day spent on the beach of this man made lake. No body  else around, pure peace.

A new van !

House sorted, and now we need a van so we can get back on the road,  a lot of world to see !

Finally settled for a Hymercar, Ayers Rock.

Another chapter.

A lot has happened since my last post. In February 2018 while on holiday in Spain with friends, We happened upon a beautiful holiday home in Cortijo Grande. Fast forward two years and we have sold our UK home of 35 years, sold most of our belongings as well as our camper van and moved to spain ! A new chapter unfolds !