Blog 2.4 - To the Med

Monday 17th April 2023

I nearly mentioned the weather once, but I think I got away with it.

Anyway, the decision had already been made, and we were leaving Germany and heading south-west to, hopefully, warmer climes.

Leg one of the trip took us through the Black Forest (and it really did look black and grim. Nearly mentioned the weather again...) leaving Germany near Mulhouse, using a variety of Autobahn/motorways and lesser roads.

We did make one stop at Belfort for fuel and sustenance - needed, having skipped breakfast - at a huge and impressive E. Leclerc supermarket. Apart from that, though, it was just a slog through generally improving conditions until we reached Chalon-sur-Saône and our free berth for the night.

It took seven and a half hours or so, including the lunch stop, but it was worth it.

The air here feels measurably warmer, and it hasn't rained since we arrived!

Chalon is a bigger city than I imagined. We've holed-up at a totally free aire provided by the city, with free water and emptying too. So refreshing, and good to not have to feed coins into a machine to get a limited supply of water and to even empty grey and black waste. Oh, and there are plenty of bins too. Germany has a lot to learn from France in this regard, and the UK has a massive amount to learn from both countries.

After settling in for a few minutes we strolled down to the river about three minutes away to pick up the riverside path into town, a further ten minutes on.

Ooh la la

The river is vast too, with a large island reached by bridges. We didn't venture across although the buildings look impressive and are probably worth an explore.

However, time constraints meant we turned into the main centre instead, on the north bank, where we treated ourselves to fortifying hot chocolate (me) and mocha (admin). Pricey, but very good.

The city centre has a nice ambience, with intimate narrow streets and broad plazas set out with masses of tables and seating. It must really buzz when the celsius picks up.

There wasn't really time to do it all justice to be honest, and we headed back to the van for some overdue hot food - spicy noodles (no, not Pot Noodles!) - which went down a treat.

Tomorrow is definitely going to be another big one, but we might split the rest of the run-to-the-sun into two legs. I really don't fancy an eight hour drive!

Tuesday

Another early-ish start saw us heading for points SW again, finally landing in Polignac, very near Le Puy en Velay.

What a find.

The village encircles the plug of a long-extinct volcano - many other examples of which can be seen from the fortress which straddles the very peak.

Google maps shows you just how the village is laid out, encircling the castle, which must have been virtually impregnable in its day.

Now, it's an oasis of calm, with displays of the various ancient crafts once practiced here, including well-tended herb and medicinal gardens.

The views are truly astounding, and for an entrance fee of 6 Euros can only be highly recommended.

First van on the left squire

You get an excellent cardio workout thrown in into the bargain.

Back at the (free) village Aire de Camping Car, however, we were treated to an invasion - of diesel fumes.

We were sat inside the van with the door open taking in the late afternoon warmth, when the stinkiest, clankiest old Talbot motorhome parked up right beside us, belching diesel fumes from its side-firing exhaust pipe which lined up perfectly with our door - and continued to tick-over for several minutes while the courteous owner arranged his wheel ramps.

Merci, mon ami.

I quickly slammed the door and switched on the MaxxAir fan to 100% speed extract. It's not the first time we've been very grateful for its efficacy.

I don't know what it is about the French in particular, but they do seem to like cosying right up against other vans. Mind you, we've had a couple of Germans with a similar bent, one of which I've covered fairly well, and the other I'll go back to in a bit...

Tuesday night, though, passed peacefully enough, and I can wholeheartedly recommend the Polignac aire. And, of course, the village.

Wednesday

Yes, Polignac was lovely, and the view up to the fortress which loomed right over our park-up was spectacular. Yesterday.

This morning, though, as we rose at 7.30, the view... wasn't.

Polignac, and the surrounding countryside was enfolded in a thick blanket of fog!

And we thought the bad weather was behind us. Hah.

Anyway, Matins completed (morning van service, that is: water, waste, you know the score) and we headed off into the gloom sans breakfast again.

Things improved quite a bit as we dropped into Le Puy, but then got worse as we climbed the other side of the valley.

What had we done to deserve this?

Happily though, after much muttering and squinting we emerged into glorious sunshine and even more glorious scenery. It really is beautiful around here.

As we continued to climb it suddenly became obvious that what we had been experiencing was a temperature inversion, as suddenly we could clearly see the cloud top below us in the valleys to our left. Quite beautiful really, and not something I've seen too many times before.

Not a lake. The top of the clouds we'd just climbed out of

The road continued to amaze, jinking and curling around and over some incredible scenery and pretty villages. We'd had a choice of routes to pick from. If the others were better, I don't  care. This was stunning. And that's not a word I use lightly.

Eventually, though, we picked up the A75 motorway, stopping in fairly short order at a wooded rest area for coffee and a spot of breakfast. This is another thing we could learn from. A simple pull-over, with just parking spaces, toilets, and picnic tables. No shops, fuel, McDonalds, or any of the rest of the commercial crap that we seem to deem necessary on UK motorways.

Just somewhere uncrowded to rest a wee while. Perfect.

The rest of the run was totally uneventful, although even the scenery either side of the motorway here is pretty special, so it doesn't feel like a chore to drive - particularly as the road is almost deserted!

And then, around 18km north of our turn-off to Millau, we caught our first glimpse of Sir Norman Foster's masterpiece in the distance; the Millau Viaduct.

Wow. I'd always wanted to see it 'in the flesh' as it were, and it doesn't disappoint - even in its miniature rendering from so far north. Can't wait to get up close and personal, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, the bridge's soaring pillars slipped below the intervening landscape, out of view, and remained so even as we turned off the A75 to begin our descent to the town.

Millau, the town, is bigger than I'd imagined. I'd somehow come to the conclusion in my mind that it was nowt more than a large village.

It's not. It's a large town, well endowed with all that a large town should be graced with, and has an unmost indefinable atmosphere about it. Mediterranean? I don't  know. It's  obviously not on the Med, although it's not too far away, but it has that kind of feel.

I like it.

We'd pulled into a supermarket car park on the outskirts initially. Food shopping was fairly high on the agenda, but even higher was washing! Clothes washing, that is.

Admin had searched out this particular spot as it advertised a Revolution laundry station. We'd not used one before, but needs must as we were both running out of threads.

To be honest, once the initial difficulty of it not accepting any of our cards, or a phone number (for a 'finished' text message) and the requisite coinage had been inserted, it all went swimmingly. The huge 18kg machine swallowed our entire load including bedsheets/quilt covers, and did a really good job.

On completion, the 'safe' items went in the adjacent tumble dryer, while the shrinkables were hung out in the warm sun on the van.

By the time the 40 minutes tumbling was complete, the whole lot was dry apart from a few slightly damp socks. Result.

After filling with diesel at the attached fuel station, we went in search of the Camping-Car Park aire.

Hooking up done, we wandered into the historic centre of Millau to seek out 'heartstarter' coffees and to view the sights.

It's well worth a visit, with much to see, and lots of alleyways to get lost in.

Suddenly we were aware of music, which proved to be emanating from the Notre Dame church, and with the door open we popped in and took up pews in the impressive domed nave for an impromptu, and equally impressive, organ recital.

Believer or not. It's good for the soul - whatever that is to one.

Thursday...

...dawned bright and sunny. Just the day to get the bikes out for the first time on the trip and get ourselves up close and personal with le Viaduc de Millau.

We'd passed within a reasonable distance last autumn, but not close enough to, after much deliberation, make the detour. Which was disappointing, as I've wanted to see this vast and elegant structure ever since it was built.

So we saddled up and headed for the Tarn-side cycle track, which takes you alongside the river, through town, then over the old stone bridge, and westwards again past - and under - ancient buildings, and over high-ish gorge bluffs until the bridge suddenly hoves into view in all its splendour.

What a sight. No photo can do this massive edifice justice as it flies over the steep and deep Tarn Gorge, ferrying Mediterranean-heading northerners past the old bottleneck of Millau town.

Quite breathtaking.

Having had our - well, my, fill - I don't think admin was quite so enthralled as I, but she made a decent fist of it - we crossed the river and followed the very quiet road on the north bank back into town in search of sustenance. Pizza slices, coffee, and apple beignet; delicious, and much needed.

We pottered back down to the riverside for a quick explore of the rapids, complete with lifesaving practice being undertaken, and white-water canoeing.

They've really made the most of this part-natural, part-man-made feature. A very pleasant spot to while away an hour, before the short bimble back to the van for dinner and our second night on this our first Camping-Car Park Aire of the trip. Still as decent, facilities- and value-wise as we'd remembered.

Friday

We'd not set an alarm as, although we were moving on today, there was no real urgency. And so it was that we enjoyed a breakfast of warmed croissants and coffee before shipping out at around 10.30.

The aire is just yards from the road which crosses the Tarn via the more modern concrete bridge just upstream from the old stone one, and we were quickly across it and commencing the sinuous climb up the south side of the Tarn Gorge in search of the A75 motorway which would take us onwards to the Mediterranean.

We thought the descent from the motorway two days earlier was something special, but it pales compared to the climb out.

The views down over the town as it recedes below, together with the viaduct beyond it are simply magnificent.

Fairly quickly attaining an altitude of around 750 or so metres brings a landscape, which not quite moorland in features, is certainly close to it. Limited deciduous trees grow here, and there's quite a lot of scrubby growth - but whatever, it has a beauty about it.

Hitting the motorway put us back in some pretty misty weather, with visibility rather compromised, and not helped by lots of smeared fly-splat which stubbornly refused to clear. A visit to a service area sorted that out though, with dish soap, scrubby sponge (no, not harsh enough to do damage) and vinegar polishing the windshield up a treat. I'd really thought my eyesight was playing up for a bit there, but not so!

Back underway, we quickly reached the start of the descent - through more terrific gorge scenery - rapidly dropping to 300 or so metres and leaving the clouds far above us. A relief, I must say.

The rest of the run was neither here nor there interest-wise, being a mix of motorways and N roads, finally getting us to another C-CP aire in Port la Nouvelle between Narbonne and Perpignan.

Let's just say it serves a purpose. It's  a big aire, with the usual facilities, and nothing to really complain about.

The town, however, is - and I want to be kind - missable.

Admin described it as 'a bit like Mablethorpe' which was a tad uncharitable, but I could see where she was coming from.

Let's just say we'll be moving on Perpignan-way in the morning and leave it at that...

Saturday

Another late start knowing that we weren't going to be moving too far. I'd had a recommendation from someone in a van group on Farcebook for a motorhome stop literally 10 miles down the coast, and it looked worth a gander. So we did, and paid (a bit over 12 Euro per night) for one night.

It's just outside the large village of Leucate - which overlooks a huge saltwater lagoon - and which is actually quite crumbly, but very attractive for all that, in a kind of French shrug-of-the-shoulders Mediterranean kind of way.

I mentioned another German earlier on. We'd come across this couple in their Morelo coachbuilt motorhome, the size of a small planet, in the aire near Bernkastel. We'd parked well away from anyone else right at the end of the plot, but then this behemoth rocks up and parks right next to us. It's so long and so high it literally blocked out the site's wifi, which, unusually we'd been able to get very reliably up to that point. Grrr.

We thought we'd shook them off on leaving the Mosel... but then, just after parking up at Millau, guess who pulled in? Yep Heinz and Lotte in their black hole. To say we couldn't believe it, about a thousand miles down the road, would be an understatement.

But wait...

Utterly unbelievably, on pulling in at the Leucate aire...

No, really. There they are, dominating the skyline and airwaves.

Bleddy hell!

We walked down to the lagoon's shore to view the paddleboarders, and then walked into the village to view the menu. Crepes chosen and dispatched we carried on to the far, port, end of the village, found nowt much to look at, and turned round and walked all the way back to the van.

The things you see through an open French garage door. Morgan and Guzzi, and lots else

Nice place though, overall.

Total mileage so far: 1795