The France folder, the spreadsheet, the sat-nav, all prepared as usual in our yearly ‘France’ routine. This years trip would see us heading further South than ever before, to the department of Aveyron, Midi-Pyrenees, to Millau!
A reasonable start to the day, a 6.30am departure time, not too unreasonable, even the daughter made this without too much stress! We duly departed, after having packed the car the night before. Heading for storage, we picked up our ‘van from our new spot, and a little easier it is indeed! No sooner had we done so than I pressed ‘France #1’ on the stat-nav and we were off once again, France 2015 had begun!
The UK side of the trip ran as clockwork. The usual 3 amigos on the way down for toilet/food/smoke stops and before we knew it, we were on the Channel Tunnel heading for France! Weather was a little cloudy (with a chance of meatballs 😉 and a little drizzly. Entering France of course it was the same. But we had many miles to cover for this to change, heading to the deepest South – or thereabouts!
Upon leaving the shuttle, two French songs appeared on the MP3 player quite astonishingly, seeing how it was set at random! Then the sat-nav decided it wanted to turn me around! I was heading in the correct direction but it wanted me to turn around. Now I am boss, and I continued on as I knew I was going in the correct direction. A16, A26 – simples! Following a quick reset of the ‘Trip’ it soon found the way again ;). Our first scheduled stop in France was going to be our sleep-over. However, before we could get there, we needed a ‘relief’ stop at another Aire. This had a very nice sanitary block (compared to many others we have stopped at!). Following this, we continued South on the A26 and landed at our night’s destination. Filling up with fuel, we then retired to the caravan park and rested up for the evening. This was a nice stop-over, compared to some of the other ones, quite peaceful, good toilet block and a coffee machine! The only downside was the, flies! We were swarmed with them, making it difficult to keep them out of the car and caravan. Despite this, they came and went and we settled down nicely for the night.
Leg 2, or ‘France #2’ as it is known on the sat-nav. This would be more enjoyable, French motorways and plenty of stop-overs, bliss! We departed at 5.30am just at the crack of dawn to maximize our time as we had a lot of miles to cover. Two fuel stops had been planned along with time allotted for a couple more ‘quicker’ stops. The trip ran as smooth as an androids bum, the only complication being the lack of parking space at the Southern most fuel stop. This led us trying a couple more further down the road, eventually finding one which was for cars only, no HGV or coaches – would caravans fit in? Despite this we headed in and despite some ‘very neat corners’ we found a spot and parked up. The toilets left something to be desired, very Southern and very ‘minging’ – as the daughter says. We duly left here and found ourselves on the final part of ‘France #2’!
Heading into Millau, the sky became blue, the temperature was mid 20’s! Nothing could be more perfect. What could be more perfect however was the A75. This beast of a road was a roller coaster! One minute you’re up 1100m and the next you’re down. Some over short distances (manageable), some over very long distances (rev watching essential!). Navigating a few minor roads past Millau town center we soon found the campsite and checked ourselves in. No pitch had been allocated for us, or at least the one they said already had a ‘van on there? So we set of around the campsite to find a spot we likes. We found one, returned to reception to book it, only to find that it had been reserved by some people arriving just after us 🙁 Never mind, we set off again, and found another pitch (actually the one next door) and quickly booked this. this was our home for the holiday, we began moving in – with the mover!
We positioned the ‘van up against the hedge under a tree for some shade, erected the awning and before we knew it, we were set for the holiday! Actually, we did know it, as we were all quite tired, understandably! However, we were set for Monday morning where the adventure would continue in Millau!
Monday, following a good sleep 🙂 We awoke and rested outside before we all took showers and generally cleaned up to begin feeling human again, following our spell of being ‘trucking trampers’! The sanitary block is very nice, good heated showers with plenty of hot water. Toilets very clean, although no seats, so the squatting position has to be practised! Washing machines, ironing board – everything you would expect from a four star campsite. Following this we headed to the nearest supermarket which was just on the outskirts of Millau. We filled up our trolley fairly swiftly, now knowing what was what after 6 years of touring France! We headed back to camp, stored the food and relaxed in the glorious weather, boy was it nice having blue skies and plenty of sunshine. Our pitch was good in that we could find shade when we wanted, and also the sun when that was required too! Hotspot connected, thanks to ‘three’, this was a lot easier this year, free access in France – thank you ‘3’! Emails done, daughter’s social life sorted – we soon found ourselves at our barbecue for tea: Burgers; sausages and kebabs – lovely! Then a gentle relax for the evening, what could be better!
Tuesday, glorious weather again and a trip to Millau town center was the order of the day. This we did following a relaxing morning. The journey there is made very easy by way of a cycle path, which takes you all the way from the campsite to the town center itself. We duly followed this path and soon found ourselves in the streets of Millau. Plenty of bars and cafes and old picturesque french town houses with wooden shutters. We managed to find a thimble with relative ease and following some more sight seeing, headed back to camp. We relaxed outdoors yet again in superb weather. The caravan got a good clean, as did the car front – to remove said flies! We settled down again, played some games and retired for the evening.
Wednesday, I think the weather theme is set to continue, so I’ll drop being so British and mentioning it every paragraph. We stayed at the campsite all day, quite a gasp at the beauty of the surroundings. Nothing to do but relax, and answer a few emails and texts! Work on my software was going well. Stephanie had finished all her books already, so decided to download one for her iPad. Cath had her Kindle, but this was beginning to show signs of its age and kept crashing. Despite this, we enjoyed a barbecue for tea and then settled down for the evening, with another film.
Thursday, a relaxing morning but then noticed a large number of tents and people entering the campsite and setting up camp. All young and noisy, it was then we realised that the ‘Natural Games’ festival was a very big deal here in France and that we had landed in the middle of it, in the middle of a French Glastonbury! We headed out midday to the ‘Gorges du Tarn’, a fantastic landscape carved out by the river Tarn, it was a car journey only, but we managed to stop off for a drink and a cliff top view from one of the cafes located along the way. Another thimble was purchased, for the bottom row of course. We called back at the supermarket on the way back to restock and then return to camp, to see the place absolutely brimming with tents, the games had begun! Oh, and the first noisy night.
Friday and we stayed at the campsite all day. Stephanie and Cath did some swimming, only to discover we should have had arm band tags for entry, but were let in regardless. This was the campsites way of keeping tabs on the ‘invaders’. I managed to complete the software for the turnout motor, which was a big accomplishment. Other than this, we just relaxed and watched in amazement as the number of tents sprang up for the festival. Ready for the second noisy night.
Saturday, an early start following yet another ‘loud’ night! We decided to head out to one of the five Templar Knight villages in Aveyron, namely La Couvertoirade. This was a pleasant journey down the A75 and over the Millau Viaduct, whoohoo! We paid out 8 Euros and set about ovr this infamous span. Unfortunately driving it you don’t get to see much, but we took what photos we could. We should get a better view when we visit the tourist attraction located beneath the viaduct, which we’ll schedule in one day before the holiday is over. on finding the village, we parked up and headed into the walled village itself. Beautiful buildings, very picturesque. Now full of gift shops and cafes, where once many people would have lived and worked. We toured the entire site, including taking a visit to the windmill located outside of the wall up on a hill. Quite a little trek but worth it, spectacular views! Before we left we stopped for a drink in one of the cafes. It’s good value for money at only 3 Euros a day including parking. Although the ticket machine didn’t like our credit card and declined it, charming! On the way back we stopped off at the supermarket again, mainly to pick up a card for Stephanie’s friend, who had just passed her degree. On route back to the campsite, we stopped off again at a Tabac, to buy cigarettes and also to purchase a stamp. This proved a little difficult as we didn’t pronounce it correctly. But eventually we got there and learnt it was pronounce ‘tim-bre’, for future reference! Back at the site, it was time to have a little lunch and then – relax! Ready for the third noisy night!
Sunday, and the great pack up began. Not us this time, but the festival invaders! Before no time at all, all qas peaceful on the campsite, pitches empty and the noise gone. A trip to the swimming pool was the order of the day, seeing how everywhere else is closed in France on a Sunday. We spent a little while in there, very nice it was too. Large deep pool for the adults and a smaller paddling area for the tots. We watched the para gliders descending from the mountain top, quite spectacular. One even managed to land in the campsite! Following our bathe, it was barbecue time. Burgers and sausages, just the ticket. Following this we relaxed into the evening, which we spent playing scrabble till there was no more light left and we retired indoors to sleep.
Monday, a trip to Montpellier-le-Vieux was on the cards. This was a walk amongst the canyons at the top of one of the mountains. The drive there was interesting to say the least, a long very windy road with sharp 180 bends! We arrived there and paid our fees and duly began our ‘red’ walk. Actually we started with blue as this was the shortest, but after completing that rather easily, we detoured onto the red trail. A fantastic walk it was, or climb as it was in certain places! We spent a good two hours doing this and then headed back to camp, quite exhausted. After some relaxing in the afternoon, we played games until the evening, and then watched ‘Mulan’ to honour the little lizards saw during the day!
Tuesday, nothing planned really apart from a visit to the supermarket, so on the way we stopped by the ‘Viaduct Tourism Center’. This place was quite interesting on the details of the construction of the viaduct. Films could be watched, information boards observed detailing all the construction details, quite an interesting stop. Leaving here we were heading for our usual supermarket, but found one on the doorstep of where we had just been, so we stopped there instead! Loading up with the necessaries, we headed back to camp via a Tabac. The rest of the evening we relaxed (again!) in the scorching heat, the hottest so far at 33 degrees centigrade and then played games and watched a film to close another day in Millau.
Wednesday, canoe day! You can’t come to the South of France and not partake in a canoe trip. We chose a 5km leg of the Dourbie as our river of choice, this would take us past our campsite. The canoe ‘shop’ was just down the road from the campsite, so we booked with reception and then wandered down to pick up our canoes. We were driven East along the Dourbie to our departure point. We got in our canoes and headed down river, destination being just shy of where the Dourbie meets the Tarn. Breathtaking scenery, lots of little rapids too which were great fun, along with some shallow spots where you can easily run aground! Following this, we headed back to camp for a barbecue and then more games to finish the day off with.
Thursday, the final day. A final bit of shopping at the supermarket and then a relax until early evening, when we dismantled the awning and prepared for the packing for the return journey. Everything went smoothly and we still had time to play some ‘Scrabble’ before we retired for the final evening.
Friday, a 7am start, or should that have been a 5am start? – as we ran a little over schedule. Leaving sandwiches to be made and all of the ‘van to prep before we left, made us run over by an hour. Never mind, a had left a little ‘give’ in the schedule, but an hour was it!. Despite this we eventually packed up and headed off. Aires on the way back were the same ones we used on the way, no extra ones required, which was appreciated – and good for the schedule! We found our final resting point just before night fall and settled in. A nice Aire, fairly quiet to begin with, but then as usual, activities begin with various cars appearing, ‘vans pulling in and out and getting stuck and lorries running generators all night! But despite this, we always manage to grab a few hours around 2am before we head off again at dawn.
Saturday, the birds sang, and we got up and left! The final leg of the return journey. All went to plan until we got to the Tunnel, operation ‘Stack’ was in place due to the ferry strike, and we were soon facing a lane full of lorries. What to do, well after devising a plan to search the roads and return if necessary, we headed out and found that we could enter the terminal, avoiding the lorry queues. This still proved slow though, and even though we had arrived two hours earlier than our scheduled train, we were allocated our original 10.36am departure! So we headed for duty free, did some shopping and had some breakfast. We then left for our destined train only to find ourselves stuck midway through the Tunnel, as the train had, or some part of the system, developed a fault. This left us stranded for just over an hour, eventually however the train returned us to England, where we continued our return journey, only to halt on then M11 due to an accident 🙁
Despite this, we made it back home just after 8pm, Stephanie itching to get out to her joint 21st birthday party – which she did whilst we sorted the holiday remains out. A great holiday, shame about the return journey!
- Date: 20th June 2015
- Nights: 12
- Pitch #: D16
- GPS: 44.100966, 3.095943
