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Overcast Clouds, 12°C

Thursday 20th June 2019

Homeward bound

After what would be our last night spent in the van for probably several weeks we enjoyed breakfast with Tom and Ann before setting off on our 300 mile journey home.

The traffic was, as expected extremely dense and typical of our very overcrowded motorway network. Due to roadworks and congestion we rarely had the opportunity to travel much faster than 50mph and by the time we arrived home our travelling time was over 5 1/2 hours.

As much as I love travelling, it is always nice to come home and it was great to be reunited with Maggie and Catherine and have a chat with our neighbours Mark & Michelle.

In summary , since leaving home on March 24th, our trusty van has carried us 5362 miles over 88 nights without so much as missing a beat. We have stayed at over 65 different locations in four different countries (if you include England). We have been to some really wonderful places and also a few not quite so wonderful, but even those places add something to the experience.

Rhian commented that our trip was all about making memories and it has certainly delivered in that department.

My thoughts now turn to catching up with friends and family and the few odd jobs that have been building up in our absence

For the final time of our Spring tour 2019

Good night

Clear Sky, 26°C

Stone St, Canterbury CT4 6DA, UK

Wednesday 19th June 2019

Today was the day we were finally to make our crossing back to the UK, with our Eurotunnel crossing booked for 0950hrs. We were situated a 45 minute drive from Calais and I had calculated that we should set off no later than 0800hrs in order to visit the pet reception centre and complete check in. Last night there had been a prolonged thunderstorm with heavy persistent rain in the early hours. By this morning it appeared to have passed over and I was able to take Annie for her last french morning constitutional of this tour in what were fairly mild , if overcast conditions. We managed to set off on time but shortly after hitting the motorway we could see very ominous looking dark clouds looming ahead. I could not have predicted what would happen next as possibly the heaviest downpour of hailstones that I have ever encountered began to hammer down on the van with such ferocity that I feared the windscreen would be smashed. The very light motorway traffic was reduced to a crawling speed in what I described to Rhian as probably the worst driving conditions I can remember. These conditions continued for much of the remaining journey , although by time we arrived at the terminal the worst had passed. The pet reception and check in was once again seamless as in fact was the crossing, and we found ourselves once more on UK soil by 0940hrs british time. After almost three months of driving on the right it took a few moments to readjust and we arrived at Canterbury just after 1000hrs. Tom and Ann were once again the perfect hosts and we spent a very nice day catching up on each others news. After lunch Tom and I took Annie for a walk in a local wood and thereafter we enjoyed afternoon tea and later , dinner. I can honestly say that I have not eaten so much in a long time . Tomorrow we set off for home and depending on traffic and progress we may decide to do it all tomorrow or to break the journey in two and take an overnighter half way. There was a time when I would not think twice about completing a three hundred mile trip in one stint.Back in the day, when doing courier work for my father I would sometimes drive twice that distance in one day. These days I prefer smaller distances and I know that Rhian and Annie don't like to be stuck in the van for hours on end either.

From Canterbury , UK

Good night

Overcast Clouds, 25°C

9 Place du Général de Gaulle, 62170 Montreuil, France

Tuesday 18th June 2019

Quite a significant day today for a couple of reasons . First being ,that today will be the last full day we will spend in France on this tour . Second being, It's my birthday...Yay. Rhian had got me a lovely card which seemed perfect for our situation. We had decided to stay put today and Rhian prepared a nice picnic which we enjoyed whilst sitting on the ramparts of the old walled city in company with a nice bottle of red. We have been very fortunate in that in recent days the temperature has been climbing , and today we found ourselves in 25 degrees which I'm sure you will concur is quite agreeable. We then visited the very attractive town square and settled in a bar where we had a couple of beers before returning to the van for our final evening meal and drinks of this tour. All being well we should be in Canterbury by about 0930 gmt tomorrow and we may be home sometime between Thursday and Friday this week. I will summarise our journey some time soon but for now and for the final time of this tour

Bonsoir

Overcast Clouds, 21°C

13 Place de la Chapelle, 76460 Saint-Valery-en-Caux, France

Sunday 16th June 2019

A little more rain fell overnight but it was dry this morning with sunny spells promised later. We found ourselves a little short on some essential supplies so visited a small supermarket in a village called Doudeville , I confess to finding the name amusing and imagined lots of ‘dudes’ wandering about the place. Some supermarkets over here have a system whereby you bag your fruit and veg , weigh it and then print out a bar code sticker which you affix to the bag for the cashier to scan. Unfortunately today we failed to notice this system was in place and had to endure the embarrassment of the cashier dashing off to sort out our fruit and veg whilst the unfortunate customers waiting behind us had to wait. Doh ! After offering many a 'Je suis desole ’ to the waiting customers we left the store with our British tails well and truly between our legs ! Then it was on to todays destination namely a very popular paying aire on the coast at Saint-Valery-en-Caux. We arrived about midday and were pleased to find a few remaining spaces. This was also the first time we had seen the ocean since leaving Marbella on 22nd May, and thinking about it further, at 24 days it was probably the longest time we have spent away from the ocean during our adult lives. After a little lunch we took a walk to explore the small seaside town . It had a nice pleasure boat marina but was also very much a working fishing port. We saw fish being landed and immediately being hauled up from the boats to the street traders above, where the locals and the seagulls waited in anticipation of the fresh catch. We also took a walk up a local hillside to a war monument and also a monument to celebrate two pioneering French aviators who had made the first transatlantic crossing between Paris and New York in 1930. Charles Lindburgh had been the first to do it in the opposite direction but these French guys had done it against the prevailing westerly wind which could be said to be more of an achievement. We returned to the van to find the aire almost full with probably in excess of 30 vans here and at this time we are amongst six UK registered vehicles. We are about 21/2 hours from Calais and have two full days to get there. Tomorrows destination is to be decided.

Bonsoir

Overcast Clouds, 19°C

42 Rue de la Croix Bonnard, 28000 Chartres, France

Saturday 15th June 2019

We had a good and exceptionally quiet night at the France passion site , I say night, because at dawn, the resident farm cockerel began to exercise its capacious lungs and alert all the other cockerels in the surrounding area that it was time for them to make sure we did not oversleep. We did manage to snooze off again if only for a little while but we had to be in nearby Chartres by 1115 for our vets appointment so could not spend too much time lazing in bed. The vets practice was located in an out of town shopping centre which at least made parking very easy. The young lady vet was very friendly and spoke quite good english. She seemed to give Annie a thorough examination and passed her fit to travel. The terms of the pet passport scheme meant that we now had to cross back over to the UK in not less than 24 hours and not more than 120 hours from the time and date stamped in the passport so thoughts turned toward booking a crossing. After the visit to the vets , I dropped Rhian off in the centre of Chatres and I drove to an aire just outside the city to park up and take a break. Annie and I then enjoyed a riverside walk back into the city where we met up with Rhian outside the truly magnificent gothic cathedral. We , and Rhian in particular have visited several Cathedrals during this tour. The structures are absolutely incredible and an amazing legacy to the craftsmen that built them so many centuries ago. Whilst waiting for Rhian to join me outside the front of the cathedral it was a little ominous but also I suppose reassuring to see a team of six heavily armed soldiers seemingly guarding the cathedral frontage as if aware of some imminent threat. When Rhian arrived, I decided to check out the cathedral interior and found it to be even more impressive and opulent than the facade which was saying something ! Annie and I left Rhian to explore the cathedral further and do some more browsing whilst I decided to make back to the van. I confess to getting a bit lost by following my usually accurate nose instead of the usually accurate google maps. At one point I ended up in a gated community with no apparent way out other than by crashing a private function. Annie and I were both tired so it had to be done. I casually opened a gate marked 'Private' and strolled through a garden , past a marquee full of diners and just when I thought I had made it , a man shouted at me , telling me I was on private land. I played the dumb english tourist card , which I do rather well, but far from admonishing me as I was expecting , the very kind french gentleman not only walked with me to unlock the gate to my freedom but also offered me some food from their BBQ, which, with hindsight I foolishly declined. Whilst awaiting Rhians call to pick her up my thoughts then turned to our Eurotunnel crossing and after speaking with my uncle Tom in Canterbury we decided on a crossing next Wednesday morning with a probable overnighter at theirs before travelling home Thursday. I had decided on an overnighter just north west of Rouen which had been recommended to us only the other day. I was to say the least not happy when we arrived to find that the aire was closed and was hosting some kind of village fete. To be fair , the municipality had laid on a temporary alternative site in a field nearby but it was heavily oversubscribed and looked as if it would turn into a quagmire with a little rain. I decided on a plan B which was a little car park aire in a small town about twenty minutes away. The few spaces available were all taken but I would not have stayed anyway, the old gut feeling thing telling me all was not well. Plan C , another short drive away outside a village was just the ticket and had services on site too. We now have three full days here in Normandy before our crossing and we look forward to exploring this region a little more during this time. Rain has also started to fall . I'm so pleased I decided not to park in the field

Bonsoir

Overcast Clouds, 23°C

3 Rue Parmentier, 28630 Sours, France

Friday 14th June 2019

This morning , using the wonderful , how did we ever do without it , internet , I managed to book Annie into a vets in Chartres for her pet passport procedure. Her appointment is at 1115hrs tomorrow morning, which should mean that we will have to cross the channel and arrive in the UK no later than about 1200 on Wednesday . But first , this morning Rhian did the market tour of the town whilst Annie and I took a walk up to the ruined castle where we stumbled across an interactive telescope which was free. We later met up in town for a coffee and Rhian was very pleased with her new french speaking skills as she had been able to secure some local fresh produce from the market traders and thereafter we returned to the van for a bit of lunch before setting off for Chartres which would be a two part journey incorporating a services stop half way. When we arrived at the services , a very friendly dutch chap told us that if we were quick we could fill up our fresh water tank for free as it was on a timer and he had finished. We were successful in filling our water tank and thanked the nice dutch gentleman for his kindness. Rhian did a bit of spring cleaning and after about another 45 minutes we found ourselves at our first France Passion site of this tour . This site was an artisan beer producer. The word 'artisan' used before the sale of any product usually means ' at least twice the price of any similar product and so it was. The farm did however have two very lovely dogs, the first being an english setter and the second being a golden retriever. The english setter was very much like Annie in temperament and indeed in looks. It had the presence of a champion in the way it strode around the farm with a confidence. I am at this time still chilling the beer so am unable to write a critique of its quality but am hopeful that it will be a beer of good strength and quality . We are about fifteen minutes drive from our vets appointment in Chartres tomorrow morning and we may decide to stay the night in the local aire if all goes well. Chartres apparently has one of the most impressive gothic cathedrals in the world but as always I will let Rhian give her appraisal

Bonsoir

Broken Clouds, 20°C

N10, 41100 Vendôme, France

Thursday 13th June 2019

A tale of three cities ?

Today we started off in Loches , travelled to Blois and finally ended up in Vendome. All three being very attractive towns in the Loire valley and each boasting there own very impressive and historically important buildings and architecture. Today , our plan was to drop Rhian off in downtown Blois to check out the market whilst Annie and I would be free to do a riverside walk along the Loire. Things didn't entirely go to plan as Rhian discovered that our guide book information was out of date and there was no Thursday general market in town. Not a total disaster though, as she enjoyed checking out the town centre and points of interest and we enjoyed our walk. There is supposed to be a general market here in Verdome tomorrow morning and we decided it might be prudent to find an overnighter here , and that would mean a lie in and no rushing to get to market in the morning. We were fortunate to secure one of only five campervan places in the car park nearest the old town and we look forward to a mooch about tomorrow. This evening we had an exploratory visit to the tourist information office and then had a beer in a bar in the town square before retiring back to the van for our evening meal. As we get closer to home it feels like there is some kind of force acting upon us. Like gravity, it increases exponentially the closer we get to home and tries to accelerate our journey. I think that we should try to resist and take our time but I know this will prove difficult. Over the next couple of days we will try to get Annie booked into a vet for her pet passport procedure . This will then give us a four day window in which to make the tunnel crossing and then once in the UK it will likely as not be a case of drive, drive, drive until we get home

Bonsoir

Overcast Clouds, 15°C

283 Chemin de la Prairie de la Foire, 37600 Loches, France

Wednesday 12th June 2019

Raining this morning and as we move ever closer to blighty so it becomes cooler and wetter, in fact so cold and wet that for the first time in a very long time I chose not to wear shorts. As it was raining we once again decided to do about two hours driving to a town called Loches . We travelled for about an hour or so then stopped for lunch at a town called La Blanc. We were parked near a river and also near the town centre and we intended to explore a little before completing the final leg of our journey to Loches. Unfortunately the weather had other plans. We had left the van for less than five minutes when another of the now seemingly regular heavy showers began raining upon us and much to Annies obvious disappointment we had to beat a hasty retreat back to the van. We arrived at Loches late afternoon and having sourced a suitable overnighter near the riverside we took a walk into the historic town. Until today I had never even heard of the place but once again it turned out to be a little gem with very impressive buildings including a castle with a keep dating from the 10th century. One of the very impressive castle type buildings had also been home to various kings of France over the middle ages and this was because at that time this area was heavily forested and favoured by the aristocracy for hunting. We were very fortunate to enjoy a couple of hours of sunshine whilst we toured the sights but then ominous looking clouds appeared and we just about made it back to the van as rain began to fall yet again. Anyway it was tea time by now and what should we eat whilst here in the heart of France ...... well it just had to be fish, chips and mushy peas

Bon appetit and Bonsoir

Light Rain, 13°C

W2JM+8R Oradour-sur-Glane, France

Tuesday 11th June 2019

Ouradour-sur-Glane

Yesterday afternoon exactly 75 years ago ,the entire population of the aforementioned french village were rounded up by members of the Nazi SS. Apart from a handful of residents who made good their escape, 642 men , women and children were then brutally murdered and their village pillaged and razed.

The village was preserved as a national monument which we visited today. The following words were spoken by Lawrence Olivier whilst narrating the opening sequence of the epic tv documentary ' The World at War'

"Down this road, on a summer day in 1944 ... The soldiers came. Nobody lives here now. They stayed only a few hours. When they had gone, a community which had lived for a thousand years ... was dead."

Bonsoir

Overcast Clouds, 18°C

La Plaine, 19600 Lissac-sur-Couze, France

Monday 10th June 2019

Thunderstorms overnight and light rain this morning as per the forecast. We were looking forward to a mooch around the very impressive Rocamadour village and despite the slightly inclement conditions our spirits were not dampened too much. The village is quite significant to followers of the roman catholic religion and is a site of pilgrimage and also (as always it seems) part of the Camino de Santiago pilgrims trail. Although one cannot fail to be impressed by the beauty of the village and by the efforts of the men who built the churches and shrines in such a difficult and dangerous environment , I have to say , to me it had the feel of a religious theme park . It may just as well have been called 'Jesus world' as you were led through the village, past the religious icons and then past the inevitable gift shops where I'm sure if you had looked hard enough you would have found a snow globe depicting the alleged crucifixion! One again we decided to go our separate ways and I headed off for a bit of a walk with Annie whilst Rhian visited some of the tourist sites. Annie and I were a little dismayed to find that welsh springer spaniels were banned from visiting some of the areas of interest in the village (see photo) and I saw no evidence that other breeds had been discriminated against in this fashion. We reunited at about 1300hrs and the weather was certainly on the up. We were in need of some provisions and made for a nearby town to find that the Lidl was closed. Not siesta time so what was going on? It seems today was whit Monday , some kind of religious festival no longer celebrated by public holiday in the UK but clearly still in favour over here. A change of plan meant we were now headed for the Lac de Causse (reservoir)about a half hours drive away. We found it to be a very nice spot and whilst Rhian remained in the van, baking some Welsh cakes, I walked the lake perimeter with Annie. It was about a five mile circuit around the lake and was perfect for runners , cyclists etc. I very much enjoyed the walk and Annie appeared to enjoy it too. By the time we returned to the van , Rhian was ready to serve our evening meal. When we arrived we were the lone camper van and now we are one of four. Day by day we inch ever closer to home

Bon soir

Overcast Clouds, 21°C

Rocamadour

Sunday 9th June 2019

This morning we decided to take a walk along the footpath recommended by the site manager of our aire at Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. The route was basically a towpath along the river Lot which is also used as a canal with lock systems in place. In bygone days , the canal was used to carry cargo but nowadays is popular with commercial pleasure cruises and the rented cruiser holiday market. We had a similar holiday on the Norfolk broads a few years back and weather permitting it is a nice way to spend a few relaxing days. I reflected on how much nicer it would have been to have been cruising along the Lot river rather than the broads. One day perhaps ? The most impressive section of the walk was where a towpath had been carved out of the limestone cliffs to allow horses to pull the barges. I thought it must have been quite a dangerous undertaking as you would never know if the rock above you was liable to collapse at any moment. It was a fairly short walk of just over 2 1/2 miles and after a coffee we made the return journey back to the aire. Our next destination was to be Rocamadour , another apparently beautiful village and unesco world heritage site. The journey took a little longer than expected at about 1 1/2 hours mainly due to excessively bumpy and narrow roads which were at times a little testing on my patience and on Rhians nerves ! When we had our first view of the village it was indeed very impressive, clinging like a limpet to the rockface opposite. We then had to negotiate some seriously narrow and over congested streets with a narrow rock tunnel and very tight hairpin bend which was so obviously problematic that they had stewards marshalling the traffic through it. I wondered why there were no restrictions for larger vehicles such as ours with a potential to cause traffic chaos if stuck. But hey ho it was a Sunday and I later read that even though the village has only six hundred inhabitants it receives over one million visitors a year ! We had already had quite a busy day and decided not to do the tour this evening . We settled in our overnighter , this being a brand new car park behind and above the village. The car park had clearly just been built or resurfaced and new barriers and ticket dispensing machines were in place but covered up and not yet operational. Also there were no signs prohibiting camping cars or overnight stays. Result ! Tomorrow we will spend some time exploring the village but for now

Bon Soir

Clear Sky, 20°C

Porte Roques, 46330 Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, France

Saturday 8th June 2019

This morning we discovered that Cahors holds its twice weekly market in the cathedral square on a Wednesday and a Saturday morning. For Rhian this was obviously too good an opportunity to miss and for me it was an opportunity to walk Annie. We walked into town together and then went our separate ways after crossing the bridge over the river Lot Rhian continued into town toward the market whilst I took a riverside footpath , well used by dog walkers , runners etc , which once again crossed the historic bridge and would eventually complete a loop alongside the river returning me to the van. During my walk I received a call from our daughter Maggie (Houston , we have a problem!)who told me there was no hot water at home. I had presumed it to be the usual case of a pressure drop in the boiler as I had not been there to keep it fully charged up, but when Maggie related the contents of the display screen things did not sound good. I talked her through the charging up process in the hope that this may resolve the issue , but alas no. An electrical fault of some kind had occurred. After trying a few things unsuccessfully I called Rhians brother Dewi(a plumber) who offered some advice and kindly agreed to travel over to Prestatyn to take a look. I am pleased to report that Dewi was successful in restoring our domestic hot water and we are very grateful to him for his efforts at short notice. Rhian returned to the van just after midday and we set off for Saint-Circq-Lapopie , yet another of 'the most beautiful villages in France'(are there any other sort ?) Despite my cynicism however , on this occasion I had to concede that the description was accurate. I even declared it to be probably the most beautiful place we had visited on this tour so far. This as always being a result of a combination of different factors, architecture, location, weather, general surrounding landscape, river etc. Due to the local topography, car park space was at a premium so we opted for a paying aire alongside the river , about a fifteen minute walk below the village. We spent an hour or so relaxing and enjoying a drink before setting off to explore the village. The initial part of the walk was flat along the riverside path and Annie enjoyed a cooling dip enroute. The river did indeed looked very inviting (beer goggles?)and we wished that we had perhaps brought our swimming stuff along. The climb up to the village was fairly steep but quite short and being a Saturday the village was quite busy with tourists and day trippers. You may recall that a few days ago Rhian declared that she thought she preferred Spain to France. After visiting the village today I posed the same question and now.........not so sure. A short time ago the site manager called around to collect his 7 euros for our stay and told me that there was a very nice walk along the river to some really impressive limestone rock formations. We may decide to take that walk tomorrow morning although there is a possibility of some light showers.

Bon soir

Clear Sky, 19°C

58 Chemin de Payrolis, 46000 Cahors, France

Friday 7th June 2019

At 2200hrs on this very day, two years ago, I walked out of Denbigh Police station having completed my last ever tour of duty as a warranted Police officer. For a number of personal reasons I had made the decision to retire a couple of years earlier than my full thirty years. Any regrets?...........None. This morning the skies were once again looking overcast and my extensive experience and obsession with the weather warned me that rain was imminent. I was of course correct , and by the time we were ready to set off to Cahors , rain was bouncing of the windscreen. The drive was just over an hour and as we arrived at the outskirts of the city , rain was still falling although the forecast and indeed the skies were indicating a significant improvement was very much on the cards. We were not desperately in need of vin and vittles but I thought that we may as well make use of the poor weather to sort out our provisions. We also secured LPG and a fuel top up. By the time these few tasks were complete the weather was now looking good, blue skies , sunshine and although a few clouds were about they did not appear to be the rain bearing type.

EDITORIAL COMMENT The management would like to state that the views of the author and his constant harping on about the weather are not consistent with our corporate view and we do not take any responsibility for any boredom which may result from reading this journal.

Our overnighter was to be a car park , about a fifteen minute walk from the city centre, without services but free for up to 72 hours. There is an aire with services just around the corner but has only three spaces available. As I write this at 2030hrs there are at least thirty vans here for the night! Cahors is a samll busy city and is famous for its fortified 'Le Pont Valentre' a bridge spanning the river 'Lot' built during the early fourteenth century and boasting three towers across its span. The old town is very much in keeping with the rest of the region with timber framed town houses overhanging the narrow shady streets. The roofs of some buildings often overhanging their neighbours allowing rainwater to flow from one roof to the next. We spent the afternoon exploring the streets and again stumbled upon a music festival being set up in the main city square. We are not too far away as the crow flies so perhaps we may get to hear it later. We stopped off at the riverside on our way back to the van and Annie decided that she would like to submerge most of her upper body. This meant two things 1. Annie would feel cool and refreshed 2. We would have the essence of wet spaniel to look forward to this evening ! The final thing to mention this evening is that we are one of three british registered vans on site this evening and as I was walking past the line of parked vehicles I had to do a double take when I clocked the registration number of one of them. Our reg is KX11KZO and the number of this other van was KX11KZU , I kid you not. Clearly this warranted an enquiry with the occupants , a couple from the West Midlands. It transpired that they had bought their van as a used ex rental from Elite motorhomes in Banbury, Oxfordshire , this being the same dealer that originally sold ours to its first owner. What are the chances ? , and on that bombshell

Bon soir

Overcast Clouds, 22°C

3 Place du Château, 82340 Auvillar, France

Thursday 6th June 2019

After yesterdays deluge it was nice to find that 'normal' dry conditions had resumed. As we move further north each day it is inevitable that the temperatures will gradually fall and the weather will become increasingly unsettled. This morning for example was a little overcast but still warm enough for shorts and T shirt. Today in Auch was market day, and Rhian was quick off the blocks and keen to explore what would really be her first, full on French market of this tour. We walked into town together but then went our separate ways as I had my own plans to walk Annie along the riverside footpath. Annie was clearly much more comfortable in these lower temperatures and even had a bit of a spring in her step. We completed a nice circular walk of about an hour duration and then returned to the aire. This aire was a little unusual in that the entry/exit barrier was operated by inputting a digital code printed on the payment receipt. The issue of 100 litres maximum of fresh water was also controlled by the same means. My receipt showed that we had arrived at 1306hrs yesterday and this meant that we had to use the facilities and exit the aire prior to this time today or face an additional daily charge. I had to wait my turn to use the service point but completed the usual draining/refilling procedures with plenty of time to spare whilst Annie supervised from the front passenger seat. Shortly afterwards we were reunited with Rhian and on the road for our 'hour a day' drive north. Todays destination was to be the village of Auvillar and I had identified a car park on the banks of the Garonne river which I thought would suit us well. Auvillar had been described as another of those 'most beautiful villages' and it was indeed very pleasant. It was a steep climb from our car park up to the old village but very much worth the effort. We even stumbled across a short violin recital ongoing in the church and remained there until it ended. We concluded our small village tour with a couple of beers at a busy bar with a lovely beer garden or should I say 'Jardin bierre ' , before returning to the van for our evening meal. We appear to be one of three vans overnighting here and tomorrow we shall be making our way to Cahors

Bon Soir

Light Rain, 13°C

Camping-cars Saint Martin Island, Rue du Général de Gaulle, 32000 Auch, France

Wednesday 5th June 2019

Check out the clothing and the temperature , a full ten degrees cooler than yesterday ! Remember also that yesterday evening rain had started to fall and was expected to be persistent and heavy. Well for once I have to say the forecasters were spot on . It rained heavily all night and all this morning and all afternoon and I mean heavily as in torrential for almost 24 hours, with a bit of a thunderstorm thrown in this morning for dramatic effect. As I said yesterday, we have not seen rain for seven weeks but today we probably had all seven weeks worth dumped in a day. Much better than our weather in Wales where we get a bit of rain every day throughout the year. That is unless we have one of our 'heatwaves' when for about 1/2 a day each year it is hotter than Malaga ! Anyway we decided to make use of our bad weather day to do a bit of repositioning in terms of our journey home. A couple of weeks ago we had met a lovely french couple who at my request had sent us a few suggestions on places we might like to visit on our journey home. I had been in mind of these locations and today seemed the ideal opportunity to move closer toward them. I identified the city of Auch as a good halfway overnighter location. I'm not sure if you pronounce Auch as per the Beano i.e. "Owch" or as Owsshh(made up word). My destination in Auch was a paying private aire with good reviews and about a twenty minute walk into the city centre via a riverside path . Sounded ideal and all for about 10 euros per night including services and electric. The rain finally gave up at about 1630hrs and we made an executive decision to venture into town for a recce. The walk was indeed very nice and whilst walking along the riverside path we came across the 'Canipot' area , basically a small area set aside from the main path where dogs may be allowed to do their toileting. There were several of these areas along the path and were probably a good idea. Annie checked it out but looked a bit bemused but with practice who knows ..... Auch appeared to be a very attractive little city (see photos). Rhian very much enjoyed a visit to the cathedral which was , as always , magnificent in its opulence and grandeur and was yet another example of the grotesque wealth of the catholic church and the wasted efforts of the amazing craftsmen who laboured for years to create such masterpieces in worship of a god , whose existence to say the least is highly improbable. There is a market in town tomorrow morning which Rhian is very much looking forward to visiting. I intend to walk the river footpath and join her later

Bon soir

Few Clouds, 23°C

61 Rue Adoue, 64400 Oloron-Sainte-Marie, France

Tuesday 4th June 2019

This morning was to be our last in Spain for this tour and we set off for France along a road which passed through some amazing mountain scenery, snow topped summits etc. Our route was to take us through the Somport tunnel which was a joint venture between the Spanish and French governments and which was opened in 2003. The Spanish/French border is actually in the tunnel and at just over five miles long it is the longest road tunnel that Rhian and I have ever driven through. We eventually emerged into France with our destination today being Oleron-Saint-Marie where I knew there to be a popular aire. I was keen to get there earlyish as there were only seven spaces available and due to its location it was , according to research , often full if late arriving. We arrived at about 1130hrs and found there to be only one other van at the location so plenty of time to pop to the supermarket for bread and a few bits and bobs. We were gone for only about 1/2 hour but when we returned , four of the available spaces were now taken , two of which by very badly parked local cars seeking shade on the camper van side of the car park. When I say badly parked I refer to the fact that these camper van bays are significantly wider than a normal car park space , and yet the drivers still could not keep in between the white lines ! Whilst we were enjoying our lunch , what can only be described as a convoy of three french vans arrived simultaneously. What followed was quite amusing. One of the ladies from the new arrivals paced up and down , staring at the cars belonging to locals who had dared to park in the spaces allocated to camper vans. If she had use of 'The Force" her face alone would have lifted up the offending vehicles and tossed them into the raging river adjacent to us. As it was she instead wrote something on a piece of paper which she then affixed to the offending drivers windscreen. Things got really interesting when the driver of the offending car returned to her car in the presence of the note writer who was still stood in the car park. Game on , I thought , fisticuffs perhaps , but no , the note writer lacked the moral courage to admonish the driver personally, and hid in plain sight amongst her compatriots until the 'offenders' had driven off ! This town is built at the confluence of two big rivers who have their sources in the Pyrenees behind us. Today has been a pleasant 23 degrees and Annie is, as a result much more comfortable. After lunch we took a walk into the town along the riverside directly behind the aire. We found the town to be quite pleasant and despite its location , not particularly touristy(made up word) and we spent a couple of hours walking around the town following a map from the tourism office. The weather forecast and indeed the sky is looking quite foreboding and indeed we curtailed our town visit as our UK senses kicked in , warning us that rain was imminent. As I write this at 1930hrs the first drops of rain are starting to fall. The rain is expected to be torrential and to last a full 24 hours which will come as a bit of a shock as the last time we encountered rain was almost exactly seven weeks ago. We are not sure what to do tomorrow. It is often tempting to use the bad weather days as driving days which often makes good sense. The problem with this strategy is that you often miss places that you would otherwise have visited. I think it likely that we will move on, but perhaps stick to our 'hour a day' plan so that we make some progress toward home but don't miss too much. We can then just sit it out in the van, and normal i.e. good weather is set to return by Thursday. Anyway as we are now back in France

Bon soir

Scattered Clouds, 28°C

Calle Calzada Monjas, 14, 22700 Jaca, Huesca, Spain

Monday 3rd June 2019

This morning we left our lakeside overnighter to travel to Huesca for provisions and services. A large Repsol filling station just outside of town had kindly provided a service point ,so whilst there I topped up our diesel as a gesture of thanks. Then onto Lidl for more vin and vittles. We had decided that our first likely stop in France was to be Oloron Saint Marie , but as that was a two hour drive we settled on another final evening in Spain and chose a paying aire in the city of Jaca , nestling in the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees. Jaca was only a one hour drive and , what a drive! We drove along a series of motorway sections interspersed what we in the UK would probably call B roads. The motorway sections were very dramatic with long tunnels and high viaducts whilst the non motorway sections were narrow and bumpy. It seemed to me that at some point during the road building project , the money had run out and the plug had been pulled before completion? We arrived at the aire in Jaca to find the ticket machines out of service , Hurrah , another free night. Also on our arrival it appeared to be snowing, and if you look at the random photo of the van in the car park you will see the floor covered in white stuff. It was everywhere,and it comprises of the seed cases from what is known (for obvious reasons)as the cottonwood tree. There are several of these trees surrounding the car park where our aire is located and the stuff gets everywhere. Nature has provided a truly magnificent seed dispersal system for this tree. Late afternoon we took a short walk into the old city which was just a few steps climb from our aire. The cool shaded streets were quite refreshing after being in the quite muggy overcast conditions of the day. We located a local bar and sat outside for a while awaiting the shops to open after siesta ,usually 1730hrs in this region. Thereafter I remained at the bar with Annie and enjoyed a couple more beers whilst Rhian went to explore the city further. When leaving the bar , Rhian was chatted up (we think) by two old chaps , sitting outside the bar. There is a bit of a pattern emerging here, same thing happened the other day in Calatayud, great to see there is still life in the old dogs and gives us all hope ! We reunited about an hour later and returned to the van for our evening meal during which time the aire was filling up quickly and I was pleased to have secured our place earlier. This will be, with some regret our final evening in Spain on this tour. Rhian in particular has very much fallen in love with the country , which has so many different facets and she really surprised me the other day when she exclaimed that she thought she preferred Spain to France. I suppose when you are considering this question you have to take into account your whole experience of the country and that also has to include its people. I would have to say that for me the jury is still out between Spain and France. Both are amazing countries and have much to offer.

From Spain for the final time this tour

Beunas noches

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