Canicule

Tuesday 5 September 2023

Nido's parked up on a free aire on a large grass field, in the shade of huge oak trees and about 20m from the water's edge at Lac de Vassivière in the Limousin region.  There's about seven other vans here, but it's very quiet, no artificial lights around and the owls are hooting all around us.  I can just about see the reflection of the lake in the fading light.

Given the current canicule (heatwave) here in France, we made the decision to head for the coast to try and get some respite.  We're a bit sad, as the whole Auvergne region is beautiful and we wanted to see a lot more.  We had plans for more walks and visits to some of the fortified towns and villages.  Plus we wanted to take the train up the Puy de Dôme.  But temperatures at the moment are exceptionally high and are due to stay that way for several more days.  Issoire - where we spent yesterday morning doing the laundry - was the second hottest place in France yesterday at 38'C.  Whilst the coastal areas aren't forecast to be too much cooler, we should benefit from some sea breeze and also the opportunity to cool off in the ocean.  But living in a metal box on wheels can be very challenging in this heat; not only does it affect us (and, I hate to say it, but it gets harder to regulate body temperature as we get older!) but Salty suffers too.  So it's the right decision.

We were up at 0700 yesterday morning and set off from Aydat for Issoire.  It was an admin day so laundry needed to be done and there was an outdoor laundry machine outside a Carrefour supermarket in town.  Also, there was free van servicing just across the road.  We arrived at about 0800 and luckily both washing machines were available.  We had a bit of a payment issue as neither of our payment cards were accepted, so we had to use notes and coins instead.  We thought it might be our UK cards, but a local lady came along later and had the same problem.  We explained the issue and showed her how to use Euro notes.  She only had a €20 note, but I had two tens, so did a swap with her, as no change is given.  So we did our good deed for the day!  I also popped into the supermarket to do the shopping and after an hour of using the dryer, we moved across the road to service the van, followed by a diesel fill up.

These outdoor launderettes are all over France and are now appearing in the UK too

Breakfast in a supermarket car park whilst doing the laundry - living the dream!

The original plan was to stay at a free aire in the small village of Tourzel Ronzières, high up with amazing views over the countryside.  It was a bit of strange set up as the aire parking areas were on several narrow terraces, only wide enough to drive on.  This meant that if you parked in the middle and other vans came later in front and behind you, there was no way of getting out.  But we found a flattish area of grass in a separate space and started to set up.  It quickly became obvious that it would be too hot to stay there; the shady spots had already been taken and there was a lot of shooting in the valley, which completely freaked Salty out.  So I took another look and found the Camping Car Park site in Auzon, about 45 minutes' drive away.  The reviews said there was plenty of shade and a river, plus the hill-top fortified village looked lovely, with the campsite in the valley below.

A lovely position but WAY too hot

We found a shaded spot and did our best to keep cool.  I took a quick walk and found the river was dried up.  Once the sun had dipped behind the trees we walked along a narrow road, past stone cottages, before it turned into a path running alongside the (dry) river bed.  It was a good deal cooler amongst the trees and thankfully, in a couple of places, there was enough water to allow Salty to dunk up to his neck - we were very jealous.  I cooked outside and we sat well into darkness, enjoying the cooling temperature and looking up at the stars.

This morning we enjoyed the cool, walking the dog and eating breakfast outside, before packing up and starting our journey west.  Ideally we only make short daily hops to relax and explore an area, but today was about making some miles towards the coast.  I hope one day we'll be able to return to the Auvergne and continue to explore this wonderful region.  I stopped off at an 'artisan' boulangerie on the way for a baguette for lunch.  Many boulangeries are described as 'artisan' but this one had a wood burning oven and it showed.  Alongside the traditional baguette, they made regional loaves of bread, all with the dark, crunchy crust and light, fluffy filling with lots of holes from extended proving.  It proved to be delicious as we enjoyed it at one of the many welcome picnic sites found along the roadside.

We arrived at Lac de Vassivière in the heat of the mid-afternoon.  I admit to being quite tired and hot when we arrived, so after we'd walked the dog - and he'd had his daily dip - we took him back to the van, changed and walked the short distance to the water's edge.  The long awaited swim was divine!  The water was warm with the occasional chilly patch.  We swam around for a while, washing off the heat and dust of the past few hot days (although he had showered in the van each day of course!).  The rest of the day was spent relaxing, reading and looking out over the lake as the sun set.  Dinner was a vegetable stir fry with some boiled rice.  We're using up food odds and sods; tomorrow will be some form of hotdog, onion and feta calzone made with wheat wraps in the Ridge Monkey, with a salad - don't judge us!

As it's cooler here (30'C in the daytime) we'll stay here another night to walk around part of the lake and take another dip or two, before heading further west.

Parc naturel régional des Volcans d'Auvergne

Sunday 3 September 2023

Nido's parked up at an aire in Aydat.  Actually it's more like a campsite with grass pitches separated by small wooden fences.  We've just had a walk around the wetland boardwalks that lead to Lac Aydat; the sun was almost gone and the bats were dipping low over the water (and us!) to hoover up the myriad flying insects.

We've had a couple of days in this natural park.  It's been a busy time - imagine the Peak District or Lake District over a sunny bank holiday weekend...that kind of busy.  But it is the last weekend before La Rentrée, when children return to school and grown ups return to the grindstone.  So it was always going to be busy.  It should quieten down for our remaining time in France.  But it's no surprise this area is touristy and lively, because it's beautiful.  We've been from deep lush valleys, through wildflower meadows with cows and their bells, through tiny hamlets and villages and up to the windy and exposed highest ski stations, now very quiet out of their season.

Empty and closed ski station with the summit of Puy de Sancy in the background

We left the cool of Miremont yesterday morning and drove to the heat, hustle and bustle of the city of Clermont Ferrand, the metropolis of the Auvergne.  We're not city visitors, but it was interesting to drive through.  After a stop off at a Le Clerc supermarket we drove on the the aire at La Tour d'Auvergne.  This was a free stop over and the parking was over several terraces, overlooking the small swimming and fishing lake and the old village perched on a hill top.  After a Salty walk around the lake, then dinner, we left him in the van and walked into the old village.  Despite it being a Saturday evening it was very quiet; only a couple of bars and restaurants were open.  From the viewpoint we had a commanding view for miles over the countryside and extinct volcanoes.  The skies were dark all around us, with the odd rumble of thunder in the distance, but we stayed dry through the night.  We had a good wander around the narrow lanes and steep-stepped ginnels.

This morning our plan was to drive to a parking area and walk along a gorge to some waterfalls.  Unfortunately the parking was unsuitable for the van, so plan B was a 5 mile walk starting at Lac Pavin.  Although very busy, we managed to bag a parking spot in the shade, made some packed lunch and headed out on the walk.  The lake is actually a volcano crater, with some parts of the walk close to the water and the other side much higher.  The water was crystal clear but, much to our dismay, it was 'baignade interdit'. Salty managed a quick dip at the beginning and end of the walk and we weren't jealous at all!

The walk took us along the edge of lake before we turned off and started to climb the forest paths.  Eventually we made the summit of  the extinct Puy Montchal, before descending into the grassy, tree-lined crater, where we stopped for lunch and to enjoy the sunshine, cicadas and butterflies.  The rest of the walk was along forest paths and roads, before we returned to the lake and descended back to the car park.  The temperature today was in the low 30s - so hot - but a breeze and plenty of tree shade made it more bearable.  But by the time we made it to the aire here in Aydat (after trying a couple of others that were too close to the road with many very loud motorbikes flying past) we were shattered. After showers, watermelon, a pot of tea and a red thai curry, we felt refreshed enough to take a walk to the lake before bedtime.

Swimming forbidden!

Puy de Sancy from the summit of Puy Montchal

Volcano crater

Tomorrow is planned as an admin day - food shopping, laundry washing and top up with diesel and LPG, although the LPG may have to wait until we're back up towards Clermont Ferrand.  It's quietened down now; even the motorcyclists have left, perhaps getting their work clothes ready for the morning.  

Charroux and Miremont

Friday 1 September 2023

View from the covered market at Charroux

Nido's parked up in the municipal campsite in the tiny hamlet of Miremont, in a valley in the north of the Auvergne.  We've been here since Wednesday.   It's a very quiet, peaceful spot with little traffic.  These municipal campsites are amazing; there are hundreds of them all over France.  Here, for the sum of €10.50 per night (about £8.90) we have a private grass pitch surrounded by beech hedges.  We have electricity, toilets, unlimited hot showers and a hot-water washing up and clothes washing area.  There are 34 pitches here and only five others are occupied at the moment.  Most of these sites are run by the local commune (parish council); they usually open in April and close at the end of September.  Although basic (ie no swimming pools, bars or restaurants) they are exactly what we like and long may they continue.  

We had a lazy start to Tuesday morning, with a cup of tea and a read, before showers and breakfast.  There were several way marked walking trails running from the village square in Noyant.  We picked a 6km one that took us into the countryside. The signs were easy to follow so the walk was enjoyable without the need to hunt out routes and paths.  We walked down some lovely quiet bridleways, past fields and mature oak trees, even passing a spices wholesaler stood on its own deep in the countryside.

Our next stop over was at an aire - which is really just a large grass field with no facilities - just outside the ancient village of Charroux. 

There's been a settlement here since Gallo-Roman times. It's a fortified village, with a few large gates to enter the protected citadel.   It's built on a hill with commanding 360' views, just like on the grass aire we were parked on.  Military bases and religious orders camped outside the walls and both the Knights Templars and Hospitaliers had strongholds here, as did Benedictine monks later on.  The narrow streets force them to be pedestrianised, with the majority of people living around the main circular centre.  It's quite touristy now, with a number of bistros and artisanal shops selling jellied and preserved fruits, jams, mustards and candles.

After dinner we left Salty in the van and enjoyed an evening walk around the village.  As we walked into the central citadel the church bells started to peal; a little off-key so we think it was may practice night for the new campanologists! The shops were now closed with only a couple of the bistros open, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves to wander up and down the narrow cobbled streets, taking a nosy at the gardens behind walled enclosures.  A number of plots were derelict and Cathy was planning what she would do with the garden!  We had another quiet night with big skies and views for miles.

The little door on the left is for letters. I guess the big brother door is for parcels!

The little letter box

After breakfast on Wednesday, sat outside the van looking out over the view from our highpoint, we left Charroux.  With a stop off at the Auchan in Gannant, we arrived at the municipal campsite here in Miremont bang on lunch time.  With our pitch set up for the next three days, we took a short walk along the road through the village, which is only about 200m long.  Bearing off to the right and starting to walk up a steep road, we sussed out our walk for the next day, covering a short section of the walk along the river, which Salty enjoyed to the max with much splashing and attempting to drink the river dry - the river won!  The rest of the evening we chilled out before retiring to the van as the light faded to catch up on some YouTube favourites.

Breakfast with a view at Charroux

Miremont municipal campsite

Thursday morning we packed a rucksack and headed out on a walk along the river and them climbing up through ancient deciduous forest heading for the Gorge de Siolet.  We were expecting the typical gorge experience of rocky cliffs with a fast flowing river at the bottom, but the many trees hid this from us.  Climbing out of the forest after about 5km, we sat in a field in warm sunshine to eat our lunch.  The return journey was shorter, mainly along quiet tarmac lanes with big, fat, juicy blackberries in the hedgerow, which we gorged on as we walked back down to emerge by the football pitch next to the campsite.  After a much welcome cup of tea and hot showers, I cooked a vegetable stir fry.  Cathy turned in early and I washed up and put chairs and the awning away, then walked Salty and our rubbish back into the village to the communal recycling bins.  It was another still, peaceful night, with only the cicadas and the occasional owl breaking the silence.

A view of the Puy de Dôme on our walk

Post-walk reward

This morning it was very misty and a bit cooler, although it was forecasting a hot day and, as the sun appeared over the tops of the trees and into the valley, it soon burned off the mist.  I love watching the Tour de France each year.  I've managed to watch it for real a few times, but otherwise I really enjoy seeing the stages on TV.  This year three of the stages were in the area.  Miremont is just a few kilometres north of the part of the route of Stage, which was on 9 July (the day before my 60th birthday) and finished with a huge hill climb up the Puy de Dôme.  There was no way I was going to cycle up that, but I was looking forward to riding just a short section of the Stage.  I rode out of Miremont, past the Chateau then turning left to take the long climb up above the valley, heading for the town of Pontaumur, which was on the route.  Arriving there, I  turned left and almost immediately started to climb the Category 3 Côte de Pontaumur.  It's not too steep at 5.3%, but it climbs for over 3km.  I took my time on what was quite a busy road, stopping occasionally to take some photos of the Tour road graffiti - and to catch my breath! All the way up I kept an eye on the ditches and grass verges to my right, just in case a stray bidon (water bottle) had been tossed by a Tour rider and missed by souvenir hunters on the day...no such luck.  Cat 3 climb done, I celebrated with a coffee outside a bar in La Goutelle.  Here I turned off the busy D941 and headed north towards Saint-Jacques-d'Ambur. It was a quiet hilly road with plenty of ups and downs and I enjoyed a very long downhill stretch heading down to Chazotte on the southern tip of the Lac des Fades Besserve.  After another steady ascent I dropped back down again to return to the campsite.  A great ride.

A misty start to a very hot day

Tour road graffiti and a typical sculpture to celebrate the day

This was Peter Sagan's final Tour before retiring - one of the greats

The summit finish of the Puy de Dôme with 50km still to ride!

Cathy is very happy when I go out cycling as it gives her some me time to give the van a really good clean and eat her breakfast in peace!  The rest of the afternoon was spent chilling out, staying in the shade to avoid the heat of the day.  The forecast for the next few days is hot - up to 33'C - so we'll need to try and find shade where we can.  Later in the afternoon we walked uphill to the 12th Century Église de Miremont and sat on a bench in the shade, with our backs resting on the church wall, enjoying the peace and solitude and looking out at the view over the rocky cliffs and trees of the gorge. After dinner we sat inside with the door open, catching up on a view YouTube videos.

Tomorrow we'll be heading into the mountains of the Parc naturel régiónal des Volcans d'Auvergne.  We'll be doing some walking and hopefully some eagle spotting.  If it's as hot as forecast, we'll also be seeking some shade and perhaps a swim if we can find somewhere suitable...there are waterfalls in these parts!