Drive South

Saturday 14 March 2015

Up at the crack of dawn today, but hey, who cares? We are off on our trip to Spain!

After an unremarkable journey to Folkestone and through the Channel tunnel, we departed Calais around 11:30 in the safe hands of Snoopy Satnav. We put our trust in her even when she directed us around Rouen in what seemed, to us, an illogical anticlockwise direction. Our stopover for the night was the aire at Nonancourt, approx 190 miles from Calais, tucked between the town hall and fire station with the police station only a stone's throw away. So we felt pretty well covered in the event of any emergency! It was only 4 pm when we arrived but four of the six spaces were already taken by British vans, so it was quite like home!

To make the most of the sunshine, we had a quick walk to the centre of the small town, which has lots of picturesque half timbered buildings. Another interesting feature is the church of St Martin, with a collection of stained glass windows dating from the 16^th century.

Sunday 15 March

Happy Mothers' Day!

We seemed to be a bit slow in the getting up, organised and away routine this morning, but our excuse is that it's the first outing of the season so we are probably a bit rusty. The forecast for today included rain, but we escaped that and had a pleasant enough motorway journey with a few sunny spells. A bit chilly once you stepped outside though. We have been surprised by the light traffic, apart from around large towns, and today, being Sunday, there were few lorries on the road. With a few exceptions, lorries over 7.5 tons are banned between 10 pm Saturday and 10 pm Sunday. In July and August there is a further restriction between 7 am and 7 pm on Saturday leaving the poor hauliers a window of precisely 3 hours to complete a journey. But perhaps the drivers don't mind - when we stopped at some services in the afternoon the lorries were all parked up with the drivers lounging on camp chairs around tables in front of their vehicles enjoying the sunshine! The motorway toll was a bit of a shock, but is a trade off for a faster journey. Our night halt was Camping Le Clos Auroy at Orcet just off the motorway south of Clermont-Ferrand. There were only a dozen or so pitches occupied so the facilities had been scaled down but it was more than adequate for our needs. The water in the swimming pool (not yet opened) looked a bit green! The only disappointment was that there was no ACSI discount until 1 April – blast!

Monday 16 March

The journey today was mostly on the A75, which is the longest European toll-free motorway (that is if you disregard the section at Millau). The average height above sea level is 700 m and the views are rather splendid. As we rounded the corner at Col de la Fageolle (1107 m) we were greeted with a panoramic view over the distant mountains, still bearing the last of the winter snow. We stopped off at the Aire de Garabit to admire the Viaduc Garabit, the railway viaduct, designed by Gustave Eiffel and built between 1880 and 1888. Sections of the viaduct were constructed in Paris and transported by rail to the nearest station which was some 30 km from the site. Some walk for the beasts of burden!

Our next stop was the Millau Viaduct which appeared on the horizon while we were still some 10 km away. We exited the motorway prior to the tolled section and followed the signs for the Aire de Viaduc, which has separate sections for buses, cars and motorhomes. Not that that was significant today as we were the only vehicle there. We suspect that most people stop at the Aire de Services, accessible from the tolled section. From the Aire de Viaduc it's a short walk up to the Aire de Services where there is an interesting exhibition and short film about the construction of the viaduct. A further short walk takes you to a viewpoint. Despite the size of the structure, it is visually rather delicate.

From the Aire de Viaduc we zigzagged our way into Millau itself and then drove under the viaduct, which really brings home how massive it is. Beneath the viaduct is another visitor centre, but we didn't venture in here.

From Millau we continued to Roquefort-sur-Soulzon for another free night stop at the aire next to Tourist Information Office. Only one other van (German) was parked when we arrived, but a quick chat affirmed that they intended to stay the night (reassurance for Ruth!).

By the time we retired to bed, there were five of us, one German, two French, one Dutch and us. It was a glorious sunny late afternoon but the clear sky meant that the temperature fell dramatically as the evening progressed.

Tuesday 17 March

The temperature continued to fall through the night and we added socks, t-shirts and another blanket to our sleeping clothes/bedding! At 7:30 the thermometer was reading 1.5 deg C outside and 4 deg C inside. We hadn't realised that Roquefort is quite so high up, altitude 630 m. However, the gas heating quickly took the edge off this 'fridge-like environment and the brilliant blue sky and rising sun was encouraging.

Roquefort is a town of only about 700 inhabitants but has no less than 7 cheese producers, four of which offer free visits. We chose to call at Combes, one of the two producers who do the work by hand, their cheese being called “Le Vieux Berger”. The visit is self-guided comprising a dozen or so informative panels with English translation, a 15 minute film in French and a view into the packaging area. Unfortunately they do not allow you into the caves. Before we left we were offered a tasting and, as a result, came away with a small wedge of the pungent delicacy.

From Roquefort we travelled on to Spain, much of the journey still on the A75 (“la Méridienne”). The scenery was very varied: moorland to begin with, still bearing patches of snow despite the lower level; interesting rock formations in the Causse du Larzac; impressive cliffs as you emerge from a tunnel near St Félix-de-l'Héras; south of Narbonne the very red earth of the rocky moorland mirroring the red roofs of the buildings. Eventually we passed through the Traverse des Albères and had arrived in Spain.

A warm welcome was waiting for us at Camping Les Medes and we began to plan the next few days.