Well we wanted to go in search of the sun, and we certainly found it!

The last 3 days have seen temperatures up in the 30’s, and only dropping to about 24  at night. That is over 80 degrees Fahrenheit for us oldies!

Now we love Boris very much BUT after a day at those temperatures, it is like going to bed in a tin can….which is being boiled in hot water! (Does anyone among you remember Fray Bentos steak and kidney pies in a tin? !!)

We actually cheated for a few days and slept in a house, staying with Ron,  my friend from California who has a house in Laurens, a charming and historic village in Languedoc.

His house is charming, and from the garden the view extends to the Pyrénées.  He looked after us very well.

We had a super meal at the Abbaye Sylva Plana vineyard…including this amazing lime cheesecake! Chris was very happy!

Saturday was market day in Pezenas. Super and huge market.

Later, on a rather hot walk along the Canal du Midi, we saw where the historic, shade giving plane trees have had to be removed because they are diseased. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/17/more-plane-trees-felled-along-canal-du-midi-in-fight-against-killer-fungus Apparently they are digging huge pits and burning them in situ. They will replant but it will take years before the iconic tree shaded banks are back. Very sad.👎

10 Facts you may not know about…. The Canal du Midi

1. It was built between 1666 and 1681 by Pierre-Paul Riquet to transport Wool, wheat and wine from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean avoiding the need to sail aound Spain.

2. It was first planned 100 years before that, but he was the person who worked out how to get water into it.

3. It is 150 miles long stretching from the Etang du Thon on the Mediterranean,  to Toulouse where it links up with

4. Reservoirs were built in the Montagne noire,  and then the water was channelled to fill the canal from the highest point, just east of Toulouse…  that’s some bath to fill!

5. There are 63  locks which are unusual because they are oval in shape which makes them stronger.

6. The canal climbs 620 feet to it’s highest point.

7. The Malpas tunnel, which we walked through, was the first navigable tunnel built anywhere in the world.

8. The canal is lined with plane trees which provide shade and hold the banks together. In the past, mulberry trees were used, and silkworms supplied the silk industry.

9. It is a UNESCO world heritage site.

10. In 2004 Chris helped Pete and Penny and Lottie  sail their Dutch Barge Merlin (55 feet long, weighing 35 tons!) up the whole length… including all the locks… most of which were uphill!

Sunday we did a great walk with some members of a local walking group near Olargues. The mountains were stunning, and thanks to a navigational error we walked 14km instead of 10km!! We were however fortified at lunchtime when Gordon produced a bottle of Pastis, explaing that it was a club tradition to all have some with our picnic! Well it would have been rude to refuse!

Then there was sausage night at a local vineyard! We know how to live it up!

Today we are stopped for the night at Port Vendres near Collioure and just about 7 miles from the Spanish border. Pretty port town, but most restaurants closed on Monday  grrrrrr!

We didn’t want to use the cooker (too hot) so had a yummy salad!

We have dispensed with the 4 tog duvet ( I cannot mention togs without thinking of Rhod Gilbert’s brilliant tog sketch.) We are lying under a thin sheet listening to thunder rolling around the mountains and cicadas chirruping!

Tomorrow we take Boris to Spain!(I suppose technically he takes us!).

4 days that is! Wifi and phone signal have been very intermittent.

Tuesday

We headed south with the objective of avoiding motorway tolls! We had worked out that the whole trip could potentially cost us £135 in tolls. Now that is at least 4 nice meals out. No contest!

Skirting Rouen and Chartres, we crossed the Loire Valley and headed for the Brenne. A little known area of 2000 lakes, and a nature lovers paradise. What is amazing is that the lakes are all man made…. not modern gravel pits, but dug in the middle ages for carp rearing. Some of the carp were served as delicacy to the Royal court. We got out of the car and BOOM.. the warm air hit us. We so often find that after you cross the Loire the temperature goes up! We did some walks and bird spotting before finding a nice free aire in the village of Thenay for the night. Chris had to point out that we were in the dead centre of town…next to the cemetery.

The aires vary immensely. This one was super. Very peaceful , and equipped with a special area for obtaining water, emptying tanks, and for 2 euros…plugging in to electricity.

Wednesday

An early start for a drive south east to the Puy de Dome area. Definitely a shorts day! (Clothes not drinks!). Stunning scenery all the way.

7 things you didn’t know about… the Puy de Dome area.

The Puys are a range of volcanoes which erupted as recently as 11,000 years ago.

Most of them are just the lava plugs…. the volcano sides have been eroded.

The largest is the Puy de Dome which is over 4000 feet high.

On top of the Puy de Dome are the remains of a 2nd century temple dedicated to Mercury built of black lava rock.

There is a new electric rack railway to the top which is innovative and eco friendly. It generates power on it’s way down which it then uses to help power it backup.

The Puy de Pariou is a proper volcano, with a crater…and we climbed it!

The specks in the bottom are people!

The nearest city is Clermont-Ferrand which has a black cathedral mad from black lava. It can be seen from miles around.

We climbed Puy de Pariou. The views were stunning. Then got the train up the Puy de Dome. Even better! Then drove into the Auvergne hills to a tiny village to have dinner at the Auberge de l’ane.  It was a local, very rustic restaurant which had a great reputation for serving 2 traditional Auvergne dishes…Truffade   and Fondue Saint- Nectaire. Both were wonderful. Our 4 course meal with a glass of wine was £16 each! Heaven!

Then onto a former campsite next to Lake Aydat for the night.

Thursday.

Stunning scenery again all day. We did a 6 mile circular walk up a lovely wooded gorge…the shade was very welcome as it got up to 32 degrees today! Then drove south along the amazing toll free autoroute the A75. This must be one of the most scenic motorway drives anywhere, culminating in the Tarn gorges and the Millau  viaduct.

We are now ensconced in a campsite –  Camping a la cascade –  in Rome de la tarn,  on a terrace clinging to the side of the tarn gorge. Possibly the most dramatic campsite we have ever stayed on! Super loos and showers all for £14 per night!

Friday

Drove south again and did a stunning walk just off the A75. Great walk to break up a long drive. Up a river valley culminating in a 2nd century Roman bridge. Not a soul around. Idyllic scenery and a sleepy bridge that has stood there for 1800 years!

Finally on to Laurens in Languedoc Roussillon to stay with Ron , my friend from California who has a house here. Super meal at a local vineyard -Abbaye Sylva Plana. I love being able to sit out on the terrace listening to cicadas at 11pm. …. night night!

• Our new ferry departure was at 8.30am Monday and it was pouring with rain as we checked in at Poole. We felt rather pleased to be leaving, I must say! It was a great crossing. We slept for most of it, docked early and were the 4th vehicle off the ship. In fact we were in the very conveniently located ‘Esso Port’ filling station in Cherbourg before the official ferry docking time! Even better,  we had managed our fill ups carefully in England, so we had an empty tank! It was almost a delight to fill up at €1.10 per litre… 80p in sterling, saving a Massive £25 on a tankful of diesel!
• Then we set off south, through a band of torrential rain and thunderstorms, towards the sun.
• Or that was the plan! It was all going much too well!
• We were rolling along south of Caen when we got a message to say Margaret, my Godmother,  was back in hospital!  She has been so well lately, which is why we felt we could risk a longer trip, so this was a big shock.
• We halted our drive south, but the information we could get was very mixed so we took the decision to drive east towards Calais, so if we did decide to return to England,  that would be the cheapest and quickest way to do it.
• To cut a long story short, we had a roller coaster of messages, but at 3.15 am ( yes you did read that correctly), I finally managed to speak to a Dr,  who said they felt she could probably return home today as she had responded well and was not in any danger.
• By this time we had stopped in a delightful village called Clères,  at a super free Aire. These are areas for self contained motorhome that many places in France provide either free of charge or for a few euros. Clères is free, level, quiet and sheltered. A gold star from us!
• En route we stopped for a leg stretch at Pont Audemer… rather grandly called The Venice of Normandy’. It does have canals and some lovely timbered buildings, and is twinned with Ringwood, our neighbouring town at home.
• Anyway, I think we will resume our route South as Margaret has excellent carers and the news is good. Of course I will confirm it with Chris in the morning when he wakes up. He has slept through 3 quite long conversations with the hospital and is oblivious to the developments!

Boris is installed on a school playing field in Skipton with a stunning view over the Yorkshire Dales.

We are here as volunteers for Oxfam who organise a huge walking event each year called Trailtrekker. Teams of 4 walk 100km in a maximum of 30 hours. Right up your street maybe Nicola Simpson and Jen ! Lots of Tough mudders here!

There are over 700 walkers and with entrance fees and sponsorship it can raise over £500,000 for Oxfam, which is incredible. It us a great way to help!

We walked into Skipton…very pretty with many narrow boats on the Leeds and Liverpool canal. We found a tug boat selling icecream, and discovered that the mills here were built in the early 1800’s by the Dewhurst family. Their main product here was Sylco cottons.

The mills have been nicely converted into apartments.

Tonight we were checking in the teams, who start walking early tomorrow. Our main shift is on checkpoint 3 at the 65 km mark, in Buckden, right at the head of Wharfdale.  Sadly the shift is from 23.30pm tomorrow until 6am Sunday so the views won’t be too great.

The weather forecast isn’t great but we hope to get a walk in ourselves tomorrow….and maybe some sleep before the night shift!

Night night.